- We hope you enjoyed our Friday stream of consciousness style blogging of the big show in Red Bank, New Jersey. As you probably noticed, it was a bit tougher than we expected to update in such a fashion for a few reasons – The iPhone barely had a clear signal in our location in the theater, and was unfortuntaely EDGE and not the much speedier 3G – Typing updates on the phone’s onscreen keyboard is a bit slower than a real laptop, and, probably toughest of all, the tight quarters of the Basie. While they did do a beautiful job with renovations, they unfortunately left the seats in the place alone, and they do leave a lot to be desired as far as comfort (think of sitting in a full crowded row on an airplane in coach and it’s kinda like that, but HOTTER).
At any rate, we were happy to test the technology out for the first time, giving us the ability to give you almost up to the moment updates on what was going down at the show. As future events happen, we’re hoping for better conditions which will allow for even more fancy tech stuff to happen at News Askew, allowing those of you who can’t make it to these things a front row look at what’s happening.
With thanks to our pal Robb, we’ve got some photos from his camera — Unless you’re up close with a fancy camera, the dim lighting in the Count Basie doesn’t lend itself well to photos, though Robb managed to walk right up to the stage to snap some shots. We’ve chosen a few to share here, click away to take a look.
Quite different and a nice change of pace from recent events, we enjoyed the laid back nature of this one — Having a large couch on stage set the scene for what turned into a very comfortable night. This Q&A reminded us quite a bit of the sessions of old, where Kevin blazed though questions at a much speedier rate than normal. Admittedly, Kevin mentioned that he typically takes the stage with a group of tales he intends to tell, even if he needs to sidetrack a bit to get to them. This time, aside from opening remarks including that now famous “bathroom incident” and his thoughts on the Zack & Miri opening, Kevin had no agenda other than to honestly chat up the fans and answer their questions.
As summarized in our blog, the night did not bring a bunch of new revelations. Kevin did confirm that “Red State” is next on the slate, but went a bit more conservative on production start, hoping to be ramping up sometime in the Spring of 2009. The Clerks cartoon movie project remains stagnant and probably dead. From the comics world, “Batman: Cacophony” issue #1 has arrived, and Kevin was kind enough to read a choice scene for us onstage. From the projects perspective, that’s all that’s on the slate at the moment (though we know that slate has a tendency to fill up rather quickly, so stay tuned).
Crowd antics were rather good, with the most outrageous requests few and far between – With long lines, several fans took the unsavory practice of asking multiple unrelated questions when they got to the mic, a tactic we don’t really dig but that Kevin fielded quite well (though it possibly slighted a few on the bubble folks in getting their turn). Questions were generally quite good and complimentary, though Kevin made it clear that all questions are welcome, and that there’s never been one that really offended him. Unlike the story Kev shared from Canada, no fans fainted when they took to the mic, though it was obvious that there were nerves at play with so many onlookers. The night capped off with a simple request that turned into a fitting conclusion, where a girl asked simply for a photograph. Kevin probed her with questions which led to a potential hook-up between her and her male companion, who eventually took the stage with her for some photos (see above).
With three multi-hour DVDs now available, and well over 12 hours of content, Kevin’s already put forth more original material than some of today’s biggest comedians. One fan remarked that he became a fan of Kevin’s Q&A work even before he discovered the films. If Kevin’s honest, open delivery style continues, we have a feeling that there’s going to be a lot more where that came from. Before we know it, Q&A events like these will be filled with a new grouping of anecdotes and obersvations. So, for Friday, it was certainly nice to catch Kevin in one of those rare moments in time, where it was just the man, the mic, the fans, and a bunch of random conversation.
On a final note, for those of you missing these shows, we can highly recommend SModcast as an alternative until Kevin’s in your town. Many fans in the auditorium commented on the joy the show brings them, and we even noticed a few tidbits and jokes that conceptually began during SModcast. So, it’s not only a fun listen, but an excellent primer or companion piece to the live shows. At this stage, there’s sadly no plans for a “live” SModcast, so, for now anyway, these Q&As are as close as you can get. Next time he comes ’round, you know we’ll be there. So should you!
Archive for November 11th, 2008
What’s Next?
- With the theatrical release of a View Askew flick, which normally results in the culmination of over a year’s of work and News Askew updates, many fans wonder what’s to come now that the movie has hit theaters. So, let’s take a look at what we’re expecting as we roll into 2009, and what’s ahead for Kevin Smith and View Askew Productions.
During his Red Bank appearance last week, Kevin revealed that he’ll be taking a bit of a break of the next six months — While we’ll certainly see him online in various areas, overall appearances and events will be kept at a minimum, as he takes a post-Zack & Miri break. However, the term “break” is really all relative when you look at what’s coming up.“Zack & Miri Make a Porno” will continue to play North American theaters and then expand worldwide over various release dates. We’ll keep you posted on those dates, and of course an eventual DVD release date, here. As always, the gang put in a TON of work pre-movie to ensure a jam packed DVD, so when that thing eventually shows up next year, there will be a massive documentary and tons more.
“Batman: Cacophony” features three issues, #1 of which is now available. Issues 2 and 3 are “in the can” per se and will arrive on schedule for the remainder of this year. No other comic-related announcements from Kevin at this time.
Watch the News Askew events sidebar on your right, as we’re posting up information on when Kevin and your other favorite View Askew personalities are coming to your town.
Online, Kevin and Scott Mosier will continue to produce weekly editions of SModcast. The popular podcast shows no signs of slowing down, as Kevin recently revealed it’s an excellent time to just hang out with his good friend Scott and spend an hour yakking. We’re just lucky enough to listen in.
Funding for “Red State” will happen though is not yet 100% complete. Production is planned to start in mid-2009 but nothing official as of yet. Kevin feels strongly that this should be his next project, a 180 degree turn from anything that’s come from him before.
Online updates via the WWWBoard, Kevin’s blog site and Myspace/Facebook pages will likely continue as well. These, along with News Askew, will be your sources for the latest announcements from View Askew Productions. Stay tuned, things will be calm for a bit, but we speak from experience: It never stays that way for long.
View Askew NewsBites
- High-Def Digest confirms that “Clerks II” will arrive on Bluray on February 10, 2009. The title was previously available in the now dead HD-DVD format. During a recent Q&A, Kevin joked that the orignal “Clerks” would look “even worse” on Bluray, so from what we’re seeing no plans for that one to show up in a high definition format just yet. Thanks to High Def Digest for the story, which does not speculate on any extras (though we’re guessing the same extras on previous releases of the film, but nothing new).
- Concidentally, DVD Talk is speculating on a February 10th DVD bow for “Zack And Miri” as well, though we think that is just due to the Clerks II Bluray. Chalk it up only as a rumor for now, until we can get something more official for ya.
- We’re not sure where this poster is being used in print (as this Canman article implies), but Kevin is now using this wonderful one-sheet for “Zack And Miri Make a Porno” on his Myspace profile as well. We love it. And we certainly do agree that confusion over the title and marketing hurt things for the film — Though it’s great to see everyone has a good sense of humor over all the troubles. Like we always say, a View Askew film isn’t a View Askew film without controversial stuff happening at release time.
- As we’ve now passed the release date, we’re going back to the archives to dig up some stuff we couldn’t show you until after the flick hit screens – These are some early shots from the “Bean N Gone” taken from exteriors in Pittsburgh, spotted by a curious fan last winter. Click in for a closer look at another transformed business from View Askew.
- Finally today, seems IMDB‘s folks at “Truly Trivial” must read News Askew, as a rumor we speculated on has made it to their trivia question today:
Truly TrivialThis actor was considered for the male lead in Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
The answer links to the great Jason Bateman, whom Kevin confirmed was NEVER in the running for the role (so the question is incorrect), though Kevin did in the same answer to us reveal that he’d love to work with Bateman in the future. Let’s hope it happens. We think the dude would be a fantastic fit for Kevin’s words. Catch ya back here soon!
