I went to see A Better Place at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal tonight. This is my third year attending the festival, and this screening was by far the best. Vincent talked to the crowd and to fans for about an hour. Everyone was forced to exit the theater about 25 minutes into his Q&A because the next movie was going to come on, but he stayed outside the theater to talk to fans for more than a half hour. He was very cool and extremely down to earth. He talked about the DVD release for A Better Place, and how he’s been having a tough time finding a video distributor since all the school shootings of late. I asked him if Lions Gate was distributing Dogma but he was tight lipped about it, though he said he really did wanted to talk about it. I took some photos, that I’ll scan and send to you guys when I get the chance, of Vincent talking to fans.

CATHOLIC LEAGUE PRINTS BOOKLET DENOUNCING DOGMA

The conservative Catholic League said Tuesday that it has published a booklet about Kevin Smith’s Dogma (1999) “that offers proof of the anti-Catholic nature of the film.” In April, Miramax co-founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein said that, in order to spare Disney any further public conflict over the film, they would set up a separate corporation and buy the movie for $11 million, then sell it to another distributor. So far, no other distributor has been willing to touch it. Apparently hoping to step up the pressure to prevent the film from being released, Catholic League president William Donohue said Tuesday that the group plans to distribute its booklet to the media, members of the Catholic church, including all bishops, and “anyone who would like a copy.” [IMDB]

News Article: Rock in role for WB cartoon
By Michael Fleming

NEW YORK (Variety) – Warner Bros. has landed Chris Rock to voice “Osmosis Jones,” a streetwise blood cell who’s at the center of the studio’s next major animated feature. David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”) will join him as Drix, an inexperienced cold tablet who buddies up with Osmosis to thwart an evil virus out to destroy the body of a construction worker. WB-based producer Joel Silver — who appeared in the live-action/animation “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” — will voice the police chief; pop star Brandy is negotiating to voice the female lead. WB has been moving quickly on “Osmosis,” which was greenlit in June and has already been set up at Kids WB with a 13-episode order for an animated TV series. Rock will likely do “Osmosis” before taking his next film-starring job: “I Was Made to Love Her,” a Paramount comedy expected to start shooting in January. Rock will host the MTV Video Music Awards in September, and awaits release of two films: Neil LaBute’s “Nurse Betty,” in which he stars with Morgan Freeman and Renee Zellweger; and the Kevin Smith film “Dogma,” which is expected to see release this fall. [Reuters/Variety]

FM: It looks like they finally found a Daredevil writer who can out-Catholic me.

As far as what Kevin Smith’s up to, I can’t comment until he’s wrapped up the storyline. But I’ve got no idea where the hell he’s going with it, and that’s a good thing. Spooky stuff. I was startled by Karen’s death, though, and sorry she had to wind up a victim after all.

Alanis Morissette Pens New Song for ‘Dogma’

Canadian singer/songwriter also has role in fall film; plans autobiographical scrapbook, screenplay.

Senior Writer Gil Kaufman reports:

With a new song, a planned book and screenplay, and even a part in an upcoming movie, there should be no doubt Alanis Morissette is back with a vengeance.

Before issuing last year’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, the Canadian singer/songwriter took a year off following almost two years of touring behind her multiplatinum Jagged Little Pill.

But now she’s back at work: Morissette will make her feature film debut in the fall with a cameo role in “Dogma.” She also has written a song for the film directed by Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Chasing Amy”).

Seated in her backstage trailer before performing at the July 23-25 Woodstock ’99 festival, Morissette said she recorded the new song, “Still,” at Abbey Road Studios, and that it “got me really excited about the next record.”

“Still” will mark the second year in a row Morissette has debuted a new song in a film. Last year’s “City of Angels” included her Grammy-winning ballad “Uninvited” (RealAudio excerpt).

Also percolating, Morissette said, are a screenplay and an as-yet-untitled scrapbook for fans.

“I’m … always writing words, whether they wind up being poetry or lyrics, diary entries or garbage material,” Morissette said. “The book, thus far, is kind of a scrapbook of sorts with revelations and stories and journal entries and questions and photos. … It’ll come out at some point” (RealAudio excerpt of interview).

Seated with her legs tucked under her, surrounded by brightly colored tapestries draped over a couch and lining the walls and ceiling of her trailer, Morissette – a former child actress who starred in the Nickelodeon show “You Can’t Do That on Television” in the mid-’80s – also revealed that she’s been working on a script for a feature film.

“It will be made into a movie at some point,” Morissette said of her screenplay. “The theme is the inner workings of a relationship without glossing over the intricacies of it, which I love to do.”

But first up is her role in Smith’s already controversial “Dogma,” in which the singer plays God.

Asked how one prepares for such a demanding role, Morissette said the only way she knew how to get psyched up was not to prepare at all. “Kevin Smith and I both believe that God is us,” Morissette said. “So there’s really no preparation needed. It’s really small, it’s a small role.”

Morissette, who directed the video for the latest single from Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, “So Pure” (RealAudio excerpt), said she got the role after years of building a mutual admiration society with Smith.

“I just think he’s brilliant, and he was very supportive of me,” Morissette said. “[We] met a few years ago and he showed me his script for ‘Dogma.’ [He] had invited me to take part in it with him when I first got off the road for Jagged Little Pill. But I was so burnt out that I didn’t think I’d be of much value to him. But once I’d rejuvenated a year later, he had that cameo role still left” (RealAudio excerpt of interview).

After a two-album Canadian career as a teen pop star, Morissette smashed through in the United States in 1995 with the explicit single “You Oughta Know,” from the 25 million-selling Jagged Little Pill. Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie took a more introspective and spiritual tone, with such songs as “Thank U” (RealAudio excerpt).

Prior to the release of “Dogma,” Morissette will hit the road with fellow singer/songwriter Tori Amos for a co-headlining tour called the 5 1/2 Weeks Tour. The outing kicks off Aug. 18 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., at the NCR Arena.

The tour is being co-sponsored by MP3.com, a website that offers downloads of music in near-CD-quality form, and retailer Best Buy.

“Bringing two visions together to make one show can be tricky,” Amos said in a statement announcing the tour, “so obviously it takes a lot of mutual respect and a load of gear. With that in mind, Alanis and I are bringing two trucks just for ourselves: one filled with wine, the other filled with lip gloss.”

Touring with Amos was a priority for Morissette, she said, because she sensed the two might have common ground. “Obviously we’re both different artists,” Morissette said, “but I can understand the place that her music comes from. And I very much respect her.”

Things I’ve learned, now that I’m 29

I’ve learned that ‘The Blair Witch Project’ made close to thirty million this weekend. Wow. That’s beyond historic. That’s just astounding. Kudos to the Haxan guys.

Short of that, nothing new learned. We’re in LA (me, Jen, Harley, Scott and Mewes), finishing up the last two episodes in the initial order. The shows are really funny, and Brian, Jeff and Mewes couldn’t be funnier. The support players have been great too. It’s just a flat-out good show.

Saw the first set of storyboards on episode one (ours, not the Jar-Jar one). They look phenomenal. High praise to Chris Bailey and the rest of the animation team, who’ve done such a masterful job bringing this stuff to life.

I have no ‘Dogma’ news, despite that excellent piece in yesterday’s New York Times. That’s a bit frustrating, considering the movie’s done and ready to go. Time for a poster or a trailer or something, don’t you think?Or at least the announcement of who’s distributing it. Ah, what do I know. I just made the thing – that’s all.

The baby continues to grow and amaze. But honestly – I thought I was a fan of eating, shitting and sleeping. This kid’s vested interest in said sameleaves me in the dust.

Speaking of eating, I’m almost finished with week one of the new diet. So far, so good. Things got a little out of control there for awhile, but now I’m taking steps to reign the beast that is the belly back in.

And I guess that’s about it for now.

After receiving the excellent Mallrats DVD here in the UK, I became increasingly fed-up with the camera icon that kept popping up during the on-screen action.

There’s no instructions on how to get rid of it. While searching on the Net last night, I found the answer:

The disc must be in but STOPPED.

Then press Menu.
Setup/Initial.
OSD Set.
Angle Mark – Off.

It might not be much use to DVD veterans. But beginners like me might be stuck on how to get rid of it.