- We’ve got a big Friday update for ya, folks! Kevin’s back from Toronto with some BIG news that we were able to decipher and confirm, so read below for the exclusive on that one. We’re also working on a few more stories, including that nice mention of View Askew 5 in Entertainment Weekly this week (look for that one later today, above this commentary post), so stop on back. We just thought it was big enough news to get this story out to ya immediately. Check out the big news below, and we’ll see ya later with more.
You are at the archive for the News category &rarr
Lions Gate Acquires VULGAR Distribution Rights!
- We are VERY PLEASED to report that Lions Gate Films has acquired theatrical distribution rights to Bryan Johnson’s View Askew Produced “VULGAR”. The film made its debut, as you know, at the Toronto Film Festival this year, and was filmed a couple of years ago. Kevin & Scott helped produce the flick, which is being described as a VERY disturbing one, as Kevin himself has said, “Think of this movie as the unholy product of ‘Blue Velvet’ after having been raped by ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2′.” Kevin dropped by the board upon his return from Toronto with the big news, but left the distributor out of it, since it’ll be all over the place in Variety soon, we’re sure. However, Lions Gate was kind enough to contact us directly, as they’re very pleased to have acquired the film and wanted to let everyone know ASAP. Here’s Kevin:
Just Got Back From Toronto…
A very… VERY… successful trip. Great screenings, great party, and a great conclusion to the whole affair.
We sold the film.
Now, just WHO we sold the film to you’ll read about in Monday’s trades or somewhere online, but I thought I’d let you guys know now, before the news broke.
Needless to say, we’re all ecstatic here. I could go on, but it’s Bryan’s flick and his experience, and I should let him fill you all in on the details when he gets back.
Jen and Malcolm threw one helluva bash, and damn, if that wife of mine wasn’t the most gorgeous creature on two legs in the room that night (or every night, for that matter). Malcolm looked nice too.It was a real family affair up north this week, with me and the Missus, Malcolm and Matt (Gissing, of ‘Drawing Flies’ fame), Scooter and Monica, Vincent and Brendan, Bry’s lady Jill and Bryan’s parents and brothers, and of course, Bryan himself. And none of us would’ve been there, had it not been for Steve Gravestock (sp?), the cat with vision enough to program the flick in the fest.
And man – does it get any better than that NY Post piece? Fuck!
So how about a big ’round of applause for Bryan? He made a helluva flick, and it’s found a home beyond our own. I’m proud of our boy, and though I’m sad we’ll be losing a merchandise mailroom manager, I’m happy to be gaining a peer.
HUGE congratulations to Bryan Johnson on the big achievement, it’s quite an honor to have any film sold for distribution, let alone your FIRST one, so we’re really happy for the guy. Congrats also to Kev, Scott, and the whole press machine that put things together in Toronto and helped to get the job done. It’s a very happy day for View Askew Productions!
The New York Post Loves “Vulgar”!
- They love the flick in Canada, and the New York Post concurs. Bryan Johnson’s “VULGAR” is doing just what it set out to do at the festival – Create some buzz. Here’s the Post’s very postive article on the flick from today’s edition, hot off the presses:
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TURNS TWISTED IN TORONTO
TORONTO, Canada – Get ready for a slew of gross films. Twisted, disturbing movies are causing a stir at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the aptly titled new “Vulgar” leads the pack.
New Jersey bad-boy filmmaker Kevin Smith – whose “Dogma” inspired a boycott by a Catholic group – shocked the audience Tuesday night with the world premiere of this latest film from View Askew, his production company.
And Toronto audiences don’t shock easily.
Darren Aronofsky’s “Requiem for a Dream” graphically depicts the descent of a drug-taking mother and son (Ellen Burstyn and Jared Leto) in Brighton Beach.
Tom Twyer’s German “Princess and the Warrior” shows a tracheotomy in stomach-churning detail. Jon Shear’s deeply disturbing “Urbania” (opening tomorrow in Manhattan) features a brutal gay-bashing incident. And the French-Canadian black comedy “Maelstrom” starts with a chilling, clinical depiction of an abortion.
Even Robert Altman’s cheery and otherwise audience-friendly “Dr. T and the Women” opens with Richard Gere performing a gynecological examination – and closes with a close-up of a live birth.
But the compelling “Vulgar,” written and directed by Smith’s longtime friend Bryan Johnson, goes way beyond pushing the envelope.
This very dark revenge comedy features a brutally intense male rape scene that, one audience member suggested afterwards, makes those in “Pulp Fiction” and “Deliverance” seem mild by comparison.
The victim is a children’s party clown, fearlessly played by “Clerks” star Brian O’Halloran, who offers a raunchier version of his services for bachelor parties so he can afford his mother’s nursing home.
Unfortunately, his first customers are a perverted middle-aged man and his two adult sons who are all too taken by the bustier and fishnets the clown dons for the role – and they ravage him at knife-point in an unforgettable sequence.
Though Smith – who did battle with the Hollywood ratings board over his potty-mouthed debut, “Clerks” – doesn’t direct and the low-budget movie has a far more twisted sensibility, the connections with his other movies are unmistakable.
“Vulgar” shares the same central Jersey setting and features several familiar actors, including Smith himself – who drops his patented Silent Bob character to play a slick producer who hires the clown for a TV series, unaware of his awful secret.
“Vulgar” doesn’t yet have a theatrical distributor, and Smith conceded the film’s violence may make it a tough sell for mini-majors like Miramax, Fine Line and USA Films.
But he said at the opening-night party at the trendy Bauhaus nightclub that he was pleased only about 50 people walked out of the first screening.
“I thought it played very well,” he said.
Director Johnson said the film was inspired by the drawing of a transvestite clown – the logo on the movies produced by View Askew, going back to “Clerks.”
“The first draft was much rougher,” said O’Halloran. “I read it and I just had to put it out of my mind for a few days.”
indieWire On The Vulgar Party…
- Can’t get enough VULGAR news? We’ve got more for ya. You may have seen the flick, but did you make it to the clown-themed afterparty? indieWire was there, and they’ve got the details:
As the Schnabel gathering began to wind down a bit, many made the short walk around the corner to what promised to be a unique event — the party for Bryan Johnson’s “Vulgar.” The hard to get invite was in the form of a button that read “Vulgar Party 2000” — below the picture of a festive-looking clown with a five o’clock shadow, read “I’m invited, let me the fuck in!”
Film producer Kevin Smith, here with View Askew partner and “Vulgar” co-producer Scott Mosier, greeted guests as they entered — his wife Jen organized the effort and good friend Malcolm was on door duty checking the buttons of arrivals. Inside, hostesses dressed as sad clowns passed out candy and eery clown faces hung from the walls.
“Vulgar,” the story of a struggling professional clown who reinvents himself as “Vulgar,” a transvestite clown, grew out conversations that filmmaker Johnson had with Smith and their friend Walter at the famed Quick Stop in New Jersey, Johnson told indieWIRE. Johnson, a native of Highlands, NJ, became friends with Smith back in High School.
The shock of “Vulgar” apparently intensifies in a particular scene when Vulgar has his first gig as the transvestite clown, surprising a group of bachelor party attendees expecting a female stripper. “Indeed, it may be one of the most shocking, extended and depraved film sequences in recent memory,” wrote Festival programmer Steve Gravestock in the catalog.
The shock value was met with walk-outs at the film’s screening Monday night and at yesterday’s Industry/Press screening. At the party yesteday, a rep from a high-profile Festival told of his decision to leave the movie early on, along with a top programmer from the same event. Reacting to the early exits at last night’s party, Johnson wore the walk-outs as a badge of honor, seemingly pleased at making an impact and to have stirred cocktail conversation.
The “Vulgar” party continued until well past 2 a.m. when some attendees headed over to the Festival’s late-night haunt, Bistro 990. The crowd at Bistro was large as ever with a crowd outside waiting to get past the sometimes selective doormen. Inside, the place remained crowded even after the 4 a.m. closing bell. As the Festival hit a stride at its midpoint it was a culmination for some, as many executives and Hollywood types prepare to head home. indieWIRE, of course, will remain on the scene until the very end.
[Eugene Hernandez]
View Askew NewsBites™
- More praise for Jason Lee in “Almost Famous”, this time from the director himself. Check out this scooper’s report:
At a college wide preview of Cameron Crowe’s newest film “Almost Famous” starring Jason Lee, there was a questionarre with the director himself via satelliate. The question asked was what was it like to work with Jason Lee, a actor who is best known for his comedic roles. After much applause by the live audience, in response, Crowe replied something like this: “I had always wanted to work with Jason Lee since Mallrats. He came in auditioning for the role and almost instanty had the role. During the film and the “rock school” where the actors went through hundreds of records including Stillwater, the band portryaed, Jason truly fell into the role of the lead singer of the band, portraying all the neccessary characteristics. Keep in mind this is just a recap, since any form of communication devices were not allowed inside.
P.S. The movie was amazing, hopefully garnering Lee the fame he so richly deserves.
- “Clerks” is going to be showing at Brown University next weekend along with “Hard Eight”, “I Shot Andy Warhol”, “Bound” and “Spanking The Monkey”. Admission is $2 for students and $2.50 for anyone else (per film). Times and dates have yet to be posted, but you can see this link for more info.
- The University of Florida is having a FREE Dogma screening this Friday evening (the 15th) at the Reitz Union Cinema. For the last few weeks, they’ve also been giving out free sodas and popcorn, but no guarantees this time.
Vulgar Reviews Direct From Toronto!
- “Vulgar”, the long-awaited View Askew production starring Brian O’Halloran and directed by Bryan Johnson, made its big debut at the Toronto Film Festival last night. Thanks to a ton of scoopers who visited the production, we’ve got a stack of reviews, mostly postitive, and one quite negative (courtesy Aint It Cool News). Take a look, we’ll warn ya when the spoilers come, and see for yourself. We’ll all have a chance to look at the film at Vulgarthon this October. This is one we’ve yet to even see ourselves, folks.
WARNING : Some Reviews Contain Spoilers!
Read At Your Own Risk!
REVIEW #1
By : Matt Fielding
(Positive, No Spoilers)
Tonight I attended the Toronto Film Festival’s Screening of ‘Vulgar’, and let me just say first and foremost, before getting into the screening itself, this movie is FUCKED UP. Fans of Kevin Smith’s brand of Dick and Fart jokes, won’t find too much of it here. This movie is definitely more dark humor, VERY dark even bordering on disturbing at some points. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the movie is still very entertaining, and funny, but it’s very very weird and is definitely a dark comedy. Anyways, the screening was held at Toronto’s very small Cumberland Theatre. The theatre was about the size of your average Mall Theatre, and was pretty packed. The theatre staff even gave out clown noses to everyone in attendance. Pretty Cool.
Kevin and Scott came out to introduce Bryan Johnson (Vulgar’s Director, otherwise known as ‘Steve-Dave’). Kevin told a few quick jokes (”Just a quick note for the ladies, unlike all the other times I’ve been to Toronto, I’m Married, so…I won’t be fucking any of you…sorry”), and then Bryan quickly intro’d the movie, after taking a picture of everyone in the clown noses.
The Movie was good but as I said, very very weird. It stars Brian O’Halloran (AKA Dante Hicks and the rest of the Hicks family) as Will AKA Flappy The Clown, a very down on his luck childrens birthday party clown. Other Askewers that made appearances were: Bryan, Kevin, Scott, Walt, Mewes (to the cheers of meny in attandance) and Ethan Suplee. Also, there’s a Quick Shot of The Stash and even a reference to Walt Flannigan’s Dog!
After the movie there was a Quick Q & A session with Bryan Johnson and Brian O’Halloran. All and All I thought the Screening went well and the general tone was good. Although a few people walked out on it. Bryan Later Commented it was fun to watch the people leave and give him a look as if to say “you dickhead,what’s wrong with you?”. Hopefully this movie will come out on video or DVD, or at least be more widly seen,because it’s definitely worth checking out, even if it caught me a bit off guard.
Kevin and Scott came out to introduce Bryan Johnson (Vulgar’s Director, otherwise known as ‘Steve-Dave’). Kevin told a few quick jokes (”Just a quick note for the ladies, unlike all the other times I’ve been to Toronto, I’m Married, so…I won’t be fucking any of you…sorry”), and then Bryan quickly intro’d the movie, after taking a picture of everyone in the clown noses.
The Movie was good but as I said, very very weird. It stars Brian O’Halloran (AKA Dante Hicks and the rest of the Hicks family) as Will AKA Flappy The Clown, a very down on his luck childrens birthday party clown. Other Askewers that made appearances were: Bryan, Kevin, Scott, Walt, Mewes (to the cheers of meny in attandance) and Ethan Suplee. Also, there’s a Quick Shot of The Stash and even a reference to Walt Flannigan’s Dog!
After the movie there was a Quick Q & A session with Bryan Johnson and Brian O’Halloran. All and All I thought the Screening went well and the general tone was good. Although a few people walked out on it. Bryan Later Commented it was fun to watch the people leave and give him a look as if to say “you dickhead,what’s wrong with you?”. Hopefully this movie will come out on video or DVD, or at least be more widly seen,because it’s definitely worth checking out, even if it caught me a bit off guard.
REVIEW #2
By : Dave Cherkassky
(Positive, No Spoilers)
The movie was playing to a packed house. The theatre seated around 250 people, and not a seat was empty. All in attendance were given red clown noses to wear, and this this would pay off later.
Kevin introduced the movie. He started by cracking a few jokes. First, he apologized to the Torontonian women, saying that since he was last in Toronto, he has gotten married, and therefore would not be sleeping with any of them after the movie. Next, he told an anecdote about Affleck and filming Chasing Amy. Kevin related how Ben would constantly improvise his lines, until Kevin told him bluntly to stop. “If you have such great dialogue”, he said, “why don’t you go and write your own movie?”. The rest, of course is Oscar history.
Kevin then introduced Bryan Johnson. Bryan demanded that everyone put on their clown noses and then took a photo. (Maybe you can convince him to post it?) He thanked everyone for coming and introduced Brian O’Halloran, Monica Hampton and Scott Mosier. After a few more words, the film was shown.
I won’t review the film here, but I will say that the audience reaction was mostly positive. At least, no one left half-way through 😉
After the movie Bryan and the cast answered questions for about 15 minutes. The questions varied from the silly (Q: Brian, how did you prepare for your role? Brian: with plenty of Vaseline) to the interesting (Q: Bryan, are you afraid of alienating the Askew fans by making a movie that is so dark, compared to Kevin Smiths films? Bryan: I do not think so. I am sure I will turn off some people, but I would not dream of simply copying Kevin’s work – that would be wrong.) Unfortunately, despite several questions, Bryan would not give any details about his future projects or other future View Askew projects. He did say that depending on the movie’s reception in Toronto and other festivals, he is hoping to find a distributor. But he did not have anything firm yet. Kevin, by the way, did not participate in the Q&A, perhaps not wanting to take the spotlight from the rest of the team, as his role in the movie was small.
After the Q&A, the cast stayed a few minutes to sign autographs. And that is it!
Kevin introduced the movie. He started by cracking a few jokes. First, he apologized to the Torontonian women, saying that since he was last in Toronto, he has gotten married, and therefore would not be sleeping with any of them after the movie. Next, he told an anecdote about Affleck and filming Chasing Amy. Kevin related how Ben would constantly improvise his lines, until Kevin told him bluntly to stop. “If you have such great dialogue”, he said, “why don’t you go and write your own movie?”. The rest, of course is Oscar history.
Kevin then introduced Bryan Johnson. Bryan demanded that everyone put on their clown noses and then took a photo. (Maybe you can convince him to post it?) He thanked everyone for coming and introduced Brian O’Halloran, Monica Hampton and Scott Mosier. After a few more words, the film was shown.
I won’t review the film here, but I will say that the audience reaction was mostly positive. At least, no one left half-way through 😉
After the movie Bryan and the cast answered questions for about 15 minutes. The questions varied from the silly (Q: Brian, how did you prepare for your role? Brian: with plenty of Vaseline) to the interesting (Q: Bryan, are you afraid of alienating the Askew fans by making a movie that is so dark, compared to Kevin Smiths films? Bryan: I do not think so. I am sure I will turn off some people, but I would not dream of simply copying Kevin’s work – that would be wrong.) Unfortunately, despite several questions, Bryan would not give any details about his future projects or other future View Askew projects. He did say that depending on the movie’s reception in Toronto and other festivals, he is hoping to find a distributor. But he did not have anything firm yet. Kevin, by the way, did not participate in the Q&A, perhaps not wanting to take the spotlight from the rest of the team, as his role in the movie was small.
After the Q&A, the cast stayed a few minutes to sign autographs. And that is it!
REVIEW #3
By : Saul Colt
(Mixed/Positive, No Spoilers)
I was at the Vulgar screening last night in Totronto and I have to say it was an interesting experience to say the least. The movie was screened before a full house to begin with and by the end of the film there were quite a few empty seats. That is not to say it was a bad film (I liked it and I am sure most people who stayed did as well) but the film is VERY DARK. Dark in theme dark in mood and just plain dark in every concievable catagory. The screening opened with a guy from the film festival introducing Kevin and Scott. Kevin said a few words and told a story (I am paraphrasing) about how he has only encouraged two people to get into writing (because he doesn’t need the competition) one being Affleck and he won an Oscar and the other is Bryan Johnson and here we are. he also metioned that this was his first Toronto Film Fest as a married man so he wouldn’t be fucking any of the ladies in the crowd tonight and then intorduced Bryan. Bryan came up and looked really nervous spoke a few words an the film started. After the film Bryan (more relaxed aswered questions and made a few self defacing coments about how he was glad his parents sat up close so they could not see all the people leaving at the back. The film is interesting and I liked it but I didn’t find it a movie that you find yourself laughing out loud even though there were some spots when people did. All in all there is an audience for the film and I am sure people will dig in at Vulgarthon 2000.
REVIEW #4
From : AICN and Paul Dawson
(Very Negative, Spoilers)
Vulgar tells the tale of Slappy the clown a hard-luck children’s performer with an impossibly overbearing mother, a group of obnoxious losers who seem to have nothing better to do than sit on his front lawn drinking and hurling bottles and abuse at him. In a moment of desperation he hits on the idea of becoming a vulgar clown act for stag parties only to have his first clients (a father and two moronic sons) beat and rape him. The rape scene is gratuitously violent and full of inappropriate gags. In fact, that basically sums up the entire movie. Johnson’s script and direction expect us to be able to change gears between far too many tones and stories far too quickly. The effect is similar to going from first to fourth gear and back repeatedly without the benefit of a clutch. About 60 people walked out of this film and I must say I was tempted to join them. The few good scenes are debased and destroyed by ones which occur later and the characters and performances are nothing special. Slappy, real name Will, is a particular problem since Brian O’Halloran who plays him lacks any sense of comic timing, a trait probably important for someone playing a clown. As for Johnson, I can’t fault him entirely as he also gives the best performance in the film; which might have something to do with writing himself the most believable character.
Overall Vulgar is a waste and actually painful to watch (despite repeated audience complaints Johnson insisted on keeping the film at a volume where it was almost an assault on those of us in the front half of the theatre) and offers no validation to those who remain through the end for the Herculean task of enduring it. This is the kind of film which opens on a Friday to a number of cult fans and is buried by its own word of mouth before the Sunday matinees start.
Overall Vulgar is a waste and actually painful to watch (despite repeated audience complaints Johnson insisted on keeping the film at a volume where it was almost an assault on those of us in the front half of the theatre) and offers no validation to those who remain through the end for the Herculean task of enduring it. This is the kind of film which opens on a Friday to a number of cult fans and is buried by its own word of mouth before the Sunday matinees start.
REVIEW #3
By : Matt Griffin
(Very Positive, No Spoilers)
When I went and saw Vulgar, it was Wednesday September 13th, at 10:30 am…the press screening. My friend and I had tickets for the show the night before, but were unable to use them, do to the packed theatre. We were told to come back the next day, and try and get in the press screening. We did. We ran into a hard on of a security guard that wouldn’t hear of any of this, we needed a press pass. He wouldn’t let us in..we thought we were screwed. Then I saw this guy we had met the night before, who was like promoting the film, and he told us to wait outside and he could see what he could do. After about fifteen minute of waiting, and thinking that he wasn’t coming back, he showed up..with one ticket, and even then he said, we might need a pass, so “good luck” he said…”hopefully we see you up there”. Avoiding the guard that denied us before, we walked into where another guard was, and I handed him my ticket, and he said “Up stairs you give it to them” my friend and I took this as our cue, and we headed up the escalator. When we were half way up, another festival guy, asked where our passes were, and we just shrugged and kept going. At the top of the escalator, we see some of the View Askew crew, Scott Mosier, and Bryan johnson, and our promoter dude, that got us. He gave me an approving nod, but we still weren’t in the theatre. I walked over and began talking to Mosier, and told him our sob story. He was all cool, and he got Bryan Johnson to come over, and I talked to him. This is when Bryan Johnson, becomes my hero. He walks over to the Usher watching the door, and tells him to let us in. I could’ve fucking kissed the guy. This was so cool. We were seeing Vulgar with critics, and the media, people from Premiere magazine, and shit. As we were walking in, Kevin Smith was walking out. I said “Smith”, patted him on the back, and headed in. We took two prime seats up front, and what we saw…well…
Bryan Johnson, in his first directorial debut, did an astounding job, the film flowed smoothly, and understanding what was going on was easy. I don’t want to spoil anything for anybody, because I want all your mouths to drop just as much as mine did when I saw it. The twists this flick takes are just incredible, a very original piece of writing, I believe was also done by Johnson. Also, the performances…christ…Brian O’halloran is just incredible as William (Vulgar the clown), and even the director Johnson does a decent job as William’s best friend. Throughout the movie, we meet a slew of characters from the bowels of New Jersey, that take the story to different peaks, and each one of them is pivotal to the story, there are no underlying charcters thrown in for just the hell. Every character who is in the flick, has a purpose, and that’s why I think the movie flows so well. From beginning to end it’s just non stop, no lag, just great dialogue, and action. Look for View Askew references galore, and you’ll see everyone from Walt Flannagan to Kevin Smith in the film. I don’t want to give anything away, because like I said, I want you to be as shocked as I was, but here’s a teaser..Three Cocks. One Ass. Vulgar. See what you can make out of that…
Jason Lee Interviewed In FHM Magazine…
- Here’s yet another very cool interview with Jason Lee…It’s got some great questions and he’s always got an interesting, honest, fun answer to stuff. This one seems to be focused mostly on music and fashion, and not on the film scene. Thanks to our scooper we’ve got a full transcript of the whole thing for ya, too. Enjoy!
Jason Lee
Versatile actor Jason Lee on the downfall of MTV, desperate skater kids and the New York-actor-guy look
Q: As an actor or a professional skateboarder, what’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you with a fan?
A: It happened when I was a skateboarder. When you tour the country, you see a lot of skater kids who go to demonstrations. These kids usually want you to give them stuff, and one kid said, “give me a skateboard and I’ll let you sleep with my girlfriend.”
Q: Did you sleep with her?
A: No, and I didn’t give him the skateboard. I got a kick out of it though. This guy was so desperate to get his hands on a skateboard without having to pay for one. And his girlfriend was right there.
Q: Changing the subject, is there anything you’ve ever worn that you’d be mortified to wear now?
A: When I was younger, I’d wear the pegged-in, baggy Jimmy’z pants with the weird designs on them in those fluorescent ’80’s colors. And I’d wear a purple Jimmy’z beret that would go off to one side, and bicycle gloves.
Q: What’s your style now?
A: I wear a lot of Diesel jeans. A lot of T-shirts. A lot of Clarks shoes. I wear those new New Balance sneakers, and I got some funky BW sports sneakers from Germany at American Rag that apparently Helmut Lang has now. I don’t wear suits, but I’m not “slob guy” either.
Q: What’s the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen a woman wear?
A: My wife used to wear this tight blue velvet dress, like the one in Blue Velvet. She usually doesn’t wear stuff like that, so it was awesome.
Q: I hear you’re just as enthusiastic about your cars.
A: I’m such a car nut. All my cars are silver. I have an SUV I drive every day, the new Honda S2000 sports car that they just came out with and a Suburban to tow around my 1972 BMW 2002 race car.
Q: Where do you race an antique like that?
A: There are these vintage auto-racing associations I’m going to start racing in. It’s cool because it’s not about mullets and Bud Light. You race against other guys in Mini Coopers and old MGs and Austin Healys; guys who are really into these old vintage British cars and race them just for the fun of it.
Q: Do things get ugly if you sideswipe another guy’s Austin Healy?
A: Well, then you’re kind of screwed, but there are ways to fix it. And because there’s no money at stake, people aren’t that competitive.
Q: Have you ever gotten in an accident?
A: Not in my race car, but I’ve had many skateboarding. I’ve snapped my wrist in half, sliced open my shin and sprained both my ankles many times. Once, I fractured my pelvis. I was goofing around on this ramp-it was only five feet high-and my board hit the top and stuck, and I slammed onto the ground. I landed right on my pelvis.
Q: Based on your experience with Cameron Crowe’s new movie about a 1970’s rock band, what kind of rocker would you be?
A: Well, I actually play music with my friends in the studio at my house. It’s really experimental electronic music. We did this one song with a heavy beat and this dark organ music. Then we added the pope talking in Latin and these women moaning, which we sampled from a porno we rented.
Q: Who is the coolest rocker out there?
A: Beck. I think he and Bjork are the two most influential musicians we have now, in that they’re bringing what they’re doing to the mainstream. Which is amazing because right now mainstream is ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.
Q: So you’re not a Britney Spears worshipper?A: Music right now is horrible. People are losing their standards. I mean, Britney Spears hosed Saturday Night Live! All those fuckers on that show make fun of people like her, but they booked her anyway to boost their ratings.
Q: What do you think of the jokers over at MTV?
A: I hate MTV. They’ve been responsible for ruining music on so many levels. Their philosophy is, “We’re a big corporate company now and we never play videos and we do stupid fucking shows that have nothing to do with music.” The channel is called Music Television. MTV realized most Americans don’t care about Bjork and those kinds of bands. Most people want to hear jock music that pumps them up when they’re getting drunk at some party trying to rape some girl. I can say that because I went to high school in Orange County, CA. The jock dated the head cheerleader. He drove the Iroc-Z28 and she drove the cutesy little white Volkswagen Rabbit and I was the dirty skater who’d get picked on and used to make people laugh.
Q: What’s the most embarrassing fashion trend in Hollywood right now?
A: The worst is the actor-guy look. You know, with the suit with the shirt underneath with, like, four buttons undone and the collar and the cuffs outside of the suit jacket. That look actually made a comeback because Sean Penn popularized it, and then it became this New York-actor-guy look. It’s one thing to work as an actor, but it’s another to constantly dress like it and act like it, with the cigarettes and everything. In the end, though, it’s fashion. And there are trends in fashion, so people want to wear what everyone else is wearing, but I don’t really buy into it. I’m satisfied with my small closet of T-shirts and thrift store clothes and jeans.
More On “Almost Famous”…
- The film continues to get outstanding reviews from all who’ve seen it. Word from a recent screening in Seattle, where the film is being pushed bigtime, was that all in attendance seemed to totally love it. There’s a chance to catch more of the flick before it goes nationwide at the end of this month, MTV News in running a Special Movie Edition on the flick tonight at 7:00 PM. It’ll rerun again at 11 PM.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Lee’s romantic comedy “Kissing A Fool” gets its network television premiere on Comedy Central September 24th at 8 PM eastern. This flick’s underrated, it really is fun to watch Jason totally steal the flick away from David Schwimmer. Check it out if you haven’t yet…And then go out and rent the uncut version if you like what you see.
- Thanks to Criterion for mentioning a bit of our Chasing Amy DVD review on their web site. Very cool to see that.
- We mentioned the Total Movie magazine deal yesterday for the free first issue not working (see below or the archives for details on the DVD, which features the true Chasing Amy trailer). Anyway, their official site still isn’t working, but you can surf HERE or HERE to sign up for your free first issue.
- Affleck is going to be a presenter at “The Concert,” the highest grossing federal (”hard”) money fundraiser in DNC history, at Radio City Music Hall in lovely NYC tomorrow (thurs, 9/14). Gore and Lieberman are attending and introducing the evening. The musical line-up for the evening includes Jon Bon Jovi, Jimmy Buffett, CSN, Sheryl Crow, Macy Gray, the Eagles, Lenny Kravitz, KD Lang, Bette Midler and Paul Simon. Other presenters will be Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, John Leguizamo and Julia Roberts. Tickets are still available at 212-597-9114 or at their website.
Rumors From Around The Campfire…
- Just a couple of uncredited rumors to throw out there today…None of these are confirmed as of yet, but here’s what folks have been saying:
- Tickets for Vulgarthon will go on sale sometime in the last week of this month (September). The final film lineup has yet to be confirmed, but we’re hearing $50 a head for tickets this time around. Those of you who attended last time may recall that tix were $40, so we’re not sure of the $50 so much, but it’d make sense if the theater rental price went up or more time is going to be needed.
- Will View Askew 5 have a bi-coastal shoot? We’ve heard rumors that some of the flick may be shot in LA, California…Perhaps they’re taking to a big soundstage for portions of it? Who knows. We’re assuming the bulk of the flick, especially the outdoor stuff, will still happen in the Red Bank area. View Askew 5 is slated to go before the cameras in December or January. Stay tuned.