Chris Graves wrote: Is it true that if “Name” was made ten years ago, you would’ve had Alanis and Jeff Anderson as the leads? If so, was Jeff supposed to play Randal or a brand new character?

KEVIN SMITH: No – the Name leads were gonna be Lee and Joey, with Ben in a supporting role.

CG: And since “Hiatus” was the Jason Lee porn show, what was “Hating Hal”?

KS: A show about a dude who’s ex writes a book about breaking up with him that becomes a massive international best-seller and changes his life forever. Once again, it’s important to seize upon those ideas sooner rather than later, ‘lest someone else winds up doing something similar. (October Road)

CG: And how was it going to be connected to the earliest incarnation of “Clerks 2”?

KS: Um… I don’t know. Did I say it was somewhere? Because I can’t think of anything from “Hal” that wound up in “Clerks II”.

CG: Was that title a nod to Hal Hartley after his asshole remarks towards you years ago?

KS: Nah.

CG: Any chance of “Hiatus” and “Hating Hal” in the future?

KS: Double nah.

AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES L. VENABLE

BY CHRIS GRAVES

CHRIS GRAVES: For those who do not know, what is your background and how were you introduced to the world of View Askew and Kevin Smith?

JAMES L. VENABLE: I was sort of “strongly encouraged” to play play piano as kid by my grandparents. When I started high school I switched over to drums. I guess I thought it was probably a cooler instrument, which would get me into bands, a good way to meet girls. I was introduced to the world of View Askew and Kevin Smith through an exec at Disney, Bambi Moe (yes, her real name) who recommended me for CLERKS the Cartoon. I was told this would be a “meet and greet” with Kevin and Scott (Mosier), over the phone, (they were calling from New Jersey). I was totally thrilled when they said “well, we heard what you did on THE POWERPUFF GIRLS and we want you to do that for our show.” That was the beginning of a really great, probably the best, part of my career.

CG: What inspired you to become a television and motion picture composer? Any influences?

JV: In the eighties, I was playing in a lot of bands and kinda came to the conclusion that it would be really cool to write my own music. Most of what I was composing was instrumental (san lyrics). I started investigating the role of instrumental music in relation to films and discovered that I was really inspired by the effect of music on movies, and found that that might be a good avenue to explore. As for influences, it really depends on the project. While I can be influenced by other groups and composers stuff, I try to come up with a unique sound on each project, something that “hasn’t been done before”.

CG: Were you in any bands or groups growing up and what kind of music did you listen to in the past and now the present?

JV: Yes I’ve been in several bands. One that comes to mind, was called LIVE, not the famous one; our LIVE stood for: Living In Visual Ecstasy. We were kind of an 80’s power pop, electronic meets band type of thing, typical of that era.

As far as listening. I listen to everything from the Classical music, Dance-Electronica, and back when I was younger I got really into the BEATLES. I kind of dug any band that combines styles to make a new sound. I also listened to a lot of film scores at that time, John Williams has always been a big influence.

CG: In my opinion, the theme for CLERKS: THE ANIMATED SERIES was one of the best for a television show. Did you create alternate themes or demo music for the animated series, as well as the movies you scored for Kevin? If so, would you ever release them someday on a CD as some sort of “lost askew music collection” or something similar?

JV: Thank you for your comment about the theme! The way that happened is: When I first got on the show, my first job was to write a theme for it. I immediately got a hold of the soundtrack from the first CLERKS movie, which is mostly songs. I wrote four 30 second themes, each one sort of resembled a song from the original movie. What was interesting and sort of cool, was that Kevin immediately said “I hear these and they’re cool, but they don’t sound like you”, “I want you to write something that sounds like you…like Jim Venable.” This was hugely exciting for me, having a director encouraging me to be myself musically. So I did that, approaching the theme purely from a “try something new” perspective. When Kevin first heard it, his initial reaction was “I really dig it but I want to make sure it’s memorable, so maybe you should try another pass at it” and I was thinking that it was pretty memorable. Before I had a chance to revise it, Kevin came back and told me “never mind about making it more memorable, we all found ourselves singing the theme later on in our cars” which kind of showed him that it passed the test of being memorable, and that’s what we went with. This is sort of an illustration of why I consider Kevin to be such a great influence as well as a pleasure to work with: he pushed me to compose something new and unique and then really was appreciative of the results.

As far as releasing an alternate version CD, I don’t have any plans to do that. That would be pretty cool, I would have to kind of go through the music and see if there is enough there. There is some so called” lost music,” usually from scenes that got cut.

CG: What was the whole CLERKS: THE ANIMATED SERIES experience like for you and what did you think of the end result? Do you plan on using any of the themes or material from the series for the upcoming CLERKS: SELL OUT animated direct to DVD movie?

JV: CLERKS: THE ANIMATED SERIES will always hold an important place when I look back over my career, because it was a real shift for me. That’s when I met Kevin, someone who was open minded enough to bring me into the world of live action. So CLERKS T.A.S. was kind of an amazing vehicle that way. I really dug the series, musically, it was a lot of fun because it allowed me to explore a lot of different ideas, since those guys were kind of all over the map. There was a lot of paying homage to different pop culture references and I had a lot of fun with that. As for using any of the themes in the CLERKS: SELL OUT DVD, that would really be up to Kevin and how he wants to approach it.

CG: You were once attached to the now aborted Kevin Smith film version of the GREEN HORNET. People can even listen to a movie theme you created for this dead project on your website’s blog. Did you have distinct direction from Kevin on where to go with the musical flavors and tones? Could this theme or another version of it, be used for Kevin’s upcoming sci-fi comic book film, RANGER DANGER AND THE DANGER RANGERS? And were there any other projects you created music for that never went beyond the planning stages?

JV: Actually that was a really neat time when Kevin was initially going to direct that, he sent me this great email basically saying “I’m doing GREEN HORNET, this is gonna be a fun opportunity for us, to do the big action movie”. We were very excited about that. I actually wrote some music for him to have around while he was writing the script. As you mentioned, that music is actually available on my blog:

http://web.mac.com/jameslvenable/iWeb/Jim’s Place/Jim V. Podcast/6AFBABAE-E7F8-4246-BE54-9B45914A1F8C.html

Kevin really wanted to use the original GREEN HORNET theme, which is Flight Of The Bumblebee, but he said to “pimp it out, Venable-style”. I just ran with it and had a ball. As far as RANGER DANGER goes, that will probably command a brand new really bitchin theme, completely different from GREEN HORNET.

CG: Before becoming a composer, you used to be a club DJ. Do you ever plan on taking your film and television scores on the road for a club tour?

JV: Actually that’s a great question. For my first record, I did a set of local appearances, where I did a combination of DJing my record along with VJing my own images along with the music. I even did an event in one of the Mac stores where I combined that show with showing stuff from the films and doing a Q&A, so I may do something like that with my next record. I’d love to do a tour of Mac stores.

CG: Tell me about your album HOLDING SPACE? Do you have more side projects in the works?

JV: HOLDING SPACE was my first record and I had a blast doing it. My goals for the record were 1: FINISH IT, because the idea of doing a record had been bouncing around for so long, it was becoming that elusive project that was never gonna happen. 2. My goal was for the listener to share in the experience I had making it. I figure if they have as much fun listening to the record as I did making the record, then I will have accomplished that. I do have some other side projects in the works, I plan on doing a second album sometime in the near future. I am working with an amazing storyteller/animator named Lauren Faust on a project called MILKY WAY AND THE GALAXY GIRLS. We are in the early stages of incorporating music with her characters.

CG: Can you describe your relationship with The Cartoon Network?

JV: My relationship with Cartoon Network has been a really long, great relationship. I really feel fortunate to have worked with the various artists at CN. I learned a lot in the early stages of my career, working on POWERPUFF GIRLS, and continue to enjoy the different artistic directions I get to explore in shows on CN like SAMURAI JACK, and currently FOSTER’S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS.

CG: What is your favorite View Askew / Kevin Smith film (JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, JERSEY GIRL, and CLERKS 2 excluded)?

JV: Of the ones I didn’t work on, I really dug CLERKS because I felt it was such a groundbreaking film and opened so many doors as far as the whole movement of bringing filmmaking into the hands of the people, so to speak. Plus, I really dug the roller-coaster ride it takes you on, all from on location through great emphasis on dialogue driven storytelling. I really liked MALLRATS and CHASING AMY as well.

CG: Do you have any new projects coming up?

JV: I just finished the music for a video game called SPIDER-MAN: FRIEND OR FOE.

I am also working on a really cool short called BARK OR BITE for a friend at UCLA named Suzy Bohannon.

I’m going to be teaching a class through UCLA Extension this summer. It will be on film scoring using today’s technology. The class is called: Electronic Composition for Film and Television (enrollments open!)

In the long form genre, I’m scoring an animated movie called TUROK: SON OF STONE, based on the comic book. Should be some fun action music.

CG: And finally, have you been asked to score the next three (RED STATE, ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO, RANGER DANGER) planned Kevin Smith films?

JV: I could tell you …but then I’d have to kill you.

MD: Are you familiar with News Askew?

WM: Yes.

MD: Well, I send them scoops a lot, and I get so many of them from you I figured I’d take this opportunity to ask you what you think of Kevin, since I get the impression you are a big fan.

WM: Of course I’m into Kevin, how can you not be into him? He’s great. You can’t not like Kevin Smith

MD: What’s your favorite movie?

WM: Clerks.

MD: Have you ever met him? If you could interview him what would you ask?

WM: I was just thinking about that. I don’t think I’ve ever met him, I’ve seen him speak, at the Q&A’s, and the Evening with Kevin Smith stuff. He’s someone who is interveiwed all the time, and he’s asked everything. So it would be difficult. The questions that he gets asked all the time are so specific- it would be tough.

One thing I love is that he does perservere, He just keeps making work and doesn’t care what the reviewers say and keeps working with the people he likes and I really admire that in him.

MD: He’s true to who he is. He takes something that he finds funny and just goes with it.

MD: Do you find yourself quoting him in daily life? My husband and I are always saying “37!” “In a row?”

WM: I don’t think I have a Kevin Smith quote that I repeat. Maybe I should get one…

MD: Yeah, just go through and find one that only people who know the movies will know just how dirty what you are saying is

We also talked about Reaper, Red State, Zach and Miri Make a Porno, his blogs and the Smodcasts, and the irony that Jen and he met when she was working for USA Today. It was a really fun little conversation just geeking out about a film-maker we admire.

“It’s the real deal. And the central idea to the movie is so damn good. I wish we could talk about it, but I can’t.

The BHD remake is actually kinda serious. It’s the same plot, but with a 40 million dollar budget, and it definitely loses the sketch comedy aspect and concentrates more on the dramatic aspects of the plot.

We still have the opening involving the little boy with cancer, but it’s played straight. It’s a great thing when the movie itself heals the little bit, less so when it turns out to be a fraud. We see the highs and lows the director goes through, thinking he created something so supernaturally awesome and it turns out he didn’t. I think it’s going to be quite soul-crushing, in a good way.

As for the rest of the movie, it also annoyed me when I watched it and all this serious stuff: suicide, satan worshipping, racism, homophobia, was played for laughs. So the new version will, without a doubt, tackle all those subjects but do it in a way that will make you think AND bring a tear to your eye.

Michael Black is not back. I thought he was too goofy. We were lucky enough to work with Sir Anthony Hopkins for that role. Only had him for a day, but man is his stuff powerful.”

…Still, I have always, and will always, love that show. And I’m not bitching about the ending (though, if I had any hardcore complaint it was that there was no shout-out to the ducks that kicked off this nearly decade-long love affair) because they provided one really beautiful moment that I feel summed up the entire series quite nicely: Tony visiting Uncle Junior.

“You and my Dad,” Tony said. “You two ran North Jersey.”
“We did?”
“Yeah.”
“Hm.” Beat. “That’s nice.”

I thought that brief exchange really captured the futility of not just This Thing of Ours, but ambition and accomplisment in general: you struggle and toil and put shit together from scratch, and it all seems so epic and important in the moment, and you make sacrifices, and there are casualties along the way… and ultimately, if you’re lucky, you wind up in a wheelchair, unable to remember most of what you’ve done.

SModcast 15: The Pretty-Good Worker

In which things go back to normal and our heroes discuss the passing of a bear-like legend, ruminate on the emotional and physical perils of pet ownership, confess to being cat people, fret over Weiners hunting weiners, become the Jolie of dog adoption, and incur the wrath of all right-thinking and decent people by spending nearly an hour trying to figure out whether Helen Keller was truly impaired or just party to an elaborate ruse.

CG: I was wondering the status of this project as well. Did “Shaun Of The DEAD” kill it (pardon the pun)?

BL: Nope, EVERYBODY’S DEAD will see the light of day. But probably not as a movie at first. I think by this time next year we can all talk about EVERYBODY’S DEAD at length, for it will be thrust out into the world like a crying, angry baby. But, again, not as a movie at first.

CG: You think the Henson Company will put your script out as a comic some day?

Just out of curiosity, what was the plot of your script (ala…Muppets Take Manhattan, Muppets In Space, etc…)? Any hints??

BL: MASSIVE SPOILERS FOLLOW!

The name of it was THE NEXT MUPPET MOVIE, and it was the same universe as THE MUPPET MOVIE, only years and years later, and the Muppets were hugely successful and some were getting kind of spoiled. Kermit’s trying to keep them together and he’s stressing out.

Anyway, an evil Hollywood agent signs the Muppets and starts putting them in solo movies and TV shows (Gonzo is the next James Bond and the next Batman, the Electric Mayhem goes Marilyn Manson-y after Animal starts a solo rap career, that kinda thing).

Kermit has to pull together a makeshift band of Muppets (Robin, Rizzo, Pepe, Bean Bunny, Digit from THE JIM HENSON HOUR, etc.) to re-start the Muppet show.

Eventually Kermit figures out the Agent had an ulterior motive in breaking up the Muppets, goes to confront the Agent, gets kidnapped, and the original Muppets have to work with the newbies to save him. The ending involves a lot of Ninjas, a giant Elephant, a seven foot Kermit, and Gonzo saving the day by crashing through the skylight in his Batman gear.

The Agent runs away, the Muppets all come back together, everyone is happy…

…but at the very end, we see the Agent gets dropped off by a taxi, fully ready to try to break up a new group. As he walks away, we pan out and reveal he’s on Sesame Street.

Cameos were from Pierce Brosnan, John Cleese, Mary Tyler Moore, Marilyn Manson, all the Sesame Street Characters, Mr. Rogers, the Teletubbies…it was epic.

I talked to Michael Keaton once who had read the script and wanted to meet me because of it. I asked him to play the agent if it ever got made, and he said that would be cool. I’m very sorry it didn’t get made.

That’s the most I’ve ever spoiled about it. It was like a purging.

“…I’ve been flirting with doing something about porn for a decade now. First there was the Jason Lee porn show (”Hiatus”) that Carsey-Werner felt no network would touch, then there was “Name”. Now, ten years later, it’s “Zack and Miri”.”

“…Granted, I’m biased because I wrote it; but I really dig this script. It’s funny, bawdy, sexy, dirty, titillating (emphasis on the tit) and dripping with heart. If you were gonna do that movie-description thing, I’d say it’s like Chasing Amy meets Clerks II, with a dash each of Boogie Nights and Bowfinger tossed in.”

…

“…Chasing Amy – the flick we get the most credit for – was pretty much the same-old, same-old boy meets girl, boy loses girl story with a bit of a different spin. Were I really sweating the fact that that story had been done to death before, I wouldn’t have bothered with Amy – and I’d be all the poorer for it (both figuratively and literally). After centuries of story-telling, there’s always bound to be some familiarity/similarity in books/shows/movies; it’s how each author handles the material that makes all the difference. Just because we’ve seen For Keeps, She’s Having a Baby, and Nine Months doesn’t mean we don’t want to see Knocked Up.

Regardless, I know I’m in for a few months of “That movie sounds like…”, but I’m not sweating it; I’ve read my script (even wrote it) and while it’s preoccupied with dirty movies, I know what it’s really about.

And about a year from now, you will too.”

After six little words, Harvey Weinstein is sold

By Jay A. Fernandez
Special to The Times

It’s rarely a good idea to greenlight a movie off of a title alone (unless it includes the words “Pirates” and “Caribbean”). That’s like falling in love with a MySpace photo.

But when Harvey Weinstein pulled the trigger on the latest raunchy comedy idea from “Dogma” and “Clerks II” writer-director Kevin Smith after Smith had written only six words of it, Weinstein’s $15 million looked like a pretty good bet.

The title? “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.”

For a certain stripe of moviegoer, that’s a sure thing.

“A bawdy sex comedy with heart,” as Smith describes the just-completed script, “Zack and Miri” is about two friends who have managed to trudge into their 30s with a satisfying lack of accomplishment. But a 15-year high school reunion and dire rent problems spark the novel moneymaking idea of pulling together an amateur porn enterprise. As for where it goes from there, just think of Smith’s characteristic sexual verbosity finally coupled with matching imagery.

“It’s … dirty, with nudity,” says Smith. “But funny nudity, not gratuitous nudity.” Well, leave it to Smith to choose a plotline that kneecaps the issue entirely. (The civilians-making-a-blue-movie conceit also drove the narrative of writer-director Michael Traeger’s “The Amateurs,” which played festivals last year.) Because the story unfolds during a snowy Minnesota winter, Smith plans to film “Zack and Miri” there in February (although, Smith jokes, global warming may force him to shoot at one of the poles).

In the intervening months, Smith is publishing a book of reprinted blog entries from SilentBobSpeaks.com called “My Boring Ass Life.” And he hopes to squeeze in filming of his low-budget ($3 million) horror script, “Red State,” by the end of the year. Smith is aiming to give the politically charged screenplay, about outsiders who stumble into “fundamentalism gone to the extreme” in Middle America, a naturalistic, drive-in feel.

“Horror is more than a dude with a chain saw,” says Smith, who engaged the Christian right promotional machine for the release of “Dogma.” Given his rabid fan base, Smith is keeping the screenplay on lockdown at his Hollywood Hills home, so agents, actors and executives have needed a personal invitation to see it. Rosario Dawson, a “Clerks II” star, is supposed to give it a read this week.

After her vampy turns in “Sin City” and “Grindhouse,” it sounds like a perfect trilogy.