“Donnie, we need a clean-up in Aisle Six” (Clerks) |
Dad, Can I Have A DVD Player?
Clerks One of the joys of DVD’s is the alternate commentary track, where often the director or some other supreme being shares behind the scenes dirt that provides insight into the art of filmmaking or justifies your hunch that the director was, indeed, a moron. In this column, we share the meaty info for those of you who are “digitally handicapped”. This issue: Kevin Smith’s foul-mouthed opus, Clerks. WHAT WE LEARNED: Kev’s cousin, Walt Flanagan, plays no less than 5 roles, earning him the moniker, “the Lon Chaney of indie film”.
The cancer-ridden lung that the cigarette man pulls out is actually a piece of tripe, rubbed in dirt, dabbed with cigarettes. Thirteen minutes of footage was excised between Clerks’ debut at Sundance & its Miramax theatrical release. The character of “Caitlyn” is an homage to Canadian after-school spank-fest, Degrassi Junior High. The dead guy’s erection under the coroner’s blanket is actually a Hershey’s bottle with Kleenex taped to the top. THE HIGHLIGHT: Besides having producers Scott Mosier & Sean Jacks assisting him in commentary, Kevin also brings Jason “Jay” Mewes along for the ride. Unfortunately, Mewes is lit up like a Christmas tree and spends most of the running time on the floor, yelling out the occasional drunken epithets, grunting, and at one classic point, snoring. |
The screening went REALLY well – hopefully tonight’s will go over well too, although I won’t be there to personally crop the offending “breathing dead man” shot- I’m going to call up there and ask that they make an announcement before the film that they couldn’t mask their 16mm projector in that theater, and a few shots have extraneous picture top/bottom.
As for the video transfer…WOW!!!!!!!!!
We did a High-Definition transfer on a Spirit-Datacine (the BEST telecine machine there is- all major studio titles use Spirits, and so does Criterion- Criterion even credits that on their packaging) from a brand-new low-contrast print, and it looks stunning (Don May kept saying “This is the best looking video transfer I’ve been involved with”). The machine is a marvel – we were able to reframe the film up and down shot by shot, and even pan up or down (or zoom in or out) DURING shots, as well as correct exposure changes during shots! Having this much control over the image was a fucking blast – towards the end the colors get really saturated and warm – it almost looks like I.B. Technicolor at the end when the camera is panning across the trees during magic hour. The image is matted to 1.5:1, so it’s very minorly letterboxed (the same ratio as A CLOCKWORK ORANGE), although for the aforementioned “breathing dead guy” shot we matted to 1.66:1 and also utilized the “zoom” feature four separate times during the shot (try and spot the digital zooms when this comes out), so I guess this means it’s “multi aspect ratio”.
We’re HIGHLY anticipating seeing this one again, since we seriously dug the flick when we caught it for the first time at Vulgarthon (and have only seen it one other time since then). Sounds as if we’re in for a real treat when this thing finally sees home video release sometime this Fall. We just hope that Don May & Vincent can keep working on the project enough to speed it along – It’s no secret that a lot of Synapse‘s stuff doesn’t make release dates (like the Brain Damage disc I’m currently awaiting), but perhaps that’s why they’ve been careful NOT to give a date yet. Maybe they just wanna finish it first.
Canadian singer/songwriter also has role in fall film; plans autobiographical scrapbook, screenplay.
Senior Writer Gil Kaufman reports:
With a new song, a planned book and screenplay, and even a part in an upcoming movie, there should be no doubt Alanis Morissette is back with a vengeance.
Before issuing last year’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, the Canadian singer/songwriter took a year off following almost two years of touring behind her multiplatinum Jagged Little Pill.
But now she’s back at work: Morissette will make her feature film debut in the fall with a cameo role in “Dogma.” She also has written a song for the film directed by Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Chasing Amy”).
Seated in her backstage trailer before performing at the July 23-25 Woodstock ’99 festival, Morissette said she recorded the new song, “Still,” at Abbey Road Studios, and that it “got me really excited about the next record.”
“Still” will mark the second year in a row Morissette has debuted a new song in a film. Last year’s “City of Angels” included her Grammy-winning ballad “Uninvited” (RealAudio excerpt).
Also percolating, Morissette said, are a screenplay and an as-yet-untitled scrapbook for fans.
“I’m … always writing words, whether they wind up being poetry or lyrics, diary entries or garbage material,” Morissette said. “The book, thus far, is kind of a scrapbook of sorts with revelations and stories and journal entries and questions and photos. … It’ll come out at some point” (RealAudio excerpt of interview).
Seated with her legs tucked under her, surrounded by brightly colored tapestries draped over a couch and lining the walls and ceiling of her trailer, Morissette – a former child actress who starred in the Nickelodeon show “You Can’t Do That on Television” in the mid-’80s – also revealed that she’s been working on a script for a feature film.
“It will be made into a movie at some point,” Morissette said of her screenplay. “The theme is the inner workings of a relationship without glossing over the intricacies of it, which I love to do.”
But first up is her role in Smith’s already controversial “Dogma,” in which the singer plays God.
Asked how one prepares for such a demanding role, Morissette said the only way she knew how to get psyched up was not to prepare at all. “Kevin Smith and I both believe that God is us,” Morissette said. “So there’s really no preparation needed. It’s really small, it’s a small role.”
Morissette, who directed the video for the latest single from Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, “So Pure” (RealAudio excerpt), said she got the role after years of building a mutual admiration society with Smith.
“I just think he’s brilliant, and he was very supportive of me,” Morissette said. “[We] met a few years ago and he showed me his script for ‘Dogma.’ [He] had invited me to take part in it with him when I first got off the road for Jagged Little Pill. But I was so burnt out that I didn’t think I’d be of much value to him. But once I’d rejuvenated a year later, he had that cameo role still left” (RealAudio excerpt of interview).
After a two-album Canadian career as a teen pop star, Morissette smashed through in the United States in 1995 with the explicit single “You Oughta Know,” from the 25 million-selling Jagged Little Pill. Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie took a more introspective and spiritual tone, with such songs as “Thank U” (RealAudio excerpt).
Prior to the release of “Dogma,” Morissette will hit the road with fellow singer/songwriter Tori Amos for a co-headlining tour called the 5 1/2 Weeks Tour. The outing kicks off Aug. 18 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., at the NCR Arena.
The tour is being co-sponsored by MP3.com, a website that offers downloads of music in near-CD-quality form, and retailer Best Buy.
“Bringing two visions together to make one show can be tricky,” Amos said in a statement announcing the tour, “so obviously it takes a lot of mutual respect and a load of gear. With that in mind, Alanis and I are bringing two trucks just for ourselves: one filled with wine, the other filled with lip gloss.”
Touring with Amos was a priority for Morissette, she said, because she sensed the two might have common ground. “Obviously we’re both different artists,” Morissette said, “but I can understand the place that her music comes from. And I very much respect her.”
Very cool news indeed! We’re big fans of Alanis’ work, and can’t wait to hear the new tune. Maybe we can even premiere a snippet for ya here at the site once we catch wind of it. At this point now, Alanis is really the only artist that’s been CONFIRMED as appearing on the soundtrack (along with rumors that a new Beastie Boys track would be along for the ride, as well). Kinda scares us a little for a flick that’s supposed to be out in just a little over 2 months, but hey, maybe it’s all just part of the secrecy…
In the meantime, rather than take their copy, we suggest you surf over to the ‘Bits and read the Mallrats review. As expected, the disc did not disappoint in the least. We warn you, though, once you read this review, July 20th is gonna seem a LONNNNNNNNNG time away!
A: “There is over an hour of deleted scenes. It starts with the original “epic” opening which runs approx. 27 minutes. The way I set it up is Kevin and Vince Periera intro each deleted scene and give some reasons as to why it was cut or changed. It will be hard to describe each scene, but there is tons of developmental stuff that was forced to be cut due to time.”
Q: “Can we have a rundown on everything on the disc? So far we’ve got commentary, deleted scenes, the new anamorphic transfer of the film, and the Build Me Up Buttercup video.”
A: “Basically, everything you have on your list is what is on the disc. I just think that people will react better once they see the disc. The screens look great and there is a great cast and crew bio section that I worked in there.”
Q: “Do you have a favorite section or story that came out of the commentary?”
A: “Since I recorded it – to me the whole thing is my favorite. I think people will truly enjoy the back and forth between Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck, and Vince is great in keeping everybody on track.”
Q: “Are there any hidden ‘easter eggs’ on the DVD?”
A: “You’ll have to wait and see about easter eggs. :)”
Q: “Can we still expect to see the DVD in stores July 20th?”
A: “It is on time and there is a surprise in the works – although I am not at liberty to mention it yet.”
Kevin will be promoting the disc in the New York area on July 20th also, with an appearance on Howard Stern’s radio program as well as a signing session at the Virgin Megastore in NYC! Don’t miss it.
Written, Produced and Directed by Vincent Pereira, A BETTER PLACE is the story of a teenager who moves to a new town after the death of his father and finds out a his new friend is hiding a violent past. A BETTER PLACE stars Eion Bailey (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER TV Series, DAWSON’S CREEK and David Fincher’s THE FIGHT CLUB) and Carmen LeWallen (CHASING AMY, THE MOD SQUAD).
Executive Produced by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier (GOOD WILL HUNTING, MALLRATS, CHASING AMY), this is the first time a View Askew production has been picked up by an independent video company and not a major studio. “I met Kevin Smith in Philadelphia over a year ago and he mentioned the title to me, ” says Synapse Films President, Don May, Jr. “After seeing the film, I just had to have it. Having been associated with science fiction and horror films in the past, it isn’t the sort of thing people would expect from me but it is a great film. I’ve always been a fan of independent filmsand it’s the perfect addition to my current and upcoming slate of ‘indie’ films. I’m glad View Askew has given me the opportunity to do this film the right way.”
Synapse Films has licensed all home video rights for the feature and is currently restoring the film with director Pereira. “I’d been a fan of Don’s work restoring classic horror and cult films on Laserdisc and DVD and when Don expressed interest in the film, it was like a dream come true,” says Pereira. “With Don I know I’ll be able to release A BETTER PLACE the way I want, supervising the digital letterboxed transfer and restoring two scenes cut from the festival-circuit version of the film. The ‘Special Edition’ DVD and LaserDisc release will also have a running commentary, a selection of deleted scenes, and an introduction by Kevin (Smith) and Scott (Mosier).”
A BETTER PLACE is currently scheduled for a Fall 1999 release and Synapse Films is currently seeking an exclusive licensing arrangement for the videocassette release.
Now that the cat’s out of the bag, we’ll do our best to keep you covered on what’s going on with the transfer, expected release dates, and, hopefully, an advanced look at the DVD itself! Stay tuned.
