Alright – so let’s get into it…
Yes. It’s true. There was a period when Jason was wacky on the junk, hopped-up on goofballs.
The kid was born the son of an addict. That’s a predisposition that’s tough to overcome. But overcome it he has, as you can see by his work in the new flick. And as anyone who’s run into him at the San Diego and Wizard ComiCons this year can attest, you’d be hard pressed to point to any signs or indications of a drug problem. In fact, you might be one of the many folks who affably offered him weed, coke, or a drink, and got politely turned down (he’d have turned down heroin too, but people rarely offer you heroin in life, let alone at a comic book show; unless it’s Super-Heroin).
Truth is, Mewes has been clean for some time now. The incident The Smoking Gun turned up is two years old. While it may be new news for some, it’s old news for most of us, and even around this site: when the arrest happened, it was all over this board for a week or so; hell, it was even brought up on the Howard Stern Show two years ago, when I was in the studio with Jen.
People do stupid shit. No crime in that. Disappointing, yes – but no crime (well, he DID get arrested, so I guess it IS a crime, technically). The true tragedy is when people continue to do stupid shit for the rest of their lives. Mewes, I’m happy to report, got a handle on his life, and now doesn’t even drink. Yes – he smokes forty six packs of cigarettes a day and drinks more coffee than Colombia can export; but those are two slow-acting poisons that’re sanctioned by our government, God bless ‘em, so it’s all good.
I love Mewes. I’m sure that’s become pretty obvious over the last seven years. And I’m happy to report that he’s all about sober-living now. But that period of our lives when he WASN’T is a fairly heartbreaking time that I hope you’ll understand if I don’t go into deeper. Let me just assure you that in the pantheon of celebrity drug-abusers, Mewes is now more Charlie Sheen and Matthew Perry, than Chris Farley and John Belushi. He’s lived through a personal hell and came out the better and wiser for it. And while it’s inane that anyone would waste their time, talent, and lives with drugs of any kind, at least he survived his journey to the dark side, and remained as lovable as he’s always been. He may not be the sharpest knife in the block sometimes, but he’s got the biggest heart.
So hats off to Mewes for beating the devil and spanking the monkey, as opposed to being spanked by it (sorry – I can’t resist an easy dick joke, as my career has proven). As with all recovering addicts, he’s a work in progress; but thus far, that work has been great to watch. I’m proud of him, and love him like a brother, son, and best friend.
However, let this be a lesson to you, kids: prescription drugs should be taken AS DIRECTED. If you get a wisdom tooth pulled, and you’re prescribed anything with codeine, be wary of it. Codeine can lead to Vikeden (sp?). Vikeden can lead to Percoset. Percoset can lead to Oyxcontin. Oxycontin can lead to heroin. Heroin can lead to an arrest when you’re driving around in a car with a deployed airbag (don’t ask).
Okay, onto other stuff…
The movie continues to do well. We’ve been doing a million a day or over during the week, and with the four day weekend coming up, the kitty should grow even fatter. Let’s just hope that ‘Jeepers Creepers’ isn’t the surprise hit of the summer, and maybe we’ll hold our own this Friday.
I know some of you get out of sorts when someone comes on here and either slams the movie or maintains they weren’t wowed by it, but folks, how ’bout some courtesy, hunh? Everyone’s entitled to their opinion – especially if they bought a ticket.
Same goes for the media reviews: ease up on the cats who didn’t dig the flick. Like, just because The Onion poo-pooed the movie, there’s no reason to trash their site or their paper. Shit, why are you reading the non-parody “news” portion anyway? It’s the weakest section of the site/paper – almost as funny as the intentionally funny stuff they print because of their “No One Else But Us Can Possibly Be Funny” attitude. They’ve never given any of our flicks a good review, so it’s really par for the course.
And I suspect that the review was more sour grapes than anything else: I was supposed to sit down with them for a solo interview while I was in Chicago, but I got crammed with more press than we expected that weekend. Rather than cancel out, in an effort to accommodate them, we asked The Onion journo to conduct his interview alongside two other journalists, round-table style. He harumphed and declined, because… well, he represents The Onion, for Heaven’s sake! A round-table interview was beneath him and the paper!
Too funny. Besides – after that Denby review in the New Yorker, what other reviews could possibly matter?
That’s about it for now – except to say I think I’m finally done with my press push on the flick. ‘Regis and Kelly’ (or ‘Joan Rivers and Kelly’) represented the finish line for me. I dug that appearance too: offering a subtle fashion jab to She Who Attacks What Everyone’s Wearing was worth waking up early for.
However, considering the sartorial presentation of the guy who made the comment, I don’t think Joan’s sweating it too much.
Though is it me, or did she appear a little miffed by the jewelry crack?
Looks like no Golden Hanger for me this year.
Kevin, you have no idea! Check out this report we got in on some comments Rivers made on her radio show late yesterday. Can NO ONE take a joke anymore? Anyway, here’s the summary:
Sheesh, it sounds like Joan was MAJORLY bitter (not to mention completely off base…As if Kevin’s got anything CLOSE to an ego, ESPECIALLY compared to her). Thanks to Chuck for the summary.
