- New Stash swag! It’s arrived! You can now get your very own Toronto Film Festival Vulgar poster signed by soon to be world-reknown director Bryan Johnson. Or how about the new Clerks comic hardcover? Maybe a Buddy Christ t-shirt? Very cool stuff, ALL available from the View Askew store, Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. Surf on over and break out those credit cards, folks.
- Here’s some more info for those of you in the midwest anxiously awaiting Kevin’s arrival at Emporia State University: Tickets go on sale October 2nd for the big appearance! Again, it’s happening at 8 PM on November 7th.
- Napster‘s been a big element in the news lately…Did ya see those MTV Awards sketches and references the other week? Kevin’s a part of a New York Times article where 7 folks weigh in with their opinions on the software, which you can check out HERE. Of course, if ya just wanna see Kevin’s part, we’ve got that for ya:
Kevin Smith: The only file sharing I’ve ever been involved with was when I downloaded a copy of Microsoft Word from a guy at Miramax, way back in ‘94. It was a two-year-old program already, and I’ve never updated it since then; I’m still using it. Granted, it wasn’t downloaded via the Internet, but it was technically file sharing. I’ve never understood what the big deal was in regards to Napster and the like. Largely, regardless of downloading activity, if someone likes an artist’s stuff, they’re going to buy the CD anyway. I think the number of those who solely download and opt against buying the CD later is very small. There are plenty of libraries in this country, yet people still buy books. The Napster opponents seem to underestimate the American fascination with ownership, which includes variables like the packaging and, in the case of CDs, lyric sheets and liner notes. ”
- Congratulations yet again to “Vulgar” on another big mention…This time in last Friday’s Entertainment Weekly magazine, along with a still from the flick! Here’s the text:
While Artisan bought nothing, Lions Gate spent a reported $1 million on Weight of Water with Sean Penn and Elizabeth Hurley, and snagged the low-budget comic shocker Vulgar (coexecutive-produced by Kevin Smith) about a gang-raped transvestite clown. ‘It’s rude and crude and brilliant,’ says Lions Gate president Tom Ortenberg. So crude that one female viewer fled during the rape scene (think Deliverence with chattier hicks) to vomit in the bathroom.
- Dogma will be making its cable TV debut on November 11 (a day short of one year from it’s theatrical opening) on the Starz channel. The time is still TBA.
- Finally today, a bit on Project Greenlight
Affleck, Damon To Help New Filmmaker
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who went from obscurity to celebrity for their 1997 screenplay “Good Will Hunting,” will use the Internet to help launch the career of an aspiring filmmaker. The two friends have joined with Miramax and HBO to launch Projectgreenlight.com – the Hollywood phrase used for approving production of a film. “We wish there was something like this when we were trying to break in,” Damon said Friday. Starting Monday, contestants can submit an original screenplay online and join with other budding filmmakers to help choose the winner. The winning screenplay will be announced in March. Miramax will supply a $1 million budget and release the film in theaters. Damon and Affleck will be co-executive producers of the film. Although the actors didn’t rule out starring in the winning film, they would have to take a significant salary cut to keep the movie within its budget. The contest will run through Oct. 22. Until then, contestants can talk about filmmaking in chat rooms on the Web site, a feature the producers say will lend guidance and support to otherwise solitary screenwriters. “At the very least, you will get feedback,” Affleck said. “Ideally, everyone gets something out of this.”
Good luck, and remember, if you get in…We demand premiere invites!
