Actors Ben Affleck, David Schwimmer and William H Macy are to star in a comic feature set around an international poker tournament, the
trade publication Variety reported today.

The movie is to begin shooting in February at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas.

Its production comes after poker tournaments have emerged as a surprise hit on American reality television in recent years.

The movie will be directed by independent-filmmaker Zack Penn, who plans to let the actors – most of whom are dedicated poker fans –
improvise their lines.

Since last year George Lucas has been dropping hints regarding the possibility of a TV series. Today they are no longer hints. On USA Today, the TV series was confirmed by Lucas and now most recently the President of Lucas licensing, Howard Roffman, has quoted stating that a live action TV Series will indeed hit airwaves by fall of 2006.

George Lucas is not expected to direct or have anything to do with the day to day operations. Lucas during his USA Today interview said “Ultimately, I’m going to probably move it into television and let other people take it…..You know, I’ve got offshoot novels, I’ve got offshoot comics. So it’s very easy to say, “Well, OK, that’s that genre, and I’ll find a really talented person to take it and create it.” Just like the comic books and the novels are somebody else’s way of doing it. I don’t mind that. Some of it might turn out to be pretty good. If I get the right people involved, it could be interesting.

All indications from Skywalker Ranch point to George wanting to find someone to take creative control from his hands. George will remain as an “Executive Producer” but wants to have a creative team including veteran sci-fi writers and directors. The most interesting thing is that George is wanting to hand over the reigns of Star Wars to someone who will respect the films and is actually a fan of the saga. One name keeps popping up during my calls to my “Ranch” associates as a perfect candidate to become “Lord” over Star Wars. According to Lucasfilm insiders George would like someone with writing and directing experience and that already has a connection with the fan base and also be an independent film maker.

So who is this “Fan Boy” that Lucasfilm would like to recruit? Before I drop any names I am sure that plenty of you guys and gals will think that I am absolutely crazy and out of my mind. The first name that I was given was no other than Kevin Smith. “Kevin Smith would be the ideal person to handle a Star Wars TV series”, the IESB was told. “He is well recognized with the fandom and he was worked on some capacity with Lucasfilm during a Hasbro commercial a few years back, he is also a very good writer,” said the source.

So would Kevin Smith be interested in getting involved in some capacity with Star Wars TV? You normally don’t get directors from the big screen go to the small screen but if there is any truth to these speculations we might have the best of Star Wars ahead of us. But as much optimism there is from one side of the Ranch there is also some pessimism. “I just hope that he [George] doesn’t just do the TV series for the money that it will make and end up giving us a weekly kiddie show, he needs to learn from the mistakes from Star Trek and give sci-fi fans a quality show,” said the source.

In a recent interview that we had with Star Trek head honchos Rick Berman and Manny Coto we asked them what kind of advice they would offer George Lucas regarding a weekly Star Wars TV series. “Its one thing to have three years and over a 100 million dollars to create a one 2 hour movie compared to 22 to 26 one hour episodes in a year with a very limited budget and still have to remain fresh in the eyes of your audience”, said Berman. Manny Coto also had a good point when he said ” You have to concentrate on the story and also the characters and not make a weekly special effects show.” When asked if he had any other advice for George, “He can always hire me if Enterprise doesn’t work out”.

So who will helm the new Star Wars TV series? Who ever it is will probably be brought aboard right after ROTS premieres in May 2005. A fall 2006 release would give Lucasfilm one year to get the TV series ready to blast off.

When I went to the Buena Vista Home Entertainment event a few weeks ago, this was the title Kevin Smith was obviously most invested in, and seeing the disc, it’s obvious why. This is a celebration of Kevin’s roots, a look back at the thing that started everything else in his career. It’s also one of the most inspirational looks at low-budget filmmaking since Robert Rodriguez’s REBEL WITHOUT A CREW. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this became the thing that sets off a whole new batch of indie voices in the years ahead.

Miramax has packed these three discs full, so it’s worth picking up even if you already have the film on DVD. The first disc should look familiar. It’s the film you’ve seen before (although it’s a nice new transfer of it) along with the old audio commentary. You know… the one where they’re on the set of MALLRATS and Mewes falls asleep under the editing console. I’m glad they preserved this one, because it’s a record of a particular era in Smith’s development. The rest of the disc has some great stuff on it, like the animated segment, “CLERKS: THE LOST SCENE,” a music video, some funny MTV spots, new intros to the restoration, and audition tapes for the film. Disc Two is the original cut of the film, the one that first caught John Pierson’s attention, and it’s nice to see what a big impact a few small specific changes can have on a film’s overall effectiveness. The new commentary track here is loads of fun with Smith, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Scott Mosier, and Jason Mewes all taking part. They are different people now, a decade down the road, and comparing this to the other commentary is fascinating.

What really makes this set special is disc three and the documentary “Snowball Effect: The Story Of CLERKS.” Plain and simple, it’s a great film in its own right, enormously entertaining and brutally honest. The film traces Smith from childhood to the release of CLERKS, and you can see just how he became the person he is. Smith can make the most innocuous biographical detail hilarious, as in “My brother is three years older than I am. To the day. My sister is five years older than me to the week. So we figured out when we were all fairly young than our parents really liked to fuck in November.” It’s hard not to like Smith and Mosier as you watch the film. These aren’t guys who got handed their careers on silver platters. They made their luck. They put their balls on the block and were rewarded for it. I’m also impressed by how many of Smith’s friends from the pre-CLERKS era show up in the documentary, and how many of them he’s helped since his success. He’s always seemed to be a well-grounded guy, but this documentary really drives the point home. It’s feature-length, but there are lots of outtakes and extras as well, all of them equally interesting.

There’s a 10th anniversary Q&A that was filmed at the Arclight that made me laugh several times, highlighting that odd mix of antagonism and adoration that Smith and his fanbase share. All of the articles referenced in “Snowball Effect” are included on the disc, and not just the ones that are about Smith, but also the ones that inspired him. In a way, I’m sure I’m preaching to the converted here, and the most rabid View Askew fans have already purchased this one, but if you’re curious and not sure if the price justifies picking up a film you’re this familiar with, it is. This is one of the most overstuffed and enjoyable DVD packages so far this year.

The current release date for the Special Anniversary Edition of Clerks is October 5th, 2004. The release was pushed from our September schedule due, in part, to the special packaging requirements. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working at resolving our printing issues so this does not become a regular occurrence.

Jason Mewes, the Jay of “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” and “Saturday Night Live” actress Rachel Dratch will play dueling gas-station attendants in the indie crime thriller “The Pleasure Drivers.” Lauren Holly, Lacey Chabert and Meat Loaf are also on board.

“Probably the most extreme difference from John and Forrest. It’s also about the work for Kevin, but he had people come in and do cameos constantly. We did a cameo in a van. In true Kevin fashion, the characters are in there smoking joints. I had such a great time working with Kevin.”

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If you’ve seen Clerks, you know what I am talking about… and chances are you either love it or hate it. If you love it, as I do, please do yourself a favor and BUY THIS DVD! I will tell you right now I give this collection a solid A in every aspect, from the digital HiDef film transfer and 5.1 remixing, down to every little extra included, including the booklet (which is full of photocopied relics and a note from Smith declaring “Clerks 2 ‘05”!). I may be biased because this IS one of my favorite movies, but I am confident that no one could be left disappointed after soaking in all that is presented here. To make my case even stronger, here is a listing of what is on each disc. I will try not to spoil too much…

Disc 2 contains the original and unrated 103-minute first cut of Clerks that was shown at the IFFM presented in its rough, uncleaned, untouched gritty and grainy glory. It was slightly edited before Sundance, and then cleaned up and edited again when Miramax purchased the film, but this here is what actually started it all! THIS IS ESSENTIAL FOR FANS TO SEE, and a MUST HAVE for collectors! Accompanying this version of the film is an ALL-NEW commentary track with Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran and Jason Mewes. The best part about this commentary is that it is audio AND visual, so you can either listen to it with the film, or watch it as you hear the film play in the background… or – better yet – flip back and forth between the two using the rarely utilized angle-feature. The whole disc is a real treat, and this alone was worth the purchase.

10 years after it’s initial release, Clerks is once again released to the public, this time in a modern format – a 3-disc 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition DVD. This package is nothing short of GREAT, and is a perfect addition to any collection – whether a diehard, or you just ‘liked’ the movie. Between having the original feature in a remastered digital format, and all the extras and goodies inside, this is the essential Clerks volume for anyone!

The performances are excellent and go a long way towards making the movie work really well. Anderson and O’Halloran are nicely matched and have terrific chemistry together. Smith and Jason Mewes are also another nicely matched buddy team, despite the classic “wild thin guy/reserved heavy-set guy” comedic pairing. Although maybe it’s not quite as funny as it was when I originally saw it, “Clerks” still rings very real and holds up quite well.
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“Clerks” remains a terrific low-budget feature – an example of crude, clever dialogue and great, amateur acting making for a hilarious film. Miramax’s “Clerks X” is a superb 3-DVD set – viewers get a slightly/somewhat improved audio/video transfer and a ton of new supplements, including the outstanding “Snowball Effect”. Highly recommended.

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Two commentaries are offered: one with actor Ben Affleck and director Kevin Smith and the other with director Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier and guest Jason Mewes. The commentary with Smith and Affleck is one of the funniest and most interesting I’ve listened to lately, as it rarely focuses on the picture at hand and instead ventures off into various aspects of dealing with the release of a film. Smith and Affleck discuss both the critical response to the movie (with notes on specific critics and members of the press) and the ridiculous amount of press that surrounded the relationship between stars Affleck and Lopez, as well as how that effected the film. They also chat about such topics as opening versus “The Passion of the Christ”, the structure of the film, the response to Smith making a more “conventional film” and working with the other actors. There’s some good information about the film within, but the commentary is mostly a very interesting and very funny conversation about working in film.

The second commentary is more informative and detailed about the film at hand, talking about the changes in the picture, working on the film, chatting about the cast and additional discussion of the test screening process Smith had to go through (it’s a little disappointing to hear that Smith seems to have cut some worthwhile dramatic moments due to a some low-class test screening crowds). Mewes, infamous for passing out on the “Clerks” commentary and acting wild on other tracks, has cleaned up his life and gone through rehab before this commentary was recorded. As a result, his participation is quite a bit more straightforward than Mewes usually is. Although not quite as entertaining as the very enjoyable Affleck/Smith commentary, this is definitely a very close second.

BIG ASS JAY

It’s a lucky day for those of you who like it BIG! Now available is the “Big Ass Jay” Inaction Figure! The Jay figure measures a whopping 16” inches in height and features the same sculpt and paint scheme as seen in the smaller 5” inche Jay Inaction Figure. At this height and girth, it’s almost lifesize! Use it as a lawn ornament or use it to scare or amuse your friends!

The Big Ass Jay was exclusive only to fanboys and fangirls who attended 2004 Wizard World Chicago and is NOT SOLD IN STORES! We only have a very limited supply left and when they’re gone, they are gone! Order Now!

$29.99

4-WAY ROAD LITHO

“Which one is going to get to the hundred-dollar bill first – the male-friendly lesbian, the man-hating dyke, Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny?”

Now you can decide with this 4-Way Road lithograph from “Chasing Amy.” Originally drawn by producer and artist Scott Mosier (and drawn on screen by Banky Edwards), this lithograph has been faithfully reproduced from the original drawing used in the movie. It measures a frameable 17” x 11” inches and includes your choice of quote from Banky Edwards (”…these other three are figments of your fucking imagination!” or “Which one is going to get to the hundred-dollar bill first?”)

Only 4 bucks each! BUY BOTH!

MALLRATS BUMPER STICKERS

These full-color bumper stickers are updated replicas of the official ‘Mallrats’ bumper stickers that were produced waaaay back in 1995 for the film’s original release. Sadly the original stickers were produced in very limited quantities when the movie left town, so did the stickers.

Faithfully reproduced from images in the View Askew archives and updated for today’s ‘Mallrats’ fans, these full-color bumper stickers are weatherproofed to ensure a long-life on your car or truck. They measure 11.5” x 3” inches and feature either Jay & Silent Bob (All It Took Was a Fat Chronic Blunt! I Love The Smell of Commerce in the Morning!) or Brodie (Say Would You Like a Chocolate Covered Pretzel? They’re a Little Melty but Damn are they Exquisite).

A Mere $3.00 each!