#9: The film opens with a shot of labourers debating how safe it is towork on the Death Star.

#69: There are constant references to ‘Clerks’ and ‘Mallrats’ in thescript.

Until next time, folks…Thanks for stopping by!

“Batman:The Animated Series transports the most jaded adult viewer back tothose prepubescent days of yesteryear when one held a sense of wonder forsuper heroes in one’s heart. No simple feat, that. But by blending thierunique designs with their superlative gifts for storytelling, Dini and companymanage to make us believe, again, that a man can fly…at least with the aidof the Batwing.”-Kevin Smith, Writer/Director

ANY WORK BY KEVIN SMITH. Despite anu professional criticism Smith may have endured for his three (soon to be four)offerings, his films stand, in my opinion, as some of the sharpest cinematic works of the decade. Smith is continuallyin tune with the preferences of his audience, yet manages to maintain his own creativity and vision — each piece boastsits own merits and threads of innovation. His scripts are insightful, his camera work interesting and his charactershilariously fascinating. Come on, who hasn’t at least chuckled at the antics of recurring characters Jay and SilentBob?

Paltrow To Affleck: Lighten Up

Ben Affleck admits he feels a bit uneasy when girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow does love scenes like the ones in “Shakespeare in Love” with Joseph Fiennes. “How do I react to it? With fury and rage, like a man should act,” Affleck joked at the movie’s premiere last week in New York. The city’s Daily News said Paltrow reassured Affleck, who has a small role in the film, that it’s only a movie. She said Affleck wasn’t around when the love scenes were filmed, but he says he did see some of the kissing shots.

Kevin Smith’s “Psychos”

After catching his new girlfriend (Alyssa Milano) going through his comic-book collection, goatee-sporting Norman Bates (Ben Affleck) decides to do away with her. But then he sees her in the shower with his best friend (Jason Lee) and decides he wants her back. Deadly Weapon of Choice: cutting remarks.

The Most Startling Moment In MPAA Film History…

…can be found in Gus’ ‘Psycho’, when Marian Crane hits the deck in the shower scene, and here it is (Spoilers, people! Spoilers)…

You can just about make out Anne Heche’s asshole.

Rude, but true. I can’t remember another moment in an MPAA rated mainstream release where any browneye was ever featured. I believe this to be a first. As I sat there watching the flick, and the new Ms. Crane was falling forward, I was thinking to myself “The angle her legs are spread at, if they stay on this shot, her bung is going to be on full display,” (these are the things I think about in movies, folks). And sure enough, if you look moderately closely, you can make out her unholiest of holys.

That being said, I left the flick with the feeling that it was an interesting yet unnecessary exercise, this shot-for-shot remake. When the fun of shot-spotting wore off (marveling at how close the whole affair was to the original), all I was left with was the impression that it would’ve been an infinitely more enjoyable film had it NOT been shot-for-shot. The few moments when the film did deviate ever-so-slightly (the killing of Arbogast with those bizarre inserts of the sheep comes to mind), left me wanting far more of that, and far less of the ‘exercise’.

Cast-wise, I found Bill Macy and James LeGros to be improvements over the original. Vince Vaughn – while enjoyable as always to watch – didn’t hold a candle to Anthony Perkins (particularly in the Norman/Mother reveal shot at the end, which – in the original – was way creepier, courtesy of Perkins’ childlike, ear-to-ear grin).Anne Heche was… Anne Heche. Everyone else was fine, butI got the most enjoyment out of Macy and LeGros.

All-in-all, it was worth seeing, but left this rube scratching his head, asking “Why go through all the trouble?”

Enough of that – I mean, it’s hardly ‘on-topic’.

So we got back from the Ranch last night. It was weird, and ironic to be mixing at Skywalker, but all of that paled in comparison to the mix itself. We spent three days temp-mixing the flick for the upcoming test screening (the dates of which have been switched because this little black duck couldn’t keep his fat-trap shut about it) – which, forthe unenlightened, is a quick blending of the dialogue, music, and effects tracks. We go back in late Feb for the final mix, at which time we do a reel a day (as opposed to the eight in three days we just did).

The flick sounds… amazing. This is one temp mix that’s better than some of the final mixes we’ve had on other flicks. Big, BIG sound in some places, crystal clear dialogue tracks, great balance with the temp score. The guys on the team did a phenomenal job; my oh-so-rebelious backwards cap goes off to them.

The Ranch is, as one would imagine, sprawling (hundreds of acres in the midst of what looks like a mountain range). The folks were extremely friendly and way courteous. There is an obvious lack of ‘Trilogy’props and posters missing from most of the buildings, and the housing has rooms named ‘The Rockwell’ and ‘The McKay (as in Windsor)’ as opposed to ‘The Artoo’ or ‘The Nien Numb’. I guess when you’re responsible for some of the most popular films of all time, you don’t feel the need to call much more attention to your work (a lesson I doubt I’ll ever learn; tub-thumping is my middle name).

Ran into Rodriguez there (who’s mixing ‘The Faculty’ on another stage). Scott Hicks (the guy who did ‘Shine’) was also there, mixing ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’.

It’s pretty country if you’re into that sort of thing (which I’m not; give me Jersey any day), and very pastoral.

And no – I saw nothing from ‘The Phantom Menace’. There’s a lockdown on all that stuff, even amongst the staff at Skywalker.

The ‘Clerks’ animated series stuff has heated up incredibly. I should have more news about that within the next two weeks (you’ll never believe what the front-running network is).

‘Daredevil’ #4 is running a little late, due to the holiday last week. It should be out a week from Wednesday.

God-willing, the ‘Clerks’ Holiday Special will ship the week before Christmas.

Duncan’s almost done with ‘Jay and Silent Bob’ number three, so that should be out sometime after the first of the year.

Short of that, there’s not much else to report. I guess the next big-ass update’ll be after our test screening (which I ain’t saying shit about anymore, to avoid getting the hairy-eyeball from the parent company.