Whedon gets Serenity for birthday

The spaceship Serenity is blasting back onto the big screen for one last do-gooding mission.

The film Serenity, based on the short-lived Joss Whedon series Firefly, will screen across the globe in late June to coincide with Whedon's birthday and to raise money for nonprofit human rights group Equality Now. The screenings are part of the "Can't Stop the Serenity" campaign, an effort by Firefly fans, called Browncoats.

According to a message on the Web site Can't Stop the Serenity, it "seeks to urge Browncoats across the United States to organize and hold fundraising screenings of Serenity to benefit the charity of their choice." The site says as of June 12 there are 39 screenings set up between June 22 and June 24, in such places as San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Auckland, New Zealand.

"There are two ways to fight a battle like ours," said Whedon in a press release. "One is to whisper in the ear of the masses, try subtly and gradually to change the gender expectations and mythic structures of our culture. That's me. The other is to step up and confront the thousands of atrocities that are taking place around the world on an immediate, one-by-one basis. That's a great deal harder, and that's Equality Now. It's not about politics; it's about basic human decency."

Browncoats have organized all of the screenings, with guidance and information from Can'tStoptheSerenity.com, and all money raised will go Equality Now.

"All of us at Equality Now continue to be amazed by and grateful for...Serenity fans' generous and committed support for our work," said Amanda Sullivan of Equality Now.

Premiering in September of 2002, Firefly chronicled the sci-fi adventures of rascally space mercenary Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds and his band of intergalactic cutups. As they conducted smuggling business aboard the spaceship Serenity, they lived on the shady side of the law and always avoided the evil galactic empire.

The show lasted only 12 episodes on Fox, but quickly developed a rabid fan base. Serenity was released in the summer of 2005, and followed the crew as they attempted to protect a mysterious young woman from space assassins.

Whedon is also remembered fondly for his previous contribution to TV mythology--the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.

Founded in 1992, Equality Now is an orginazation dedicated to ending violence and discrimination against women. For a full list of screening and for more information, check out Can't Stop the Serenity.