Kevin’s got details on what he plans to discuss, links to all that positive “Reaper” press, and a promise to be on time tonight via his blog. We’ll look forward to hearing back from you lucky San Diego Con attendees on what ya think of “Reaper” and how the Q&A goes. Enjoy!

“Reaper,” a show about a guy who learns on his 21st birthday that his parents have sold his soul to the Devil, is drawing early word of mouth here in Hollywood, among critics and executives in the television business who have seen the pilot, for being something not really seen on television before: an hourlong buddy-comedy-horror series.

…

Casting the Devil was another challenge. Mr. Smith said, “We saw some of the big names in the business.” He did not name any but said that none of what he called “the old guard” could capture what the character called for, a quality of being “sincerely insincere.”

Read the full article at the New York Times website

“Kevin Smith was amazing,” Harrison said in an interview following a press conference at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., last week. “I think if you took from what we had in the beginning to what it came to be, it was leaps and bounds [ahead], just in terms of being able to get so many different choices. Kevin never wants the same thing twice. And for an actor, that’s the best thing you could ever ask for. At least for me.”

In Reaper, Harrison plays Sam Oliver, an ordinary guy who discovers on his 21st birthday that his parents sold his soul to the devil (Ray Wise) before he was born. From that point on, he is forced to become a demonic bounty hunter, sending the damned back to hell whenever they escape.

While filming the pilot, Harrison wasn’t always sure about Smith’s choices on the set, but he trusted in the director and realized that he was always right in the end. “Something that you don’t think is going to work on the day just might end up happening to work amazingly in the editing room,” he said. “And there’s things that are cut together that I never thought in a million years would cut right together. Because Kevin would give me a choice, like ‘All right, I’ll do it, but wow, this is scary, I am so out of my element. This is too campy. Really? You want me to do the Silent Bob eye-open deal that he does?’ And it works. And I saw it cut together, and it was like, ‘S–t man, trust the Smith.'”

In a separate interview, Harrison’s co-star, Tyler Labine, also praised Smith’s directing talents. Labine plays Sam’s best friend, Sock, who helps him in his bounty-hunting missions.

“Kevin Smith was, and is, my biggest man crush I’ve ever had in my life,” Labine said. “He came onto the show, and just even beyond having a good script—like, a very solid bedrock of a script that we could sit on—he just helped us get that [sparkle]. There’s like a sparkle in the pilot. There’s something you can’t quite put your finger on, and that’s Kevin Smith. He’s in and around everything. I mean, he cuts everything himself, he’s very hands-on. He’s a beacon of independent filmmaking.”

Labine added that he particularly appreciated the fact that Smith would let the actors deviate from the script if they felt the need to. “He encouraged us to improvise,” he said. “He improvises with us. … He’d say something or I’d yell something, and he’d be acting off-camera like, ‘Now try this,’ and you’re doing it, and lights are going off, and you’re, like, fighting fire, and he’s yelling. It was one of the truest sort of collaborative [experiences], especially for television.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH IRA NEWBORN

BY CHRIS GRAVES

CHRIS GRAVES: For those who do not know, what is your background and how were you introduced to the world of View Askew and Kevin Smith?

IRA NEWBORN: I was a studio guitarist in N.Y. and then L.A. who, after doing “American Hot Wax “ and then “The Blues Brothers,”decided to become a full-time film composer. I was asked to do the music for “Mallrats” by Sean Daniel, who was a producer at Universal and was acting for Kevin Smith.

CG: When did music become a part of your life? Were you in any rock bands during your youth?

IN: I started playing flute at 9, trombone at 10 and guitar at 12. My mother played piano, studied opera and was a coloratura soprano. My father played piano and trombone. I was in numerous R&R and jazz bands from the early 60’s on.

CG: How did you get the job of conductor / music supervisor on The Blues Brothers? Did you ever visit the set?

IN: I was known to producer Joel Silver as the musical director of “The Manhattan Transfer” as well as a studio guitarist and arranger. When Paul Schaeffer could not go to Chicago to be musical director of “The Blues Brothers”, Joel suggested me to Sean Daniel. It just so happened I knew everyone in the Blues Brothers Band. I visited many of the sets of the movie.

CG: Can you tell me about your professional relationship with director John Hughes? How did this begin and do you have a favorite film from this collaboration?

IN: I was recommended to John Hughes by Joel Silver while I was doing “Into The Night” for John Landis. I suppose I like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” the best although seeing Kelly LeBrock in her underwear in “Weird Science” was quite a thrill.

CG: The music you created for the Naked Gun trilogy, like most of your film scores, have gone on to become iconic in the world of cinema. What was the inspiration for the Naked Gun prequel tv series Police Squad?

IN: The inspiration was the mid-50’s TV cop show, “M-Squad” with Lee Marvin.

CG: Being that the score to Mallrats was basically a character in the film itself, did Mr. Smith or the studio give you any specific directions or notes in terms of the musical themes created for Mallrats?

IN: I really don’t remember but I suppose we talked generally about the tenor of the score and the character of the individual players.

CG: Did you ever visit the set of the film? Have you in the past, ever visited the set to a film you scored and if so are there any interesting anecdotes from these experiences?

IN: I think I visited the set. The most interesting anecdote is meeting Kelly LeBrock in her underwear on the set of “Weird Science”. I will treasure that memory always.

CG: Do you like how Mallrats turned out? And what was your reaction to the film’s poor theatrical box office?

IN: I think there were many good things in it and it certainly didn’t deserve the beating it took from many critics.

CG: Besides film scoring, you also have appeared in the films Junior, The Cowboy Way, and the 1970’s television series Manhattan Transfer. Is acting a field you’ve tried to branch off and explore as a possible second career?

IN: I was performing when I was 2 years old. I had the lead in every school play from 1st through 6th grade and always considered acting my first and true love, however, it’s even more disgusting a business than the music business so after a while I had to recognize that acting and acting professionally were 2 different things and I decided to be a professional musician. I love to act and have occasionally but not if I have to do cattle calls and the like.

CG: What did you think of the other View Askew movies and do you have favorite Kevin Smith / View Askew flick (Mallrats excluded)?

IN: I liked “Chasing Amy” very much. I thought that “Clerks” was a movie about an everyday bunch of people laboring under an enormous blow-job joke. I didn’t go to see “Dogma” because after having Kevin and Scott offer me the movie to score, I never was able to get either of them on the phone again to discuss it.

CG: Any new projects coming up?

IN: At this point? Who knows? Who cares? Maybe I’ll be surprised.

CG: And finally, do you still keep in contact with anyone related to the world of View Askew and would you like to work with Kevin again?

IN: As I said, after being offered “Dogma” (while I was scoring “Mallrats”), receiving the script and then never again being able to talk to Kevin or Scott, my down and dirty, non-Hollywood, real-life East Coast buddies, I probably didn’t see any use in “keeping in touch.” As far as working with Kevin again is concerned, you should ask him if he would like to work with me. Considering the typical Hollywood treatment I received with “Dogma”, I don’t imagine he does.

And now, in the spirit of fairness, Kevin’s reply and comments in response to this interview:

KEVIN SMITH: So weird: I don’t even remember offering Ira “Dogma” to score. Maybe it was something we talked about during the two or three days I ever worked with the man – a guy whose body of work I truly respected (“Sixteen Candles”, “Weird Science”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”) – but how do you “offer” someone a movie to score when the movie wasn’t even shot, and wouldn’t be for another three years?

If it was, indeed, however, something we’d mused about during that three day stretch on the “Rats” scoring stage, he put a bullet in it by being a total rag during the session: aside from addressing both Scott and I with dripping condescension, the guy went out of his way to mock a small request I made in front of his entire orchestra.

Y’know that “Pink Panther”-like orchestral fall-off during the Gramercy logo, right before Brodie starts his Cousin Walter narration story? I’d asked for that without using the proper terminology (“fall-off”). I tried to describe it to Ira for about two minutes before the dude’s blank stare morphed into an expression of abject disgust. First, he scoffed at me for not knowing what I was asking for was called, and then he turned to his orchestra and blasted me – like I wasn’t there – for having shit taste in music. Ultimately, he made the massive concession of giving the director something simple and small that he (politely and with the respect due a guy of Ira’s musical stature) asked for – but you’d have thought I’d grabbed a pen, spread out his cue sheets, and rewrote his entire score. I mean, it was a slight musical sting during the fucking studio logo, for Christ’s sake.

But even though he finally gave me what I wanted, he made it painfully clear how much he disagreed with it: Ira conducts his orchestra during the recording of that particular cue… how does one put this… sarcastically – complete with rolling eyes, over the top gestures and faux-yawning. It’s such an obnoxious display, it prompts a woman in the session to giggle aloud at his antics. That giggle can be heard in the cue (right before the fall-off, I believe); I opted to leave it in to remind me of what working with Ira Newborn was like.

So, I ask you: would you wanna work with a guy like that more than once?

Well I’m stupid, so I tried to work with him again, a decade later.

Scott and I were working on the tenth anniversary “Mallrats” DVD, creating the extended cut of the flick. Since there was all new material, we needed new score bits. The studio said they could just do an in-house cut-and-paste job with the score, but Scott and I pushed for them to go back to Ira – so that the man who scored the picture in the first place could add on to his own compositions.

Normally, when you work on the bonus features of a DVD, you do it for nothing. I’ve never gotten paid for any of the commentary tracks, deleted scenes compilation, intro recording, or doc-making I’ve done for any of the DVDs: it’s just something you do for the love (and to make a kick-ass DVD for anyone who’s interested in your bullshit). For the, roughly, twelve minutes of new score we were needed, rather than simply doing some loops of what already existed or doing a quick jam of new stuff that’d complement the picture, Ira quoted the studio a price way beyond their comfort level for a re-issued DVD. When Ira priced himself out of what was gonna be an easy gig, we, instead, sought the aid of our guy Jim Venable to pinch-hit.

It’s all a shame, really. While there weren’t many score cues in “Mallrats” (it was largely driven by soundtrack), I dug ’em all; just wasn’t too crazy about the attitude of the guy who crafted them. He was the first composer I’d ever worked with and he made it the worst experience I’ve ever had scoring a movie.

I find it strange that he called Scott and I “Hollywood” – when the next flick we made had a budget of $250,000 and was shot in the Jersey ‘burbs.

And there ya have it, folks. Thanks to everyone involved. Just goes to show you, there’s always some Askew stories to tell from the world of Hollywood, even things stretching back as far as ten years ago. And for the record, that “fall-off” is memorable, isn’t it? Crazy that there was such a fuss made about Kev’s requesting it. Huh.

We’ve got plans for a page here at the new News Askew that will house ALL of these wonderful inteviews in one place. Watch for that, coming soon, right here. And as always, we thank Chris for the excellent work he’s continuing to deliver.

Now that tix are all sold out, I can tell you what’s been brewing for this Q&A…

Barring some t-crossing and i-dotting going south, it looks like we’ll be taping it for the next Q&A DVD.

So all of you that got tickets, congrats: you’re gonna be in the show.

This one’s gonna be a News Askew-covered event, so we look forward to seeing all of you there — The Basie is a HUGE place, so this sold-out crowd on Kev’s birthday night is gonna ROCK. We’re expecting this to be one of the greatest Q&A sessions of all time, and can’t wait to take our seats. By the way, last session we had trouble with event security regarding access for photos for the website – If anyone happens to be reading this site and has a connection at the Basie, please do drop us a line so we can get in touch before the show. Much thanks. SEE YOU THERE!

“The titles recognized by the Home Entertainment Awards speak to the breadth of great entertainment that is available on home video and remind us why home video retains its hold on the public,” EMA president Bo Andersen said. “EMA is proud to acknowledge the outstanding attributes of these wonderful videos.”

DVDs released from April 1, 2006-March 31 were eligible.

The awards Clerks II Took: DVD Extras of the Year From an Independent Studio AND Marketing Campaign of the Year From an Independent Studio. Nice job and well deserved.

Samuel Goldwyn Films has announced that Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales will hit theaters on November 9 in partnership with Destination Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group.

The film, which debuted at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and has since been completed, stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Justin Timberlake, Mandy Moore, Cheri Oteri, Kevin Smith and Amy Poehler among others, with original music by Moby, a music sequence by Timberlake and a soundtrack that includes The Killers, The Pixies, Muse, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Radiohead, and Jane’s Addiction.

Southland Tales is an ensemble piece set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles on July 4, 2008, as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Johnson will star as Boxer Santaros, an action star stricken with amnesia whose life intertwines with Krysta Now (Gellar), an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and David Clark (Scott), a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.

A special Southland Tales panel has been set up for this weekend’s Comic-Con in San Diego, Friday the 27th from 11 AM to 1 PM. Location: AA12. Richard Kelly will be in attendance and signing posters from the film afterwards. Be there!

SModcast 21: Little Outhouse on the Prairie –

In which the patriarchy is restored and our heroes discuss a wide range of topics like Flushable Moist Wipes, the triumphant advent of Flushable Moist Wipes, the historical significance of Flushable Moist Wipes, dry corncobs vs. Flushable Moist Wipes, magic ice boxes vs. Flushable Moist Wipes, and “Heroes”.

Ah, the joy of flushable moist wipes indeed. As always, free, $0.00, for your download anytime you want, exclusively through the great Quick Stop Entertainment. Download, enjoy, and be sure to comment here or at one of Kevin’s blogs with your thoughts on the show. The dude loves to hear your feedback on SModcast.

With this highly-anticipated pilot episode, as well as the lure of a fantastic Kevin Q&A, this WILL be one of the hottest tickets at the con this weekend – We recommend you arrive, and line up, EARLY. Don’t miss this one if you have a chance to get there.