“…There is a different rhythm here. There are no long monologues. It’s more the zingy rhythm of call and response. There aren’t Veronica Mars style references to pop culture, but comments do defy expectations and the timing is impeccable. The physical slapstick is expertly performed as well.”

We’re less than a week away from the national premiere now!

“Reaper,” a dude comedy from two women who earned their chops as writers on “Law & Order: SVU,” could become one of the CW’s first big breakout hits. Kevin Smith’s influence can be felt all over the pilot, which showcases leading man Bret Harrison and hilarious sidekick Tyler Labine as a couple of unlikely heroes who work as bounty hunters for the devil. It’s an unlikely premise, but it’s got smart execution and humor to spare. But maybe the greatest thing about “Reaper” is the casting of Ray Wise as Satan himself; one look at that creepy smile, and I was sold.

In the meantime, click above for blown-up views of two flyers that were just sent out to UK retailes by Diamond Distribution. Looks like they’re encouraging the local shops to stock up on the merch, so all the books should be in plentiful supply. Politely ask your local comic retailer or book shop to pick this stuff up!

First up, star Brett Harrison answers a Q&A with E! Online’s “Watch with Kristen” that reveals we may see Kevin back with the show in some capacity, which we truly hope can happen this year (though his upcoming film schedule will certainly make it tricky):

Kristen: Tyler Labine is a wack-job (in a fun way) of a best friend for you on the show. How’s he in real life?


Brett Harrison: Actually, right now he’s one of my best friends in real life. I swear, we’re constantly working with each other and coming up with new ways to do things and improvise. “Oh, now, you say this!” We’re not in that weird thing with actors that say, “Listen, man, you’re not the director of the show.” You know, like giving each other notes and stuff. We really are so open to it. We come up with different ways, and I think that’s why the pilot worked so well, because we had Kevin Smith, who is the coolest director to work with.


K: He’s awesome. Is he going to be back with you at all?


BH: You know, I think so. He definitely wants to. There’s schedules. There’s politics. Being the actor, I get to not know all that stuff. Put it this way: He definitely wants to come back, and he’s more behind the show than any celebrity director should be. He did a 7,000-seat panel for Comic-Con, and it was just supposed to be Kevin Smith, because he’s the big comic guy. It wasn’t supposed to be like, “Hey, I just shot the coolest show ever. Let’s put this out in front of 7,000 people.”

We’ve also got a new audio interview with the Reaper creators, Tara Butters and Michelle Fazekas, courtesty of BuddyTV. In the interview, they talk a bit about Kevin got attached to the pilot episode:

Kevin Smith directed the pilot, obviously kind of a big deal. How did that happen, and why’d you think of him in the first place?


Michele: Once the CW bought the script and decided that they were going to produce the pilot, you start making a list of directors. You make your wish list of, “Who do you want to direct here, who would be the most amazing person directing your pilot?” We’d have ridiculous names on the list, like, “Is Steven Spielberg available?” You make your wish list and then the more reasonable list. Kevin was on our wish list, somebody who we’d never thought we’d get, but we’ll send him the script, he’ll pass on it, and we’ll get somebody more realistic, and we never thought we’d hear anything about it. The next thing we hear is, “Kevin read the script, can you go over to his house?” And we’re like, “Yeah, we can do that.” We went to his house, and we thought we had to kind of sell ourselves to him. But he was like, “This is really funny, I want to do it.” It was simply that easy. He wanted to do it, he was interested in directing something that he hadn’t written. He just signed on, he just responded to the material, we were so lucky that happened.

You can of course check out the full text and interview at BuddyTV.

The master of the funny commentary track, though, is director Kevin Smith. Smith knows no boundaries and will often reveal candid stories about the making of his films. His tracks go into information such as which crew members Jason Mewes slept with on the set of Clerks II, what actors from Mallrats Smith will never work with again and the innermost details of Smith’s sex life. Smith has even made a few commentary tracks for films that he has nothing to do with, such as Donnie Darko and Road House. Fans of Smith’s raunchy and gossipy style should also check out the Evening with Kevin Smith DVD series. These two DVDs each feature several hours of Smith’s famously hilarious Q&A sessions.

In the case of Jason Bateman, we were sent a scoop via a thoughtful reader who swore he had the casting verified. However, since it seemed so out of left field, we first wanted to see if we were on to something, then, wanted to see if it was going to hurt anything by posting it if we WERE. We can assure you, were the rumor true that Bateman was cast in “Zack and Miri”, Kevin would absolutely have told us when we could break the scoop – When the time was right, papers were signed, deal done, etc. We run the risk of hurting a great film, and possibly even losing our jobs (and this site) in the process when we run stuff that isn’t finalized yet.

Ok, that out of the way, here’s a few bits and pieces from Kevin’s recounting of the Jason Bateman casting rumor, which started with that little e-mail from us and eventually ended up, well, all over the place:

…I never thought to simply say “It’s not true” to anyone but Brad at News Askew. Jason, however, was asked and did have an answer for Peter Sciretta over at SlashFilm. Then, over at Mtv’s Movies Blog, Shawn Adler threw up a link to the SlashFilm article, but it kind of insinuated that Bateman had passed on “Zack and Miri.” So I called Shawn to clear it up and asked him to adjust it on their site.


However, in case folks are still unclear, I’ll second what Bateman said: no, he’s not Zack in “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.” We never asked him and he never read it. He was a great idea for Zack, as Bateman’s a genius who drops performance clinics in even small roles (”Smokin’ Aces”, the upcoming-but-gonna-be-retitled “Quebec”), but like I said: I wrote the role for someone specifically, and that specific someone’s the only guy I’ve ever sent the script to.

As always, see the full blog for more detail on this. Just another tale of how one little rumor can get blown way outta control.

Dear Kevin,


I’ve been traveling back and forth between festivals so I’m sorry I have not been in touch. Your new script is quite disturbing and challenging, a departure from what I’m used to reading from you. I’d like my brother to take a look and get his thoughts.


All my best,


Harvey

This certainly indicates interest and, as Kevin goes on to note, these guys haven’t been ones to shy away from controversial and different projects. Could “Red State” have the big W logo popping up before it on screens next year? We’ll keep ya posted.

If you have NOT seen the beauty of this store, we URGE you – Get out there and pay it a vist before it’s gone! The design of the place is way cool, and the props, some of which we assume WILL make it to Stash East (but not all, of course) are a fan’s dream. We’ve only been inside a few times, and are even feeling like we need to get there one last time before she goes the way of the internet cafe. The Red Bank store will once again become the only Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash on the planet, and dare we say, a place you must all come and visit. Not because it’s going away, but because there’s just something in the air when you’re there. All that Red Bank history, so close — We never get tired of our trips into the joint.

A few snips from Kev’s words on the matter:

“…I don’t like turning over the retail aspects of View Askew to anyone but family. Walter (who I’ve known for almost twenty years) runs the Stash East. My brother Don runs the Online Stash (which Bryan ran for years before giving it up). And after two failed attempts with non-family managers at the Stash West, I was elated to get a key member of the inner circle back in charge of the Los Angeles operation. But that key member reached the end of his patience with the gig some time ago, and has wanted out for awhile. And even though that stinks for me, Bry’s been goodly enough to stick around Stash West far longer than he wanted to.”


“…And while Stash West was always a nice little earner, it’s never been anything close to the earner that the Red Bank Stash is. The east coast Stash sits in the cradle of the View Askewniverse – Monmouth County, New Jersey – so it’s always been the more popular of the two stores. You can visit it en route to see the Quick Stop, or Jack’s Music Shop (from “Chasing Amy”), or any of the other locations we’ve shot the flicks at back home. Westwood Stash never had that going for it. Sure, it had a shitload of props from the flicks on display (like Stash East); but at the Jersey store, you can really immerse yourself in View Askew by taking a five minute ride and buying Gatorade in the actual Quick Stop. If the store was earning twice what the Red Bank store earned, I’d start manning the counter myself. But while Stash West turns a nice profit (albeit a small one: the Westwood rent is double the Red Bank rent), it’s just not worth the effort if one of the key figures in our operation’s not gonna run it anymore.”

Be sure to check out Silent Bob Speaks or Myspace for a selection of photos taken during the historical events held there. And if you’re anywhere close — Do not MISS that October 1st signing, where you’ll not only get to meet Kevin, and get a fantastic book signed — You’ll also get 50% a selection of cool swag. Rest in peace, Stash West – We hardly knew ye, but we sure loved ye.

• Kevin’s been hitting “Full Tilt” online poker quite a bit lately, though not faring so well. He also recently took a trip into Las Vegas with the family, where he participated briefly in a Hard Rock Hotel tournament. Unfortuntaely, due to a wild player at his table, his time in the game was short. A snippet:

  
  “I played only premium cards, but we’ve got a donkey at our table who keeps raising what turn out to be shit cards. At one point, he puts me off my K/J suited with a twelve hundred buck bet on a 5/5/2 rainbow flop. Naturally, the turn is a King. Him and one other guy take it to the river in a massive pot that ends with the one guy’s pockets sixes getting rivered by a nine the donkey catches with his terrible 9/6 off-suit hand. There were other shit-beats, too, resulting in me being down to 9500 in chips, with which I had to make a move. The tables had just been rebalanced, there was about two minutes to go before a fifteen minute break, and I limp in with A/Q off-suit. The guy next to me raises 3k and gets a caller. I decide it’s now or never and go all-in. The guy next to me turns over ladies, the guy next to him turns over 10’s. Flop gives me an ace and top pair. The turn miraculously gifts this motherfucker with the only other queen in the deck, and he makes his set. I need an ace on the river to take down the monster pot, but alas, there’s no ace forthcoming. I’m done.”

• “Red State” has been tightened up a bit, script-wise, and easily features the least diagloue he’s ever written for a picture:

  
  “Based on Scott’s notes, I take the script from 96 pages to 89 pages. It’s easily the shortest feature script I’ve ever written, since there’s not nearly as much dialogue in “Red State” as in my other flicks, and it’s the dialogue that usually gets my page count up around the 120 average. But that 89 pages is somewhat deceptive, as there are long stretches of descriptive text that will skew the page-a-minute ratio. In other words, the flick won’t be 89 minutes; it’ll probably be closer to two hours.”

• Kevin’s back on the Optifast diet. He’s doing well (though fighting the urges best he can) and will continue to report on his progress as part of the daily blog entries.
• Upcoming gigs (which you’ll also see linked in our interactive event calendar on your right): Cornell University, September 22nd. Letterman, September 25th (we can’t wait for Kev to mix it up with Dave). Book Signing, Red Bank, NJ, Stash East, September 29th. Book Signing, October 1st, Stash West (Los Angeles). The Late Late Show, October 3rd. Lots to remember, right? Don’t worry. Stick with us. We’ll remind ya.