The reactions you are all having are the same reactions that people had to the first screening last December.

I highly doubt Joss will make any changes. He was had feedback from 6 screenings in LA, 2 in London, and one in Australia.

Everyone has the same initial reaction.

Later it becomes easier. Of course I had the chance to discuss it with the actor in question and he is fine with it.

Of course I had the chance to discuss it with the actor in question and he is fine with it.

Oooh. So envious. Can you talk at all about the conversation, or was it all private and off the record?

I can't stop thinking about all the babies Wash and Zoe aren't going to have. sniff

With Wash and Book dead, the mystery of River mostly solved, Mal and Simon and River no longer special targets for the Alliance, doesn't it take a lot of the steam our of a sequel. Of course you could deal with problems in Simon+Kaylee relationship and the much more serious problems in the developing Mal+Inara relationship, but thats more "As the Serenity Turns" than the Firefly we love. Of course in all fairness the Firefly universe is big enough to hold tons of stories. But if there is a Firefly sequel, it feels to me like it will a work set in the same universe, possibly with some of the same characters, not a sequel in the sense of continuing an on-going story. Come to think of it that may be the point; movies are supposed to be standalone; if there is a Firefly II, it can't depend on people having seen Firefly I.

Mal and Simon and River no longer special targets for the Alliance

We don't know this for sure. The Operative said he didn't know if the gov't folks would still be after them.

Oh, I'm sure they will never get off the kill list. But I'll bet they are now off the "spend buku bucks to track down and kill" list.

Well, the Operative said they aren't very forgiving.

The crew of Serenity just dealt them a huge political blow. It might not be just Simon and River they're after anymore.

I think Joss left himself (and more specifically Tim, in the case of the sequel) a lot of room in that respect.

As for the big brouhaha, I'm glad Alan Tudyk is good with the decision (and possibly even asked for it.) It doesn't make me feel any less sucker-punched with the way it happened.

Okay, so, now I'm arguing with asshats on the internet. And defending Whedon.

I must be really in need of procrastination.

This makes me the bigger asshat, I know.

I didn't get to have a long drawn out conversation with him. But he did laugh and joke about it. "That Joss, he will just kill you, you know?" is the quote I remember.

We were sitting with some people that hadn't seen the movie so he said it in a double entendre sort of way.

He did put his hand on my leg and give it a squeeze in sympathy when I first told him that I saw a screening. Which is definitely one of my highlight reel moments in Firefly fandom.

He wanted to know if I thought it "worked" and I told him that it did in my opinion but, that not everyone felt the same way.

Ugh. Where are you arguing with asshats, Allyson? Or should I not even ask?

FWIW, I'm very glad to hear that Alan Tudyk (I feel like I should make this whitefont longer so the name can't be guessed from the length alone, although really, is there anyone still reading this who doesn't know by now? anyway) is fine with the decision. I don't know how or why the decision was made, and I can't say that knowing would really impact my opinion of the event one way or another. All that matters to me is that Wash is dead, and ain't coming back. And that fucking hurts.

Re: the LJ Whiner and her ilk, I do think they're being silly. Which isn't to say that the thought didn't occur to me last night that "they still have time! they could reshoot it so he lives and everything is OK and it ends with a big Simon/Kaylee/Mal/Jayne orgy!" but, you know, I kind of realized pretty quickly that that was unlikely to happen. And more to the point, mounting a public campaign like that is just going to piss a lot of people off (especially those you spoil inadvertently, who will be many), including the creators. Oy.