- Yep, we know that some of you lucky folks have gotten their discs in the past 2 days, but we, unfortunately, had to wait until today, the official release date. Anyway, Chris just called to tell me he’s got the disc and we’re PSYCHED! Fans who have written us so far tell us that the disc is outstanding. The commentary track is supposedly excellent, not to mention all the extras on (and within) the disc, including the View Askew time line, a map of the film’s locations, and of course all those extra scenes & outtakes that you can’t get anywhere else. If you’ve got a laserdisc player, GO BUY THIS DISC!!! If not, go buy a laserdisc player, THEN GO BUY THIS DISC!!!
Archive for December, 1997
END OF THE YEAR EDITORIAL
- Hey folks. Well, here we are. The end of 1997. Looking back on all that’s happened (Which is pretty easy to do with our handy-dandy Archives section), it’s certainly been a pretty eventful year in the world of View Askew. This year, we not only saw the release of the critically-acclaimed “Chasing Amy” in theatres and the home, but learned of some incredible casting for Kevin’s next film, “Dogma”.
View Askew gained a great deal of visiblity in the press this year, from it’s spinoff projects (“A Better Place”, “Big Helium Dog”, “Vulgar”), Kevin’s upcoming comics, MTV shorts, and Coke commercial, and of course the aforementioned “Chasing Amy”.
Finally, this year marked the debut of this here site, News/Drinks Askew. Back during our humble beginnings in July, we never expected the site to take off and gain the acceptance and exposure that we’ve seen thus far. We’d like to send many thanks to first, the folks at View Askew that wrote and supported us: Kevin Smith, for letting us know that he enjoys the site and initiating the effort to link us from the View Askew homepage; Ming, for executing that plan and giving us the visibility that let the site grow to what it is; Vincent, for being a good friend and an excellent contact to everything Askew, and for inviting us to Red Bank for an outstanding day (See the BHD Diary) in the links; and finally, Brian Lynch, for all his compliments and allowing us to invade his turf (and his movie!).
Most importantly, thanks to ALL OF YOU. Look at that hit counter. Over 40,000 visitors in under half a year! Not bad at all. Also, to everyone who’s sent in a scoop, you’re the folks that allow this site to continue providing the timely information that it does. Many thanks!
We’ll, I suppose that’s enough babbling for one day, I’ve got some New Year’s Eve festivites to attend, AND a Chasing Amy laserdisc to watch. Happy New Year to you all, and we’ll see you in 1998!
-Brad & Chris
Commentary
Sorry for the delay…Ya know how it is…Holidays and all. You’re all doing great at getting our hit counter up there, but we’re still a far cry from our desired 50,000 mark by VulgarThon. Doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen, but dammit, we’re still gonna try! Tell all your friends to visit us this week! On with da news…
View Askew NewsBites™
- In the newly released Tick holiday comic, The Tick Big Yule Log Special, released by New England Comics Press, the chasing Amy movie poster makes an appearance. On page 18, panel 5, just after the Tick jumps the Evil Elf, we see the Elf trying to take some chinese finger traps off his hands. In the background of this panel is a movie store and in the store window is the poster! Thanks to BabaLou for digging up this obscure newsbite!
- Matt Damon will be making another TV appearance tonight. This one’s on the David Letterman show. Be sure to check it out. Thanks to Carrie for the scoop!
- The ‘Oni Double Feature’ comic is due to ship to comic book stores mid-January. Can’t wait!
DirecTV’s Amy Write-Up…
- Michael Williams dropped us a line with this brief piece on Chasing Amy that appeared in his TV Guide…We thought you might like to give it a read:
Smith and Lesson
by Scott Barwick
If there’s one word to describe Kevin Smith’s filmmaking style, he’ll readily admit it’s “poor.” “I have zero visual talent,” states the 27-year-old writer-director of Chasing Amy, “but I have a good ear fordialogue.”
If you caught Smith’s debut, Clerks, this last fact is obvious. “I just filled [it] with the stuff you sit around and jaw with your friends about,” he says, noting that he learned to follow that old axiom: write what you know. ” I put things up there I identify with. By virtue others identify with it as well.”
Barring a twist or two, Chasing Amy is another good example. “A guy who can’t get over his girlfriend’s past hits very close to home. It’s a snapshot of my relationship with [star] Joey [Lauren Adams], except Joey wasn’t gay, and I [didn’t fall] in love with a lesbian.”
Amy Tops More Charts…
- Thanks to Gramp for letting us know that Chasing Amy has made the top 10 of two more charts, according to Microsoft Cinemania. Critics Andy Klien and Leonard Maltin both put the flick in their top 10. For the curious here’s their complete lists:
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| 1 … L.A. Confidential | 1 … CHASING AMY | ||
| 2 … Lost Highway | 2 … Boogie Nights | ||
| 3 … Schizopolis | 3 … As Good As It Gets | ||
| 4 … Face/Off | 4 … L.A. Confidential | ||
| 5 … Men In Black | 5 … Donnie Brasco | ||
| 6 … Happy Together | 6 … Titanic | ||
| 7 … Amistad | 7 … La Promesse | ||
| 8 … Deconstructing Harry | 8 … Deconstructing Harry | ||
| 9 … CHASING AMY | 9 … The Sweet Hereafter | ||
| 10 .. Hercules | 10 .. The Full Monty |
Kevin Resurfaces…
- Well it’s been a while, but Kevin’s finally back with one of his informative posts. There’s some very interesting tidbits contained within…
So we wrapped the Coke commercial on Tuesday morn, and I’ve gotta say – the whole experience was a lot of fun. It’s probably the most visually interesting thing I’ve done, and it was great practice for ‘Dogma’. Dave did a hell of a job, and the talent turned in great performances. I really enjoyed the whole thing, and in the end, there was a sense of authorship to the spots. I’m glad I did them.
The plan is to premiere them during the Superbowl, but if that doesn’t pan out, then they’ll debut during the winter Olympics. I’ll let you know when they’re going to run.
My last thought on the spots concerns Mike Starr. It’s a name you’re probably not that familiar with, but he’s a guy you’ve definitely seen before (Bill Murray’s muscle in ‘Mad Dog and Glory’, the idea-man in the Lufthansa heist in ‘Goodfellas’, the guy trapped in a car with a singing Jim Carrey in ‘Dumb and Dumber’).
The man was beyond terrific; one of the most insightful actors I’ve ever worked with, who made choices that just blew me away (and remember: these are only thirty second spots). I can’t say enough great things about this man. Suffice to say, he’s going to turn up in one of my flicks somewhere along the line.
I saw all the footage for the Mtv Jay and Silent Bob spots. It all looks great, and man is it funny. Scott and I start cutting them on the 29th, and they should start airing around Feb/March (at which time, look for the catchphrase “Give me some puppet brown!” to sweep the nation).
We’ve only a little over a week until V-day. Ironically enough, one of the flicks we’re booting out of the theatre for a day is ‘Good Will Hunting’ (which is now out on about four hundred or so screens; if you haven’t already been blown-away by it, I implore you to seek it out this weekend).
If anyone happened to tape the Charlie Rose with the Quentin praise of ‘Amy’, could you send it to the office?
And finally, I think we’ve located a church for ‘Dogma’, which would then dictate where the shoot will wind up (or at least, a large part of it). Ready for irony number two?
It’s in Metropolis.
So to speak.
Chicago Tribune Article Online…
- Major props go out to Frank Gallagher for typing in the WHOLE Ben Affleck article that we mentioned a few days ago. Click HERE to read it.
Tarantino Digs “Amy”…
- We’ve gotten a few e-mails from people who spotted Quentin Tarantino on the “Charlie Rose Show” the other night. When asked what his favorite movie of the year was, he said “Chasing Amy”! We’ve looked all around for an actual transcript of the show, but we came up empty. If you can find one, please e-mail us! In the meantime, here’s a few scooper’s summaries of the whole incident..
1Chasing Amy being named to those Top Ten lists is an honor, but tonight Iheard the biggest honor I’ve heard yet. On the Charlie Rose Show (a highly respected interview program on PBS), Quentin Tarantino was on and was asked what the best film of the year was. Almost without hesitation he said,”Chasing Amy”!!! He said that that was the film that “stuck” with him the most of everything he’s seen this year. He even talked about Kevin for a moment also, praising him for making it. He said something to the effect that it was the biggest turn he ever saw a director take, and that he couldn’t believe he put such an intense personal story on the screen. Don’t quote me, but that was the gist of it. Another major critic was on and agreed with Tarantino as well. I was psyched to hear it, as I’m sure your readers will be as well. [Dave Bednar]
2Hey, love the site…I saw QT on Charlie Rose today (12/24) in a round table with 3 film critics. When asked their fave flicks of the year, one critic said “Titanic,” one said “L.A. Confidential” and one said “Chasing Amy”. Charlie started to go to another subject when Q said, “Wait, I didn’t get to say my favorite.” When queried, he replied,”Chasing Amy”. I can’t quote him exactly, but he said he liked it because 1) it stuck with him and 2) Kevin Smith made such a big jump with this flick he must’ve gotten a nosebleed. He said some more nice stuff about it, but I can’t remember. In non-Askew news, he also explained his flick (Jackie Brown) to the 3 critics, none of whom really liked it, saying it was too long. It was a slightly tense moment and I was waiting for him to punch someone, but he was like Fonzie. [Rob Unck]
