“It’s a great choice that’s pretty critic-proof,” says Affleck’s pal Kevin Smith, who has directed him in four movies. “It’s not the lead, and he’s playing an actor whose career was in turmoil. Smells like Ben’s comeback to me.”

Kevin Smith, who directed Rock in Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, says he hopes his friend will spare no one — even if it means catching scowls like that thrown by Russell Crowe when host Steve Martin joked about his libido in 2001. (Related story: The hosts with the most — or least)

“Most people will be watching hoping that Rock brings some flavor, some spice to it,” Smith says. “The beauty of that guy is he leaves no stone unturned and a path of scorched earth in his wake. Luckily, Russell Crowe isn’t nominated this year, so Rock will be as safe as a kitten.”

On an outstanding commentary track accompanying the film, one such admirer, Clerks creator Kevin Smith, chats with Kelly about the new version’s fleshed-out comic-book underpinnings while admitting he’s not entirely convinced the additions are an improvement. Smith also gets Kelly to talk about the pros and cons of having your first film connect so strongly with audiences (Kelly, who was 26 when he made the movie, admits it’s a little scary to know he’ll never be able to top himself). They also talk about the chilly reception the picture received at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and its disastrous release in October of that year, when audiences were not in a frame of mind for dark fantasy.

Occasionally, their conversation takes some enjoyable detours, like a tangential analysis of the ”You’re such a super lady!” scene from Fargo, or a moment in which Smith reverts to Jay and Silent Bob mode and asks Kelly, in terms too crude to repeat here, if the success of the film has improved his romantic life.