WHILLENHOLLY

“I don’t get out to the movies that much, but “Bluntman and Chronic” was blunt-tastic”

The Craig-Ashley-Manny love triangle is what drew Kevin Smith — the 34-year-old writer and director of ”Clerks” and ”Chasing Amy” and a longtime fan of the show’s earlier incarnations — to the current ”Degrassi.” Now Smith is guest-starring as himself and as his cult alter ego, Silent Bob — half the stoner-comic duo of Smith’s hit movie ”Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” — in a three-episode arc. Sitting at a picnic table outside the studio, waiting to shoot his own prom scenes, Smith marveled at the creative freedom Linda Schuyler enjoys. ”How awesome would it be to have your own universe, where you’re telling ongoing stories, and everything is within the confines of this piece of property?” he remarked, smiling almost sweetly. Smith, who himself manages a highly entrepreneurial universe (acting, writing comic books and scripts, running four popular Web sites, selling action figures of himself), explained the long-running appeal of ”Degrassi” in indie-music terms. ”The garage-band ideal is where I present something to you and say, ‘You’ve got to check this out,’ ” he said. ” ‘Degrassi’ still has that. You can still tell more people than not about the show, and they’re like, ‘I’ve never heard about it.’ Fans aren’t threatened by its popularity.”

…

”We needed someone to come in and shake things up,” Mistysyn said, as she waited to be called to the set where she’d be shooting scenes with Kevin Smith. Smith says he fell in love with Caitlin 15 years ago, when he was just a real-life convenience-store clerk. The three-episode arc — in which Smith directs a ”Jay and Silent Bob” movie, using ”Degrassi” as a production set — won’t be shown in the United States until this summer, but it has already brought an abundance of grown-up press to the show in Canada. For his part, Smith is happily plugging ”Degrassi” in sold-out speaking engagements and on his wildly popular View Askew Web site.

SILENT BOB SPEAKS – THE COLLECTED WRITING OF KEVIN SMITH

From the award-winning screenwriter and director — a collection of irreverent and hilarious rants on the absurdity of just about everything.

In 1994, Kevin Smith debuted his low-budget film Clerks at the Sundance Film Festival. It became an instant cult classic and made Smith the top dog of the indie film world. Next he was an executive producer of the smash hit Good WillHunting and quickly earned the title “King of Gen X Cinema” from Time magazine. He appeared on Charlie Rose, Politically Incorrect, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and currently holds a regular spot on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosting a segment entitled “Roadside Attractions.” Fans of his films will instantly recognize Smith as Silent Bob — the character with no lines. And last year Smith began writing a hilarious monthly column covering popular culture for Arena magazine.

In this side-splitting rant-fest, Kevin Smith waxes rhapsodic and obnoxious on everything from his platonic infatuation with Ben Affleck to his bloodcurdling hatred of Britney Spears, from his shocking diagnosis with morbid obesity to the fatal flaws of SpiderMan — all done in his inimitable, raunchy style.

Silent Bob Speaks interweaves the best of the Arena columns with a new introduction by the author to produce Smith’s first collection of bawdy, over-the-top essays, guaranteed to make his legions of fans choke on their Cheerios.

SIGNED BY KEVIN SMITH

THIS IS A PRE-ORDER ITEM THAT SHIPS ON APRIL 13, 2005

Order here!

http://store.yahoo.com/jsbstash/sibobspcowro.html

Slackers’ Hollywood

Director of the film “Clerks” and hero to a generation of underachieving slackers, Kevin Smith has pulled together a selection of his writing, including his columns for Arena magazine, to be published as Silent Bob Speaks by Titan (23rd May, p/b, £9.99, 1845760808). In true slacker fashion, Smith admits that it took two years to finish the book even though “all of the contents were pretty much already in existence”.

Silent Bob is Smith’s alter ego, a taciturn stoner often seen with a baseball bat who, with his drug-dealing sidekick Jay, features in each one of Smith’s movies, which include “Mallrats” and “Chasing Amy”. In real life Smith is more vocal and charismatic than his fictional doppelganger: his unscripted one-man stand-up show can last for more than three hours. The book is an attempt to capture some of that energy in print.

Smith says: “You come off much better in print than you do in real life; at least I do. But you lose the give and take, because the person reading the book is having shit thrown at them, as opposed to being in an audience when you throw shit that way and shit comes back your way. There’s no give or take to a book, it’s either give or take, depending on which side of the book you’re sitting.”

The book was the idea of Hollywood mogul and Miramax founder Harvey Weinstein, who wanted Smith to be the publisher’s Michael Moore. But though he and Moore have followed a similar trajectory–from independent film-maker to Hollywood player–Smith does not have pretensions to follow Moore into the political landscape. He says: “My book will never do what Michael Moore’s books do. His books are really political, and about big ideas, but always presented in an entertaining way. Mine are just about stupid stuff; they don’t have the big ideas at all, just the entertaining bit.”

Devoted fan base

What Smith does is write amusingly about his life as a slacker turned Hollywood insider. This includes his trouble with morbid obesity (he uses the fat-blocker drug called Xenical, and asks readers to tell him if they see him “tearing into food that no one over 200 pounds should be enjoying”); his thoughts on Britney (”She’s a fad with legs” not even “on the level of a karaoke caroller”); and about other films [for example, “Stars Wars II: Attack of the Clones”, “All I had to see was Yoda toss aside his cane and reach for his lightsabre, and it was like busting a nut in the family dog all over again.”]

Like Moore, Smith has an incredibly devoted fan base, which is sure to drive sales of the book initially. A recent stand-up show Smith recorded in London sold out within a day, having only been promoted on his busy website viewaskew.com. He says: “The fan base is pretty damn strong. I was told by the theatre that they probably could have sold out another six shows, just based on the number of calls they got.” The devotion augurs well for the book, as Smith argues: “Business wise for booksellers it is a smart move, there is a fan base that will buy it. And Brits read, as opposed to Americans.”

Even more convenient for booksellers is that they will be able to spot potential purchasers. “Basically, if you see someone walking into the shop that looks like the dude on the front cover of the book [himself], you’ve got a sale. The bookseller might have to work a little bit to sell the book to someone who has no idea who the fuck I am. I don’t know how it will go over with people who aren’t familiar with my stuff, but then I tend not to worry too much about that.”

Smith says he some sympathy for booksellers, the “folks who actually work the tills”. “My heart goes out to them, I’ve been there, I’ve been in the trenches, as I worked in convenience stores from the time I was 16 till the time I was 23.” But he thinks booksellers “get off lightly”. “I’ve dealt with all manner of incredibly stupid members of the public. Generally, the people coming in to buy books are well educated, and pretty smart, and so it becomes a war of wits. When you work in a convenience store it is a war with nit-wits. At least booksellers are dealing with people who are well-read.”

My Name is Earl – A Pilot for NBC: “I play Earl,” Lee said. “It’s a very funny one camera show.” Lee was never interested in TV, but this half hour comedy struck him because it’s shot like a film. “It’s a one camera show, it’s shot on film and it’s right up my alley in terms of it being out of left field. It’s not the typical NBC show. It feels in a lot of ways like Raising Arizona. It has that kind of vibe with the narration and the characters. It’s very humorous but in a very odd way. So it’s been fun so far.”

No Passion of the Clerks: Consistent with Kevin Smith’s assertion that it will not be a cameo heavy affair, Jason Lee has not been contacted for a cameo in The Passion of the Clerks. “I haven’t heard from him on it. I haven’t heard from him anything about it. I don’t even know when they’re shooting and who’s in it. I’m assuming Jeff and Brian are in it. He didn’t say anything about any cameo.”

Kevin Smith: WishListâ„¢ Director Search

As a college student, Kevin Smith never gave filmmaking a second thought, instead setting his hopes on one day writing
for Saturday Night Live. On Friday, March 25th, this Indie film favorite hosts a night dedicated entirely to well…him
with Encore’s critically acclaimed, award-winning original series The Directors, followed by Chasing Amy, Clerks
(which, incidentally, he directed while working as a clerk in a video/convenience store) and the exclusive television
premiere of An Evening With Kevin Smith, in which he engages in a Q&A at various college campuses around the country,
spinning humorous Hollywood tales. The next night, STARZ! Saturday Night Premiere presents the television premiere of
Smith’s latest film Jersey Girl.

Important Event Information
Line-up whenever you want, from Sunday night after the Dome closes to early the morning of the event.

Doors are gonna between 8:30 and 9am. You have to be wearing your t-shirt to get through the door. Once inside the theater, you can feel free to change out of your t-shirt.

Jason Mewes and Kevin will be greeting every attendee at the front door and snapping a bracelet on ya’ll. You’re required to wear this bracelet all day, so we can keep track of who belongs with out group and who doesn’t. If you’re not wearing your bracelet, you run the risk of getting booted out.

The greeting/bracelet-ing is gonna take awhile (we’ve got 850 people to get through the front doors), so please – no autograph or photo requests during the entry process. Catch us later in the day for that.

No outside food or drink.

ABSOLUTELY NO VIDEO CAMERAS. If you’ve got a video camera that takes stills, sorry – that’s not getting in either. Only still cameras are allowed. Anyone caught video-taping inside the Cinerama Dome at any time during Vulgarthon will get booted out.

We’ve got a long day ahead of us and a very tight schedule, so we’d appreciate your help in moving things along throughout the day. The last Q&A should end some time around 1 am Tuesday morning, and we’re gonna have to clear out of there as quickly as possible.

You’re welcome to bring stuff to get signed (DVD’s, books, etc.), but there are no guarantees that you’ll secure any autographs. With the schedule being what it is, we’ll be flowing from the end of a Q&A right into the start of the next flick; so if you’re chasing down guests for post Q&A signatures, just know that you run the risk of missing the start of the next flick.

During the video-taped Q&A’s (”Chasing Amy” and “Now You Know”), we ask that you refrain from asking panelists for autographs or asking non-flick-specific queries (i.e. – “Amy” and “NYK” queries only during those Q&A’s).

The naming of Robert Iger as Disney CEO will not heal the rupture that has resulted in Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s imminent departure from the company, Iger indicated Tuesday. “Negotiating a deal that will ultimately result in us parting company in some form is the right thing at this point,” Iger said in an interview with Bloomberg News, adding, “It will end amicably and it won’t be tense and there won’t be a lot of stress” Several reports have indicated that the separation could take place as early as this week. Meanwhile, the New York Post reported that the Weinsteins intend to include a book division in their new film company, even as Miramax Books is being absorbed into Disney’s Hyperion publishing house.

Jason Lee’s Fletch Won Casting Choices: “I think a lot of the View Askew guys were rooting for Ryan Reynolds for a while,” Lee said, which was news to me. “I think there’s a lot of hardcore View Askew fans out there that would like to see yours truly in the role, but you know, the powers that be, what can I say.”

Jason Lee Thanks You For Your Support: “The View Askew fans are amazing and they’ve always supported me. I like to check in on the board every once in a while and say hi and stuff like that. That means more to me than anything in the world. I get to pay the bills and do things that I like to do. There’s a pretty solid fan base out there. That’s a good place to be, I think. So I’m plenty satisfied.”

ALAS SMITH AND MOANS

When we pointed out last year that director Kevin Smith’s movie Jersey Girl had failed to set the box-office alight, it appears we touched a nerve.

Since then he’s mentioned the so-called slur in every interview, and at this weekend’s Empire Film Awards still had the cutting in his pocket.

Kev, mate, we can only apologise. We’re genuinely sorry more people didn’t flock to see your movie, which was described by one critic as “A more unbearable film than Gigli.”

While it’s flattering to be the focus of your obsession, we think enough’s enough. Maybe it’s time you concentrated on your film career.

Otherwise, a measly Empire award is the first and last gong you’re likely to win.

ALAS SMITH AND MOANS

I’d imagine that’s supposed to be “Alias Smith and Moans.”

When we pointed out last year that director Kevin Smith’s movie Jersey Girl had failed to set the box-office alight, it appears we touched a nerve.

If that’s what Headley got out of all that – that I’m miffed about something they said about “Jersey Girl” – then she’s as dumb as she is hard to look at, and as thick in the head as she is in the ankles.

For the record: it was the “fat, bearded, Hobbit-like” bit and the “insiders say” made-up crap that I’ve always objected to.

Since then he’s mentioned the so-called slur in every interview,

Um, I believe I’ve mentioned it five times exactly in nine months: once during the intro to “Jersey Girl” at the UK premiere, once during the Prince Charles Theater Q&A back in June, once while recording the commentary track for the “Jersey Girl” dvd, once during the Criterion Theater Q&A (for inclusion on the “Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder” dvd), and once at the Empire Awards (largely because Headley was in attendance and amidst a room of folks who already can’t stand her).

and at this weekend’s Empire Film Awards still had the cutting in his pocket.

Wasn’t a clipping I had in my pocket; it was just the two quotes I read. Unlike those twats, I believe in accuracy, hence I wanted to quote their bullshit exactly as they penned it.

Kev, mate, we can only apologise. We’re genuinely sorry more people didn’t flock to see your movie, which was described by one critic as “A more unbearable film than Gigli.”

No apology necessary. As I told you the other night (after you tried to lay the blame for the “fat, bearded, Hobbit-like” quote off on your co-”columnists” instead of simply accepting the responsibility), at the end of the day, you gave me one more great story to tell in Q&A’s. And as you saw the other night, Caroline (and as you’ll see on the “Evening With Kevin Smith 2” dvd), it goes over like gangbusters with a crowd. What was especially delicious about the Empire Awards, though was that you were seated in the midst of the crowd in question… and it still went over huge. What self-respecting individual can sit in a room packed with people laughing at the mediocrity of their existence? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Caroline Headley.

While it’s flattering to be the focus of your obsession, we think enough’s enough. Maybe it’s time you concentrated on your film career.

Like many multi-faceted individuals, I can do two things at once. Yet “obsession”? Hardly. But when I’m in your backyard, it’s a no-brainer to push your snout in the mud. That material wouldn’t play across the pond because, really – who the fuck knows (or cares) what a 3am Girl is over here?

Otherwise, a measly Empire award is the first and last gong you’re likely to win

What a biting comeback. *yawn*

For the record, a few awards I’ve won in the past: at Sundance, I won the Filmmaker’s Trophy. In Cannes, I won the Prix de la Jeunesse and the International Critic’s Week Prize. At the Independent Spirit Awards, I won Best Screenplay for “Chasing Amy.” I’ve won the Defender of Democracy Award from PFAW, and a Humanitas for “Good Will Hunting.”

But, really… dismissing an Empire Award as “measly”? Not a way to get invited back to next year’s program, is it?

This proves that you can learn something new every day: apparently, there is such a thing as a “useless cunt.”

“The film is set after Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, but we’re not sure how long after. It might be real time, so three or four years on.

“There are no cameos this time around. That’s worked well in the past, but for this movie we’re trying to keep to the feel, spirit and tone of the first flick.

“We’ve also kept it mainly about Dante and Randall. Jay and Silent Bob only have very small roles in the film probably as much, if not less, screen time than in the first one.

“It’s all brand new stuff too from start to finish, it’s not like Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back where we borrowed the monkey bit from a comic book I did about them.”

Ashley Judd Will Come Early Morning

Ashley Judd will star in Come Early Morning, a coming-of-age story set in a rural small town, says Production Weekly. The project will be actress Joey Lauren Adams’ directorial debut.

The film, also written by Adams, centers on a woman in her 30s who is beginning to come to terms with her selfish and prickly relatives, her own self-worth, and her search for meaning.

Shooting will take place in Adams’ hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas at the end of April.