- Our apologies for the late notice on this one, as we forgot it was coming up as well. Time flies! Kevin will debut a BRAND NEW edition
of ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, tonight at 11:35 PM eastern! Check your local listsings if you’re not in the east. Tonight,
Kevin hits Sin City itself, Las Vegas, for more fun and frolic. We imagine it was tough to choose the attractions in that city, but you can be assured a
few genuine laughs, as always. Tune in, set your Tivo, or get the dust blown off one of the old VHS “TV tapes”. Enjoy.
Archive for September 24th, 2004
Clerks X Praise At AICN!
- The always popular Aint It Cool News reviews Clerks X in their latest DVD wrapup, and
proclaims it “One of the most overstuffed and enjoyable DVD packages so far this year”. Here’s the full text:
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.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Here’s some strange news: According to Marvel’s December comic book solicitations (see them at Comic Book Resources),
there are two Kevin Smith related items coming out that month.
The first is a ‘What if’ comic written by Brian Michael Bendis and Kevin, which explores the topic ‘What if Karen Page had lived?’ (which, those of you
in the know recognize, will take an alternate path thru Kevin’s Daredevil universe).
The second is ‘Wha…Huh?’ which is a compilation of stuff and one of these tales is ‘What if Kevin Smith finished his books?’. That should be a fun one.
That’s all we know right now, but we’ll of course give you more details on these two projects later in the Fall.
- Here’s a bit more from Alliance Atlantis on the Clerks X delay in Canada:
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.
Doesn’t get you hosers the discs any faster, we realize, but at least ya know.
- Those of you who just can’t get enough DVD reviews can check out another Jersey Girl DVD review, courtest of
DVDLaunch. They give the disc a solid score, citing the commentaries as award-worthy for best of 2004, among
other praise. - The latest MTV movie news confirms a scoop we ran a while back:
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.
Glad to see the project’s still on. Should be fun to see Mewes take on another new role.
- More news from the German “Chasing Amy” DVD: First, we were told that there would be no extras, but they seemed to have changed their
mind. The disc will indeed include the commentary from Kevin & co., Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, and a featurette called “The Askewniverse Legend: A Guide To
The Characters”. We imagine this is all/mostly stuff taken from the DVD edition of the film available in other regions. - Actor Marc Blucas (who cameoed as Fred in J&SBSB) drops this quote about working with Kev:
“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.”
Blucas is best known for his role as Riley on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and stars in “First Daughter”, opening this weekend.
- About that new “Major Damage” book we told you about last update, Kevin says, “You can skip rope and you can skip to my lou, but don’t skip Major Damage.
Chris Bailey is a flat out comic genius.” To see a sneak peek of the book and DVD, visit www.majordamage.net, then place your order at your local comics
shop for the Incredible-y cool, super fun, Major Damage! Thanks to Newsarama.
- And finally today, a small appearance of Jay & Bob that appears in the latest Maxim magazine. They aren’t named, but the resemblance
is undeniable. Alrighty folks, have a great weekend, throw back a couple drinks, and enjoy the nice weather before it starts getting chillier out there!
Catch ya next time.