History According to Damon and Affleck

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are flexing their newfound Hollywood muscle by bringing the work of one of their favorite leftist historians to the small screen. Fox has announced that the Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting scribes will produce a 10-hour miniseries based on Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present. The book, which was released in 1980 and won a National Book Award the following year, traces an alternative history of America, as told from the point of view of blacks, women, war protesters, Native Americans, and the poor.

What’s the connection? Fans of Good Will Hunting will remember that Zinn’s book was featured prominently in the flick. Take that scene in the bar where Damon’s character quotes Zinn to cut a Harvard student down to size-and impress Minnie Driver at the same time. Later, when Will is interviewing for a job at a defense agency and spouts off about the military industrial complex, and how his genius will be exploited to bomb poor people in other countries, that’s also Zinn. He even tells Robin Williams’ psychiatrist character that A People’s History “will knock you on your ass.” Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the author is also a friend of the Damon family, and has known the now red-hot actor since he was a child.

According to the New York Times, a Fox exec caught the Zinn references in Good Will Hunting and approached Damon and Affleck about bringing the historian’s unique perspective to the couch potatoes of the nation. But don’t look for this project to be an all-out documentary. Instead, Fox is describing it as “youth-oriented” take on U.S. history.

“We’re not doing the book,” David Grant, president of Fox Television Studio, tells the Times. “It’s a dramatic work. It’s not a political piece. The book is really the inspiration for Matt and Ben to tell stories.”

The miniseries is expected to air in 1999.

And, the news you’ve been waiting for: Jay and Silent Bob #2 is scheduled to ship NEXT WEEK according to this report! Now, we usually hear from Joe At Oni Press well before a book ships, so we’ll do our best to contact him for verification on this. I would say don’t hold your breath, though.

This month’s Previews finally officially announces the J&SB figures for October shipping. Seeing as how the first wave of Big Blast figures is three or so months late, our scooper says not to expect these to ship on time. We’ll try and find out more. Last we’d heard, all was on schedule.

Oni Double Feature #1 and Clerks #1 both listed on the Wizard top ten for the second month in a row at numbers 2 and 6 respectively. (our scooper actually sold a Clerks #1 at his store for $20!).

Also, Kevin Smith showed up as #8 on the Wizard Top Ten Writers list. Congrats on another achievement, Kev! Bet you didn’t think you’d end up on THAT list when you started making flicks.

It’s the return of Dante, Randal, and those two loveable drug dealers!

Straight from the heart of Dogma country (15 minutes from “St. Michaels”, actually) the Waterworks Cinemas in Pittsburgh, PA is proud to announce CLERKS as part of its MIDNIGHT MOVIE SERIES.

(Also showing in August will be MEANING OF LIFE, AUSTIN POWERS, and an INDIANA JONES flick).

CLERKS will run August 7 & 8th at midnight only. Tickets are $5.00.

Call (412) 784-1416 for directions or further information.

On signed Stash stuff, Ben says, “I will send some stuff to Kevin soon. I am also talking to Ming (you board-regulars will be relieved to know) about my own website, where I will probably sell GWH related stuff to cover costs…”

Also, a very reliable ANONYMOUS SOURCE reports to us that the name Ben Affleck has indeed been on the lips of Benjamin Melniker and Michael Uslan, the executive producers of the Batman movies. Now, this doesn’t mean any offers have been made, or even phone calls, but he has definitely been named as a possibility.