It appeared at [link] too. (I believe they're an unofficial site, although I gather from various posts in the fandom that the webmistress is well-respected.)
However, usually more reputable funds are through a bank and donors are usualy asked to make donations that are payable to the fund in care of the bank.
I advise caution, not because I think it's shady, but because I have yet to see any sort of hallmark of legitimacy. (There's a difference.)
My feeling is if someone is organizing such a nice memorial fund, they should go through a bank or other institution rather than directly collecting money, and also - the letter that I saw at glenn-quinn.com was not a scan of a letter with Michael Fishman's (or anyone's) signature, but rather just a transcription of same.
eta... Xpost at Xpurposes with Michele T.
Lisa H. asked me to let you all know that she is definitely hosting a Baltimore-area Firefly party on the 20th.
E-mail her at Lisah@bust.com and she will send the details. You can also e-mail me at profile addy and I will try to help.
Hope to see lots of Buffista faces there.
(cross posted to Firefly thread)
glenn-quinn.com is indeed an unofficial site, but Tara has been in close contact with Quinn's publicist. If you have questions, I'd contact her directly.
It's too long to coffee-ize, but there's a Salad Shooter discussion that's as classic as the Great Corset Riff over in
Firefly. Probably with spoilers, alas.
Starts here.
Things do not look good for Firefly. Fox isn't ordering more episodes, and per Tim, that's a de facto cancellation. But the troops are ready to rally and Joss just posted, saying he's not giving up.
In lieu of a Nilly...
Tim Minear's comments start here - remember it's a NAFDA thread.
also...
Joss Whedon's latest post is here.
Again, remember these links are to Firefly 1, NAFDA and current N. American-aired-episodes are up for discussion in the thread.
Attention, K-Mart Shoppers...I mean, Buffistas...
Okay, we have a direction to point you in. We like to call this direction, UPN.
What we need are postcards by the truckload going to Les Moonves and Dawn Tarnofsky-Ostroff. You can send any kind of postcards you'd like to but we thought it would be a nice touch if the cards had a certain uniformity.
There is now a PDF up at [link] It's an 8.5 x 11 sheet of postcards that feature the Variety Ad. You can print the document onto cardstock, cut them into fours and, voila, four handy postcards.
Postcards should be mailed to:
Les Moonves
CBS
7800 Beverly Blvd.
3rd floor
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Dawn Tarnofsky-Ostroff
President, Entertainment (CEO)
United Paramount Network
11800 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90025
On the back, let them know how much you enjoyed the show while it was on FOX, and how eager you are for it to find a home with UPN. Keep things upbeat and positive, so they'll know what classy fans Joss and his crew will be bringing to the network! Some ideas for things to mention: your favorite episode, why the show moves you, why you think the show has potential, etc.
Our two catchwords now are: VOLUME and SPEED. We need a lot of postcards on their desks really damn fast.
Thanks guys!
Semi-final updated post-cancellation support party press release; use, distribute, edit or rewrite at will:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 16, 2002
FOX'S FIREFLY LIGHTS UP THE SCREEN FOR BAY AREA FANS
BERKELEY, CA- On December 20, local fans of Fox's just-cancelled drama Firefly will gather for a viewing party in Berkeley in a show of support for the show. Party attendees want to send a message to network executives at UPN, SciFi Channel, and other possible future homes for the orphaned show, that its lukewarm Nielsen ratings are overlooking a sizeable population of loyal viewers.
Friday nights this fall, millions of eyes have been glued to Fox affiliates nationwide because of Firefly, a riveting "space Western" from Mutant Enemy Productions, creators of the critically-acclaimed Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Like Buffy and Angel, Firefly has quickly developed a devoted following, thanks to the originality of the stories told by show's executive producers Joss Whedon and Tim Minear, and the exceptional skill of the cast and crew, whom Whedon has described in several interviews as the most gifted group of people he's ever worked with.
From the beginning, though, Firefly has been hampered in its attempts to find a wider audience beyond its core base of fans. The original series premiere, a several months' labor of love by Whedon, was rejected by Fox as being too wordy with too little action. A replacement episode hastily written to meet Fox's demands got lukewarm reviews from critics nationwide and was ignored in droves by audiences across America.
The handful of critics who stuck with the show have noted its many virtues despite its rocky start with everything from cheerful approval ("Firefly offers...[a] well-balanced blend of humor, action, sharply drawn characters and unexpected twists on genre conventions." - Robert Bianco, USA Today, 9/18/02) to flat-out adulation ("Whedon does what too many feature filmmakers these days do not: entrance us with elaborate narratives in which small, precise details add up to a coherent philosophy -- a worldview." Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly, 10/1/02). But the combination of Fox's lack of publicity for the show and a timeslot constantly jostled by Fox's coverage of the World Series, made it difficult for Firefly to grow.
Despite these trials, Firefly's core base of fans is already passionate, solid, and phenomenally productive. Just three months after the first episode, a websearch for "Firefly Whedon fan" will turn up over a hundred fan-created sites, many impressively professional and polished. Front and center among these sites is Firefly: Immediate Assistance, a campaign to communicate to network executives and corporate sponsors that demographically valuable viewers are watching and loving this unique drama.
Whedon is continuing to campaign for the show as well; within hours of the cancellation announcement, he was giving interviews and showing up on fan message boards to say that Fox has already given him its blessing to seek a new home for the show and that he is going to do his best to do so. He and his writing team and cast are no more ready to leave the universe of Firefly than the fans are.
On December 20, the original Whedon-penned two-hour series pilot will be aired for the first time. As part of the campaign, fans in Berkeley will gather to watch and discuss the show's brilliantly-imagined universe. In nearly 20 other cities across the country, and at least one in the United Kingdom, other local fans will do the same. If all goes as planned, they will send a message to network executives and sponsors that Firefly is a shining light in the lineup of new shows this season, and that Fox's loss may be someone else's golden opportunity.
###
Note to Editors: Cameras and reporters are welcome at the Berkeley viewing party! More information about the Firefly: Immediate Assistance campaign is available at [link] .
Also, any Bay Areaistas wanting to attend,
please
email me at my profile addy, since so far I only have 3 attendees confirmed. Grazie!
The Ohio (Columbus) Firefly Viewing Party will be held at Casa Cashmere this Friday for those still interested in coming.
