- Our scooper’s site, www.mattdamon.com, will be opening this Monday, May 18th. It promises to be the biggest and best Damon spot on the web, so all you Matty fans will have a new place to visit. Subscribers of the Matt Damon & Ben Affleck Mailing List get a sneak peek the night before. Information about subscribing can here found at her homepage (HERE).
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VA In The Iowan…
- The Daily Iowan (of all papers!) recently ran a fairly sizeable View Askew article that covered all 4 flicks and lots more…An interesting read. There’s even some trivia to test your knowlege.
Keeping up with Jay and Silent Bob
After years of hard work, toil and lots of illegal substances, Jay and Silent Bob are everywhere. Millions either know them from their recent series of MTV promos or their appearances in films. But Jay and Bob’s first appearance was in the indie hit “Clerks,” which was written and directed by Kevin Smith, who portrays Silent Bob. Smith based the characters on two actual drug dealers living in the New Jersey suburb where he grew up. But the nature of the characters came from somewhere else, namely Jason Mewes, the actor that plays Jay. “Jason is like a sonic boom with dirt on it,” Smith explains. “It was always my feeling that — if I ever rose to a position where I could exploit his natural talent — I would. So based on that, when I thought about ‘Jay,’ I knew he’d need an antithesis — someone who did the opposite of what he did: talk. Hence, Silent Bob.” In the four years since their debut, the duo are everywhere, from Smith’s films to MTV commercials. So here now, in easy-to-digest factoid format, is everything you ever wanted to know about Jay and Silent Bob, Kevin Smith and more …
“Clerks”
Smith, a comic-book aficionado, recently wrote a comic book sequel of sorts, “Clerks: The Comic Book,” published by Oni Press. The story details “Clerks” stars Dante and Randal attempting to get into the “Star Wars” action figure market.
The laser disc edition features 25 minutes of additional footage with seven scenes not included in the theatrical release, including the original ending in which Dante is shot during a hold-up.
“Clerks” was filmed at the same store in which Smith worked at the time. He was only allowed to film after regular business hours, so he wrote in an explanation for why the shutters were down.
The funeral and Randal’s sale of cigarettes to the minor both take place at 4 p.m.
Jason Mewes doesn’t appear on the poster for “Clerks” because Miramax executives thought that he was too odd-looking for advertising.
Memorable quotes:
After losing a hockey ball from the roof:
Dante: Are there any balls down there?
Jay: About the biggest pair you ever seen, dingleberry!
Silent Bob’s only line: “You know, there’s a million fine looking women in the world, dude. But they don’t all bring you lasagna at work. Most of ’em just cheat on you.”
Reportedly, Jason Mewes was so nervous about acting in “Clerks” that the crew had to get him high before filming.
“Mallrats”
Trisha Jones’ book of sexual escapades was published by Pendant Publishing, a reference to “Seinfeld.”
The two main characters are named Brodie and Quint, a reference to “Jaws.”
The studio tried to have Jason Mewes replaced as Jay up until the first day of filming.
The music heard when T.S. and Hamilton are waiting for the elevator is the same as in the elevator in “The Blues Brothers.”
Memorable quotes:
Jay: Where do you get these wonderful toys? (A reference to the first “Batman” film.)
Silent Bob’s only line: “Excitement? Adventure? A Jedi craves not these things.” (A reference to “The Empire Strikes Back”)
Smith apologized for “Mallrats,” although he later admitted that the apology was “tongue-in-cheek. Never was I like, ‘Oh man, I am so fucking sorry!’ It was a joke.”
“Chasing Amy”
Smith and star Joey Lauren Adams (who played Alyssa Jones) began dating after “Mallrats” and broke up not long after “Chasing Amy” was released. Smith has said that much of the material in this film was based on his relationship with Adams. “Granted,” Smith said in the liner notes of the “Chasing Amy” laser disc, “Joey wasn’t gay, and I’ve never fallen in love with a lesbian (well, not that I know of anyway). But the movie did grow out of my initial reaction to Joey’s past (which, in all fairness, wasn’t nearly as salacious as Alyssa’s crafted history).”
“This flick, more than the other two, is me on a slab, laid out for the world to see.” — Smith.
This is the only film where you will see Silent Bob say more than a sentence. Bob’s most memorable lines [to Jay]: “Bitch, what you don’t know about me I can just about squeeze into the Grand fucking Canyon. Did you know that I always wanted to be a dancer in Vegas?”
The laser disc includes 10 scenes deleted from the theatrical release, including a confrontation between Holden (Affleck) and one of Alyssa’s former lovers.
“Dogma”
“Dogma” is Smith’s first post-“Jersey Trilogy” film, due to be released this fall. It stars Ben Affleck, George Carlin, Matt Damon, Janeane Garofalo, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Alanis Morissette, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock and of course Mewes and Smith as Jay and Silent Bob.
Smith calls it “kind of our biggest movie to date. A big, apocalyptic road movie, and a satire of Catholicism. Jay and Silent Bob join forces with a fallen apostle, a muse and the scion of Christ to save the world from two renegade but harmless angels.”
The harmless angels are played by Academy Award-winners Damon and Affleck. Damon was featured in “Mallrats,” while Affleck had roles in both “Mallrats” and “Chasing Amy.”
General trivia
Smith was the executive producer for “Good Will Hunting,” but Damon and Affleck forgot to thank him in their acceptance speech.
Talk about a full plate … Along with “Dogma,” Smith’s future projects include a “Dogma” novelization and comic book adaptation, a six-to-12 month run in Marvel Comics’ “Daredevil,” as well as an indefinite run in DC Comics’ “Green Arrow,” more “Clerks”-related comics and even a television show. He also has written or is writing scripts for the following films: “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “Fletch 3,” “Green Lantern: The Movie.” His script for “Superman Lives” was to be produced until director Tim Burton threw it out.
Smith owns a comic store in Red Bank, New Jersey, called “Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.” The store is just blocks from the headquarters of Smith’s production company, View Askew, and also sells merchandise from his films, much of it autographed! Both View Askew and Secret Stash may be accessed on the Web at http://www.viewaskew.com/
Many of the characters in Smith’s films are related: Alyssa Jones (“Chasing Amy”), Heather Jones (“Clerks”), Tricia Jones (“Mallrats”); Dante and Gill Hicks (“Clerks” and “Mallrats” respectively — both played by Brian ); and so on.
Smith’s favorite “Star Wars” movie? “Empire.”
Drew’s Adds Script & Poll…
- Drew’s Script-O-Rama has got the full ‘Good Will Hunting’ script online now at www.script-o-rama.com…It’s also been available through News Askew courtesy of Dana’s excellent GWH Website.
He’s also running a poll on who’d be Dogma’s better “God”: Emma Thompson or Alanis Morissette. Stop by if you’d like your voice heard.
Commentary
- Happy Monday, folks. Again, it’s still a fairly slow go in the land of News Askew, so we haven’t been as verbose lately…Actually, we spent some time over the weekend making some improvements to the site; nothing that you’ll probably notice, but the entire page should now be running under the new code, faster and smoother than ever. At the same token, if we made any mistakes, let us know. We just don’t have the time to test all this stuff. A lot of the news lately has been exclusively on Dogma: Rumor Control, as well, so be sure to make it a stop on your travels.
As always, thanks for stopping by…We’re approaching the big 200K, and we’re pretty psyched.
EW Pics…
(Click Pictures For Larger Versions)
- You’ve heard about it, now here they are…The cover and inside photo from this week’s Entertainment Weekly, featuring Ben Affleck and the lovely Liv Tyler from ‘Armageddon’…And, a nice belated mother’s day pic of Ben, Matt, and their respective Moms.
Frat Pack Article Online…
- Ben, Matt, & Chris Rock are all featured in the “Frat Pack”, an article from an earlier Entertainment Weekly issue…
They’re young! They’re handsome! They’re the toast of Hollywood! How a new generation hit the big time — and why their hearts belong to indie. Introducing the …
BY STEVE DALY
If Hollywood had its own version of Mount Rushmore for male movie stars, there’d be granite shards all over the foothills right now. Not to mention a big sign that reads Pardon Our Appearance While We Remodel. Why? Because the great stone faces who’ve anchored the biggest action flicks and epic dramas of the past decade — among them Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Kevin Costner — seem to be eroding. Audiences stamped Costner’s The Postman “Return to sender.” Willis’ Mercury Rising is falling fast at theaters. Warner Bros. has recruited the younger, hipper Chris Rock, 32, to prop up the conceptually wheezy prospect of Gibson’s Lethal Weapon 4. And since collecting what turned out to be an overly generous $20 million up-front paycheck (plus a merchandise cut) for last summer’s Batman & Robin, Schwarzenegger weathered heart surgery and has taken his time getting another of his $100 million behemoths off the ground.
Of course, a junior group of leading men including Tom Cruise, 35, Brad Pitt, 34, and Will Smith, 29 — have been chipping away at the old blocks for years. Lately, though, they’ve been joined by an even more precocious generation of talents who look eminently monument-worthy.
Call this crop of largely up-from-the-indies actors the Frat Pack. Almost none of them will reach their 30th birthday by the millennium, and almost all are products of postfeminist times — many were raised primarily by a divorced or remarried mom. Typically jut-jawed (what was in that infant formula anyway?) and equally chic in scruffy duds or designer suits, they’re emotional instead of stoic on screen, and far more likely to stroke the neck of a woman than squeeze the trigger of a gun.
Poster Boys
In addition to first-rank poster boys Leonardo DiCaprio, 23, Matt Damon, 27, and Ben Affleck, 25, this new youth corps includes Edward Norton, 28, who first made his mark as a nutcase in Primal Fear, and Ryan Phillippe, 22, who appeared in I Know What You Did Last Summer and will spend this one in the highly anticipated Studio 54.
Having done their homework in small, low-budget films (like Chris Tucker in Friday, or Affleck’s star-making internship in Chasing Amy), or majored in TV drama (Mod Squad’s Omar Epps sharpened his skills on ER and Scott Wolf continues to on Party of Five), these actors are as hip to Hollywood ways as a teen in one of Kevin Williamson’s movie scripts. Instead of starring in shoot-’em-ups or silly, Brat Pack-style teen comedies, they prefer dramatic roles in which they — brace yourself, Ah-nuld — project vulnerability as much as strength. As pop psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers explains: “They’re not macho-type men; they’re softer. Women respond to that because they don’t feel they could interest a guy like Stallone, who’s more interested in tackling the world than falling into your arms.”
While spreading the post-pumpitude gospel of sexual healing, DiCaprio, Affleck, and Damon have helped scare up nearly $800 million at the box office since November (if you tally up The Rainmaker, Titanic, Good Will Hunting, and The Man in the Iron Mask), and since Hollywood always follows the money, execs and producers are falling all over themselves to hand hot scripts to these boys — or, when they’re unavailable, their Frat Pack peers (along with a host of rising actresses; see The Chick Clique).
The result? A changing of the Hollywood guard as radical as the one Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Montgomery Clift ushered in when they became the reigning revolutionary idols four decades ago. “What we’re seeing is a generational shift,” says ICM agent Robert Newman. “It’s a cycle…[like in] the ’70s, when there were new stars both in front of and behind the camera. All of a sudden the Burt Lancasters of that generation were not as vital…. People always hunger for things that are fresh.”
The Teen Beat
Just how thoroughly moviemakers had neglected that appetite first became starkly evident in December 1996. Producer Lynda Obst, for one, remembers the month, because that’s when her old-fashioned romantic comedy One Fine Day — which test-screened well on the strength of stars George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer — got blindsided by Scream. “All of a sudden, this movie that wasn’t on the radar of any of the dinosaurs around, myself included, opened really big,” says Obst. “It showed there was a new teen market that would go to the movies in droves on Friday night. And they weren’t necessarily going to the movies of the blockbuster stars. They heard Scream coming like a tom-tom beat.”
The horror movie brought in teen-to-twentysomething crowds that skewed far more female than those for ’80s slasher flicks of the Friday the 13th variety. From that instant, the axiom that teen males were invariably the key to box office hits was up for debate.
The fact is, guys are now tougher to woo. According to Paul Dergarabedian, executive vice president of the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, young men in high school, college, and in entry-level jobs are spending more time on the Internet and with computer games and less time going to the movies: “Their choices tend to be technology driven, and their options are multiplying the fastest.”
Meanwhile, their female peers are increasingly doing their bonding over popcorn at the multiplex. “Young women are traveling to the movies in packs now,” says Dergarabedian. “They don’t wait to go with a boyfriend, and they don’t mind seeing the same movie over and over.”
Among the movies that benefited from this rerun-infatuated new brand of movie consumer: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Good Will Hunting, and — duh — Titanic, which has a hold on teenage girls that’s just short of mass hypnosis. Just this spring, female audiences had a surprisingly strong hand in making Adam Sandler the world’s most successful Wedding Singer and helped give the romantic City of Angels a heavenly opening weekend.
Now that the guys who once lined up repeatedly to see Schwarzenegger and Stallone can ogle Internet “babes” via websites and E-mail, Hollywood is suddenly more interested in catering to the fairer sex. Of course, that was the case after such chick-flick hits as Thelma & Louise and Fried Green Tomatoes as well, but this time there’s a stronger financial incentive for movies to get sensitive. In a freak convergence of demographics and economics, the studios have discovered this youth audience just as the established salary system for older stars — who now routinely command $20 million plus perks — is driving them desperately to find cheaper talent.
In other words, the genesis of the Frat Pack is a supply-and-demand phenomenon. “It’s not that so many great young actors happened to emerge all of a sudden,” producer Denise DiNovi insists. “They’ve always been around. It’s just that movies are suddenly being made that have roles for them.”
The Shape of Things to Come
Now that studios have a green light to hire younger faces, what sorts of vehicles will they be putting them in? Oddly, for a generation to which the draft is practically science fiction, they’ll be showing up in period war movies, including Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line, a WWII opus that stars, in addition to Jared Leto, promising newcomers like Adrien Brody, 24, and Jim Caviezel, 29. There’s also director Ang Lee’s Civil War drama Ride With the Devil, in which Caviezel (again) costars with Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich, as well as Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, whose titular character is played by Damon. (In the wake of his sudden popularity, DreamWorks reps have been careful to emphasize that his screen time in the film is minimal.)
Perhaps the most crucial Frat Pack foray on the horizon, however, will be Affleck’s turn as Willis’ son-in-law-to-be — talk about a seismic shift — in the Jerry Bruckheimer careering-asteroid extravaganza Armageddon. Judging from early footage, you can count on a kinder, gentler sort of action hero from Affleck, who plays an oil-rig worker romancing the Willis character’s daughter (Liv Tyler). Perhaps to keep things female friendly, screenwriters added more romantic interludes for the pair as shooting progressed.
Not that anybody should expect tougher, more macho stars like Willis — who plays belligerent, taciturn daddy to Affleck’s sensitive young stud — to hang up their Uzis anytime soon. Cautions Patrick Whitesell, the CAA agent who handles both Affleck and Damon: “Action movies are not going away. It’s only about staying fresh.”
Mark Gill, de facto Frat Pack godfather and Los Angeles president of Miramax (home of Scream and Good Will), seconds that: “Both Stallone and Schwarzenegger internationally are very strong…. Both of them are still bankable.” Even Gill concedes, however, these guys aren’t exactly 21st-century fare. “In another 10 years, they’ll be 60, so it will end.”
Lessons Learned
For the frat pack, it’s only just begun. Right now, momentum is what this group has in abundance. A Ben, a Leo, or a Matt — or a suitable surrogate — is enough to get production money flowing and attract a flurry of press attention. But will they shape the movies of the next decade? Or will they wind up spindled rejects by the millennium? “It’s great that you can take five of these kids and put them in a slasher movie and it will work,” says producer Scott Rudin. “But no one should [assume] that they can carry a film. The interesting thing will be how many, and which ones, have longevity. Let us not forget, God forbid, the Brat Pack.”
The Frat Packers seem well aware not only of what became of Emilio Estevez and Ally Sheedy but of what’s happened to contemporary brethren: Of late, Matthew McConaughey has had trouble looking credible in serious adult roles, and Chris O’Donnell, who for years got the roles that Damon lusted after, seems to have lost his preferential status. A more likely role model might be Damon and Affleck’s School Ties costar Brendan Fraser, who scored a major hit with Disney’s dopey George of the Jungle, then jumped directly into the modest, interesting indie project Gods and Monsters, about Frankenstein movie director James Whale.
Unlike O’Donnell and McConaughey, the Frat Packers are cautiously stepping into stardom while still keeping a toehold in the indie scene. Consider Affleck’s tenacious commitment to Dogma, the new movie from Chasing Amy director Kevin Smith. “Before we even did Amy, Ben read it and loved it,” Smith recalls. “He kept saying ‘This is a tremendous film. We have to make this movie.’ And on down days, I was saying ‘Well, I don’t know if I want to make this movie.’ It’s very complicated technically, much more than my earlier films. But even in days of doubt like that, Affleck was the one that kept me chugging forward.” DiCaprio’s handlers, too, have spoken about the young actor’s dedication to doing alternative films between movies like Sony’s high-profile All the Pretty Horses.
James Schamus, who’s working with director Ang Lee as scriptwriter and coproducer on Ride With the Devil, believes there’s more early Brando than empty braggadocio in this new wave of leading men — and that is what ultimately will sustain them. According to Schamus, “We looked at everybody for these roles,” including Joaquin Phoenix and Damon, who instead chose to star in director Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, and was replaced by Ulrich. “What we discovered was that somehow, at ages 22, 23, whatever, these guys have made themselves professionals. They work all day, then they go home to study their lines, and the next day they’re at it again at dawn. Very few of these kids are just good-looking party animals.”
Of course, the beer, the money, and the perks have only begun to flow at Hollywood’s latest keg party. “I’m very conscious of the fact that a lot of people have gone through it and gotten carried away,” Affleck told EW before the Oscars. “I don’t want to name names, but now they’re delivering pizza.” Perhaps as much as talent, it’s this properly wary attitude that will help the Frat Packers deliver themselves from the dreaded Domino’s syndrome. And just maybe carve their careers in stone.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Harry Knowles at AICN put up a review of an ‘Armageddon’ test screening…We haven’t read it, because we hear that there’s some spoilers in it, but if you’d like to give it a looksee, you can find it right HERE.
- Ben‘s been popping up in a few more spots on there in the press world…June’s issue of Movieline features, of all things, a guide to pronouncing his name properly (and a photo we don’t have) in The All-New Name Game:
Ben Affleck
pronounced: *Aff*-leck
should not be pronounced: Uh-*flek*
pronounced: *Aff*-leck
should not be pronounced: Uh-*flek*
Commentary…
- Hey folks…Things have been slowing down lately, and we like it. Of course, there’s NEVER a day that goes by without something Askew going on it seems, but we’re enjoying the peace for the moment anyway. A few news stories today, and some updates to Dogma: Rumor Control, including a new report from Kevin.
Kevin On Dead-End Jobs…
- June’s issue of Swing Magazine featured an article titled, “Guidance From The Stars”, which explained how to get the job that you want. Kevin was asked a question, and here’s the results:
How do you know you’re in a dead-end job— and how do you get out of it?
Since the critical and commercial success of his film debut, ‘Clerks’, in 1993, writer-director Kevin Smith, himself a former video clerk, has made a name for himself portraying the lives of frustrated, alienated slackers stuck in unfulfilling jobs. Smith’s fourth film, ‘Dogma’, is due out later this year.
“The tell-tale sign is usually that you’ll accept five bucks an hour, so long as it’s under the table. And when the conversation among your friends turns to, ‘You know, if the money was good, I’d probably be in a porno,’ is a sure sign that the job you’re in isn’t very fulfulling. And how to get out of it? Make a movie- though it’s better if it’s not a porno. It worked for me.”
People’s 50 Most Beautiful People…
- Well, the good news is that Matt Damon made this year’s People poll for the 50 mostbeautiful…Not that it’s really news to us, but we figured some of you ladies out there would like to know. The bad news? Hank, The Angry, Drunken Dwarf (of Howard Stern show fame), who became a write-in favorite on People’s online voting ballot, won the contest by an INCREDIBLE margin (beating out Leonardo DiCaprio) yet was completely absent from the magazine’s feature. So much for honesty in journalism.