- Kevin posted a ton of news tonight, commenting on the upcoming auctions and J&SBSB screenings benefiting ACTOR in Chicago. He also goes into detail and gives the final word on that whole Tim Burton thing that went way outta control. The biggest news in this post, though, reveals that the film’s release has jumped back to its original date of August 24th. Whether this is some sort of marketing decision, or just to reflect the date that’s been running in the theatrical trailer and television spots from the start, we’re not sure. At any rate, the other two flicks opening that weekend that Jay & Bob will go up against, The PG-13 rated comedy Bubble Boy, and the R-rated John Carpenter thriller Ghosts Of Mars, will go down in View Askew history one way or another. Ghosts has had no marketing campaign from what we’ve seen here, but Bubble Boy is out to a big start with some extended ads already airing. The more audience-friendly PG-13 will also come into play. Still, with the new ads on the way from Dimension, Jay & Bob have a lot of tricks up their sleeves and can hopefully win over the bigger crowd in 2 weeks. Here’s Kevin with the whole story:
ACTOR
ACTOR (A Commitment to Our Roots) is a charity that Jim McLaughlin at Wizard set up on behalf of old comic book pros who’ve fallen on financially hard times, even though they created characters that’ve populated the four color pages for decades. To help out, View Askew and ACTOR are going to be holding two charity screenings of ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’ on Saturday the 18th, at WizardCon in Chicago. Fifteen bucks will get you one of the two hundred seats at either a 7:00pm or an 11:00 pm screening (that’s four hundred seats total). Both Jay and I will be in attendance (at both the Con itself and the screenings). Tickets will go on sale after my panel.
BURTON
Lest anyone think some sort of holy jihad is brewing betwixt me and the mighty Tim, I’d like to set the record straight here.
I’ve always enjoyed the films of Tim Burton to varying degrees. Nothing’s going to change that.
Yes – I worked on a ‘Superman Lives’ script that he shit-canned when he got the gig helming it. Yes – I’ve told a very long-winded story about the saga of ‘Superman’ at college gigs, comic book conventions, the Stern show, and on Conan O’Brien (only when asked about it, though). Yes – I’ve signed many a bootleg copy of my ‘Superman Lives’ script “Fuck Tim Burton,” (with tongue firmly planted in cheek).
But, no – I do not think the ‘Planet of the Apes’ ending was stolen from the Jay and Silent Bob mini-series ‘Chasing Dogma’, nor am I thinking about taking anyone to court. I called the similarities (which I believe are simply coincidental) to the attention of my good friend Lou Loumenick over at the NY Post and made a few jokey comments about being pissed and litigious that seem to have been taken seriously by a slew of other news outlets (doesn’t anybody pick up a phone to confirm shit anymore, rather than just poaching a piece out of another paper?). This story has gotten way out of hand.
If Tim, indeed, made that statement about never wanting to read anything I created (although, in truth, the statement didn’t come directly from his lips; it was provided by the office of his publicist, Bumble Ward), that’s fine. I’ll still be there on opening day for any Tim Burton movie, and I urge you all to do the same. Because, whether he tells a coherent story or not, he’s still one of the most interesting (albeit testy, apparently) directors working today. And that should always be supported.
So please, folks – let’s drop the call to arms against the guy who gave us ‘Beetlejuice’ just because he’s not a fan of my stuff. Shit, if you’re gonna go on the war-path against every motherfucker who doesn’t care for my particular brand of whimsy, you’ll never have enough energy left to get your asses to the theater on August 24th when ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’ opens.
That’s my ham-fisted way of letting you know that the release date for the flick has been changed yet again. Yes, folks – the flick now opens on Friday, August 24th as originally planned – not on the 22nd. Long story. Don’t ask. Just go. Please.
In other news, today I taped a bunch of wrap-arounds for IFC’s ‘Talking During the Movie’. It airs next week, I believe. Following that, I taped a bunch of wrap-arounds for MTV2. Yesterday, I taped wrap-arounds for the Comedy Central airing of ‘Half Baked’ (which airs right after the ‘Reel Comedy with Jay and Silent Bob’ special).
I’m the wrap-around king.
Tomorrow, Jay and I shoot some commercial spots for the movie, to augment the TV campaign. I’ve watched some excellent new spots this evening that’ll start airing next week, when the MAJOR ad-buy kicks in.
All looks just about set for the opening – two weeks from yesterday.
Since I’m back-and-forth between coasts (and Austin and Chicago) for the next two weeks, we won’t be having a Board screening of the flick in Jersey unfortunately. This bums me out, as it had become something of a tradition since ‘Amy’. If this changes over the course of the next week, I’ll let you know.
That’s all for now.
A final note: The lack of an east coast Jersey screening probably saddens many of you, and as you can see, Kevin certainly wanted to do it as well. Hopefully if another Vulgarthon comes to fruition as it’s been hinted this year, you’ll all have your chance to sit with the fans and check out J&SBSB this fall. We’ll keep you posted, as always. See ya tomorrow.