UGO: 10 years later, without being too specific, can you tell us anything about how the character of Randall has evolved in the new script?

JEFF: Randall has evolved, but the only thing I can say without being too specific is that he’s still Randall. Pain in the ass…funny…still Randall.

UGO: Will you be reprising multiple roles in the Clerks sequel?

SCOTT: At this point we haven’t really discussed any of the day players. It’s mostly the lead right now. As far as the day players go, we haven’t really talked about who’s playing what.

UGO: Have you read any of The Passion of the Clerks yet?

BRIAN: Yeah. I’ve read two drafts of it now, and it’s hysterical. It really brings back the old school flavor of Kevin’s films with Clerks. We’re not going out to many locations and we’re not bringing in tons of cameos. It’s a very simple story about the relationship between two guys, how its evolved over ten years, and where it’s going.

Kevin Smith – Writer, DAREDEVIL

Professionally?
I had fun.
I gained respect from folks I wouldn’t have otherwise been respected by.
I earned legitimacy in a field I’ve always adored.
I got to work with good friends on something we all believed in, and helped restore an amazing character to its former greatness.
I fulfilled another life-long dream.
Personally? Well, that’s personal.

Jimmy Palmiotti – Inker, DAREDEVIL

For me, it was an exciting time to be working in comics and when Joe and I created Marvel Knights, the first character we asked for was Daredevil. At that time, the book was being cancelled and we thought we could bring the numbers and interest back up to where it should be. The run with Kevin Smith and Joe was a lot of fun and having been a fan since the book began, I took special pleasure in interpreting all the characters in this modern version and then seeing what we did make it to film. Probably the most fun was doing the Wizard 1/2 featuring Daredevil. I got to work on the cover and ink John Romita, as well as pencil a piece that was inked by my favorite, Kevin Nowlan. All around, working on the title was a great experience.

Joe Quesada – Penciller, editor, DAREDEVIL

I guess I could say it’s a dream project to be working on Daredevil but that wouldn’t be doing it justice. Working on DD, for me, has been almost therapeutic in nature and completely life altering. Matt Murdock and his life are so Shakespearean, that you to work out a lot of your own personal demons as you create stories for Matt and his world. But more importantly, I will eternally be indebted to Matt and DD, he is the character that has changed my life and I guess by virtue of that changed Marvel. If it wasn’t for DD flagshipping Marvel Knights with Kevin Smith, MK wouldn’t be the success that it turned out to be. It’s “the little imprint that could!” From there DD helped get me this very cool job I now have as EiC. So, although Spidey and X-Men are the big players here at Marvel, it took a little guy dressed in red to change the direction of the company and my life completely.

Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?

The Godiva Truffle Celebrity Dinner Auction

How great would it be to say to someone, “I’ve got to run, I’m having dinner with Ben Affleck tonight.” Or, “I’m sorry, I can’t make it, I’m meeting Sarah Jessica Parker.” Well, the opportunity could be yours. Bid on a dinner party for eight, with your favorite celebrity (Ben Affleck! Sarah Jessica Parker! Leonardo DiCaprio! Ricky Martin! Benjamin Bratt!) prepared by an acclaimed chef (Mario Batali! Gary Danko! Todd English! Allen Susser! Govind Armstrong!), all inspired by the launch of The 2004 Limited Edition Truffle Collection by Godiva. With each of these exotic new truffles inspiring a unique menu and experience, you can bid on “Mojitos in Massachusetts” with Ben Affleck, dinner prepared by Todd English, or “Sex and the Solstice” with Sarah Jessica Parker, dinner prepared by Mario Batali. Absolutely all proceeds will go to the charity of the celebrity’s choice, so you can name drop and be generous, both at the same time.

So remember, you, seven of your nearest and dearest and your favorite celebrity. Pick their brains, flirt shamelessly, eat fabulous food and Godiva truffles galore, and of course, talk about it nonstop the next day. And the next day. And the next day. All for a very good cause.

Bidding starts 9/23 (5pm PDT) and ends 10/3 (5pm PDT).

Actors Ben Affleck, David Schwimmer and William H Macy are to star in a comic feature set around an international poker tournament, the
trade publication Variety reported today.

The movie is to begin shooting in February at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas.

Its production comes after poker tournaments have emerged as a surprise hit on American reality television in recent years.

The movie will be directed by independent-filmmaker Zack Penn, who plans to let the actors – most of whom are dedicated poker fans –
improvise their lines.

Since last year George Lucas has been dropping hints regarding the possibility of a TV series. Today they are no longer hints. On USA Today, the TV series was confirmed by Lucas and now most recently the President of Lucas licensing, Howard Roffman, has quoted stating that a live action TV Series will indeed hit airwaves by fall of 2006.

George Lucas is not expected to direct or have anything to do with the day to day operations. Lucas during his USA Today interview said “Ultimately, I’m going to probably move it into television and let other people take it…..You know, I’ve got offshoot novels, I’ve got offshoot comics. So it’s very easy to say, “Well, OK, that’s that genre, and I’ll find a really talented person to take it and create it.” Just like the comic books and the novels are somebody else’s way of doing it. I don’t mind that. Some of it might turn out to be pretty good. If I get the right people involved, it could be interesting.

All indications from Skywalker Ranch point to George wanting to find someone to take creative control from his hands. George will remain as an “Executive Producer” but wants to have a creative team including veteran sci-fi writers and directors. The most interesting thing is that George is wanting to hand over the reigns of Star Wars to someone who will respect the films and is actually a fan of the saga. One name keeps popping up during my calls to my “Ranch” associates as a perfect candidate to become “Lord” over Star Wars. According to Lucasfilm insiders George would like someone with writing and directing experience and that already has a connection with the fan base and also be an independent film maker.

So who is this “Fan Boy” that Lucasfilm would like to recruit? Before I drop any names I am sure that plenty of you guys and gals will think that I am absolutely crazy and out of my mind. The first name that I was given was no other than Kevin Smith. “Kevin Smith would be the ideal person to handle a Star Wars TV series”, the IESB was told. “He is well recognized with the fandom and he was worked on some capacity with Lucasfilm during a Hasbro commercial a few years back, he is also a very good writer,” said the source.

So would Kevin Smith be interested in getting involved in some capacity with Star Wars TV? You normally don’t get directors from the big screen go to the small screen but if there is any truth to these speculations we might have the best of Star Wars ahead of us. But as much optimism there is from one side of the Ranch there is also some pessimism. “I just hope that he [George] doesn’t just do the TV series for the money that it will make and end up giving us a weekly kiddie show, he needs to learn from the mistakes from Star Trek and give sci-fi fans a quality show,” said the source.

In a recent interview that we had with Star Trek head honchos Rick Berman and Manny Coto we asked them what kind of advice they would offer George Lucas regarding a weekly Star Wars TV series. “Its one thing to have three years and over a 100 million dollars to create a one 2 hour movie compared to 22 to 26 one hour episodes in a year with a very limited budget and still have to remain fresh in the eyes of your audience”, said Berman. Manny Coto also had a good point when he said ” You have to concentrate on the story and also the characters and not make a weekly special effects show.” When asked if he had any other advice for George, “He can always hire me if Enterprise doesn’t work out”.

So who will helm the new Star Wars TV series? Who ever it is will probably be brought aboard right after ROTS premieres in May 2005. A fall 2006 release would give Lucasfilm one year to get the TV series ready to blast off.

When I went to the Buena Vista Home Entertainment event a few weeks ago, this was the title Kevin Smith was obviously most invested in, and seeing the disc, it’s obvious why. This is a celebration of Kevin’s roots, a look back at the thing that started everything else in his career. It’s also one of the most inspirational looks at low-budget filmmaking since Robert Rodriguez’s REBEL WITHOUT A CREW. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this became the thing that sets off a whole new batch of indie voices in the years ahead.

Miramax has packed these three discs full, so it’s worth picking up even if you already have the film on DVD. The first disc should look familiar. It’s the film you’ve seen before (although it’s a nice new transfer of it) along with the old audio commentary. You know… the one where they’re on the set of MALLRATS and Mewes falls asleep under the editing console. I’m glad they preserved this one, because it’s a record of a particular era in Smith’s development. The rest of the disc has some great stuff on it, like the animated segment, “CLERKS: THE LOST SCENE,” a music video, some funny MTV spots, new intros to the restoration, and audition tapes for the film. Disc Two is the original cut of the film, the one that first caught John Pierson’s attention, and it’s nice to see what a big impact a few small specific changes can have on a film’s overall effectiveness. The new commentary track here is loads of fun with Smith, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Scott Mosier, and Jason Mewes all taking part. They are different people now, a decade down the road, and comparing this to the other commentary is fascinating.

What really makes this set special is disc three and the documentary “Snowball Effect: The Story Of CLERKS.” Plain and simple, it’s a great film in its own right, enormously entertaining and brutally honest. The film traces Smith from childhood to the release of CLERKS, and you can see just how he became the person he is. Smith can make the most innocuous biographical detail hilarious, as in “My brother is three years older than I am. To the day. My sister is five years older than me to the week. So we figured out when we were all fairly young than our parents really liked to fuck in November.” It’s hard not to like Smith and Mosier as you watch the film. These aren’t guys who got handed their careers on silver platters. They made their luck. They put their balls on the block and were rewarded for it. I’m also impressed by how many of Smith’s friends from the pre-CLERKS era show up in the documentary, and how many of them he’s helped since his success. He’s always seemed to be a well-grounded guy, but this documentary really drives the point home. It’s feature-length, but there are lots of outtakes and extras as well, all of them equally interesting.

There’s a 10th anniversary Q&A that was filmed at the Arclight that made me laugh several times, highlighting that odd mix of antagonism and adoration that Smith and his fanbase share. All of the articles referenced in “Snowball Effect” are included on the disc, and not just the ones that are about Smith, but also the ones that inspired him. In a way, I’m sure I’m preaching to the converted here, and the most rabid View Askew fans have already purchased this one, but if you’re curious and not sure if the price justifies picking up a film you’re this familiar with, it is. This is one of the most overstuffed and enjoyable DVD packages so far this year.

The current release date for the Special Anniversary Edition of Clerks is October 5th, 2004. The release was pushed from our September schedule due, in part, to the special packaging requirements. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working at resolving our printing issues so this does not become a regular occurrence.

Jason Mewes, the Jay of “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” and “Saturday Night Live” actress Rachel Dratch will play dueling gas-station attendants in the indie crime thriller “The Pleasure Drivers.” Lauren Holly, Lacey Chabert and Meat Loaf are also on board.

“Probably the most extreme difference from John and Forrest. It’s also about the work for Kevin, but he had people come in and do cameos constantly. We did a cameo in a van. In true Kevin fashion, the characters are in there smoking joints. I had such a great time working with Kevin.”