Q: I was wondering the status of this project [EVERYBODY’S DEAD] as well. Did “Shaun Of The DEAD” kill it (pardon the pun)?


LYNCH: 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.

Now comes word from Brian Lynch himself that EVERYBODY’S DEAD will be launching as a comic book from IDW Publishing on March 26! Here’s a description of the first two issues from IDW’s website:

ISSUE #1 – Brian Lynch (writer); Dave Crosland (art & colors) College can be tough. Making new friends, falling in love, being one of the few people left on Earth who isn’t a bloodthirsty zombie… welcome to the world of Everybody’s Dead! Ten friends remain the only ones on campus who have survived an overnight apocalypse. Now they must fend off legions of the undead and restart civilization in their own image! (Civilization, of course, is doomed.) From Brian Lynch, writer on the blockbuster hit Angel: After the Fall, and artist Dave Crosland, from the critically acclaimed Scarface: Scarred for Life!”




ISSUE #2 – Brian Lynch (writer); Dave Crosland (art & colors) How do you survive a statewide undead cannibal epidemic when you have no weapons, training, nor athletic abilities? Find the answers (and so much more) in the second issue of Everybody’s Dead. The horror comedy event of 2008 continues, courtesy of Brian Lynch, writer on the sold-out smash hit Angel: After the Fall, and artist Dave Crosland, from the critically acclaimed Scarface: Scarred for Life!”

If you can’t get these issues from your local comic shop, you can pre-order both issues from Things From Another World right now!

The video is streaming now EXCLUSIVELY over at Quick Stop Entertainment and bringing our poor server to its knees, so we apologize for the slowness (we share a computer, us and them, we’re cool like that). Watch here for stills and more, once our bandwidth comes back.

Best of all, the clip reveals, at the end, that it will indeed be the first of many clips to come from the site, another behind-the-scenes from Zack and Joey, the geniuses behind Chop Shop Entertainment. We can’t wait to see what these guys have pulled together this time. Waiting for the end of the shoot means more time to edit, so an even more slick, planned out series. How cool is that? The title? “Money Shots”. Oh yeah.

For now, sit back, and enjoy, “I’m F***ing Seth Rogen”, from the cast and crew of the Pittsburgh set.

• The film takes place in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. It’s also being filmed in and around that very same town (yep, a REAL place, much like Clerks and Chasing Amy, who referred to the towns they were actually filmed in).
• The aspect ratio will be 1:85 — This is the larger letterbox which fills your 16×9 TV, and continues in the tradition of “Clerks II”. Most of Kevin’s films follow this ratio, by the way, with the exception of “Dogma”, “Jersey Girl” and “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”.
• Filming began on January 17th, 2008. The opening days of filming involved a daytime shoot at the Monroeville Mall (home of the original “Dawn of the Dead”), and other scenes inside a moving car. Shooting has since moved to rural Monroeville areas, including the inside of a high school there, and a real strip club. February 12th marked the halfway point of the shoot, which by our calculations will continue until around March 9th, give or take a few days.
• The billing order for the cast in the film’s opening credits will be as follows: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, and Jason Mewes. A large supporting cast has been confirmed, along with some confirmed and unconfirmed cameos. We believe some appearances will be kept secret in the hopes they can be discovered on opening day. Johnah Hill, however, will NOT appear, as confirmed by Kevin.
• Kevin recently confirmed shooting his “first snowfall” for the film in February, which tells us that “Zack & Miri” will take place in Winter, perhaps in its entirety (the mall scene above takes place on “Black Friday” which falls in November). The entire movie does NOT span only that one day though, Kevin confirms.
• While over an hour of the movie has already been roughly edited together by Kevin, he does not anticipate to have a trailer anytime soon. Current hopes are for the movie’s official trailer to debut with “Pineapple Express” im July. Going by a rough theater rule of thumb, that means they’re likely eyeballing a September or October 2008 release date for the movie (this is only speculation).
• The first test screening is planned for April or May, meaning that Kevin anticipates a mostly-finished version of the movie by that point. The screening will be by special invitation only, and held in the Los Angeles area.

So there ya have it, folks — Like we said, it may not be new to all of you, but it’s kinda cool to see it all in one spot, right? And it sure is enough to have us stoked to see the first footage, as well. As always, keep your bookmarks set to News Askew, and we’ll be happy to continue to give you the up-to-the-minute latest from the world of “Zack & Miri”.

On the first potential test screening: “Some of you will find out in April or May. We’ll be doing another one of those private pre-test screenings for boardies only around then. I really doubt we’ll test in NY/NJ with this one. But this screening I’m talking about would be the first, unofficial test: like we did with “Clerks II”, with no scoring cards or paperwork to fill out; just a long conversation afterwards. In essence, this would be the screening that helps me get ready for the dopey test screening I’ll be forced to eventually do – and I have no clue where that’ll be. ”

[Ed. note – This will likely be a similar process to what happened with Clerks II a couple years back, and is a real treat to attend. Kevin goes on to say the screening will be on the west coast, because it’s just plain easier. “Clerks II” eventually did hold an east coast NYC session as well, which is what he refers to in this quote.]

In other general news, Kevin proclaims the film “hands-down, our best looking flick to date.” Mewes is looking quite dapper as well, as evidenced by this fan-supplied photo recently taken from the set. Mewes will come fouth in the film’s front billing, with Craig Robinson in the 3rd spot.

In other casting news, Kevin confirms Tom Savini will indeed appear, as our IMDB scoop from earlier in the week predicted. Finally, the hope is to get the trailer for the film attached to “Pineapple Express”, the Seth Rogen flick due to arrive in theaters this July, for the biggest visibility. As fans, we’re hoping to get an “internet only” trailer even earlier than that. With Kevin behind the editing controls, we’re thinking that’s a strong possibility.

As we’ve had some wintry weather here in Pennsylvania, Kevin shot his first REAL snowfall for the film, which we think will look fantastic. We’ve had quite a few nice light snowstorms here since filming began, which we think is part of the reason they chose to come back to the state at this time of the year. As of last Tuesday, February 12th, they are officially halfway through the shoot.

More “Zack & Miri” news as we see or hear it. Stay tuned.

CHASING AMY – Written by: Kevin Smith

Arguably one of Kevin Smith’s best movies (though maybe not his wittiest, which would go to Clerks), Chasing Amy is a story about a lesbian and the man in love with her. Whether you are straight, gay, or bi, you can’t deny that Chasing Amy has heart. And its script is really well done, at that. My personal favorite scene would be when Jason Lee is trying to explain to Ben Affleck why the relationship can’t work, using examples with Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and the Man-Hating Dyke. It’s just classic Smith dialogue.

Character: Silent Bob
Films: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II
Years Released: 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2006
Chief traits: Silent, Not Silent
Trademark line: ” “
Additional comments: Probably not since the days of silent films has one man said so much by saying so little. Pairing with his hopped-up sidekick Jay (or is Bob the sidekick?), Silent Bob went from a quirky minor character in Kevin Smith’s debut Clerks to the co-star of his own film, along the way spawning a franchise for Smith and Bob alike, including comic books, cartoons, and guest spots on crappy TV shows (Yes, Dear).

The article summarizes some of what was said in Kevin’s blog post and on SModcast, which have been some of the only gossip that’s leaked from the set so far. We’re guessing the cast and crew have been extremely busy at work on this one. With a month of shooting completed, though, we’re expecting to see some emergence from the shadows and for the news floodgates to open up once again, very soon. Until then, take a gander at the /Film article for the small video, and look forward to seeing much clearer stuff in the coming weeks.

Moving more recently, how was working with Kevin Smith? He seems to be a very big fan of your work?

Working with Kevin was very nice. He did seem to appreciate my previous work and he did seem to like what I wrote for him for Mallrats.

I’ve read an interview when you seemed to really appreciate that level of detail Kevin went in to regarding your work. Do you find that most directors don’t have that level of respect or understanding for the scoring process?

Most directors don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground about music. If they’re regular guys and somewhat modest people who are interested in having a fruitful relationship with the composer, they don’t puff themselves up and they speak frankly with their composer, who is almost always ready to bend over backwards to help them get what they want and need… just like an intelligent homeowner who wants to get a great paint job and listens to the expert painter that he hires.

Given the silence from the set, we can only speculate on the roles here, but we’re loving the cast and excited to see how everything rolls together. If we hear more, you’ll see it at News Askew. See our Zack & Miri cast page for a full listing with photos, where available.