England (my gland, your gland, whatever) was great. Nonstop interviews with interesting cats who had interesting things to say about the film (though, for those who would cast living poop in a movie one day, you might want to think twice; walking shit doesn’t go over big in the UK.) Saw the mag reviews of the flick already (Total Film – 2 stars; Empire and Film Review – 3 stars; Q and Uncut – 4 stars (and film of the week/month status; heard the Loaded review was pretty good too). Nice stuff all around (and some nice features in some of those mags as well; thanks, folks.) The FilmFour folks are great, and their campaign is quite cool and different. They’re also offering a ‘net screening for the hardcore UK fans (all three of them) that you can score tix for by hitting their official site. They’re unsure of how many folks will turn out for this screening, so if you’re on the fence about going, I say give it a shot. Chances are, you’ll get in.
Got to have some dinner with Alan while I was there. He’ll be heading stateside soon for lots of ‘Galaxy Quest’ press. He’s doing Conan mid-December. Watch for that appearance.
Did ‘The Big Breakfast’ with the incomparable Johnny Vaughn. The man’s a genius. I wish I lived in England for no other reason than to watch his show every morning.
Got to meet the board’s own Boyd as well, who’s writing for Heat magazine (which is kind of like Entertainment Weekly, but British.) We spent most of our interview disecting this board and its comings and goings. Fun stuff, that.
The weirdest and most memorable moment of the UK leg came while I was mid-interview with a music mag, and suddenly Gabriel Byrne pops his head in to say ‘hi’. I was nearly speechless. I mean – this is Mister ‘Miller’s Crossing’ we’re talking about (”I was just in the neighborhood, feeling a little daffy.”) He said he dug the flicks and was off just as quickly as he came, with me only able to sputter how much of a ‘Miller’s Crossing’ fan I was. Weird, small world.
After that it was off to Paris for a four day stay at the Bristol Hotel, where Jen and I ate the best food either of us have ever tasted (and believe me – I’ve tasted me some food in my day; often too much.) It was such an exquisite culinary experience that I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to slum it again with the bland, boring shit that passes for cuisine hear in the states. If you ever get a chance, go to Paris and eat at the Bristol. I suggest the filet of beef.
The press there was cool, but awkward – as English is no journalists’ first language, and I’m too fucking American to bother learning a foreign tongue (damn to hell our global arrogance.) Saw the French poster, which has the movie subtitled as ‘God and His Pals Finally Land on the Earth’. God bless the French. They’re so… French.
The other celebrity meet-and-greet on the trip was Eddie Izzard, who was doing this same French talk show I was on. The strange thing is that I’d picked up all his concert shows on tape while I was there and was watching and re-watching them prior to learning we’d be dressing room neighbors. If you haven’t caught his HBO special ‘Dress to Kill’, please do. The man is a brilliant comedian. Fucking brilliant. I was reduced to fanboy mode shaking the dude’s hand, and found myself babbling in his presence, proving once again that the only thing that seperates me from you guys is luck and timing and not much else. I, too, can be just a big, goofy geek sometimes – especially in the presence of someone I admire and respect. Like Izzard.
Or my wife. And what a wife she is. Excellent traveling companion, our for Ms. Schwalbach. I’d recommend her to you, but she’s all mine, thank God. So back off.
Got to shop in Paris. Hit some comic book stores where I found the French editions of the Daredevil stuff. I bought a few copies for the grandkids I hope I’ll have one day – sort of a “Gather ’round, youngun’s, and let Grandpa Kev tell ya’ll ’bout the time I wrote me one of them Eur-o-pean comic books” thing.
Did the most American thing I could while I was there as well, by spending a day at Disneyland Paris – the third happiest place on earth. You can buy beer in the park, which could only make something like Mister Toad’s Wild Ride (which – yes – they have) even more interesting. If you go, though, you’ll want to skip the park food – particularly the Mexican restaurant. It was – shall we say? – fucking gross (the food, not the park; the park was the same as it is here in the U.S., only much smaller.)
All in all, a great trip. The movie seems to be playing well over there, so hopefully, it’ll pan out for the foreign distribs.
A shout-out to James, our hand-holder who made us feel right at home in a land very, very far from Red Bank. Cheers.
And that’s about that – at least for now. Missed you guys, missed NewsAskew (as much as you think you’re addicted to that site, imagine how much I need a daily fix of Brad and Chris’ scoops.) Glad to be back in Jersey. Glad to be back here. Glad the movie’s still playing. Glad to see the baby again.
Heck – just glad in general, I guess
Who knows though, maybe it’s all the craziness with the move, or the unseasonably warm weather (though it’s still only in the 20’s in the mornings around here), but it just doesn’t feel much like Christmas this year! Maybe it’s just because we’re so busy with other stuff that there’s no time to think of it. Who knows? At any rate, time sure does fly. Remember when you were a wee lad or lass and every passing day before Christmas seemed like an eternity? If only things seemed to fly by then as fast as they do now!
And by the way, did any of you see that South Park Christmas special last week? Man, those guys are brilliant.
Anyway, enough of the commentary, because the News Askew just keeps a-rollin’ in! Once again, we’re going to catch you up on the latest goings-on in the UK, where Dogma’s release is just a few short weeks away. Kevin’s even back from his trip over there, and we’ve got a long post from him on what he was up to just ahead. In addition to that, a few other tidbits, all Dogma-related we believe, and a new article over on RC from the Philadelphia Inquirer called “Moviegoers Get Lesson In Morals” which is a very thoughtful and flattering take on Dogma. Thanks to Movi-robb, Greg Lester, & Darth Mabel for letting us know about it.
A. Not all films with Catholic themes are so knowledgable. I just saw “End of Days,” in which Arnold Schwarzenegger does combat with Satan. The theology is not sound, but the plot is certainly incomprehensible, absent and strange.
That about does it for today, though at this rate we’re sure there’s gonna be more for tomorrow! We’ll catch ya then.
They have ALSO re-confirmed that Dogma will be released on the 26th, however, it seems it won’t be getting a general release in Ireland. They could only confirm about 7 cinemas in the North where it is going to be shown. They did say that there would be a “second wave” of release, which will be in the New Year.
