Q : Why endorse a product you obviously don’t believe in?

A : Have I ever been rabidly anti-Coke on this board? I don’t think so.

I like Coke – hell, who doesn’t? But do I drink Coke much? Not really. Why? Because I’m overweight, and don’t need anymore sugar than I ordinarily take in. So I drink diet Soda. And – to me – the best tasting diet soda on the market: Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi. But in a perfect world what would I rather be drinking? Coke (or Pepsi) – something sweet and syrupy (in fact, fuck the carbonated water, just give me a cup of straight Coke syrup).

But is this any reason to do a commercial? It helps that I do believe in the product to some degree, but even that’s a minor consideration (so long as I’m not making a commercial for ‘Anti-Putty’s Cat-Killing Elixir’ or an Ed Burns flick, I think my ethics are in order).

The real reason to do any job, some would argue, is what one makes to do said job. Does that factor in here? Fuck yes – let’s not be unrealistically, idealistically naive.

For my money, however, the real reason to do any job is for the experience.

One day, this well that keeps me in comics and long coats is going to dry up, and I’ll have no more stories to tell.Will I direct a feature that I didn’t write? As we’ve already established here many times – no. Might commercials be a viable form of gainful employment in my twilight years? Could be.

But in order to find out (if I like the process, if I’m any good at it), I’ve gotta try it out.

And so here we are.

The thing I enjoy about it the most so far is that the lack of authorship in the text allows me to be far more collaborative and laid back in the organization and set-up of the spot – I’m letting people do their jobs, as opposed to taking their responsibilities out of their hands as I usually try to do when making one of our flicks. I think that’s going to rub off in a positive way as we head into the flick that I’m going to have to relinquish more anal retentive control over than I’ve ever had to before (I mean, let’s be honest – I, myself, do not know how to make a CGI shit monster; someone else’s gotta take the reins on that one).

It’s a positive thing all around. I’ve been able to gainfully employ some of my people (who aren’t going to get paid boatloads of cash to work on either the Mtv shorts or ‘Dogma’). I get to stand beside DP Dave one last time before I’m made to stand beside a stranger (but don’t worry – Dave’ll be back on the flick after ‘Dogma’). And I get to watch the Superbowl for once, and actually look forward to seeing something – my commercial.

Believe me – if I ever ‘sold out’, I’d be the first to admit it (why not? I admit everything else in this forum).

But doing a commercial for Coke has not brought me to that point yet. Like those crazy kids in ‘Empire’, I’m selling records (or rather, soda), but I’m not selling out, man.

What about giving something back in the name of VA…I know it will be after the holiday season BUT there is a soup kitchen in Red Bank that could surely replenish their stock of canned goods. What if each one of us brought a can of something. You could have a box in the front of the theater and I would take responsibility for getting the stuff to the kitchen (although I might need some help getting it to my car). Just a thought…I mean 400+ cans of food is a lot and it would be a way for VAers to show their generosity. I’m just throwing it out there…No flames please…it’s too close to Christmas

Movie critic Bob Mondello has a review of the latest film from director Gus Van Sant, called “Good Will Hunting”. The movie was written by and stars two young actors who are getting a lot of buzz in Hollywood…Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Mondello says it’s a wonderful film, and that he would not be surprised to see the film garner Academy Award nominations.The Entire Review (Real Audio Format)

Commentary Clips :

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Following the commentary session, Kevin and friends discussed the shared ordeal of talking about the movie for four hours in a small room, fully equipped with snacks.

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Q : How are you going to be able to sign stuff with 450 people there?
A : I’ll manage (even if it means staying past the last shows).

Q : You said you had a flick order set, did this change because of 2 theaters running now? If there are still set orders what are they?
A : Theatre One: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, A Better Place, and Drawing Flies.
Theatre Two: Drawing Flies, A Better Place, Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy.

Q : Does what time we ordered our tickets matter which theater we get in?
A : I don’t think it matters. But to be honest, I’m not sure how we’re going to do it just yet. It may be by alphabetical order, or it may be first come, first serve.

1. Titanic

2. Boogie Nights

3. L.A. Confidential

4. The Ice Storm

5. The Sweet Hereafter

6. Donnie Brasco

7. In The Company of Men

8. Chasing Amy

9. Amistad

10. The Full Monty

‘Good Will Hunting’ did phenomenal numbers in its limited bow (NY and LA). We’re all very happy about that.

Many thanks to gramp – he dropped off a tape of Ben-on-Len(o).

We’re doing the Mtv shorts next weekend, and I may be directing a Coke commercial the week after that.

Props to all-around decent guy Robert Rodriguez, who talked me down from hysterics over whether or not I could visually pull off ‘Dogma’. I confessed that, at one point, I’d considered handing it over to him to direct (so terrified I was to take on this monster) and – being a big fan of the script – he said he would’ve liked that. Robert was kind enough to help demystify for me what seemed like a daunting task: moving the camera. Many thanks, my friend.

On another name-dropping front, Mark Millar (who had a brilliant run on ‘Swamp Thing’ and now writes ‘The Flash’ with Grant Morrison) dropped me a long letter about his thoughts on the Supes script (which he really liked) and on his Batman/Superman theory, which I thought I’d share with you all:

“Batman is popular during periods of economic stability and nation-wide confidence; a symbol of what can be achieved if we work hard. Superman was created by two kids during the Depression to lift our spirits, and he’s at his most popular in times of crisis and fear. This explains Batman’s popularity in post-war forties, sixties, and eighties, and Superman’s dominance during the thirties, the cold war-fifties, and the oil crisis seventies. A new millienium and the inevitable financial slump which we’re heading for, thanks to the Pacific Rim economic collapse and the introduction of a Eurpean Single Currency, makes me think it’s Superman’s turn to be number one again. People are going to be desperate to see a guy with flight, super-breath and microscopic vision again to provide some form of escape from the down-side of the economic cycle.”

That being said (and said quite well, I might add), he went on to question Jon Peters Batman-like take on ‘Superman Lives’ (which I’ve always objected to for a completely different set of reasons, not the least of which being that Superman is not an angst-ridden character, unless the angst is over his inability to be everywhere at once in an effort to prevent all disasters, deaths, and accidents). He also made mention of two great mini-series’ he’s working on: one’s an Elseworld’s tale about the Man of Steel as raised in another nation (under a Red sun, if you catch my drift), and the other’s a ‘Watchmen with villains. I’m looking forward to both in a big way (if you haven’t read any of Mark’s stuff, I’d suggest picking up the last two years of ‘Swamp Thing’, prior to the book’s finale; the man lived up to Alan Moore’s run on the book – no easy feat, that).

‘Jackie Brown’ premiere tomorrow night!

CONVENIENCE STORE COMICS!

No, no, this isn’t a story about finding comics at the 7-11. This is a story about those wacky Clerks and their arrival in the comic book world! Dante, Randall, and even Jay and Silent Bob are coming from the movie house to your house, courtesy of the man who created them – writer/director Kevin Smith – and Oni Press.

Clerks: The Comic Book #1 marks Smith’s full length comic book writing debut, as he brings the slacker mentality and profane dialogue that made clerks a cult hit to the comic book medium. Trust us – you haven’t seen GenX hip until you’ve seen Smith cut loose! In the premier issue, Randall tries to convince Dante that wealth is a matter of Star Wars collectibles. Hmm. A persuasive argument could be made, to be sure.

Illustrated by Jim Mahfood (who also recently provided art for theGeneration X one-shot), Clerks: The Comic Book promises to be an insightful look into slacker culture, a penetrating glare deep into the heart and soul of America, and a darn comical funny book. The introductory issue also features a cover by none other than Gilbert Hernandez, so what are you waiting for? Clerks has something for everybody, and with Smith at the helm, you’reguaranteed that this is one comic book that will be faithful to the original