Since it was intermittantly raining, myself and a few other fans were forced to huddle under a few awnings across the street. For a while I took refuge in the doorway that was used for Holden and Banky’s apartment building in “Chasing Amy.” Kevin Smith’s comic shop, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, had been converted into “Brodie’s Secret Stash.” That’s right- everybody’s favorite “Mallrat” has returned home and opened a comic book shop after serving as host of “The Tonight Show.” Although filming was inside the shop itself mostly obscured, we did see that both Smith and Jason (Jay) Mewes were costumed in the same wardrobe they had at the end of “Dogma”. Jason Lee was also on hand, in his old Brodie costume right down to the t-shirt and brown courduroy jacket.

When lunch was called Smith, Mewes and Lee all came out and signed autographs and posed for pictures with some of the fans who were there. I took the opportunity to saddle up to the Secret Stash’s window and peer in. On one wall is a giant blow up of a fake Variety article detailing Brodie’s departure from the “Tonight Show” headlined “Brodie Bolts!”. I also spoted some dolly tracks on the ground. That’s right, it looks like there’ll be camera moves in this one.

[SPOILER START] The Kid, CHUD’s own scooper deep within the Hollywood elite, has emerged from the land of silicone boobs and cgi to deliver a report straight from the set of Kevin Smith’s magnum opus, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

We all knew Chris Rock was in this one, but did you know what his role is? He’s the director of the Bluntman and Chronic movie, and the Kid tells us he has a great speech where he rails about how the white man has stolen from black culture for years. He goes on about how HE had the idea for Sesame Street and it was stolen from him – except his show was called NWP – Niggaz Wit Puppets.

Last week CHUD told you that Matt Damon was indeed playing Will Hunting in this movie – but the Kid has more details. It turns out that we visit the set of Good Will Hunting 2 (the logo for the movie has the O’s replaced with sniper sites), and it is a recreation of the bar scene from the original. You remember the scene where Matt Damon meets Minnie Driver, and the preppy college kid is trying to put Ben Affleck down, and Will smacks him up with his knowledge? Well, the scene is here, and the Kid swears they got EVERYONE from that scene in the original back for this one (except Minnie Driver). This time, things are a little different, though – when the preppy guy asks Will if he wants to take this outside, Will whips out a gun and blows him away.

The Kid tells us that almost every scene in this movie references another movie in some way. There’s even an ET scene – Jay and Bob are being chased by studio security guards. They have a monkey with them (Suzanne, from the end of Mallrats?). The two come upon a bike, put the monkey in the basket, throw a blanket over her, and fly off.

Finally, the Kid reports that everyone was having a great time – especially Kevin Smith, who he heard say that this would be his last Askewniverse film.. at least for a while. Hmmm…. [SPOILER END]

CHASING DOGMA TP
(W/A)Kevin Smith (I)Duncan Fegredo

Kevin Smith is one of the most popular creators of the modern era, branching out into both comics and film. But, for the first time ever, he’s coordinating a push in the comics market with the release of a new major motion picture!

The film is Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back? Opening Nationwide in August. Image and Graphitti Designs are joining forces to help you create a “Summer Of Smith” leading to the movie’s release.

First up is a full color trade paperback of Chasing Dogma. (The exclusive to comics story that takes place between the films Chasing Amy and Dogma.) Next month, we’ll be offering a new printing of Clerks and, in August, just in time for the movie’s premiere, an all-new Kevin Smith graphic novel: Bluntman & Chronic! And check out the Graphitti Designs listing in the merchandise section for all of the great stuff they’ll have to offer to tie into one of the summer’s guaranteed biggest blockbusters!

It all starts here.

It all starts now!

Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Follow the adventures of the Deadly Jersey Duo, Jay & Silent Bob, as they head out to Shermer, Illinois in search of a John Hughes inspired paradise of their own making. This brilliantly crafted story by Writer/Director Kevin Smith provides a unique bridge between his Chasing Amy and Dogma feature films. Duncan Fegredo’s art is top notch and his attention to detail is over-the-top hilarious. (He’s a favorite among industry pros everywhere.) Includes an introduction by God herself, Alanis Morisette.

MATURE READERS, SC, 7×10, 120pg, FC $15.95

WHEN SHE’S BAD, SHE’S BETTER
Eliza Dushku is hot, and getting hotter.

As Faith, the vampire slayer-turned-rogue-killer with a demon-wannabe sugar daddy, Eliza Dushku bitch-slapped Buffy more than once, and the role also briefly turned her onto the fun side of undead arse-kicking. Dushku’s played the daughter of both Robert De Niro and Arnold Schwarzenegger, wears leather pants so well cows are happy to go to cattle heaven for her, and is rapidly becoming Hollywood’s new ‘It’ girl.

With four movies coming out this year, as well as a role in Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dushku’s future looks movie-star-teeth bright. It’s testament to her abilities, then, that she has managed to shake off the stigma attached to child actors.

Having won a nationwide talent search at the tender age of 10, Dushku landed a role opposite Juliette Lewis in the otherwise forgettable That Night. She followed it up playing Leonardo DiCaprio’s sister in This Boy’s Life, which also featured De Niro as her sadistic stepfather. It was as big Arnie’s tearaway teenage daughter in True Lies that she first stepped into the big league. “It was so much fun,” she later said. “But it was also terrifying for my mother — having to see her 12-year-old hanging 25 storeys above a savings bank with Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

Entering the demon-infested world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an eye-opener for Dushku, who hadn’t seen a single episode of the show. “I showed up at the set for wardrobe fitting,” she recalls of her first day, “and they were like, ‘This is Nick, he plays Xander,’ and I’m going, ‘What’s a Xander? Is he a demon?’ They had to give me 30 tapes to fill up on.” Although she’s no longer a cast regular, Faith lives on in cameos, as well as in the spin-off series, Angel.

Free of any TV commitment, Dushku is making her mark on the big screen. Following a role in last year’s Bring It On, she will appear in Soul Survivors with American Beauty’s Wes Bentley. Then there’s Taking on the Neighbourhood, and after that, she puts on her cheerleader’s skirt again for The New Guy, before the film that should push her into the A-list, City By The Sea.

Rumours of a True Lies sequel are firming up, too, with Dushku keen to get back into action mode. “Jamie [Lee Curtis] actually called me up at home and said, ‘Eliza, this is your mother. I just want you to know I’m telling them True Lies 2 has to be about you.’ I was like, ‘Go for it!’”