…actor and director commentaries and the exclusive high definition BD-Java multi-level strategy game “Black Hat Intercept!”


“Black Hat Intercept!” begins with a warning from ‘The Warlock’ (cult-classic writer, producer and director Kevin Smith) that a computer virus has been placed inside an unwitting Internet company’s mainframe by the infamous cyber-terrorist, Thomas Gabriel. As the team leader from inside the surveillance van, players must guide an agent into the building, outwit the building’s security systems and personnel without being detected and then wipe the hard drive clean before the virus destroys the U.S.


Additionally, the BD debut of the “Die Hard Trilogy” comes locked and loaded with numerous bonus features including deleted scenes, featurettes, actor and director commentaries, visual effect breakdowns, alternate endings, side-by-side comparisons and much, much more.

We were hopeful for an edgier cut of the film as well, after the whole R vs. PG-13 debate, though it looks to not be the case here — We’ll see that stuff as extra scenes. No word on Kevin’s involvement with the DVD commentary due to his cameo role, though the guy never met a DVD track he didn’t like — We’re hopeful that the man’s involved as much as possible on this one. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

And by the way — The disc will also support the new D-Box chair which, believe it or not, rumbles and moves in sync with the film. Basically, it turns your living room into a ride! Pretty nifty, though at over $10,000 for the system, not an accessory we’ll be able to afford anytime soon. Ah, technology.

If this is an indication of his skills, I’d like to see more from Affleck. He has pace, shots, and construction down.

And then we have something we’re quite excited to see, as we haven’t seen it before – Marvel’s “Then and Now” Q&A with Stan Lee and Joe Quesada, hosted by Kevin Smith, is now available for purchase! The disc contains of course the full program along with heaps of extras, including bonus interviews, behind-the-scenes, and more. You can purchase your copy via the Then And Now site, with proceeds benefitting the awesome Hero organizataion. This one’s another must-have for your View Askew DVD collection.

Watch for more in-depth coverage on both of these discs here at News Askew next week.

Our review copy just arrived, as well, so look for our detailed screengrabs and inside info on the disc as well. Get your copy now from the Stash, the only place you can get it sent to you SIGNED by Malcolm Ingram himself!

“This film is heartening, funny, sad, informative, and in some parts downright offensive in its candid look at reality. small town gay bar was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and though it did not win any awards, it did receive a standing ovation. The film did hit theatres in a very limited release, but will hit its stride now on DVD, at least that is the hope of executive producer Kevin Smith, who has helped shepherd the project along since Ingram had pitched the film.”

Decked out in strands upon strands of Christmas lights and surrounded by fake snow, the Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse was one of many backdrops filmed for Kevin Smith’s “Jersey Girl,” which premiered in 2004.

To the disappointment of many a lighthouse enthusiast, though, it suffered the same fate as the relationship between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez and was left on the cutting room floor.

Despite being excluded from the film, members of the Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse society say they have hosted upwards of 3,000 visitors per year since they opened the lighthouse to the public 10 years ago.

…But, to think that this compared to Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back, which got GLAAD in a hissy fit, despite Smith being so pro-gay and always putting the homophobic stuff in the mouths of his dumbest characters while everyone around them clearly knows better, it is just phenomenal. (In fact, some of the anti-gay stuff happened in editing, as Smith’s original girl group in the movie were supposed to include a lesbian couple, so his “anti-gay” stuff actually was a result of editing, unlike Sandler and James where it happened in the writing room).


GLAAD extorted $10,000 out of Smith, by way of a donation to the Matthew Shepard Foundation, as a form of public apology. Yet this movie gets the papal dispensation? Unbelievable.

Co-financed by Kevin Smith, “Small Town Gay Bar” arrives on DVD with a full “View Askew” assortment of extras, giving the viewer a basic understanding of how this meager indie documentary came to be.

Shot with an accomplished visual palette (by Jonathon Cliff), using both stark and affectionate film and HD sources, “Gay Bar” induces a strong feeling of location and welcoming personality, which Ingram uses as clay to create this lovely snapshot of people gathering to celebrate themselves and an infrequent feeling of freedom. It’s an accomplished documentary, thankfully showcasing Ingram’s growth as a filmmaker, and provides a hopeful encapsulation of muted struggle inside a larger, overwhelming portrait of intolerance.

In terms of my hetero life mate, as Kevin Smith once said in one of his movies, we’re [He And Ben Affleck] not working on a script right now, but we’re talking about a bunch of different things. And his career has gone in this new and exciting direction because I’ve seen the movie that he [Affleck] directed and it is really good. It’s fantastic. And the performances are great. Every actor is going to want to work with him [Affleck] after they see this thing.

Kevin Smith to handle the first episode of Heroes: Origins. Smith says that when he was offered the job, he said, “I would love to write and direct an episode about the two gay heroes…you know, the Japanese dudes. They’re gay, right?!” He also added, “If you can do an autopsy on a cheerleader, you can show a couple of heroes making out.”

During his panel at the San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Smith confirmed that a supplementary DVD will be released next year for his 1997 Spirit Award winning Chasing Amy. To keep the style of special edition versions of his movie going, Smith’s opus will get a special edition treatment, but rather than being packaged into a new “collectors edition” DVD set, a single disc will be released that is set to include a slew of extras to act as a counterpart to the Criterion Collection DVD released in 2000.

Set to be included with the new disc is a Chasing Amy documentary found on the web, a post-screening Q and A from a film festival as well as interviews and reflections from the cast and crew of the film.

Smith said to expect this new disc to be available sometime next summer.

So, there’s your answer. We’re sorry to say you’ll need to wait another year to see this stuff, but we’re sure it will be worth it — Criterion doesn’t mess around when it comes to their DVD work, and neither do Kevin and View Askew. It’ll be here before ya know it. As for a dual-disc set, at this point nothing’s been announced, so it looks like you’ll need to buy them seperately (if for some crazy reason you don’t already own it). We’ll let you know as we hear more.