FRIDAY 7/20

2:00 Kevin Smith – He’s back, and it’s just days away from the debut of his new movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Kevin Smith is also one of the hottest writers in comics, with DC’s Green Arrow series selling out in comics shops around the world. What will he talk about? Who will he bring along? What will he show? Your guess is as good as our’s, but one thing is certain: you won’t be disappointed! Room 6CDEF

SUNDAY 7/22

2:30 Your Indie Film is Shot … What Next? –Your indie feature or short film is shot, what next? This seminar will focus on what to do with your film (and career) once it’s shot: marketing, agents, attorneys, film festivals, getting distribution, and how to get that three picture deal! Moderated by Chris Gore, FilmThreat.com publisher and author of The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, and including panelists Steve Danielson and Arthur Borman, co-directors of the documentary film Karaoke Fever, Adam Ripp, director of Gang Tapes, Mark Osborne and Kent Osborne, writing and directing team behind the Sundance Film Festival fave Dropping Out, Dan Poole, stunt man and creator of an amazing fan-made Spider-Man video, and Malcolm Ingram, the writer/director behind the Kevin Smith produced Drawing Flies. Plus other special guests and incredible videos. Room 16A/16B

Smith on Kane

“About eight or nine months ago, there was a cover story in the Sunday NY Times’ Arts and Leisure section about Kane. The author’s point was that if Kane is, and has been for some 30 years running, the best American cinema has ever done, why bother trying anymore? His point was, ‘Let’s retire the jersey,’ so to speak. Let’s all acknowledge Kane is fantastic and just remove it from the running, so that some other film has a shot at the title.

“My feeling is that it still holds up. I watch it roughly five times a year, and am always amazed at how ahead of its time it was. Every time I watch it, it’s a revelation. That said, it’s not one of my top five favorites. Those spots are held by Jaws, JFK, Do the Right Thing, The Last Temptation of Christ, and A Man for All Seasons. And considering I don’t watch any of those flicks as often as I wind up watching Kane, the conspicuous absence of Kane from that list might make someone wonder, ‘So why isn’t it on your list?’

“I think it comes down to the fact that Kane is legendary and so much larger than life. It’s hard to group it with anything else and not have the anything else come up short. I’m with the writer of the Times piece. It’s time for a film made within the last 30 years to have a shot at the top position.”

Wells to Smith: I think that’s what Ty Burr and the Entertainment Weekly crew were saying, in part, when they put The Godfather at the top of their list.

Youse guys wanna buy some fireworks?!

So the theatrical trailer is attached to ‘Scary Movie 2′. If you have very little to do this weekend, give it a look-see. It contains more footage than I was comfortable with putting into the ‘net-only trailers, but the ‘net-only trailers weren’t really the marketing devices this trailer’s meant to be. I mean, we’re kind of preaching to the choir with those spots, as you folks are going to see the flick anyway. Secure in that knowledge, I could highlight inside jokes and forego any sense of narrative, and it would still play. Essentially, I was making those for “us”.

The theatrical trailer’s a different beast altogether. They test the hell out of these things (yes – even trailers get tested), trying to maximize the impact of what’s essentially a commercial for the flick.

The bad news is – like I said – there’s footage in there that I’d’ve rather not got out just yet.

The good news, however, is that the trailer tested through the roof.

Believe me – no one was more surprised than your truly when the Dimension folks related (wide-eyed) that when they tested the spot three separate times, each time it scored well, well above average in all quadrants but one (women over thirty five; AKA – my mom; in that category it played merely one point below average). Apparently, for a mainstream audience, this trailer works and works stunningly well.

But you know me: I’m incredulous as all hell.

So here’s where you come in.

I know many of you are going to check out ‘SM2′ tonight, either for the flick itself or just for the trailer. Either way, I’d appreciate it if you let me know how the audience reacted to the promo. Nothing too detailed, mind you; just something along the lines of “It played like mad,” or “It played like shit.”

I’ll be hitting a few theaters myself tonight and all weekend, to see how the trailer plays, and I’ll let you know what I heard/learned on Monday.

In other news…

Spent most of last week doing the junket for the flick, with Jay, Ali, Eliza, Mark, Shannon, Lee, and Jen. Here’s the eye-opener…

When I was writing this flick, I felt I might be sacrificing the critical reaction for the fan reaction. I thought it was a fair trade-off to make, as I was more concerned with putting together a flick you guys would get off on than making a film the critics jizzed over (although with a three out of four record – ‘Clerks’, ‘Amy’ and ‘Dogma’ – I won’t lie; it was a tough decision; when it comes to critical jizz, I’m into the facials; toss me them pearl necklaces, I say). I guess I’d assumed a while ago that critics and the press weren’t going to dig on this movie like they dug on three of our four others flicks, because this flick was closer in tone to the one they DIDN’T like (poor l’il ‘Rats’).

The shocker is that with the exception of maybe three single hold-outs, all 200 plus of the print/radio/and TV media folks at the junket dug the flick. And I mean DUG it. Same was true out of the NY press screenings – the press really loved the movie.

I’m flabbergasted.

I’m sitting on a pile of wonderful reactions (for the curious: the Miramax/Dimension publicity folks always secure the opinion of any press-type that attends the press screenings within a day or two, write it all down, and pass it to us; these are called “reactions”). And while that’s great for pulling quotes for print and TV ads and whatnot, what I REALLY dig about those reactions is that everyone is feeling the love.

Before you write me off as a total ‘mo, let me explain.

We had such a great time making the flick; it was like a daily party. Hell, it was like a non-stop, non-sexual orgy (well, except for me and Jen; we fucked each other a lot). I can’t impart the amount of good will that this production encountered and generated, so positive was the whole affair. And to see that translate for the audience (press and non-press alike) is incredibly satisfying. I’ve never had a better movie-making experience, and the audience seems to agree – so ear-to-ear smiles are they.

I tell ya’, I’m really grateful for the whole affair. It’s a sweet note to go out on.

So thanks to all the press who’ve seen the flick thus far, and have said such wonderful things about it. But extra thanks to the non-press who’ve done the same – because I made this flick for you…

And me, really.

Well, CHIEFLY me, actually.

…Kevin Smith has obviously read way too many talk backs and way too many posts on the View Askew boards and while he doesn’t have the therapeutic ability to just click and ban assholes for ruining his day, he did manage to get the ability to depict these little dipshits as being the insensitive little twerps that they are, so that the entire movie going public can laugh at these shits.

…

But then, they aren’t funny. The dipshits are.

I couldn’t stop laughing at this film. This movie is a hugely childish thumb to nose and wave at them while sticking out his tongue.

The film is fall down funny. Now technically it might have tons of flaws, but I didn’t notice because I was so giggly over the concept that Kevin Smith has made a movie to MOON Internet Talk Backers that have talked shit about him. That’s just beautiful. It is pure.

Chaplin made THE GREAT DICTATOR to make the world see Hitler for what he was…. And Kevin Smith made JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK to make people realize that those little internet flame whores out there are very much the logs of excrement that we all know them to be.

Now – How funny is the movie itself?

VERY.

_Jay_and_Silent_Bob_Strike_Back_ *** 1/2

More than other filmmaker in recent memory, writer-director Kevin Smith is unusually receptive and accessible to his rabid (and consistently growing) fanbase. The discussion board on his official website (viewaskew.com) is legendary for the amount of interaction he has with fans; and public appearances and autograph signings are far from rare occurrences, with the latter usually extending hours beyond their allotted time blocks in order to accommodate every last person in line. But even Smith has outdone himself in terms of giving back to his public with the wild comic romp _Jay_&_Silent_Bob_Strike_Back_, which behind its outrageous surface is an affectionate valentine to those who have loyally followed him and his work over the years.

So for this film more than any of his others, it certainly is beneficial (though just as certainly not necessary) to walk in with some prior knowledge of Smith’s “View Askew-niverse,” which officially closes with _Strike_Back_. The title characters, foulmouthed drug dealer Jay (Jason Mewes) and his laconic “hetero lifemate” Silent Bob (Smith), are the Askew-niverse’s most beloved figures, having appeared in all of Smith’s previous films in capacities small (_Clerks_, _Chasing_Amy_) and larger (_Mallrats_, _Dogma_). _Strike_Back_ gives the pair their long-due turn on center stage, and in an added bonus for the fandom, resurfacing especially for this occasion are other popular characters from those four films. Needless to say, only those with some Smith oeuvre familiarity will fully appreciate the appearances of people such as _Clerks_’ Dante and Randal (respectively played by Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson), who to the VA-virgin eye would seem to be just bit players.

The significance of _Amy_’s Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) and Banky Edwards (Jason Lee, who also turns in an appearance as the best thing about _Mallrats_, Brodie Bruce), however, won’t be lost on any newcomers, for they nudge Jay and Silent Bob–the movie and the characters–into action. _Bluntman_and_Chronic_, the superhero comic book Holden and Banky modeled in the likeness of Jay and Bob, is about to be adapted into a film without our dynamic duo’s permission, and so they set off on a cross-country trip from New Jersey to Hollywood to stop the production. Obviously, the more serious overtones of Smith’s last two efforts, _Amy_ and _Dogma_, are nowhere to be found in _Strike_Back_, and don’t come in looking for some innovations in plotting, either; the film is simply a road/chase comedy that wants nothing more than to make the audience laugh.

And are there ever laughs to be had in _Strike_Back_. Indeed, Smith’s famous (infamous?) predilection for dick and fart jokes is very much in evidence (though, thankfully, there’s nothing here approaching the scatological nadir of _Dogma_’s Golgothan), yet while he may have gained a fair amount of notoriety for that lowbrow brand of humor, his greatest strength has always been the rapier wit of his dialogue, whenever raunchy or not. On the receiving end of many of the film’s best verbal barbs is the glitzy world of Tinseltown moviemaking. No one is shielded from the hysterical satirical onslaught: not Internet gossip sites; not Affleck, who gamely pulls double duty as Holden and himself; not the film’s distributor, Miramax; not even _Jay_and_Silent_Bob_Strikes_Back_ and the View Askew canon itself, and as such the fourth wall is not only broken, but flat out bulldozed. Lest the film sound extremely insular with all its in-jokes and Hollywood insider humor, _Jay_and_Silent_Bob_Strike_Back_ also offers a number of broader-appeal delights, particularly in the performance department. That Mewes and Smith have their act down by now is no surprise; Mewes invests his usual gusto into every last one of Jay’s four-letter words and vulgar gestures, which are, as always, countered with expert reaction takes by Smith. What is surprising, though, is Shannon Elizabeth’s beguiling turn as the sweet Justice, who falls for Jay as she and her more sour friends Sissy (Eliza Dushku), Chrissy (Ali Larter), and Missy (Jennifer Schwalbach, Smith’s wife) spend time on the road with him and Bob. Other colorful characters pop up throughout the course of the film, the standouts being Will Ferrell’s clueless Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly and Chaka (Chris Rock), a militant African-American film director; and a multitude of stars recognizable to all audiences turn up in some enjoyable cameos. The polished and at times–brace yourselves–slick visuals of _Strike_Back_, undoubtedly due in large part to cinematographer Jamie Anderson, will be downright shocking to Smith fans and especially to his detractors, who will find themselves with one less thing to knock him on. I’m sure they will come up with plenty of compensatory ammunition in the content of the film–or rather lack thereof. With its shameless (and not always successful) riffs on other movies, frequent references to his own previous work, and slant toward broad antics in general, even Smith has called _Strike_Back_ “a step backward” in his progression as a filmmaker. To hell with any perceived requirements for “artistic growth,” I say, if stagnation and regression are done in the name of offering a good time at the movies–and _Jay_and_Silent_Bob_Strike_Back_ is nothing less than a rollicking blast.

(This film is not yet rated; opens August 24)

(CLICK THE PICTURES ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD!)