Both these guys are incredibly gracious to their fans, and would love to meet you and talk shop, whether it be about their new projects or their View Askew family. If you’re in the area, stop by and meet these two View Askew icons, who have been with us from the very beginning with “Clerks”, and all the way through.

Our thanks to our scooper, Eric Wilkinson, a local Jersey filmmaker and View Askew fan, who will be attending the show to promote his film “Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth”. His flick now coincidentally shares the same distributor as Brian’s new movie, the great Anchor Bay. Drop on by the Anchor Bay booth for more information, and tell them News Askew sent ya.

These are 2 exclusive clips from the comedy, both featuring Brian’s character Jay, who is the assistant director on the movie being made IN the film. You won’t find them anywhere else on the web, and they come to us with thanks to the film’s producers.

The first one of there happens later in the movie, where Jay explains a movie of his own that he’s writing.

The second one is earlier, when the camera crew is interviewing Jay about how he started working for Harry the director (played by “An American Werewolf in London’s” David Naughton).

Visit the official site for more details on the film, or look above for the way meet Brian in person in Jersey and chat up the film with him this weekend.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “It’s a wrap on Kevin Smith’s ‘Porno'”

“…On shooting here: “It went so swimmingly, it was crazy,” said the director, who finished two days early.

“We were fighting weather issues at the beginning because we tried to do most of our exteriors up front,” Smith said, as Rogen added, “The weather was too nice.” But some of the real snow allowed Rogen to fishtail as he drove, lending authenticity to the wintry setting and man-made white stuff.

On navigating the city: Rogen got lost a lot at the beginning but said, “I slowly narrowed down where I go to a few places. Now I get to the Waterfront easy,” to go to the movies, eat at Red Robin and — like all the out-of-towners — shop like mad at Target.

Off-set diversions: Smith favored NHL 08 (he also went to a couple of New Jersey Devils games at Mellon Arena, clad in his home-team colors) while Rogen is a “pretty mean drummer” on Rock Band and pretty good at Guitar Hero. “I’m like your utilitarian game player.”

Sneak preview: Smith has been editing as he’s shooting and recently hosted an early rough cut for cast and crew in the Strip District. “We set up two big monitors, two big flat screens, and I think 80 people came over and watched 80 percent, 85 percent of the movie. … It’s pretty watchable.”

When studio chief Harvey Weinstein visited the set, he asked Smith if he was shooting “TV coverage as well,” which would allow the movie to air on television or in other tame outlets. “I was, like, dude, I’m having a hard time shooting an R-rated movie, let alone a PG-13- rated version of the movie.”


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Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “Director waxes philosophic on his ‘dirty, dirty movie'”

“…Smith said he knows he’s taking a risk with the word ‘Porno’ in the film’s title.

But love trumps sex, he said. Like his other films — “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy” — there’s an old-fashioned romantic sensibility beneath the raunch.

“It’s a dirty, dirty movie,” said Smith with perfect deadpan. But then, he added, “I hope the balance is there. It’s a really touching love story, no pun intended. In terms of the stuff I’ve done in the past, it’s probably closest to ‘Chasing Amy.’ ”


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Variety: “Seth Rogen: Half The Work For Twice The Pay”

“It’s one of the first movies that I’ve just acted in, and it definitely feels like I’m doing half as much,” he says from the film’s location at Pittsburgh’s Monroeville Mall.

Working with Smith is a big deal for Rogen. “‘Clerks,’ when I saw that, was one of the defining moments of my career,” he says of Smith’s early success. “It’s the first movie I saw where the characters were talking like me and my friends talk to each other — about ‘Star Wars’ and blowjobs and what have you. That was tremendously influential in my writing. And then Kevin Smith told me he wrote a movie for me and I’m in. Thank God I really liked it,” he says of “Zack and Miri.” “It was a very simple process. Usually you have to put a gun to my head to make me finish a script, and I read ‘Zack and Miri’ in one sitting.”

Among other things we’ve learned, Kevin anticipates the movie will show up on screens in November 2008, along with (hopefully) an R-rating despite some rather graphic sex scenes.

“Perhaps the most playful and stylish version of the Almighty we’ve ever seen, pop-rocker Alanis Morissette’s God, decked out in a flouncy white skirt and silver jacket, stops to smell the flowers and kick up into a handstand in a church garden. This after her mostly mute character lets out a destructive roar that blows the head off of vengeful angel Bartleby (Ben Affleck).”

So, the GOOD news is that it’s back. The BAD news is that the show might get lost in the shuffle due to this long hiatus, and thus NOT RENEWED for another year. The Hollywood Reporter says that the program is among those that may possibly not return this year (along with the hilarious “Aliens In America” and the underrated “Jericho”, which actually had a fantastic episode this week). Sadly, “Lost” is now competing against “Reaper” in this time slot, so now is a more important time than ever to get folks watching the show. Tell them to WATCH “Reaper” live, record “Lost”, and catch up later. We don’t want to see this show be replaced by another “Gossip Girl” or something along those lines. We want MORE “REAPER”!

“Reaper” is unlike anything on television at the moment, with that perfect blend of humor, drama, action, romance, and horror. We’re urging all of you to watch tonight’s episode, and to spread the word among your friends, family, and, if you’re got a website or blog, across the web as well. Let’s let the CW know that we want to see this show continue on for another year, with a full, uninterrupted season, where story arcs can be born and characters can grow. Please, CW, don’t kill off this critically-acclaimed program prematurely, let’s bring it back for another year! “Reaper”, tonight at 9 PM EST on the CW.

Today’s our last day. Unless something really unexpected happens between right now and midnight/one, we’re gonna wind up wrapping two days ahead of schedule.

April/May boardie screening will be conducted like the “Clerks II” early-bird screening: board longevity will play biggest factor. It’s nothing personal; we just need to make sure the people in attendance aren’t gonna report on the screening to movie sites. The flick will be very chunky at that point, and I’ll be using those in attendance to look for cuts. Screening will take place in L.A. only.

This flick is really, really funny; however, the dramatic passages are wonderful as well. It reminds me very much of “Chasing Amy”.

Considering that “Chasing Amy” remains our favorite of all of Kevin’s films, this is quite exciting to hear — You might fondly recall how well the unexpected, dramatic moments blended with the insanely edgy comedic times in that flick as well. We’re stoked for this one, especially since so much has been kept under wraps so far. We realize that you’re a die hard fan if you’re reading this site, often reading up a lot about the films well in advance of seeing them — This time around, we’re betting Kevin’s saving a bunch of surprises for us all to discover up on the big screen.

As the “Money Shots” shorts and Kevin’s posts start to filter in, we’ll keep you posted of all that’s going on, letting you know where you might want to steer clear of any spoilage, of course. Stick around, it’s just getting good.

That’s the thing about Kevin Smith and his movies; he is one of us. I don’t mean we’re all medium height, husky, white guys who wear shorts and high-tops, but that feeling that has permeated all his films from Clerks through to Jersey Girl (Which I thought was a wonderful movie by the way and am proud to say that I own a copy of the DVD) that it could be you or me up on that screen.

Kevin clarified this fact and several others via a response to a WWWBoard post this weekend. We’ve edited it down to the good stuff, much of which covers the big Craig Robinson comedy event in the ‘burgh on Saturday:

“…We had our wrap party last [Friday] night in town, and the Improv thing was kinda like our wrap party part 2.”

“…It was Craig’s show from first to last, and he was on FIRE.”


(Board member’s quote: [Zak] filmed everything so hopefully it will all end up on the eventual DVD release of “Zack & Miri”.)

“That’s the plan, sorta. It was a great night. So glad Craig did it.”

Fans mentioned that other members in attendance included Seth Rogen, Traci Lords, Katie Morgan, Ricky Mabe, Jason Mewes, and Scott Mosier. The event was very laid back, with a good locals-friendly feel to it.

Kevin also confirmed that all the bits requiring extras were filmed some time ago, so if you haven’t gotten the call yet, and were waiting, you’re gonna have to patiently wait for the next flick.

As post-production starts, we’ll keep you posted on any big events, including that invitation-only private screening that’s set to happen on the west coast in a few months. If you’re not a member yet, it’s a GOOD time to get on over and join the View Askew WWWBoard (hint, hint).

Kevin,

We’d like you and Jay to come and play with Ethan and I for a day on Earl.

J Lee

We’re sure Kev’s still knee-deep in “Porno” stuff at the moment, but this would be a fantastic opportunity for a cross-promotion with the movie if he appears in Earl’s new Fall season in 6 months or so. The timing could be perfect. We’re betting this will happen. We’ll keep you posted.