View Askew NewsBites™

March 18th, 1998 @ 12:00 am | No Comments » | Scooped by Keith Finch, Mike Sterling, FishHead, & Gramp

  • “Clerks” is “Wired”, baby! In April’s issue of the popular online mag, the top 10 flicks sold through www.reel.com are listed. Clerks hit #5! Here’s the full rundown:
  • The rarely-seen, often overlooked “Drawing Flies” made a recent appearance at the Newport Film Festival, and April’s issue of BoxOffice Magazine had a write-up. No major spoilers here. Check it out:
      DRAWING FLIES ** (two Stars) Starring Jason Lee, Renée Humphrey, Jason Mewes and Carmen Lee. Directed and Written by Matt Gissing and Malcom Ingram. A View Askew production. No Distributer set. Drama/comedy. Not Yet Rated. Running time: 69min.

      The 1990s, unlike the ’60s, has no counterculture. Lacking the anti-war, free love, civil rights and expanded consciousness movements, young people-here, five Canadians making pretence as a lost generation trying to find meaning in British Columbia-must make do with faux-hip cultural commentary. (“what are you going to do about rent?” “Get a job.” “No, Seriously.”) Only within such self-pleased, verging on brain-dead context could the storyline of “Drawing Files” work-four youths find themselves fallowing into the wilds a fifth who believes he’s on a mystic quest for bigfoot-but within that severe delimitation it does.

      The microbudget production, shot in black and white with (in and out) ambiant sound, has an appropriately grungy feel and a tendency toward fine long takes, and the presence of Jason Lee (“Mallrats”) on the marquee might help make up for an overbearing and one-note performance he gives onscreen as Donner, whose heading-to-ward-catastrophe this party is. Renee Humphrey, Jason Mewes, Martin Brooks and Carmen Lee provide moderately interesting turns despite a thin script. But the real “name” involved is Kevin Smith (writer/director of “Clerks”, “Mallrats”, “Chasing Amy”), who executive produces along with partner Scott Mosier. -Kim Williamson

    Gissing & Ingram’s next project is “Tail Lights Fade” (See story above).

  • Finally today, a small newsbite from the New York Post’s Gossip column:
      WHEN you see the name “Affleck” in the credits for MGM’s coming feature “The Mod Squad”, you’ll be identifying Ben’s brother, Casey, set to play opposite Claire Danes … Speaking of Ben, his “Good Will Hunting” has become the biggest hit movie that Miramax has ever had, garnering $110 million to date … Four of the major movie males touted for the best-actor Oscar this year are over or approaching 60: Jack Nicholson, Robert Duvall, Dustin Hoffman and Peter Fonda. But Matt Damon is the exception; he’s only 27 … Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, up for best original screenplay, are already working on another movie. Damon has a 150-page original he is now editing with Ben. The latter will star in this yet-unnamed project and Matt will play a supporting role …

  • No Comments Yet...

    Scroll down and be the first!

    Got Something To Say?

    You must be logged in to post a comment.