Firefly

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - A camera crew recording Joss Whedon’s activities on Sunday (March 20) at Wizard World Los Angeles surprised many by turning its lens on the fans themselves.

Curious about the unusual turn of events, Zap2it.com accosted the trio of men, who revealed that they were taping footage for a piece on Whedon’s fans, which will be edited together as a bonus feature for the DVD release of "Serenity."

The upcoming sci-fi film is based on the writer-director’s series "Firefly," which lasted only 11 episodes before FOX pulled the plug. The fans’ outcry caught the attention of Universal, which placed its faith in a silver-screen version of Whedon’s unique space western. Click Here

"This is a movie that got made based on a canceled TV show," says writer-producer Adam Hauck, taking a break from interviewing fans. "That doesn’t happen unless you’ve got a lot of very devoted fans. This [DVD feature] is a big deal to Joss — kind of a tribute to the fans."

The feelings of admiration, gratitude and devotion are mutual. Hundreds of Whedon enthusiasts arrived early at the Long Beach Convention Center, some rising with the sun, to score the highly coveted passes that would allow them to attend the afternoon’s signing.

Clutching posters, DVDs, comic books and other Whedon paraphernalia, the fans queued for two hours for a chance to have their items signed and to exchange a few words with the man himself. Those possessing more than the two-item maximum scrambled to befriend their fellow devotees, hoping to have their surplus taken on by their newfound pal.

Following the signing, Hauck, a cameraman and a boom mike operator approached fans to conduct short interviews about their fondness for the creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel."

"There’s no corollary for the kind of fan support that Joss seems to gather around him," says Hauck, who questioned fans of various shapes and sizes, including: a woman whom Whedon helped nab a role as one of his extras and someone who wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the "Blue Sun" logo, the symbol of the corporate entity featured in "Firefly."

Hauck, the writer-producer of the popular film festival documentary "Homecoming," has written and produced a number of DVDs for Universal, including "Seabiscuit," "The Cat in the Hat" and "The Chronicles of Riddick." He admitted to being a "Firefly" fan himself after watching the series on TiVo, but couldn’t share more about the rest of Whedon’s vision for the "Serenity" DVD.

"You’ll have to speak to Joss about that," he says.

Set 500 years in the future, "Serenity" centers on the crew of a cargo ship that’s plunged into a battle between two powerful enemies when they take on a couple of refugees. "Serenity" whizzes into theaters nationwide beginning Friday, Sept. 30.