- First they brought you their Clerks Tour, then their custom Bluntman and Chronic figures, now Ralph and Mike have done it again, this time with their “Chasing Amy Tour”! They’ve also added a “Meet Jay” section to their growing credits of Askewniverse members with whom they’ve spoken. You can find a link to their main page in our “Links Askew” section. Congrats, guys! Good job!
Archive for August, 1997
Wanna Hear Something REALLY Scary?
- Here’s some frightening news we snagged from the View Askew WWWBoard:
Well I guess the time has come for everyone …and I mean everyone to get online. Jason Mewes is being sent a modem for his cool new laptop by good ole’ me. I would guess he would be online and on the board in about 2 weeks time (with the help of Kevin). I think he will be going through AOL since it is the easiest for beginners to use. So Kevin, If you’re out there please help him out a little with AOL since I know your a master of the AOL universe!!!! When Jason does appear on the board lets give him a great welcome huh? Thanks.
I’m not sure what’s scarier, Jay with a modem or the thought of Jay walking around with a laptop! But seriously, we’d like to extend our warmest welcomes to him once he hits Cyberspace, and definitely look forward to seeing him on the webboards, visiting our website, and sending us threatening e-mails.
Have Jay Dance Around Your Desktop!
- We’ve got a neat little addon for you Windows users out there. Now you can have Jay dance around as your mouse cursor, just like you see in our custom Drinks Askew web buttons! Say goodbye to that flipping hourglass or that stupid little running dog and give your desktop some class! Just download this file, move it to your C:WindowsCursors directory, and select it under your Control Panel. Snoogans!
Rickman Joins Dogma Cast…
- Here’s The Latest Casting Announcement from the Dogma world: Alan Rickman!
Monday August 18 8:08 AM EDT
Smith’s ‘Dogma’ Lures Young Faithful
By Monica Roman
NEW YORK (Variety) – “Chasing Amy” writer/director Kevin Smith has assembled the cast for his new project “Dogma”, a comedic fantasy set against a supernatural background. Linda Fiorentino, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman and Jason Mewes have signed on for the Miramax project, which is scheduled to begin principal photography in February.
“This is no doubt our most ambitious effort to date, with a cast to match,” Smith said. “I only pray I can do the script the justice that I know these all too talented individuals will. Because if this flick doesn’t pan out, it’s back to register jockeying for me.”
Before he became a filmmaker, Smith worked as a cashier. He attracted much acclaim with his 1994 debut “Clerks”, which he followed up with the 1995 flop “Mallrats”. “Chasing Amy”, released earlier this year, restored his reputation as one of the leading independent filmmakers.
Reuters/Variety
Things are looking up! If Rickman continues his usual trend, we can assume he’ll be playing a villain of some sort in this one. Then again, stranger things have happened in a Smith film. Keep coming back here for all the latest Dogma casting info.
“A Better Place” To Be Shown At Festival…
- Let us be the first to say congrats to Vincent Pereira for this cool news about his new flick :
I just got word back from the Hamptons International Film Festival (well, not exactly just- I got the letter at about six P.M., but I’ve been busy at the BIG HELIUM DOG production office all night and just got home), and A BETTER PLACE will be playing there, in competition no less. The fest runs from October 15th until the 19th, and that’s all I know for now (no exact screening date as of yet). The letter of acceptance from the director of the festival was about as glowing as glowing can be. Suffice to say, I’m as excited as hell.
Life is good.
We’re definitely looking forward to seeing this one.
“Amy” Disc Shaping Up Nicely…
- Kevin has informed us that the following people will be joining him for the special commentary track included on the Criterion disc :
Scott Mosier,Jason Mewes, Dwight Ewell, Bob Hawk, and John Pierson.
And if their schedules permit : Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, and Ben Affleck.
Also, besides a few deleted scenes, the disc will contain the theatrical trailers, the Sponge music video, and a short featurette.
Ben Affleck Interviewed For Launch CD-Rom…
- Launch is CD-Based entertainment magazine focusing on music and movies. Issue #14 has a cool interview with Ben Affleck and here’s what their site had to say about it :
Sure, he’s been in such movies as Chasing Amy, Dazed And Confused and School Ties, but the real truth is, Ben Affleck went to college with the guys who founded LAUNCH, so we had to do a story on him. Plus, he’s easy on the eyes and has a sharp wit, to boot. Meet this rising star in our Cinema, where he talks about his upcoming flicks and reveals some twisted details about his personality.
Wanna know where you can buy this cool disc? Just click here!
“Vulgar” Wraps Production…
- Uber-Producer Scott Mosier tells us that Bryan Johnson’s feature-film debut “Vulgar” has wrapped production and is looking pretty damn good. We’re really excited to hear this. If you have any interesting information about this movie or possible festival screenings, let us know and we’ll pass it on. Congrats Bryan!
And Kev Spoke…
- Kevin took some time to give us the full dish on the Dogma casting stuff yesterday. Here’s what he had to say:
Posted by Kevin at 205.164.176.209 on August 14, 1997 at 19:21:14:
…on ‘Dogma’.
As reported in Variety, the lovely and super-talented Linda Fiorentino is Bethany. We’re indescribably happy to have her, of course, and I would’ve let you guys in on it earlier if I could’ve (ah, the ‘Max does like its secrets).
Chris Rock’s in there as well, but he won’t be playing an angel, as pointed out in the piece. Chris is playing Rufus (and if you don’t know who that is…good).
Ben, as was always planned, is playing Bartleby, and Matty Damon is stepping into Loki’s shoes (the role Jason Lee would’ve played). Since Ben and Matt have been lifelong friends, the chemistry between them should be optimal.
Not mentioned in the piece (but then again, it goes without saying) is Jason Mewes (he’s playing… fuck… what’s that character’s name again).
But another key cast member (Metatron) should be announced in a piece that’ll run either tomorrow or Monday (along with some other info).
As I’ve hinted at for some time now, things are shaping up quite well, cast-wise. And we’re not nearly done yet (still to come: Serendipity, Azrael, Cardinal Glick).
It’s going to be one kick-ass flick.
Linda Fiorentino….
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
Well, there ya have it, straight from the horse’s mouth as they say. It’s tough to tell right now whether Jason Lee will even appear in the film or not, but it doesn’t look too promising to me at this point. As always though, I’m sure it’ll work out well, and as Kev says, Matt & Ben should play well off of each other if they’ve been friends.
There has been some concern I’ve noticed from folks about what getting bigger names for an Askew film means. Hopefully, this will allow the film to get more visibility and reach a broader audience. I’m confident that with Kevin’s direction, nothing can go wrong, and I’m sure a lot has been learned from the problems with certain Mallrats cast members (I don’t need to mention NAMES, do I?). I just hope that Jay Mewes gets some scenes with Fiorentino. That would make the ticket price worth it alone.
Dogma’s going to rule. We’ll have more casting info and Dogma news for you as soon as it breaks.
New Episodes of IFC’s “Split Screen”…
- We received this info through Ming at the View Askew site:
The Independent Film Channel presents four new episodes of it’s original magazine show SPLIT SCREEN on a special preview on BRAVO’S “IFC FRIDAYS’ August 15th beginning at 10pm EST.
Split Screen is an irreverent, sly magazine format show which takes an inside look at the tremendous diversity of filmmaking in the United States. Created, written and hosted by long-time producer/talent scout John Pierson, this half-hour series breaks through all the highbrow stuff to illustrate why independent moviemaking is so much fun.
Don’t miss episodes #7 – 10 featuring the increasingly popular trailer, “Swingblade”, where Karl from Sling Blade meets those wild and “money” guys from Swingers, interviews with Steve Buscemi and John Turturro and a intimate look at director Terry Gilliam’s first market reseach screening for 12 Monkeys.
Kevin appeared on Episode #3 of the series, which aired some time ago. If you missed it, a ton of film and sound clips from the show can be found here.Episode #7 will be on Bravo TONIGHT. The “Swingblade” trailer sounds hilarious. We can’t wait to see it.