- Variety reports that Salma Hayek is going to play a small role in a “not yet titled” science fiction flick directed by Robert Rodriguez (who Kevin, coincidentally, once thought should direct “Dogma”) and written by Scream scribe Kevin Williamson. The film is being released by Dimension Films on Christmas Day. Sounds cool, but the question is, what does this mean for “Dogma”? An earlier release? A later release? It’s always possible, we suppose, that Miramax will get both flicks out there in December, but it seems unlikely. We’ll follow this story closely and see what develops.
You are at the archive for the News category &rarr
Commentary…
- Our set diary is coming…we promise. It just takes time to get big pieces like that put together…Lots of newsbites lately, and today’s no exception. There’s just been a lot of little stuff going on lately, it seems, nothing bigger than Dogma to earn its own headline.
Oh, and we’re heard the comments about the site’s slowness in the past, and we’re finally answering back. The front page you just loaded has been re-coded using a new format. If you could PLEASE write us if the page loaded any faster, slower, or looks worse than the last time you saw it, we’d certainly appreciate it. If comments are generally good, and the site is loading faster for ya, we’ll work on getting this new format on the archived pages, and all future pages as well. Let us know!
View Askew NewsBites™
- You can now place your vote for “Best Onscreen Duo” over at MTV Online!Be sure and stop by and give Matt & Ben your vote…They’ve got stiff competition with Leo & Kate, so every vote counts! Let your voice be heard.
- The April 25, 1998 TV Guide Crossword puzzle has the following clue for ’22 Down’: Matt of “Good Will Hunting”. You know you’ve hit it big when you grace the TV Guide Crossword! We’ll let you figure out the answer. If you can’t, stop reading this page. Now.
- Entertainment Tonight ran a small piece on the “Sliding Doors” premiere, which profiled Gwyneth and Ben…It took place the evening after we met both of them on the set (yes, details WILL be in our diary!). Ben, referring to Gwyneth’s British accent in the film, quipped that if there were more Americans able to do that, we could keep the British out of the business. Always the jokester…
(Click Picture For Larger Version)
- Finally today, here’s a new pic of Ben in Armageddon courtesy of Dark Horizons. Rumor has it that this will be the film that makes him an international star and a household name. We think it’ll be the biggest flick of the summer…Even if all the chips are being laid down for a big green lizard.
Commentary…
- *YAWN*. We’re back, and desperately trying to get caught up on some much needed sleep after a FANTASTIC day on the Dog…er…Bearclaw set yesterday. We’ve got a great story to tell, in fact, our Dogma Diary is about halfway complete now and already epic in size (even compared to the Vulgarthon Wrap-Up!). We’ll be feverishly working to complete the diary which we promise will contain every excruciating detail we can think of, except for the top secret stuff that we promised not to mention, for spoiler’s sake. Let’s get caught up…
‘Dog..’ uh… ‘Bearclaw’! Starring Brad and Chris
- Well, we actually made Kevin‘s set report for today, which gives a brief overview of the goings-on with the airport stuff that took place. We’d hoped to head to the Better Place screening at CMU as well, but after being up for close to 24 hours straight, we just didn’t have it left in us…
‘Dog..’ uh… ‘Bearclaw’! Starring Brad and Chris
Posted by Kevin at proxy-157.iap.bryant.webtv.net on April 22, 1998 at 00:36:21:
That’s right – your fave NewsAskew-hounds did a little thesping today. Expect to read about their three-picture deal in the trades this week.
Also on tap today – Team Askew’s own Brian Quinn, Bill Woods, and occassional-Askewer Nick Giovanetti.
We shot the airport out today, and considering we were dealing with almost two hundred extras and the constant thunder of the FAA-regulated p.a. system, it went pretty damn well. It’s actually a very funny scene now, considering the amount of exposition it contains, and sports my two favorite lines of the week (“…that says, that says “I’ll… I’ll fucking spank you! ” and “WHO CARES WHO SENT THE PAPER?!?!”, both of which I’m not doing justice here), not to mention Affleck’s funniest delivery of the moment (“A killing spree is not going to make things better for us!”). Following the shoot, Ben was whisked off to the NY ‘Sliding Doors’ premiere, and I caught some much-needed zzzz’s, before heading out to catch Vincent‘s Q&A at CMU (a whole lotta abreviations in the above thought; we’re a lazy people with a lazy language, aren’t we?).
Tomorrow, we start a complicated two-day sequence with more set-ups planned than my tiny mind can possibly grasp (trying to expand my craft here, folks). If it goes as well as today did, I think we may just have a decent picture on our hands.
As we said, the day was a total blast…In fact, as soon as this update is finished we’re going to get right back to work on the Dogma Diary…Which will cover the stuff Kevin mentioned inthis post in much further detail, from an extra’s point of view. We think you’ll like it.
Stairway To Kevin…
- The famous In Pittsburgh article is online, and features a nice retrospective on Kevin and crew, as well as some of YOUR quotes (remember the ones we asked you to mail in?). It’s got an interesting, different angle on the entire Askew phenomenon, and definitely worth the read. Check it out right HERE.
View Askew NewsBites™
- We know this is like beating a dead horse, and that this was certainly unintentional and blown over, but it’s a nifty little piece from Peter David’s “…But I Digress” column for the current issue of Comics Buyers Guide.
OK. Here’s the scene. Identify it.
Some puzzled people scratching their heads, saying, “I know we forget something…What was it? … Lemme think…It’s something just nagging at the back of my mind…”
And suddenly one of them shrieks with alarm, “Kevin!”
Is it:
A)Catherine O’Hara in an airplane in Home Alone?
B)Matt Damon and Ben Affleck after the Oscars?
Either answer is acceptable, but in this case I was specifically referring to (B). As the two winners for the screenplay Good Will Huntingthanked a whole bunch of folks for their Oscar win, they became naggingly aware they were forgetting someone. And I was sitting there saying to the screen, “Kevin Smith. You’re forgetting Kevin Smith.”
The Clerks writer-director, you see, was responsible for taking the film to the head of Miramax, when the low-level readers had already passed on the material. (Because that’s what low-level readers are paid to do. They’re not paid actually to assess marketability or even really read if they don’t feel like it. A couple of studio readers passed on Sachs & Violens claiming that it “was just like Barb Wire” –indicating that they hadn’t even bothered to open the comic book, since the two series are nothing alike.) Without Smith, Good Will Hunting wouldn’t have been made — or at least wouldn’t have been made at this point.
You’d think that, since they were up for writing, they might have actually written something to have in front of them.
- There’s a small poll going on at Entertainment Weekly Online about independent films. It asks what debut independent film is your favorite and Clerks is nominated. You can cast your vote HERE.
- Finally today, Conan O’Brien got did a Matt Damon “SAT Analogy” the other night…Matt Damon is to: Acting First, Writing Second as Keanu Reeves is to: Socks first, Shoes second. Funny stuff.
And We’re Off!
- Well folks, it’s 1:00 in the A.M…We’ve got our big 4 hours of sleep and we’re starting on the trek to Pittsburgh…We hope that our day on the Dogma set’s a fun one…More details (whatever we’re allowed to spill, anyway) upon our return (as soon as we get caught up on some sleep). ‘Til then!
View Askew NewsBites™
- Gwyneth Paltrow will be appearing on David Letterman tonight…Tune in and see if she spills any beans on good ‘ol Ben…We’ll be sleeping…
- Our scooper tells us of an Unauthorized Biography of Matt Damon that’s available from Amazon.Com. Whether this is old news or not, we have no idea, but if you’re interested, it’s called Golden Boy : The Unauthorized Matt Damon Story.
Bedtime! Back in a few hours…
View Askew NewsBites™
- Our scooper tells us of a screening he’s seen of a flick called “Whatever”, which is about a bunch of girls in high school in the 1980’s. What’s Askew-related about this, you may ask? Well, it’s written, produced, and directed by Susan Skoog, a Red Bank, NJ native! It even has a scene shot at the Red Bank train station, which many of you Vulgarthon attendees will recognize. The flick’s due out in July.
- Kevin & “Chasing Amy” got another mention courtesy of “Object of My Affection”, this one in the Miami Herald. Here’s the relevant portion:
In the world of independent movies, where taking risks is the norm, Object‘s treatment of homosexuality would not seem so unusual. In fact, one of last year’s most critically acclaimed films was the low-budget ChasingAmy, in which a straight man falls in love with a lesbian.
But Chasing Amy cost $200,000; The Object of My Affectioncost $30 million. Since the financial stakes are much larger, Hollywood movies must appeal to a massive audience to make a profit. Producers play it safe and rely on stereotypes, assuming that if the gay characters behave as general audiences think they behave, no one will be offended.