Singalongs Cancelled!!

[Senior Watcher]

AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!

did anybody else hear that the traveling buffy musical "Once More With Feeling" was cancelled?

this was posted today, October 10, 2007:
http://uncoolkids.com/buffy/

i was planning on going to the D.C. showing. I was so excited. Eventhough I cant sing a lick of anything, I was excited to see other fans just like me and hang out with them for the night.

anyway, there is a tiny miniscule speck of light at the end of that dark tunnel, the uncoolkids website has started a petition to get the musical back in our theatres. so please, with sugar on top, sign the petition........even if they weren't scheduled to come to a theatre near you, please sign it!

click on "make signatures" on the following link to sing/sign ;-)
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/BuffyMusical

[SeraphimAngel]

THATS HORRIBLE!

WE WERE GOING TO MEET UP THERE!!!

damn.

[LittleMissLikesToFight]

I am friended with the buffy musical sing-along and uncoolkids, the wonderful people who have brought many cities the buffy musical sing-along. I just got a bulletin from them:


Buffy Musical Shut Down (for now)

Sad news: Buffy, Firefly, and all other Fox TV shows have been pulled from theatrical distribution.

Criterion Pictures notified me last night that Fox has pulled the license for ALL their TV shows from theatrical exhibition. This is effective immediately, and of course includes Buffy and "Once More With Feeling". This means that we have to cancel all upcoming bookings of the Buffy Musical production. Notice for this was very sudden and unexpected, and I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience it will cause.

I don't yet have an official written statement as to why exactly this has happened, but from my understanding the circumstance around the suspension of the rights for our screenings isn't greed or anything like that - so please don't use this as an excuse to lash out at Fox. Basically, the idea of presenting television shows in a theatre is so new that there are a lot of details that still need to be resolved around payments of residuals, deals with the guilds and unions, etc (I don't know any specifics, but these are some of the issues that usually come up). Both Fox and Criterion need to fix some of these issues before they can continue to do any theatrical screenings.

I would like to state that the sudden timing of this came as a bit of a shock, and as far as The Buffy Musical goes, we were working to be in total compliance with everyone's rules and wishes. We were always striving to make this official, and we even had Joss Whedon's blessing at the L.A. Film Festival. To still be unceremoniously cut off is, well, it's a bit of a downer.

But what can I do???

So, is there a glimmer of hope? Well, if a canceled TV series can jump to the big screen, here's hoping we can find a way to make it work the other way around. If Fox feels that it is worth their time to find a resolution to this issue, then they will certainly do so. If not, then we are back to...well let's not go there yet.

What we can do is keep the Buffy Musical fanbase alive and let Fox know that we are here if they want to, you know, take our money in exchange for some Buffy action.
You can start by <s>singing</s> signing our Buffy Musical appreciation petition.

Let them know how much you enjoy the show, or still want to see it come to your area. If we can rally enough fanatical support (and who better than Buffy fans!), perhaps we can convince the powers that be to figure out a negotiation quickly because it will be completely worth their while.

PS - This doesn't just apply to "Once More with Feeling", but to the whole Whedonverse. If screenings of Firefly episodes are selling out, why not let them. I am just focused on OMWF for now because I think it is easiest to get this one through the door, especially with all the momentum we have built up around this particular show (loads of press, national tour). It seems silly to make it stop now. If we can get the musical up and running the rest are sure to follow.

Cancellation procedures.

Tickets for St. Louis and L.A. Landmark Theatres shows will be refunded automatically if purchased over the web. All others can be returned at the box office for a full refund.

And there is good news for those of in St. Louis you who don't want your weekend ruined (think how we feel), the Tivoli is offering free screenings of Serenity each night in replacement of the lost musical nights. It's our way of saying "sorry for the short notice."

Refunds for shows in New York City and the Studio 35 in Columbus are still being organized. I'll post here as soon as I have more details on those.

Finally, please feel free to repost this notice and send people to the petition. The more Buffy fans we can get, the better.
***
The link to their petition:
Bring the Buffy Musical Back to the Big Screen - Make Petitions at Petition Spot (http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/BuffyMusical)


I am truly saddened as i wanted to make a second showing sometime here in NYC in january :(.

[sharkshark]

zomg that just ruined my day. ='(

[TabulaRasa]

Mine too since I already payed online for my tickets. I hope I can get a refund.

[goldenboy]

It would be nice if Joss had the clout to weigh in and do something about this. They've got to arrange some kind of "royalty payment" system or something.

Fox is shooting itself in the foot of course, cos these events help keep interest in Buffy alive.

[DarklyDreamingDrusilla]

I cannot believe that they did that. It is so fun to go and meet all of the Buffy fans in your area. I really hope they get it back up and then come back to the midwest I really wanted to go to the St. Louis showing. Well i signed the petition hope it helps.

[Senior Watcher]

i was going to buy D.C. tickets ='(

[Senior Watcher]

as of 10:04 p.m on october 11, 2007, the buffy musical petition has received over 1,050 signatures!!!

if we were to say that we received 1,050 sigs in 24 hours, that equals 43.75 sigs an hour or 1 sig every 1 min. 22 seconds!

keep up the sigs and spread the word!

[nerd4hire]

According to NYmag.com Clinton Mclung started the Buffy musical singalong thing.

Here's a clip from an interview with him.

Why do you think this is happening now?
I don't know. We might be a victim of our own success; we've toured around the country for a year and gotten a lot of press. I think the issue is something to do with the back-end — someone who is supposed to get paid when these things get screened wasn't, and they heard about my show, and got upset. It could have to do with the upcoming Writers Guild strike, or the Screen Actors Guild, or some electrician — I don't know.

Can you get Joss Whedon to pull some strings for you?
I hope so! Joss had already shown up at one of our L.A. shows and given his blessing. I've talked with Joss’s assistant and people who are in his camp who are outraged about this. I don't know how much pull he would have — it's his show, but Fox owns it now.

Fox Shuts Down the Sing-along -- Vulture -- Entertainment & Culture Blog -- New York Magazine (http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/10/fox_shuts_down_the_buffy_singa.html)

[Whistler]

I just read this artivle on yahoo. It sucks, I've never been to one and now I guess I never will be. Here's the article:


NEW YORK - Lawyers have driven a stake into the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" sing-along.

The TV show didn't exactly die when the show and its demon-fighting heroine went off the air three years ago. Driven by a fiercely loyal following, fans put together the sing-along event, a la "Rocky Horror Picture Show," where people turn up for midnight screenings of a musical episode of the show, often dressed up in costume as their favorite characters.

That all came to an end this week when the studio that owns the rights to the show got wind of what was going on.

Lawyers for Twentieth Century Fox Television, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., told a licensing company that had given the green light for the sing-along events that it had gone beyond limits of the show's licensing agreements.

Chris Alexander, a spokesman for the studio, said that "significant payments" would have to be made to Hollywood unions for the show to be screened in movie theaters, which is a highly unusual arrangement anyway and usually reserved for situations like one-time charity events.

That came as a shock to Clinton McClung, who had organized the sing-along events. "I understand how the entertainment industry works, but I don't understand why it has to work against me," he said.

McClung said he had sought and received a licensing arrangement from Criterion Pictures for the events, but Alexander said those permissions went beyond what Fox allowed.

The musical episode, called "Once More, With Feeling," was a departure for the show, and was written and directed by Joss Whedon, the show's creator. It was nominated for an Emmy award.

McClung said a group of about 10 people volunteered to play various roles in the show and to appear onstage to lead the audience.

About a year ago, McClung started to show the screenings at midnight at a theater in Boston, where he had been in charge of late-night programming, and later did the same thing at an art-house cinema in New York's Greenwich Village.

Now, he's had to cancel a costume party later this month as well as about 10 shows in theaters around the country as a result of the cease-and-desist order. He said he has already taken the sing-along event to 15 other cities, where it has mainly sold out.

Despite the apparently insurmountable legal problems, some fans are still hanging in.

"I refuse to give up hope," said Caroline O'Connor, a 25-year-old massage therapy student in New York who appeared onstage as Willow, Buffy's best friend, and as Sweet, a demon character. "I look at it as a paperwork problem."

That's not how Fox sees it.

"We have to protect our interests, and that's what we're doing," says Alexander. "There are plenty of legal ways for fans to enjoy Buffy, but this particular event is not going to be possible at this time."

website: 'Buffy' fans bemoan demise of sing-along - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071012/ap_on_bi_ge/buffy_sing_along)

[LittleMissLikesToFight]

I posted this the day it came out but my post got removed, iguess because i included the petition link? i dunno. Anyway, im really really really upset about it and im glad its all over whednonesque and getting bigger publication.

[TeenageFBI]

It's really unfortunate that this is happening. I got to go to one of the screenings back in August and it was tons of fun. I'm hopeful that they'll bring it back but at this point it doesn't sound too promising and if they do, I'm wondering how the ticket cost is going to be affected to insure that the proper parties are paid. Sometimes, Hollywood really sucks.

[Slayergal]

I've never been to a singalong but I did sign the petition. I hope it helps.

[LittleMissLikesToFight]

I'm so glad the petition # has grown! when i signed i was like, #32!

[nerd4hire]

People should start having black market singalongs. Basement singalongs, Webcast singalongs, and such. That would show em. Can't stop the signal with Buffy either.

[goldenboy]

Buffy's Whedon Reacts To Fox

Joss Whedon, creator of TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told fans that he was saddened by 20th Century Fox Television's decision to shut down fan-sponsored sing-along theatrical screenings of the show's musical episode, "Once More, With Feeling."

Writing on the Whedonesque fan Web site, Whedon wrote on Oct. 13: "This is hugely depressing. I will do everything in my power to find out the exact reasoning for this and try to convince those responsible what a mistake it is. Of course, the words 'my power' might confuse my gentle readers into believing I have any. I don't know what I'll be able to do, and I've no idea even where to start. Nor do I think this was done maliciously or capriciously. But it's lousy news, and it's bad business. I'm hoping the latter element might prevail. I'll keep you posted."

In the sing-along events, fans turn up for midnight screenings of the musical episode, often dressed up in costume as their favorite characters, the Associated Press reported.

But 20th Television, which owns the rights to the show, told a licensing company that had given the green light for the sing-along events that it had gone beyond limits of the show's licensing agreements.

The sing-alongs, some of which started as charity events, had expanded to about 15 theaters around the country.
SCI FI Wire | The News Service of the SCI FI Channel | SCIFI.COM (http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=4&id=44710)

[Evilyn]

This really sucks. Especially since they had just announced a show for Nashville. Arrggghhhhh! I was so hoping to do this. We used to have a theater in Franklin that showed "Rocky Horror" every Friday at midnight, and that was pretty awesome. I was really psyched about OMWF. Meeting local fans and the such. Damn you Fox, you are truly the devil. Right up there with Hasbro, IMO.

[nerd4hire]

The information is starting to leak out as to what the reasoning is behind shutting down the singalongs.

It's starting to look like the Screen Actor's Guild is behind it.

Last week, SAG sent 20th Century Fox Television a six-figure bill for unpaid actor residuals, and since Fox had been unaware on what scale the Buffyokes were taking place to begin with, it called Criterion, which had been given a license to exhibit "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and had in turn given McClung permission to mount the shows. Fox's response was to revoke the license.

'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' Sing-Alongs Get Killed - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1571966/20071015/index.jhtml)

Edit:

BTW the way there were multiple threads on this topic. They've all been merged as is board policy. So if you're wondering where your thread is, it hasn't disappeared. It's here in the order it appeared.

[TabulaRasa]

Fox tells Buffy nerds to SHUT UP!

Dose: Music Story (http://www.dose.ca/tv/story.html?id=d4c78e14-b536-4b48-bd54-7fec7616b0f2&k=24379)

[Buffy Summers]

I like this guy who left a comment on the article:

anonymous Thu, Oct 18, 07 at 06:15 AM This show's fans are even bigger losers than Trekkers.

#1 He read the article. #2 He wouldn't even put his name. #3 lol

[nerd4hire]

Joss seems to think there's still hope for the singalongs.


Whedon: This is how it works. It’s a small town. The problem they ran up against was a genuine problem. It wasn’t the Disney lawyers telling preschoolers they couldn’t draw Mickey Mouse. They’re not trying to cheat anybody out of their fun. The fact of the matter is that I know they’re trying to make the musicals work.

James Hibberd - Joss Whedon Returns to Fox With New Series 'Dollhouse' - TVWeek - Blogs (http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/james-hibberd/2007/10/joss_whedon_returns_to_fox_wit.php)

[TabulaRasa]

Well atleast that's something. I am sad I didn't get to go. Hopefully one day, but for now I will just hold my own personal ones...in my house...alone.
:)