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.

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]