- Reports are coming in on Kevin’s return to Canada this week, as he appeared onstrage for another packed Q&A session — This time, in Vancouver. Of particular note, some major news broke here for the first time. Here’s a quick rundown of what may interest you…
- The rarely-seen “Oh What a Lovely Tea Party” documentary, which follows the making of “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”, will be included in full on the upcoming Bluray release of “Clerks X”. It will also feature all the great stuff from the most recent “Clerks” release, including “Snowball Effect”, the brilliant documentary from Zak & Joey.
- In other Bluray news, Kevin and the cast are currently recording new material (another documentary perhaps?) for a “Chasing Amy” Criterion Bluray, making it sound like this dream will finally become a reality. Kevin has in the past revealed he wanted to repackage all the great Criterion stuff that already existed along with new stuff on top of that.
- On the “Jersey Girl” front, the must-see extended cut of the film is “very possible” for next year, on both DVD and Bluray. We’ve seen the extended version a couple times, and really dig it — It gives a lot more depth to the characters and is our preferred cut. Let’s hope this one comes to pass, as it’s been years since we’ve seen it this way.
- The new comic book project from Kevin and Walt Flanagan will be unveiled at the San Diego Con this July.
- Kevin would one day like to make a hockey-themed film.
Fans are reporting that Kevin once again (as always) brought his A-game, with stories old and new, and more talk of the Walter Gretzky tournament and his admiration. No new details about “A Couple of Dicks”, though it’s going to be a while before that one gets in front of cameras. Fans are also mentioning a dude who asked to get naked on stage last night, whom Kevin apparently allowed to do so. Sounds like another crazy one, which just goes to show, no Kevin Smith show is ever the same, and you never can predict what you’ll be in for. Keep your eyes on our upcoming events calendar, and don’t miss your chance to see Kevin live on stage if he’s near your town.
Archive for March 29th, 2009
View Askew NewsBites™
- Kevin conducted a new interview with the local Brantford press regarding View Askew’s participation in their upcoming street hockey tournament. Here’s a few select quotes:
“I have really gotten into Wayne and Walter in the last six months, I’ve been reading a lot about them and found it really inspiring,” he said.
He went as far as to say he “kind of fell in love in a big, bad way” but not in a romantic sense – like so many people, he found Walter and Wayne to be very inspiring individuals.
Smith said he then felt he may be going through a mid-life crisis because “at 38 I found Gretzky to be an ideal role model” but that his admirations were solidified when he was speaking at Roy Thomson Hall and Bloor Cinema in Toronto and found those present understood his idolization.
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So far there has been enough fan response on the View Askew message board to form three teams. The teams have been named after hockey jerseys featured in Smith’s films – The Vulgarians, The Leonardo Reapers and the Monroeville Zombies.
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“Brantford produced Wayne Gretzky, perhaps one of the only viable role models of the last 50 years … the world needs more Wayne Gretzkys and I figure – why wouldn’t another come out of Brantford? So I thought, why not put money into Brantford athletics.”
The tournament, which is a fundraiser event for the Sports Facilities Infrastructure Legacy fund, runs June 5-7, with each ball hockey team guaranteed at least three games at Lions Park Arena.
- Part 5 of Stranahan’s excellent sit-down interview with Kevin Smith is now available. This 5-minute segment focuses on “Chasing Amy”, where Kevin details some of his regrets on what many fans call their favorite of his work: “Chasing Amy”. While we love the flick just the way it is, Kevin reveals he may have made some different edits. The first film they cut on an Avid system, “Chasing Amy” was pieced together in just 9 days. More segments are on the way in the coming days.
- “Clerks” is seeing some tough competition against “Empire Records” in the second round of the 90’s movies battle at VH1’s Best Week Ever website. You need to go on over, and cast your vote! Help “Clerks” move on to the next round! Our flick is currently winning at 51% at presstime, but that margin needs to be a little less scary. Go go go!
- Those of you watching Fox’s new Joss Whedon series, “Dollhouse”, may have chuckled a bit in this week’s episode, which featured a backstory of Eliza Dushku’s character attempting to release caged animals being used for medical experiments. The plot point was similar to the reasoning behind the C.L.I.T. organization (of which Dushku’s character was a member) in “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”. The show, is uneven at times but shows promise. However, from the look of early ratings, like the superior “Firefly”, this one’s likely to only run for its original half season order. After shaky starts, though, both “Buffy” and “Angel” turned into some of the best TV of all-time, so here’s hope this one might slip through and give Dushku some continuing work.
- The Canadian version of Amazon is now taking pre-orders for a Chasing Amy Bluray at $17.95 CDN. The disc will be released on April 7, 2009. We have very few details on this one, so buy with caution. No telling if a remaster was done. And as far as we know, this does not include any new material, possibly not even all of the extras from the Criterion version (currently the best home version of the film).