- Newsarama does it again! They’ve got a ton of Q&A on the new “Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do”, due out next month from Marvel, and four new pages of glorious art from penciler Terry Dodson. Check it all out at their website.
Archive for May 26th, 2002
Details On Kev’s Hasbro Commercials…
- We haven’t seen the ads airing that much around here just yet, but here’s details on the commercials that Kevin shot to promote 3 new Star Wars-themed games from Hasbro. Rebelscum had the story :
Kevin Smith Strikes Back With New Commercials
HASBRO GAMES BRINGS TALENTS OF DIRECTOR KEVIN SMITH TO TV COMMERCIALS FOR NEW STAR WARS BOARD GAMES
EAST LONGMEADOW, MA (May 22, 2002) – In his latest project, noted Actor/Director Kevin Smith takes the helm to direct television commercials for two of Hasbro, Inc.’s (NYSE:HAS) new Star Wars licensed board games. The commercials for STAR WARS: EPIC DUELS game and THE GAME OF LIFE: A JEDI’S PATH are on TV now.
Smith, an avid Star Wars fan, brings his creativity and humor to the spots, which highlight the exciting game play, as well as offer viewers a close-up look at the detailed playing pieces. In the STAR WARS: EPIC DUELS commercial, four boys joke and taunt one another as they battle to become the best Star Wars hero. While in the spot for THE GAME OF LIFE: A JEDI’S PATH, a boy’s imagination transforms a simple half-moon cookie into a battle of the “light side” versus the “dark side.”
“When I was growing up I watched Star Wars commercials, and now, years later, I’m thrilled to be the guy directing them,” said Smith. “It brings you full circle. It’s nice to go back to being a kid again, surrounded by all these games and toys, and being the guy that actually makes the commercial.”
“Kevin’s passion for all things Star Wars made him a great choice for directing these ads,” explains John Chandler, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Hasbro Games. “This really translated into a great ad campaign in which we were able to convey the enthusiasm for the Star Wars experience, the fun of playing games and Kevin’s talent as a director.”
Grey Worldwide, the advertising agency that created and produced the spots, worked with Hasbro to bring Smith in to direct them. Smith, best known for acclaimed films including Chasing Amy, Mallrats, Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Dogma, pays homage to the movie saga by incorporating Star Wars references and quotes into each of his films. A few examples include:
– Carrie Fisher (PRINCESS LEIA) appears in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
– Quoting YODA from The Empire Strikes Back, Silent Bob says, “Do or do not, there is no try.” (Chasing Amy)
– In Clerks, there is a reference made to construction workers rebuilding the DEATH STAR in Return of the Jedi.
About the Games
THE GAME OF LIFE: A JEDI’S PATH, is similar to the original GAME OF LIFE, where players must make choices about their destiny. As players move aspiring Jedi around the board (passing tests, doing battle, learning lessons, going on missions and building their light sabers), they build their connection to the Force in four ways – Logic, Intuition, Fighting and Energy. Along the way, players can choose the JEDI path or the riskier/quicker “Dark Path.” At the end of the game the mightiest JEDI and the darkest SITH square off to determine the most powerful Force-user in the Galaxy.
STAR WARS: EPIC DUELS is a game of creativity and “what-ifs,” and like the Star Wars movies, is filled with classic one-on-one duels. In this game, players can relive these movie moments* and even create never-before-seen battles. Players decide who is the greatest Star Wars warrior of all time. Is it ANAKIN or LUKE? Would LUKE SKYWALKER have beaten DARTH MAUL? Could YODA have taken on the EMPEROR in the second Death Star? The STAR WARS EPIC DUELS game allows Star Wars fans to pit almost any Star Wars character from any released episode against another Star Wars character. Game play takes place on one of four battle venues. Players take on the role of their character and duel their opponent. Over 30 painted figures. Each character comes with its own card deck and own strategy.
THE GAME OF LIFE: A JEDI’S PATH is suitable for players ages 9 and up, while STAR WARS: EPIC DUELS is created for players ages 8 and older. Both are available at retailers now for the approximate retail price of $19.99 each.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Kevin gets a mention in an article talking to filmmakers about the importance of finding someone to unlikely endorse their film (i.e. The Evil Dead’s quote by Stephen King) at Film Treat:
My own company, FilmThreat.com, was in need of its own champion for our first DVD release. The feature-length documentary Starwoids, about a bunch of Star Wars fans waiting in line for the Episode I premiere, already had a great sales angle — Star Wars. More than a few people have heard of that film. But how to sell a doc? Asking DVD consumers to watch an entertaining doc can be like asking a kid to eat vegetables. We had to get creative. We knew we needed someone to endorse the film and give it even more credibility. Someone who could elevate an already great doc and make it a must see. We settled on independent director Kevin Smith. He perfectly represents the Star Wars Generation to fans. Smith liked the film enough to record some voice-over narration and even provided a 10-minute interview about Star Wars’ influence on his films which became an extra on the DVD. Selling Starwoids with Kevin Smith’s endorsement became a lot easier. (And damn if I’m not grateful to him for it.) His affiliation gave us the credibility to get the film into retail chains and filmmaker Dennis Przywara will actually make more than twice his money back on his indie doc.
Now, most might think that a movie reviewer might make a good champion. And they often do. But more often, an endorsement from an unlikely source will provide a much better way to get attention. Just ask my pal Silent Bob.
You can read the entire article, called “Find A Champion For Your Film”, HERE.
- We got sorta late notice on this, but Affleck guested on the now cancelled Politically Incorrect on Friday night, where he dominated a lot of the discussion. If we hear of a rerun, we’ll let ya know. Affleck was likely there to promote “The Sum Of All Fears”.
- The Preview channel (on most cable systems) has been showing short interviews with Chris Rock, Shannon Elizabeth and others from Jay & Bob to promote the flick’s playing on pay-per-view.
- Catch some Askewers, past and present, on UK TV this month:
Deception (aka Reindeer games) – Friday 7th June at 21:00 Sky MovieMax
Mallrats – Tuesday 28th May at 22:00 and Monday 3rd June at 00:30 on The Studio
Titan AE (Voiced by Matt Damon)
Starting: 18:00 on Friday 24th May. Showing on Sky Premier Widescreen.
Starting: 03:55 on Saturday 25th May. Showing on Sky Premier Widescreen.
Starting: 10:55 on Tuesday 28th May. Showing on Sky Premier 1.
Starting: 18:15 on Tuesday 28th May. Showing on Sky Premier 1.
Starting: 16:00 on Saturday 1st June. Showing on Sky Premier Widescreen.
The Talented Mr Ripley (Matt Damon)Starting: 00:45 on Tuesday 28th May. Showing on Sky Premier 4.
Starting: 03:05 on Sunday 2nd June. Showing on Sky Premier 1.
Oprah (Matt Damon Guest Appearance)Starting: 13:30 on Wednesday 29th May. Showing on Channel 5.
Big Daddy (Joey Lauren Adams)Starting: 21:30 on Saturday 25th May. Showing on Sky Premier 1.
Starting: 22:40 on Friday 31st May. Showing on Sky Premier 3.
Starting: 20:00 on Wednesday 5th June. Showing on Sky Premier 4.
Mumford (Jason Lee)
Starting: 02:00 on Sunday 2nd June. Showing on Sky Premier Widescreen.
- This month’s edition of Skateboarder magazine features a small collage of Jason Lee back in his skating days.