• The always well-written Asbury Park Press brings us yet another great piece with Kevin, featuring new interview quotes, as they discuss “Silent Bob Speaks”, the Tonight Show, Affleck, and the blog:

AN OPEN BOOK

Few subjects off-limits for filmmakerPublished in the Asbury Park Press 05/15/05
BY MARK VOGER, STAFF WRITER

For a second there, it looked like Kevin Smith was in real trouble.

The Shore native and filmmaker behind “Clerks” and “Jersey Girl” was on “The Tonight Show” hawking his new book, “Silent Bob Speaks: The Collected Writings of Kevin Smith,” when he launched into a risky bit of banter about how he would have written and directed “The Passion of the Christ.”

As Smith described his fantasy version, in which ninjas swooped down to rescue Jesus, there was nervous laughter from the audience and, worse, a frozen smile on the face of Jay Leno.

Recalls Smith (whose next film will be titled “The Passion of the Clerks”): “That was about the sixth, seventh time I’ve been a panel guest on “The Tonight Show.’ You do this pre-interview process, where you give them an idea of what you want to talk about. So he (Leno) kind of knew I was going to go into “The Passion of the Clerks’ vs. “The Passion of the Christ.’

“But it’s such a conservative period in our country right now that I think for a moment he was just like, “Wow, this could really go badly.’ ”

For a moment, everyone seemed nervous ? that is, except for Smith.

“I had done that story so many times at college gigs and what-not,” he says, “that I knew it would totally work as long as I got to the punchline.”

That punchline had one of the ninjas say of the crucifixion: “Not on my watch!” The result was a roar of audience laughter ? and a relieved Leno.

“So it worked out,” Smith says, “but I think there was a moment where he was kind of like, “Oh, (expletive), this could really go south.’ ”

Smith’s “Passion” bit was tame compared to the contents of “Silent Bob Speaks,” which Smith compiled for Miramax Books at the suggestion of Miramax Films honcho Harvey Weinstein, who has distributed Smith films.

“The contents are a bunch of columns I did for a British magazine called Arena a couple of years back,” Smith says. “After that, I did a column called “Developing the Monkey’ for a movies-comics-TV Web site (www.psycomic.com), basically talking about the casting of “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.’ I started doing online (journals) when we were making “Jersey Girl,’ but it didn’t last very long; I just got wrapped up in the picture. The rest were just sundry magazine articles I’ve written over the years, including one for New Jersey Monthly.”

“Silent Bob Speaks” is not for the squeamish. When Smith describes the regrettable side effects of so-called “fat blocker” pills, he spares no unpleasantries. He writes frankly about being diagnosed with morbid obesity; being at the receiving end of a “lap dance”; his disdain for Britney Spears and Reese Witherspoon; his wife posing nude for an oil painting; and, yes, the filmmaking process.

How will screen stud Ben Affleck, a frequent player in Smith’s films, react when he reads about Smith’s “heterosexual crush” on him (along with descriptions of acts that can’t be shared in polite company)?

“He’s seen that before,” Smith says, “so he’s kind of way-familiar with that quote. You know, he’s kind of charmed by it. He realizes that I wouldn’t have a shot in the world with him, even if he was gay and I was gay.”

It begs the question: What is off-limits for Smith?

“Basically, other people’s lives are kind of off-territory for me,” the filmmaker says.

“To me, nothing is out of bounds with the exception of talking about somebody else’s trials and tribulations. Because some of that stuff, I guess, would be private ? that people share with you that really isn’t yours to tell.

“But my stuff? As long as it’s my life, then I’m kind of OK with talking about it. The problem that you run into is that sometimes your life is other people’s life as well, like (Smith’s wife) Jen. But I just don’t know how else to go about it.

“I feel like I could talk about my life and anything that goes on in my life. I’m doing that to an even greater degree at our Web site (www.viewaskew.com) right now than in the book. There’s a section of the Web site called “My Boring-(expletive) Life,’ where I literally do everything that’s happened in my day. That tends to get very detail-oriented.”

For Smith, all of this public confession has yielded a dividend.

Says the filmmaker: “I think I have a much easier time with my own trials or tribulations by expressing them publicly anyway.”

Read it at APP’s site as well.

• Some wonderful news comes to us today as networks begin to announce their schedule for new and renewed programs for the Fall of 2005. “My Name is Earl”, starring Jason Lee, is the only new sitcom to make it to NBC’s fall premeire schedule (others come midseason). The show will air at 9:00 PM on NBC Tuesdays, which also indicates it’ll be on the edgier side of things (the pilot’s script certainly reads that way). We’re excited to have a dude who got his acting start in a View Askew production starring in a prime time show for the very first time. Some blurbs and article links on the show and NBC’s schedule:

NEW YORK TIMES

“…They were watching a seven-minute clip assembled from the pilot “My Name Is Earl,” a half-hour comedy starring Jason Lee about a ne’er-do-well who wins a lottery and vows to make amends to everyone he’s ever offended.

Had the producers of the program been there, they would surely have been elated that the three people gathered around an editing console – Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment; Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Universal Television Group, and John D. Miller, chief marketing officer of the television group – were laughing, heartily and continuously.”

CNN

“NBC said Monday that it will introduce six new series in September, including only one comedy: “My Name is Earl,” featuring Jason Lee (”Chasing Amy”) as a downtrodden lottery winner.”

ST LOUIS POST DISPATCH

“…The comedy addition is “My Name Is Earl,” with Jason Lee as a loser who decides to right all his life’s wrongs after winning a fortune in the lottery. Jamie Pressly plays Earl’s wife in the sitcom from Greg Garcia (”Yes, Dear”).”

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

The press release states: “At 9:00 p.m., “My Name Is Earl” is an innovative, irreverent, single-camera comedy that should work well as a lead-in to the critically hailed “The Office” (television’s most upscale comedy).”

Congratulations to Jason Lee on what’s sure to be an exciting, talked-about program this Fall. And don’t forget, Lee’s Mallrats co-star Ethan Suplee has also joined the cast. For information on all shows expected to debut or return next year, see The Futon Critic.

• After many trials and tribulations, we’ve got our News Askew Poll Topic back and coded here at the site! Yes, this long-lost feature has now returned, and will be a regular part of your daily visits. The poll will live on your left sidebar, where we’ll change the topic at intervals decided by us (might be weekly, or longer, depending on the topic, alternate topics, number of votes, etc).

We’ve tried to keep it as fair as possible, so users should only be able to vote once per topic. We’re also going to be rehashing some older topics from years back, as we figure there’s a lot of new users here who never voted, new flicks and actors to add into the mix and, well, we just plain forgot some that we used before.

Of course, like all else, we thrive on YOUR participation. So please vote, but ALSO — Send us your topic ideas! If we use your poll topic, we’ll of course give you a mention on the front page when it goes live, and you’ll have the joy of knowing that your question is being pondered by the heaps of fans worldwide.

So, enjoy our latest feature addition — The poll topic! More new features to come during our big Spring cleaning event. Stay tuned.

• Spring cleaning events at News Askew continue, as we’re happy to re-introduce a Sunday Night feature – News Askew Retro! Retro brings back stories from the past, interesting tidbits that we dig up from the library here at News Askew that may have been forgotten, fun reads, or just plain bizarre. Every Sunday night, we’ll select an item from the archives to share. For some of you, possibly for the first time.

To celebreate the re-emergence of this feature, though, we’re going to be doing something a bit different for a while. We’ve dug into the tape archives and dug up some audio material of never-before-heard stuff on the web, back from the very early days of View Askew. Some will be quick, some more lengthy, but all come to us from View Askew’s own collection of appearances. We’re talking days before News Askew existed, so most of this stuff will take you back to the Clerks and Mallrats days. All clips are in MP3 format.

Our first is just a quick taste — A small bumper from a Boston radio station on a class appearance Kevin was making back in 1996. Hear Kevin from back when Clerks and Mallrats were still in their infancy stages! We’ll see you every week with more Retro action. More to come!

• For those of you that had been reading Kevin’s local blog here at News Askew, please note the link has changed — We’re now linking direct to the View Askew WWWBoard where the blog is posted and updated. As a result of the blog no longer running in this software, those RSS feed, for those of you who subscribed, will also be discontinued.

The left sidebar link will take you there, or you can just Update your bookmarks with this link. Please continue to visit and post on the diary entries, as the blog has NOT ceased production, it’s just going to be housed only in its original location hence forth. Thanks.

• For those of you that had been reading Kevin’s local blog here at News Askew, please note the link has changed — We’re now linking direct to the View Askew WWWBoard where the blog is posted and updated. As a result of the blog no longer running in this software, those RSS feed, for those of you who subscribed, will also be discontinued.

The left sidebar link will take you there, or you can just Update your bookmarks with this link. Please continue to visit and post on the diary entries, as the blog has NOT ceased production, it’s just going to be housed only in its original location hence forth. Thanks.

• It’s last minute, but we just heard of this today — Kevin will appear on tonight’s finale of Project Greenlight, where he attends a screening of “Feast” (which features Mewes in a small role). As we’ve said before, Greenlight’s as good as ever this year, and this MAY be the last year EVER for the show/project (which would be a true shame)…So be sure and watch tonight and support the horror flick “Feast” when it’s released, which we imagine will be soon now that the show’s airing its final episode.

Bravo. 10 PM. Tonight. Don’t miss it! Some of the best reality that TV’s got to offer. Please Ben & Matt, find a way to make more!

• Amazon’s UK site is now indeed listing a Region 2 Clerks DVD (although it’s not listed as Clerks X yet, just as a Special Edition). Seems our report rang true!

The set has a listed release date of July 18, 2005, with an RRP of £17.99 (before the usual Amazon discount). Good news indeed!

• We were reminded that Kevin blogged, in his May 5th entry, that he will skip the Skywalker Ranch screening premiere of Sith, more than likely. So, yesterday’s MTV story stating he’d be in attendance may not ring true (though looking back, it just lists him as an “invited guest”). So, there ya go.
• A Star Wars fan film’s budget is likened to what Kevin spent to make “Clerks” in this USA Today article.

Kevin is ALSO name-checked in an article on developing new home gaming consoles at news.com. Seems the X-Box creator likened a new content system for game developers to Kevin’s “Clerks” entrepreneurship:

• Damon and Affleck were lampooned on last weekend’s “Family Guy” episode. The joke had Damon writing the Good Will Hunting script with Affleck begging to be added to the credits.

• Howdy folks — Just thought we’d check in and say hi, hope you’re having a good week so far. It’s been a nice one here in the northeast, summer-like weather, as I’ve (Brad) just gotten back from Vegas it suits pretty well. Kudos to Chris for keeping things afloat solo whilst I was away — With Kev’s blog and the news and other goings-on, it’s tough to stay on top by yourself sometimes.

Vegas proved to be fantastic as always, I already miss the place. The flight out of Dulles on Independence Air (a new airline) was the best I’ve ever had. Look them up if you have the means. Managed to see that amazing boxing match that took place there over the weekend. Some were calling it one of the best fights of all time, and THE best in the last 10 years. Talk about luck. But hey, there’s plenty of great TV happening this month, with some season finales (LOST and 24, especially) that hold a ton of promise. And then there’s that movie hitting theaters sometime next week that some of us might be excited to see…

In the world of Askew, we’re back on track with some upcoming announcements — Site enhancements, more news, coverage of Kevin’s blog and of course, his major film role — Needless to say it’s going to be interesting ’round these parts. And hey, on a side note — Did anyone catch Affleck doing that Chris Moore impression while holding up the fake head on last week’s Greenlight? Holy cow. Could be one of the funniest bits ever. If you’re not watching that program, for goodness’ sake, start. We’re actually looking forward to seeing “Feast” now.

So alright then, let’s run down thru the latest excitement and see what we’ve got for you on this fine day:

• We gotta say, it’s way cool to see how involved Kevin’s been with the new Star Wars flick…And certainly intriguing when you think that those TV series plans gotta be getting drawn up soon. Anyway, a special edition of TRL on MTV airs Friday, May 13th, from the Skywalker Ranch. Here’s a tidbit or two:

You can check out the full press article HERE.