- This is one of our favorite moments running News Askew — Yes, the production news has begun! Kevin himself has dropped the first of what we are sure will be MANY tidbits from the world of “Zack & Miri Make a Porno”. Yes, the two key players have arrived in Pittsburgh, and we now have an OFFICIAL shoot start date – January 16, 2007:
First day of rehearsals was yesterday. Just Rogen and Banks. It was pretty tremendous. This afternoon, we add the rest of the gang into the mix.Principal photography starts shooting a week from today.
More on the excitement straight ahead, via Kevin’s recent blog posts. News Askew will of course be your complete one stop coverage stop for everything that breaks about the flick.
You are at the archive for the News category &rarr
Making Porno, Pt. 1: Foreplay
- For “Clerks II”, at this stage of the game, we’d already been watching the famous “Train Wreck” video blogs. We’d met most of the stars, seen the sets, and learned so many details about the hilarious sequel. So, this time around, it’s cool to see a more secretive, lower-tech approach to things. With shooting just a week away, we’ve still only been 100% promised the names of two stars, and we’ve yet to see ANY video of the production setup. Kevin broke the silence today, though, with what looks to be the first in a series of extensive WRITTEN blogs on the making of “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”.
The blog entires, in full, will be available exclusively at Kevin’s blog sites: Silent Bob Speaks and Myspace. If you haven’t already done so, bookmark ’em up right now.
As always, we’ll alert you of new entires here, and run a couple interesting snippets to whet the appetite and break any big news from within. Let’s take a look:
Tuesday was day one of rehearsals, and lemme tell ya’: it was pretty awesome, hearing Zack and Miri come to life for the first time. Rogen and Banks are genius together (and apart – which, in the flick, is extremely rare): hilarious and rather sweet and touching when called for. The roles fit them like gloves. Shit, better than gloves: the roles fit them like condoms. Like custom-made condoms, even.…
I’ve got a guy whose inflections I wrote for/to reading the scenes and sounding like he’s not acting at all, as much as being the character. I’ve got a chick who could read the Bible aloud and make it seem charming. They’re naturals. They’re excellent.
…
We start shooting our eighth film on Wednesday.
It’s nice to see Kevin going back to the roots with reports on this one, and staying relatively cold on the stars and the plot. We’re hoping for continued reports like this, which delve into the background process yet still leave a bunch of surprises to be had in the theater.Read the entire “Making Porno, Part 1”, which reveals (for the first time in detail) Kevin’s rehearsal schedules for every film he’s made before, at his blog site.
“Ranger Danger” To Be Movie 10!??!
- The great MTV Movies peeps always seem to be good at getting some big news outta Kevin — After we speculated the 10th Kevin Smith film might be “Ranger Danger and the Danger Rangers” here at the site, the man seems to have confirmed that as the current plan in this new interview:
Kevin Smith sent his excitable fan base into a tizzy last April when he promised on his blog that his tenth movie would be “something special.” That movie is almost certainly going to be “Ranger Danger and the Danger Rangers,” the director revealed to MTV News, “depending on what happens with the next two [”Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and “Red State”]. They might try to stick me in movie jail,” Smith laughed. “But I’ve f-ed up way worse in the past. If they didn’t do it after ‘Jersey Girl’ I think I’m ok.”“I think it would be kinda cool to go larger budget and shoot some effects on that one,” he enthused.
Movie jail aside (and there’s zero chance Smith could ever get put there – “Jersey Girl” or not), the biggest hurdle to bringing “Ranger Danger” to the big-screen hasn’t been a skeptical studio – but, by the director’s own admission, Smith himself. Call it being “totally gun shy,” by the enormity of the endeavor, he conceded, on a project he once told “Variety” was his “stab at a comicbook/sci-fi movie in the vein of ‘Flash Gordon.’”
But that’s all changed for Smith coming off of the television pilot he directed for the CW series “Reaper,” he boasted.
“‘Reaper’ made me feel a bit more confident when it comes to effect shoots – not like I’m going out and seeking them, but when it comes to one like ‘Ranger Danger’ I [used to think] ‘maybe when I’m fifty I’ll be ready for it,’” Smith confessed. “But now I feel like, it’s easier to work through things.
“I maybe kind of feel like I maybe can approach ‘Ranger Danger’, and not f— it up completely,” he continued, chuckling.
Having done this job for a while, we’ll try and not get TOO excited about a film that’s 2 movies away (a lot can change by then). Still, if this comes to pass, we can say for certain that the big Ranger Danger film sure would be something special, as promised — And finally give meaning to Randal’s famous “Clerks II” tee.
“Bear’s Life” Scans: Smith & Ingram Interviewed…
- You saw some mentions from Kevin and us when he shot the cover for alternative lifestyle mag “A Bear’s Life” — But have you seen the interview? We’ve got scans of the whole thing, which delves into the meeting of the two
directors circa-“Mallrats” thru the successful documentary “Small Town, Gay Bar”. It’s an extensive six-page interview about filmmaking, Kevin and Malc’s friendship, and yes, Kevin’s notoriety in the world of “Bears”. Click
’em. Read ’em. Enjoy.
View Askew NewsBites™
- The Digital Bits reports that “Southland Tales” is scheduled for a March 18th release on DVD. No details at all right now, so we’re not sure if we’ll see the restored full length cut, theatrical cut, high-def or only standard-def versions. We’re guessing they’ll start with a basic theatrical disc, but are secretly hopeful for a director’s cut and commentary. Don’t count on it, though. Kevin appears in the film in a cameo role (under heavy makeup).
- Kevin had the pleasure of being part of a question on popular TV quizzer “Jeopardy!” this week. The 2 part question involved putting two words together to come up with a solution — The first part of the clue asked for “the last name of ‘Clerks’ director Kevin”. The full answer was “Smith & Wesson”.
- Finally today, we’re not sure what this is/means but a few folks sent it in today — So maybe some of you might get a kick out of it. They call them “Cat Macros”. See ya soon.
The First SMod Of The Year Has Arrived!
- Hooray – A mid-week present has arrived. Kevin and Scott’s recently recorded SModcast has now been made available for all to download — And hey, best of all, same as last year, it’s completely free of charge. Let’s see what the guys have on tap for us this week:
SModcast 43: SMorpheus –In which our heroes discuss SMod after death, and then descend into the Matrix to determine the reality of PodBabies, post-pod love, virtual weight loss, the power of a crappy life, and whether the virtual world makes a man happier.
As always, SModcast is exclusive to Quick Stop Entertainment — Brought to you absolutely free of charge, courtesy of hosts Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier. We look forward to hearing some “Zack and Miri” tidbits in coming episodes once shooting kicks in. Our thanks once again to the guys for taking their own personal time to bring us a hilarious weekly hour. Enjoy SModcast 2008!
SModcast 2008 Is Coming!
- We’re sure everyone is anxious to hear from Kevin and Scott in 2008, and we’re happy to report that will be VERY soon. Kevin was sorry to not have a new episode to help you get through the Monday blues, but confirms that the next episode will be recorded today:
No new SMod tonight. Mos and I are recording it tomorrow. Sorry for the wait. Thanks for your patience.
We’re continually appreciate to the guys for keeping up with this, especially considering that they have to be waist deep in “Zack and Miri” prep (filming is less than two weeks away now, we believe). We’ll let you know when the new SModcast has arrived, exclusively from Quick Stop Entertainment.
View Askew NewsBites™
- We’re kicking off the ‘Bites with some nice scannage today — Thanks to Empire magazine in the UK, who always kick butt with the Kevin coverage, here’s a fun piece titled “My Movie Mastermind”. In this feature, they quiz filmmakers and actors on their own work. How did Kevin stack up? Click the pic and see for yourself.
- Jason Lee reveals that he doesn’t have any current work on the slate, though he looks forward to getting back to work as “Earl” once the writer’s strike is resolved. Could this open up the chance for small appearance in “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”? You never know.
- FileFront and OneUp are also jealously drooling over Kevin’s customized Nintendo Wii console.
- Australia’s “The Age” charts the landmark year for “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” star Seth Rogen, cikting his successful 2007 and the path that’s brought him into the Askewniverse.
- In addition to the coolness that is “Dexter”, here’s another reason to subscribe to Showtime — Clerks II will debut on the network this Saturday, January 12th. Check your local listings. As we believe some cable and satellite systems also offer HD versions of the channel, this will be a chance for some of you to catch the colorful flick in the best resolution available today. Enjoy.
Dogma Blu-Ray To Mirror SE…
- High Def Digest has Sony’s official ‘Dogma’ Blu-Ray specs for us today:
“As we first reported in December, Sony announced it would bow the controversial religious satire ‘Dogma’ on March 11, though initial specs were sparce. Now the full details are in, and typical of a Smith disc release, the Blu-ray will come loaded with making-of material and deleted footage.Porting over many (but not all) of the features from Sony’s previous two-disc DVD edition, the Blu-ray version of ‘Dogma’ will contain two audio commentaries (the first with Smith and cast members, the second a technical track), 100 minutes of deleted scenes (with intros), and a “Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash” mock commercial.
Tech specs boast 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and uncompressed PCM 5.1 Surround audio in English and French.
Suggested retail for the Blu-ray has been set at $28.99.”
To us, sounds like a direct copy of the Dogma Special Edition DVD. We’re assuming the Blu-Ray will afford us a better visual and sound experience, though we’re assuming all extra material will remain as it was before. If we learn of any NEW material created for this release, we’ll let you know — However, our assumption for now is that it will be the same contents as the previous release.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Reaper will premiere on the digital TV channel E4 in the UK at the end of this month. It also should begin airing on Channel 4 later in the year.
- Also today, does this tee remind anyone of a famous Clerks II line? Catch ya next time…