– Future Cartoon Movie: Kev said he currently had no plan for a Clerks cartoon feature (not even in the distant future) though said he enjoyed doing the ABC show but wasn’t too keen on writing with so many people and throwing out gag after gag for each show.

– Green Hornet: Kev mentioned working on drafts and talked primarily about how his decision not to direct freed up his writing process. As he put it, “Page Nine: The whole world blows up. It’s your problem now, sucker.” He also mentioend that John Woo was being sent a draft, and commented on how cool he thought it would be if Woo directed his vision of Green Hornet.

– Fletch Won: Kev again mentioned Braff and talked about a script, and the only date mentioned alongside the flick was April ‘06 (start of filming, same as mentioned in Red Bank).

– Pitching Shows to HBO: While most know Clerks TAS was pitched to HBO, he pitched a pair of other shows; One being of the superhero variety and the other tentatively titled “37: Tales from the Askewniverse.” (which would consist of 37 episodes). Kev also said it wasn’t so much that he wanted to do television in the future, he just wanted to know that he could if he wanted, saying, “Now I can pitch to HBO and they’re probably thinking ‘just say yes… he’s not gonna want to do it anyway.’”

Reel Paradise

View Askew Productions

AUSTIN-Storied producer’s rep John Pierson (who told his stories in his book “Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes”) is a charismatic draw for a certain kind of moviegoer — the indie-centric fan who marvels at the many filmmakering talents he has brought to light. Fortunately for the docu in which he stars, “Reel Paradise” has a broader appeal. As a portrait of a quirky American family and a study of competing cultural values, it’s an engrossing and often very funny tale. It recently screened at the South by Southwest Festival.

The Pierson clan — John, wife-partner Janet, 16-year-old Georgia and 13-year-old Wyatt — spent a year on the Fijian island of Taveuni, where they ran what they call “the world’s most remote movie theater,” a dirty, barely functional place called the 180 Meridian Cinema. In the final month of their stay, director Steve James came to document their experience.

Although the film lacks a story line as gripping as “Hoop Dreams” or an issue as powerful as “The Thin Blue Line”(previous projects for James and Pierson, respectively) and thus can’t be expected to set the boxoffice aflame, it has a mixture of humor and cultural relevance that raises it above the documentary rank and file. That appeal could be enhanced by trimming a few enjoyable but unnecessary scenes from the film. In general, “Reel Paradise” is just what it needs tobe: a vicarious vacation in an exotic setting, away from all the trappings of “civilized” life except the one moviegoers crave.

The 180 Meridian had been free all year (opening its doors to an audience that would not have been able to afford admission otherwise), which provoked an unexpected conflict:The nearby Catholic church was offended, claiming that giving things away undermined the work ethic that generations of Western missionaries had tried so hard to impose on Fiji.

Other conflicts arose as well, both at the theater (where John deals with projectionists who go on a bender instead of showing up for work) and at home (where Georgia’s popularity with local boys scandalizes her classmates’ parents, and the Piersons’ relative wealth attracts burglars). Almost all the difficulties boil down to an intriguing clash of values but are made more interesting because of the varied personalities within the family — from Wyatt, who eagerly adapts to local customs and is skeptical of his father’s highbrow tastes, to Janet, who brings a liberal intellect to bear on everything from curfews to a showing of “Jackass.”

Planted among the many cultural dramas, of course, is a motivating love of the movies. A few scenes capture a magic right out of “Sullivan’s Travels”: moviegoers who aren’t yet too jaded to howl at the antics of Buster Keaton, Steve Martin or a “Jackass” willing to attach electrodes to his nether regions. James manages to slide these moments in without letting the docu feel like a solipsistic ode to cinephilia.

Harvey is “a businessman, but really he’s a friend, and he seems to like what we do,” says Smith, who delayed production of his Clerks sequel, The Passion of the Clerks, so it could be made by the new company.

A morning with Kevin Smith

Filmmaker’s homecoming stretches into wee hours

By MARK VOGER – STAFF WRITER

So you’re impressed by Bruce Springsteen’s three-hour-plus shows? Another Shore native has “the Boss” beat by double, and then some.

Kevin Smith — the writer/director behind “Clerks,” “Chasing Amy” and “Jersey Girl” — turned his Red Bank homecoming into a seven-hour marathon.

Smith brought his Q&A-format program “An Evening With Kevin Smith” to the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank on Saturday. Smith promised patrons would see “two hours of a fat guy sweating.” He surprised himself when the session lasted until 3 a.m., calling this his longest Q&A ever.

Timely reference

Many wondered if Smith — a Catholic whose religion-themed comedy “Dogma” drew controversy — would allude to the death of Pope John Paul II hours earlier. Indeed, the filmmaker opened by addressing the passing of a “man of peace,” a “little bald man” who “fed the hungry.”

“Tonight,” Smith said solemnly, “I dedicate my show to Frank Perdue.” He soon added: “And the pope died.”

As you can guess, the easily offended had no place at this show. No discussion of bodily functions, sexual peccadilloes, ex-girlfriends or bizarre “what if” scenarios was off limits.

Smith warned the first questioner that he was setting the tone for the entire evening, “so don’t be askin’ me any J.Lo questions.”

Smith cracked up when one fan began his question: “Like your friend (Ben) Affleck, I, too, am a struggling actor.”

“I am totally stealing that joke,” Smith said.

Many of the evening’s funniest moments came when Smith toyed with audience members.

When a man whose hair was dyed blue approached a microphone, Smith said, “Sir! Look at you with the blue hair, expressing your individuality.”

The man shot back: “I see you’re sporting a mullet (hairstyle).”

Smith explained he is growing his hair for an upcoming role. “I’m doing it for financial reasons,” he said. “What’s your (expletive) excuse?”

Smith said Wednesday will mark two years of sobriety for Jason Mewes, his longtime friend and co-star in “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” Now that Mewes is sober, is he boring? “Oh, God, no. He was boring when he was stoned.”

Marathon session

This reviewer left the venue at 1:45 a.m., but my brother, niece and nephew saw the marathon through. “At one point, Kevin laid down on the stage and kept talking,” said my brother Brian, who added that the remaining audience members counted down to 3 a.m. in unison.

Reached on Monday, a Count Basie Theatre spokeswoman said: “There’s no ordinance that says we have to end the show at a certain time.”

But Smith still wasn’t finished by 3 a.m.

An employee of Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, Smith’s comic book store on Broad Street, said that following the show, Smith autographed items at the store until 7 a.m.

Not so silent: Director Kevin Smith performs in Crystal Lake

CRYSTAL LAKE – Silent Bob had plenty to talk about Sunday night at the Raue Center for the Arts during a decidedly R-rated show.

Kevin Smith, the director of “Clerks,” “Dogma,” and “Chasing Amy,” who also plays the character Silent Bob in several of his movies, performed a stand-up comedy routine that played off questions from the audience.

Clad in a long trench coat, knee-length blue jean shorts, a navy-blue baseball jersey, and gym shoes without socks, Smith began his act with a dedication to a “man of peace.”

“Because he fed the people and proved one little bald man could make a difference,” Smith joked, “I would like to dedicate this show to Frank Purdue – the chicken magnate, without whom I wouldn’t be here. Or, at least, I would be thinner.”

McHenry resident Judy Irwin, who works in the marketing department for Centegra Health System, is the 34-year-old New Jersey native’s aunt and was credited with recruiting her nephew for the show.

Irwin told the audience that the show would benefit the Raue Center and enable it to buy a $20,000 commercial DVD player that could be used to show movies it otherwise would not have access to.

“So few of them are available on 35 millimeter these days,” Irwin said. “We will be able to see wonderful films the way directors meant them to be seen. It is a great step forward for the Raue, and a step forward for film preservation.”

In response to a question about his views on downloaded music and movies, Smith said he was not worried about the impact on his industry.

People who get a sneak peek at his movies usually also go to see them at the theater and still will buy his DVDs, he said.

“I’m not like that dude from Metallica,” Smith said. “Only really a handful [download movies]. If everyone here downloaded ‘Jersey Girl,’ the movie still would have flopped.”

He said “Jersey Girl,” which starred Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, could not overcome the immense failure of their other movie, “Gigli,” and the cancellation of actors’ wedding.

“It was like telling people, ‘Hey, remember that movie that came out two months ago that you hated? Here’s another one,’ ” Smith said.

Smith said he was working on a “Clerks” sequel, the independent movie that launched his career.

Much of his act focused on adult and sexual themes, that while mostly funny, probably was not for children.

“It was very educational for them – maybe too much,” said Crystal Lake resident Ellen Morton who left the show with her husband and two sons about two hours into Smith’s show. “It was pretty body.”

Phil and Teresa Bellah made what they said was more than an hour-long trek to the Raue Center for the show from Crest Hill.

Phil Bellah said he identified with Smith’s unique sense of humor, while his wife said she liked his comedic take on religious issues.

“A lot of people don’t understand where he is coming from,” Teresa Bellah said. “No rel