Firefly 4: Also, we can kill you with our brains
Discussion of the Mutant Enemy series, Firefly, the ensuing movie Serenity, and other projects in that universe. Like the other show threads, anything broadcast in the US is fine; spoilers are verboten and will be deleted if found.
I think Nutty's right and it's mostly a marketing issue. Sports teams are forever blackmailing the cities where they operate for stadia and tax breaks and whatnot. Consequently, they're obliged to at least
act
like they're available to everybody in that city, instead of just letting the market determine the upper limit of the costs.
Also, they want to shore up their fanbase, which extends well behind paying attendees to folks who watch on TV which is where the really big revenue can start. It's important enough to have walk-up fans at most stadiums that when the Giants built their new stadium they were careful to always have a bank of sets available that day even though they could have sold out season tickets at first.
So scalpers (from the team's perspective) are poaching on the profit that the team has sunk as a marketing cost.
Everyone needs to go to Tamara's link and look at the Washasaurus. It's something else.
We need guerilla marketing stories from Boise and Kansas City and Bangladesh.
I'll see what I can do from the KC end come Friday, assuming I'm still alive.
Just think how much better it will be seeing it for the first time with a complete score & all the neccesary tweeks done!
This is my guiding star. I have actually wondered if I *would* go, were there a screening here, because I'd like to see the finished product. But I think my decision would be that I could see it now AND in September, and that would be ideal.
...regarding all this scalping talk, back in the time of the first screening I was complaining about the people on eBay, so I feel a need to weigh in.
My take on this is ridiculously simplistic. I myself am a big fan of capitalism, and in no way have problems with resale of most anything. I don't know that I would propose or support laws to restrict resale at a higher price, though I suspect when it started hitting my pocketbook I would, because at base most people are self-interested, and I rank myself near the top of the self-interested people list. I see no legal problem with scalping.
I just think it makes you not very nice.
I have a tendency to compartmentalize things, and here I have separated "nice vs. not nice" from "good vs. evil." The people buying tickets up for the express purpose of selling them at way-high prices are not nice. This does not make them EVIL, just not nice.
Though I suppose one could argue that were it not for them, the people who were unable to get their own tickets for whatever reason might not go at all.
So, I am not looking for a long discussion of market dynamics, or a debate over the morality or immorality of scalping.
I just don't like that people are doing it for something I care about. Mine is a purely emotional reaction.
I'm in the corner with Kiba, on the whole scalping issue.
NKOTB reunion concert
Oh my GOD, there's a....oh. Wait. Not your point.
I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the ticket price for that Firefly Convention in Century City. Over $700.00.
That's NUTS.
As for Ticket Scalpers (Or "Ticket Touts" as we Brits call 'em!), its a naughty bad thing, but doubtful something that will ever truly be stamped out. Which sucks. Unless one is a scapler, I guess.
Okay, so that was a little Fire Bad Tree Pretty of me, but my Brain is a little Frazzled tonight. It's late.
but doubtful something that will ever truly be stamped out.
Actually, Bruce Springsteen and the Pantages Theatre recently stomped the life out of scalpers here.
My one and only scalping experience got me a third row center seat to a Meatloaf/Cheap Trick show. I had to dodge loaf sweat and got a meaningful glance from Robin Zander.
The only other seats available were in row RR.
$32 for a $27 ticket. I only had 2 20s. I figured I had to eat it. 40 minutes later, the scalper found me in the line and gave me my change.
Over all, a life affirming experience.
I figured I'd better quit while I was ahead on the whole blackmarket front. I've never done it since.
I'd kill a small animal (not really) for a Serenity ticket in DC, but I'm not sure I'd pay a scalper. I'd rather not feel dirty. There aren't any scalped tickets available, are there?
For starters, you were allowed to buy two tickets in total. (There were two shows. So you could buy one ticket to two shows or two tickets to one show.) And they did cancel orders that violated that.
Now, night of the show, you go to the theatre. You show your ID and the credit card you purchased the tickets with. Someone then puts a wristband on your arm and the arm of your guest. They would not allow you to put the wristband on anyone else.
Early in the evening of the first show, I'm told, some people took off their wristbands and put them on other people. But security kinda caught on to this and began pulling on the wristbands to ensure that they hadn't been removed and put back on.
There was also a line for "cancellations." Tickets that were unable to be picked up because the buyer didn't comply with the rules were released to the general public for immediate purchase.
It amused me because I wanted to go and had even looked at the scalpers but the prices were crazy high. Plus, I'm paranoid so I was convinced I'd buy a ticket and be unable to get in.
It seems the only way to buy a ticket from a scalper was to buy A ticket from a scalper and sit next to him (or an empty seat) all night.
