- Looks like a group of lucky fans in the New York area will get their exclusive first look at footage from “Zack & Miri Make a Porno” — Quick Stop Entertainment has just announced that, during their panel at this year’s New York Comic-Con, they’ll present an exclusive look at the movie. Will this be the first public footage anyone sees? It all depends on Kevin’s plans for deploying his internet-only trailers. The panel will run on Saturday, April 19th, from 5:00 – 6:00 PM in room 1E16. Full details in this post:
Quick Stop Entertainment will have its very own panel at this year’s NEW YORK COMIC-CON, packed with plenty of surprises, prizes, reveals, and even a live performance from cyber-troubadors Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm.Join us for an exclusive preview of Kevin Smith’s upcoming ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO,starring Seth Rogen & Elizabeth Banks, as well as a few additional surprises sure to wow you, straight from the fine folks at QuickStopEntertainment.com.
Be there…
Where? New York Comic-Con, at the Javits Center
Room: 1E16When? Saturday, April 19
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
New York Comic-Con To Present Exclusive “Zack And Miri” Preview!
- Looks like a group of lucky fans in the New York area will get their exclusive first look at footage from “Zack & Miri Make a Porno” — Quick Stop Entertainment has just announced that, during their panel at this year’s New York Comic-Con, they’ll present an exclusive look at the movie. Will this be the first public footage anyone sees? It all depends on Kevin’s plans for deploying his internet-only trailers. The panel will run on Saturday, April 19th, from 5:00 – 6:00 PM in room 1E16. Full details in this post:
Quick Stop Entertainment will have its very own panel at this year’s NEW YORK COMIC-CON, packed with plenty of surprises, prizes, reveals, and even a live performance from cyber-troubadors Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm.Join us for an exclusive preview of Kevin Smith’s upcoming ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO,starring Seth Rogen & Elizabeth Banks, as well as a few additional surprises sure to wow you, straight from the fine folks at QuickStopEntertainment.com.
Be there…
Where? New York Comic-Con, at the Javits Center
Room: 1E16When? Saturday, April 19
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
View Askew NewsBites™
- The Underground Operations Booking Agency, who handles gigs in Canada, has added Kevin to their booking availability list on the web. If you’re looking to have Mr. Smith show up for an event in Canada, hit up the site for more details and to get a hold of the man (who they list may also be available in conjuction with Jason Mewes for some events). Plus, Kevin always delivers a fantastic, memorable, unique performance everywhere he goes — A true crowd pleaser. We’re betting he’ll be traveling with exclusive new movie footage over the next few months, too.
- Comedian Patton Oswalt dropped the Kevin Smith name last night on “The Tonight Show”, when joking about delivering votes to Hilary Clinton through the “nerd vote” (which we assume means us as well, though we’re sure it’s meant in a GOOD way). If anyone’s got the clip, let us know.
- Don’t forget — The best show on television returns to Sci Fi TONIGHT. Battlestar Galactica will begin running its 4th season at 10 PM EST. If you can’t wait, you can even stream the show live on the Sci Fi website right now, though we’re waiting to watch in HD as it airs tonight. There’s never been a better reason to stay home on Friday (though the girlfriend may not necessarily agree with ya). If you’re not watching, get caught up, and get on board — We’ve watched a lot of TV in our day, and this is the medium at its best. And, of course, Kevin agrees. New Galactica at 10 PM TONIGHT! Whoohoo!
Kev Q&A: The Latest Round…
- Today, Kevin fields queries regarding Zack & Miri’s promotional plans, release date, budget, trailer status, and more. And check that final question for some sad news regarding the current state of the Chasing Amy X project:
Will you personally do a lot of interviews and so on to promote this film or will it be more the actors for interviews etc?
Kevin said: “I imagine I’ll be out there doing interviews to promote the flick, as per usual.”
When do you have to have the movie ‘locked’?
Kevin said: “Like, the day before it hits theaters (some folks make changes right up until then). But we’re scheduled to be done by second week of September.”
Any talk on Z&M being part of any of the film festivals this year?
Kevin said: “The only fest it’d be eligible for, schedule-wise, would be Toronto. But there’s been no talk about doing any fest screenings, really.”
Are you working on Z&M daily right now? What I mean is there something that needs doing every day?
Kevin said: “Today, we broke the film down into reels to send to the composer so he can get to work on some cues, then laid in some CG shots. Earlier this morning, I was cutting the ‘net teasers.”
Any chance if the test screenings go well that the release date might be bumped up to late summer/early fall?
Kevin said: “Nope. Too crowded there.”
Will you publish the script? No, I’m not looking to read it before it comes out, I mean “eventually”.
Kevin said:: “I’m game to do so.”
How did the Weinstein co. set your budget? Did you say “I need $25 Million” or did they just toss a briefcase at you full of cash?
Kevin said: “Scott and Laura budgeted the flick based on five day work weeks and salary projections, and we arrived at $25mil (which is actually kinda cheap).”
Why is this budget set so much higher than your previous films (excluding Jersey Girl)? Did the Weinstein Co. like the script more, or did you know you would need more money than on previous films?
Kevin said: “To be fair, it’s only five mil more than “Jay and Silent Bob” (and ten million less than “Jersey Girl”). And most of that price difference, as you might imagine, has more to do with salaries than anything else.
“Clerks II” cost five million largely because a) we were in one location the whole time, with limited movement, and b) nobody really got paid (I did the movie for free, when all was said and done). This flick’s a bit more complicated than that flick, and it stars a guy who gets more than scale at this point, so the budget’s bound to be bigger.”
What ever happened to the Chasing Amy 10th Anniversary DVD?
Kevin said: “The Disney/Weinstein rift happened. We were game, but the folks at Disney Home Video slowed it all to a stand-still. Jerks.”
So, Kevin’s got the internet teasers for the film cut, which is exciting — We bet those drop on us sometime in April, as it’s going to be tough to keep them from the world, we’re guessing.
As for the Chasing Amy 10th Anniversary DVD project, we’re still hopeful that Kevin finds a way to release just the supplemental DVD to go with the original Criterion disc, as once planned. The reuinion Q&A is something we know you’d all enjoy, along with enough other new stuff to make what many argue is the best View Askewniverse film of the bunch even sweeter for home viewing. We’ll keep our eyes open on that project, and of course be back with you as more news on “Zack And Miri Make a Porno” breaks.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Here’s a neat treat to kick off the ‘Bites today — Our source in Pittsburgh hooks us up with some never-before-seen concept work done for “Dogma” almost 10 years ago. This comes to us courtesy of an artist named Frank Ferraro, who was involved with Scott and Kevin during the early concept stages for the film, where they discussed what they wanted to do as far as creating Mooby and the Golgothan. We’re not sure of the exact background of each photo or drawing here, but we’re told these were combined concept works done by Kevin, his crew, and Ferraro. So, if you’re interested, click to take a closer look at the first-ever drawings and photos of Mooby and that famous brown demon, never before seen anywhere before! A great addition to the News Askew archives today. Enjoy.
- Mahalo lists some of their favorite fictitious movie and TV brands, and Mooby’s makes the cut amongst many other great fake companies in multimedia history. Check out the full piece complete with write-ups and video evidence from the chosen brands.
New Z&M Photos, Logo & Website Update!
- Looks like that sneaky Ming and Kevin have quietly done some subtle, but quite cool updates to the web over the weekend. First up, if you take a look at the gateway page of the official View Askew site, http://www.viewaskew.com, you’ll notice the Clerks II-centric images have been replaced by an elegant slideshow of new images from “Zack And Mire Make a Porno”, with 2 shots we’ve already seen, but also including an outdoor shot with most of the main cast, some of whom we’re seeing for the first time. These same images also appear on the film’s official website, http://zackandmiri.com, along with a retro-cool production logo for the film itself, done in the style of old school MPAA ratings. We think it’s brilliant, though as you’ll see in our next story, won’t make it into the marketing for the movie itself.
Visit the official View Askew and Zack & Miri sites to see for yourself. We’ve also added copies of these images here, and to the Multimedia area of our production site for the film.
Z&M Q&A: Cast, Cuts, Screens & More…
- A bunch more of those Q&A’s are in today, direct from the writer/director’s keyboard to your screen. Let’s take a look at what kind of stuff you had to ask Kevin Smith about “Zack And Miri Make a Porno” today:
Q: At this point when you are making cuts? Is it a case of a second here and 2 seconds there? Or is it more about cutting lines of dialogue?Kevin said: “A little of both.”
Q: Do you think it would be likely at some point to add cut footage back in or can you only imagine the film getting shorter from here?
Kevin said: “Nah. In this process, the clock supposed to go one way only: down.”
Q: So, who has seen it so far? Who’s next?
Kevin said: From end-to-end, in the last two weeks: Scott, Carla (our exec), Seth, Jeff, Jon (our old exec), Phil (agent), The guys working on the poster (from the marketing firm).”
Q: You think you’ll stop at 1:45 for now?Kevin said: “I do. This is what we’ll test at.”
Q: I heard a little while back that Regal theaters was going to start showing Redband trailers before all their (R rated?) flicks. If so, will you be shooting for a redband before Pineapple Express, or will you still save it for the ‘net?
Kevin said: “We’ll be shooting for a redband trailer, for sure. Where it winds up is anybody’s guess (although, it’ll be before an R rated flick, to be sure).”
Q: I wonder if you felt that by stopping Seth ad-libbing it would harm his performance, it would, in a way, constrain him?
Kevin said: “Nah. I just always figured “It can’t hurt, and if it does, I can just cut it out.” Dude’s amazing at it, though, so it was never a tough decision.”
Q: Now that your nearing your final cut, has much of the ad-libbed material remained in the flick?
Kevin said: “About five/ten percent. The cut flick stays pretty true to the script.”
Q: Knowing that Z&M will be a sex comedy with heart like your previous flicks, how much further do you feel Z&M will push the limits than your previous movies have done?
Kevin said: “Remember the donkey show? Child’s play, in comparison.”
Q: Gerry Bednob is listed in the cast list on the IMDb page. How big is his part in the film – just a cameo or a more significant role?
Kevin said: “He’s in three scenes, in varying degrees of screen time.”
Q: Did you write the character with him in mind?
Kevin said: “Yes.”Q: How did you come to cast him?
Kevin said: “Role called for an Indian. Not only was he the only Indian I knew of who was age-appropriate, but he’s also insanely funny (as a stand-up, he used to go by the stage name of “The Turban Cowboy”).”
Q: Did you cast Tom Savini in the flick because of the story’s location or did it have anything to do with his visit to the Dogma set ten years ago?
Kevin said: “We were in Pittsburgh, he was in Pittsburgh. It just worked out.”
Q: Was special make up effects a field you were interested in before writing/directing?
Kevin said: “When I was twelve/thirteen, yeah. I was a big splatter fan.”
Q: So while you were working with Tom Savini on Zack and Miri, did you happen to mention “Red State” to him?Kevin said: “Never occurred to me to do so.”
Q: Any chance that Bob Hawk will preview the movie?Kevin said: “Very good chance, actually.”
Q: Any idea yet about how wide of a release (How many screens) Z+M will get?
Kevin said: “I’m thinking a bunch.”
Q: Do you think this movie would’ve turned out the same, had you not made Clerks II?
Kevin said: “Good question. No – not at all. The “Clerks II” and “Reaper” shoots really informed the look of this new flick.”
Q: Is Miri short for anything?
Kevin said: “Miriam.”
Q: Is the “rated X” logo as seen on the website going to be the official film logo or is it just something knocked up to use in the interim?
Kevin said: “It was the production logo: on all the stationary, the chair-backs, the slate. Doubt it’ll be used for the poster or anything.”
Kev Q&A: The Latest Round…
- We’ve got the latest direct from Kevin Smith today, including definitive words on the end of the Askewniverse, marketing, deleted scenes, and more. To start it off, he’s got a new “Zack And Miri Make a Porno” running time, along with a few fun facts:
Found another three minutes. As of 3/29, the flick is now 1 hour, 45 minutes long – eight minutes longer than “Clerks II” but at least five minutes shorter than “Chasing Amy” (once the credits are added in).
And now, the Q&A:
Any plans on a series of Z&M Inaction Figures down the road a piece? Or is this Classified?Kevin said: “I don’t see it happening.”
Will Z&M be the first VA film to be released on Blu-Ray?
Kevin said: “No clue, sir.”
At this stage, is your next project (I presume “Red State”) becoming more paramount in your mind?
Kevin said: “Nah. It’ll be “Zack and Miri” for some time.”
How much of what you cut will you keep for an extended/Directors cut? And will you show it at Vulgarthon 2010?
Kevin said: “I won’t reinstate the cut stuff back into the flick. It’ll just wind up in the deleted scenes section of the DVD.”
Hey Kevin. I know that you closed the book on the Askewniverse. I’m curious if any of the new movies–Zack and Miri/Red State/etc.–will have any links with each other going forward? Not in a way that they’re all in their own world, but perhaps incidential things.
Kevin said: “Nope.”
Do you have any say in what creative group or company works on your films?
Kevin said: “Of course.”
How much collaboration do you have with the marketing people?
Kevin said: “This time, much much more than last time.”
I felt underwhelmed by the spots produced for C2. I know it’s a difficult job with only 30-60 seconds but they all felt rushed and really missed the essence of what the movie was all about.
Kevin said: “I agree. That won’t happen again.”
Will you be pursuing a podcast commentary, since this should be bigger than Clerks II?
Kevin said: “I think we’ll do it unofficially – like via SModcast, or something.”
Thanks once again, fans, for the good questions, and of course to Kevin for taking the time to answer. With this flick, it looks like a determined turn away from the Askewniverse, as well as a new way to market — We’re very excited to see how this one plays out. Of course, we’ll be there the whole way.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Empire Online recently named their “Top 50 TV Shows of All Time”. The late great “Veronica Mars”, which shows up at #48, notes that Kevin once called this “hands-down the best show on television”. Though, we’re betting he might put “Battlestar Galactica”, “Dexter”, and “Lost” rightfully up there among the greatest right now (and we’d have trouble arguing). The entire article is full of great writing and fun facts, not to mention some of the best shows of all time, one of the reasons we love Empire so much. Nice job, folks.
- While their official site curiously does NOT mention the film or have a very up-to-date schedule, the LOGO channel does continue to randomly run “Small Town, Gay Bar” from time to time. So, set your Tivos or DVRs to search if you want to cast this View Askew produced documentary, especially if you’ve yet to see it, FREE!
- And one more final scoop today, again from Empire Magazine — We last saw Chasing Amy’s Dwight Ewell in person when he showed up for that film’s 10 year reuinion Q&A in Los Angeles (hopefully coming to a supplemental DVD really soon). Empire takes it a step further, using their “Where Are They Now?” feature to catch up and conduct a brief interview with the actor. Click the scan and see for yourself. We’ll be back soon. Thanks for dropping by News Askew today.
O’Halloran’s In Indianapolis All Weekend!
- The great Brian O’Halloran will be Horror Hound Weekend convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. He’s signing autographs for fans, just like you, all day long on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So get that View Askew swag together, as we’re betting he’ll sign anything he’s able to get to. On Saturday (the 29th), Brian will be showcasing 20 minutes of his new film, “Brutal Massacre”, and participating on a panel discussion with co-star Ellen Sandweiss (from “Evil Dead”).
Over the years, we’ve had the good fortune to meet quite a few of the View Askew cast, and we can certainly vouch that Brian’s one of the friendliest, most down to earth dudes you’ll ever meet, and he loves the fans. If you’ve got the means, take a trip into Indianapolis, Indiana this weekend, meet the guy who’s been there from the beginning, and support Brian and “Brutal Massacre”. Be sure and tell him News Askew sent you — he reads the site just like you do (Thanks, Brian!).