- Don’t miss SModcast #103, now available via iTunes and at the beautiful new SModcast website . This memorable episode concludes Kevin’s stint with his mother as co-host and features her participating in one of Kevin’s favorite hobbies:
SMODCAST #103: Amazing Grace
In which a Mother learns the benefits of going green.
Don’t miss it, available immediately now exclusively at www.smodcast.com via downloadable and streaming audio formats.
- Official television ads have started airing for “Cop Out”, with many fans catching their first look at new footage during last weekend’s AFC championship game. Will it have a coveted Superbowl ad spot? Here’s hoping. Meanwhile, Kevin hints that a new R-rated “red band” trailer also exists for the film, but we’ve yet to locate it on the web. When we find it, we’ll let ya know. Seen a “Cop Out” ad during other broadcasts? Let us know.
- Congrats to the awesome Jason Lee on his fast return to television. TNT has just announced that Lee will headline a new series titled “Delta Blues” which is set to launch later this year:
The hourlong “Blues,” from Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and Warner Horizon, centers on Dwight Hendricks (Lee), a Memphis police officer who lives with his mother (Celia Weston) and moonlights as a musician.
The pilot, written by Liz Garcia and Joshua Harto and directed by Clark Johnson, co-starred Alfre Woodard, Abraham Benrubi and DJ Qualls. Clooney, Heslov, Garcia and Johnson are executive producers, with Henry Bronchtein and Abby Wolf-Weiss co-executive producing and Harto producing.
- The lovely Rosario Dawson, as Becky Scott, claims the #5 spot on Total Film’s list of “15 Hottest Movie Mistresses”:
Becky Scott
Actress/Film: Rosario Dawson, Clerks II (2006)
Cheating On/With: As manager of a local fast food outlet, she’s relatively footloose; employee Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran) on the other hand, with whom she’s apparently been dirtying up the diner tables, really isn’t.
Alright, We Forgive You: Despite being pregnant as a result of their tryst, she tries to let Dante pursue his new life of marital mediocrity in Florida.
And, since every bloke must at some point face the abject humiliation of learning to dance, it might as well happen like [caution: swears] this.
Catch ya next time! Thanks for checking in with News Askew today.
You are at the archive for the Cop Out (FKA “A Couple Of Dicks”) category &rarr
The “Twitter” Report…
- A mystery Red Bank event in August. Ticket leftovers in Toronto. Anderson-signed script pages for charity. All that and more in today’s edition of the “Twitter” report, actual tweets from @ThatKevinSmith:
Via @BrandonConsoli “what kind of feel is hit somebody gonna have?” I’m going for FORREST GUMP of sports films. Big valentine to the Game.
Via @LeakingPan “Just got tickets to a prescreening for tomorrow” Score me up, Homey: I wanna make A BIGGER COP OUT after HIT SOMEBODY.
Via @dibbs34 “LOVED The Smomcast. does she return for next weeks as well?” For two solid hours. One of ’em completely baked. S’awesome.
Re: Toronto’s Roy Thomson Show, Feb 6th – 23 tix freed up on TicketMaster. 63 full view. 48 partial view. http://tinyurl.com/tdotkev
Via @rosecity1980 “ticketmaster is turning me down, sir. says they got nothing…again” Call Roy Thomson box office. They’ve got some there.
DailyDevils: @NHLDevils want to get to 10k followers, and they’re giving out 100 pairs of tickets to do so! http://bit.ly/7bW2hK #devs10k
A request from Jeff Anderson (and a rare chance to get a signed page from his CLERKS II script): http://tinyurl.com/arequestfromjeffanderson
Via @themuckshow “is it worth the 9+hr drive from Ont 2 NJ just to see a store?” It’s gonna be, the weekend of August 2nd…
Yes, all we can confirm right now is that early August weekend will bring something big to Red Bank. But for now…No further deets. When we know, so will you.
Behold the “Cop Out” One Sheet and Tagline!
- The theatrical one-sheet (or poster, for you non-geek types) for “Cop Out” gets the job done. It highlights the stars, catches your eye, looks slick, and has one of the best taglines we’ve seen of recent memory. “Rock out with your glock out” is so good, it should take the sting away from anyone still missing the original “Dicks” title. The tagline’s even more subservise than the original title, and we love it for that. This one’s a winner, and we’re sure you’ll all agree. Click away for a bigger look. We’re pleased to have this one in a clean, logo-free format for those of you who’d like to collect a copy for yourselves. Enjoy. We’ll all keep waiting to rock out with our glocks out starting February 26th.
View Askew NewsBites
- A recent e-issue of pop culture mag GeekChicDaily lists “Cop Out” among their “Top 10 for the First Half of 2010”:
Cop Out (Feb. 26) Kevin Smith directs Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as the po-po, in what we’re hoping will be the funniest cop film since Bad Boys (the original, not Bad Boys 2). Our prediction: When it comes to buddy cops, Tracy Morgan is the next Eddie Murphy and/or Will Smith!
- The two major Australian theatre chains are advertising March 18th as the release date for “Cop Out”. Curiously, though, one of them is also advertising another movie called “A Couple Of Dicks”, supposedly opening on February 25th — Obviously an error, of course. Still, March 18th means Aussies are getting the film just a few weeks after North America, and a full month before the U.K.
- Empire Online cites the protests surrounding Dogma in their article titled “Cinema Can Be Hazardous To Your Health!”.
- Kevin’s got a spot on Total Film’s feature on the “18 Youngest Film Directors”:
The Director: Kevin Smith
Age: 22
How Did They Get Their Break
Smith?s first film, Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary, was shot with co-director Scott Mosier while the pair were at the Vancouver Film School.The latter dubbed it ?the greatest documentary that never was?. It followed the duo?s failed attempt to made a documentary about the titular Mae Day, who was going through a sex change.
Just two years later, Smith made Clerks.
UK’ers Can “Cop Out” on April 16th…
- UK Film Distributors have revealed that “Cop Out” will make it overseas in a fairly speedy fashion. You’ll be able to check out the flick on April 16th in the UK, just about a month and a half after its February 26th debut in the States. No further rating or screen details just yet, but we’ll keep you UK fans posted of course, as always.
The Official “Cop Out” Press Kit Has Arrived!
- Official stuff directly from Warner Bros. has started to arrive here at the News Askew office, which we’ll continue to pass on in the coming weeks. With a release just a bit over a month from now, we should start seeing TV ads, perhaps another trailer (they sometimes will cut more than one, ya know), and more — For now, here’s a nice look at the film’s logo, which arrived attached to this nifty little press release:
Directed by Kevin Smith (Zack and Miri Make a Porno), Cop Out features two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card who find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster. Jimmy (Bruce Willis) is the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding, and Paul (Tracy Morgan) is his partner-against-crime whose preoccupation with his wife’s alleged infidelity makes it hard for him to keep his eye on the ball.
Kevin Smith directs Cop Out from a screenplay by Robb Cullen & Mark Cullen (TV’s Las Vegas). The film stars Bruce Willis (the Die Hard films), Tracy Morgan (TV’s 30 Rock), Adam Brody (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), Kevin Pollak (Tropic Thunder), Guillermo Diaz (TV’s Weeds) and Seann William Scott (Role Models).
The film is produced by Marc Platt (Rachel Getting Married), Polly Johnsen (upcoming Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore) and Michael Tadross (I Am Legend, Hitch). Adam Siegel (Wanted), Robb Cullen and Mark Cullen serve as executive producers.
The behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography David A. Klein (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Chasing Amy); production designer Michael Shaw (August Rush, Boys Don’t Cry); costume designer Juliet Polcsa (The Sopranos, Jersey Girl); and Academy Award®-nominated composer Harold Faltermeyer (the Beverly Hills Cop movies). As he frequently does, Smith serves as his own editor on the film.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, A Marc Platt Production, Cop Out, to be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. The film is scheduled for release on February 26, 2010.
Can we again say how happy we are to see that Kevin edited the film together himself? Just makes it feel all that more special.
We’re also pleased to present a heap of official trailer links in every format under the sun — These download as well as stream, so grab yourself a copy if you wanna watch it a few times or show it off.
“Cop” Scores Big @ Test Screening!
- Don’t say we didn’t tell ya so. Some folks loved the trailer, a few doubters expressed concern, but yesterday, at a test screening for “Cop Out”, audiences dug the hell out of the film. Web buzz has been highly positive, and Kevin reports that in-house reaction was so strong, one V.I.P. attendee was already questioning him about what he’d like to do next.
Take a look at this reaction posted today at Aint It Cool News..
Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis are great together. Jordan plays a cop and a husband who is fairly grounded in reality (not at all like his 30 ROCK Tracy Jordan character), only a bit paranoid (his wife, Rashida Jones, may or may not be cheating on him), a terrible actor (he plays a very unconvincing bad guy, when trying to trick a perp into giving up information), and possibly has a coke habit (the only reason I can think of for his constant sniffling).
Willis is pretty much what you would expect in this, but plays off of Morgan really, really well.
Adam Brody and Kevin Pollack play another team of detectives who are a couple of dicks. They figure into the story, but are somewhat inconsequential. Like he has in other movies though, Brody is pretty good about stealing the spotlight in the small opportunities he has.
You know what you’re getting from Sean William Scott from the trailer: a wiseass. Only he does parkour, although not particularly well. He’s not a star of this movie, but is very funny in a few key scenes.
Guillermo Diaz is the main bad guy and is all sort of bad ass. The dude has a habit of putting someone in a batting cage and hitting baseballs at them. Ouchies!
In the end, this feels a lot like a LETHAL WEAPON movie for 2010. It’s got some action, some comedy, and is just pretty much a joy to watch all the way through.
We never really spoke out about the trailer, and haven’t had the pleasure of seeing the final cut yet, though here’s what we think — If you watch the trailer, you can tell that the film just has such raw dialogue, that they had to struggle just to find enough to cut together in a green-band, which usually spells GREATNESS for an R-rated comedy. Plus, they’re not giving away much about the film’s plot or any of the big jokes. Don’t you hate when you go into a movie and just wait for all the jokes and beats from the trailer to unspool? You start thinking “Well, the movie must not be ending yet, I still didn’t see joke # xxxx from the trailer”.
Kevin has stated that he didn’t cut the “Cop Out” trailer and that the movie will surprise anyone who saw the trailer and had doubts. Not that what’s in the trailer is bad, mind you, but what you’re actually going to see in the film blows that trailer out of the water. After being fans for so long, we know how Kevin constructs a film, and this one’s going to be a modern action comedy classic. There’s no doubt about it.
Mark your calendars and be ready for “Cop Out” on February 26th — And if you catch it early, be sure to let us know what you thought.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Howdy folks, just a few newsbites for the middle of a fairly quiet week — We do hope you’ve scoured the awesome new SModcast site from top to bottom. Ming’s design is amazing, the site’s a work of art and yes, it’s got every single episode there at your fingertips. A great time to get on board or pass on to a friend. Share the love of the greatest podcast in all the land! Hit up www.smodcast.com today , and don’t forget to check out the freshly minted episode #101.
- While this tweet’s getting near a day old now, twitter user @spoilertvmovies sent out the following message:
If you are in the LOS ANGELES area on Thursday and would like to see a Sneak Screening of the new Bruce Wilis movie Cop Out – Contact us
It might be worth hitting them up with a tweet or message to see if you can still get into the show tomorrow. Seeing Kev’s flick almost 2 months early? Priceless.
- Scooper Pat sends us the following deets on Kevin’s involvement in the Hughes doc, “Don’t You Forget About Me”:
“…He basically explained his take on Hughes and his work. (As far as his films go, the doc focused mostly on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and Weird Science.) Kevin also mentioned that as much as the movies touched him, what he felt was missing for himself personally, he made into Clerks.”
Pretty cool stuff, can’t say we recall Kevin ever referring to “Clerks” as missing material from the other Hughes movies brought to life in Kevin’s own world, but we like it.
- We ran the scan last update, now here’s a bit more detail from Entertainment Weekly on that “Cop Out” image they ran in this week’s ish:
After an undercover stolen cell-phone bust goes bad in the cop comedy Cop Out, out Feb. 26, the detectives on the case — Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis — are hauled in for what director Kevin Smith calls “the classic ‘You guys are f– ups!’ scene.” Clearly, Willis isn’t too happy about it. “Later on, you’ll see three different forms of Bruce Willis action grimace,” says Smith. “But this is the getting-dressed-down-by-a-superior grimace, and that, mercifully, happens very little in the movie, because as we all know, Bruce Willis has no superior.”
As for Morgan’s cellular attire, Smith jokes that the suit was “definitely a controversial choice.” While Morgan was always supposed to wear the suit in the previous scene, Smith explains, “I remember in the script, it didn’t say that Tracy was still wearing the suit. [I thought], let’s spin it a little bit by leaving him in that ridiculous outfit — it just plays into what happened, and we get a few more [comedy] beats out of it. The first time we see Tracy [in the scene], it’s Bruce and Tracy in profile. So you see Bruce and you see this giant cell phone suit, and then Tracy pops his head out of the suit altogether and says, ‘Thank you captain!'”
The film also wasn’t always called Cop Out, either. You can click here for Smith’s ode to the film’s original risqué title, A Couple of Dicks, but the director says he stood firm about worries over the film’s salty R-rated language. “I’m sorry, in the world of cops, if people are firing guns at you, nobody says ‘freakin,'” says the director. “Except on TV, where they say ‘mother falcon’ all the time.”
- And finally to finish off the ‘Bites today, there’s nothing really new in this article, but we like how Empire brings up the tune of “Hit Somebody” and promotes their love of the idea — There’s even a direct link where you can listen to the song that’s inspiring Kev to write the film. Worth a listen.
Furthermore, Obsessed With Film logs a nice summary of the project so far, piecing together a lot of the news we’ve logged over the past few months in a tidy little package. Sort of a “Cliff’s Notes” of “Hit Somebody” in its early stages.
The “Twitter” Report: 2010!
- Has Kevin got the record for most tweets in 2010 so far? Mr. Smith has taken the time to kick off the new year chatting with the fans over these past few days, approach almost 200 tweets for the year at presstime (190 by our count), where he’s dropped science on some familiar topics: sex, drugs, hockey, PSAs, and a little flick called “Cop Out” that’s hitting theaters next month. Ah, it’s nice to see the new year hasn’t changed things too much. Here’s a look at some of the most news/noteworthy:
Via @wadew22 “Who plays the villian in COP OUT?” A guy I’ve wanted to work with for a long time now: http://tinyurl.com/iloveguillermodiaz
Via @JeepersMedia “Is there ANY Old Movie that you could Remake Better?” DOGMA. I’d make minor cast changes and move the camera a lot more.
Via @codyunderblood “Austin Q&A: Still a chance we’ll get live SMOD to close the show?” If it sells out, yes: http://tinyurl.com/kevaustin
Via @thebdizzle “widening gyre kicking ass.” Thanks! I love it, too. Ish 4 ships this week (or next) & Walt’s almost half done w/ ish 5 art.
Via @TJdaSportsGuy “Ever consider getting a show on XM/Sirius?” If they can set it up so I can do it all from my office every morning? In.
As always, hit up the Twitter feed directly for all the lurid details, but strap in — And hide the kiddies!
View Askew NewsBites
- Entertainment Weekly has always been kind with coverage to Kevin’s films in the past, so it’s great to see “Cop Out” featured in a large photo in the latest issue — This is a never-before-seen photo from the flick, and a brand new quote from Kevin on the scene. Here’s hoping for continued visibility and promotion for the flick over the next couple of months. Click for a super-sized look or take a peek in the early pages of your EW issue.
- Kevin and “Mallrats” get a mention in this “Hockey-in-Hollywood” Quiz. The featured question:
“7. Which two NHL teams are featured in the Sega video game played by Jason Lee in the 1995 Kevin Smith film “Mallrats?””
Now THAT’S some good trivia. Without cheating, you know the two? Think about it.
- The Toronto Sun reveals that Kevin was interviewed for the recently completed John Hughes documentary “Don’t You Forget About Me” — The doc aired over the holidays on Encore — If anyone caught it and could give us an update on Kevin’s involvement, we’d love to hear it. Even more, we’re hoping for a wider release of the doc, so we can check it out. The 68 minute film documents the effort by a small Canadian documentary crew to secure an interview with Hughes, who at that point had not given an interview since 1999.
