On Saturday I had the pleasure of interviewing actor Brian O’Halloran. He is best known for playing the character of Dante in Kevin Smith’s CLERKS & CLERKS 2. He also recently appeared in BRUTAL MASSACRE and the upcoming CALENDAR GIRL. He was at the New York Comic Con this weekend signing autographs and agreed to an impromptu interview. We talked about the convention, theater, horror films and more. He even offered some great advice for indie filmmakers. After he interview, I ended up hanging around the booth another 15 minutes talking with him and some other fans who stopped by. Check out the full interview below!

Jerry Cavallaro – www.JerryCavallaro.com

I talk about lots of stuff I wanna do that either happens years later or never happens at all. Happy to report RED STATE is not the latter.

This was the announcement yesterday on Kevin Smith’s Twitter account, and, to many horror fans, it was a blessing.  We’ve heard for years about Smith wanting to do a horror movie, and RED STATE was it.  Unfortunately, many obstacles began setting themselves directly in the path of the film getting off the ground.

Luckily, for fans of horror films and Kevin Smith films alike, today brings good news on the RED STATE front.

First draft was dated 9/5/07. Looks like we start shooting this July. Took nearly three years, but we’re finally gonna roll on RED.

Smith also answered a few questions throughout the day that people had regarding RED STATE, its backers, and who we may or may not be seeing make an appearance.

Here are those updates:

“RED STATE? And here I was looking to HIT SOMEBODY” Writing HIT now; shooting HIT on heels of RED STATE.

“Studio deal for RED STATE or going the full indie route?” (*Marches across big lawn, up front porch*) I’m home, Momma.

“cameo for jay & bob in #RedState ?” Be like Kermit & Fozzie cameo-ing in ORDINARY PEOPLE: just waaaaay out of place.

“is Red State going to be so-called torture porn” Nah. Tonally closer to RACE WITH THE DEVIL or DELIVERANCE.

“Are you doing Red State thanks to #copoutsuccess?” Some folks don’t wanna hear that, but yes: #CopOut got us to RED STATE.

“did Warner pony up for Red STATE?” Ah, bless… That made me chortle aloud, sir. Like asking if WB ponied up for SALO.

Me & WB get along great, with understanding that when I’m there, I’m doing their stuff. RED STATE decidedly not their kinda thing. At ALL.

No official dates on when filming begins or even a release date, but Kevin Smith confirms.  RED STATE is happening, and it is next on his plate.

If you want a movie where Tracy Morgan plays Tracy Jordan, Bruce Willis plays a shelled version of John McClane, and, somewhere in there, there’s a Kevin Smith film that’s just screaming to be let out, then COP OUT is the flick for you.   It’s the first of its kind, a film directed by Smith that wasn’t written by Smith, and it shows.   Writers Rob and Mark Cullen also wrote the pilot episode of MANCHILD, the male bonding comedy that was never picked up for a full series and also starred Smith.

Having said that, the new trailer released today over on Apple doesn’t feel like the new film directed by one of the most fan-followed writer/directors of our time.   It feels like precisely what it is, a director for hire working from a buddy cop screenplay that’s giving about as much effort as an uninterested child in a geography class.   Let’s just say this is no HOT FUZZ.

I can’t help but think A COUPLE OF DICKS, an imaginary, buddy cop movie written and directed by Smith would have played much better.   Some credit might be taken away from COP OUT simply based on the choice to water down the name alone.   We have Warner Brothers to thank for that, and Smith’s admitted quick acceptance to that fact.   I guess pandering to afternoon sports fans is pretty important to the guy.   At least it’s not called A COUPLE OF COPS.

Head on over to Apple, check out the trailer in HD, and shoot back with some comments on what you think.   Who knows?   The film could prove us all wrong when it hits theaters on February 26th.   We’ll just have to wait and see.

Evidently, Kevin Smith’s newest film, a buddy cop movie starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan previously titled A COUPLE OF DICKS, is going to be called COP OUT.   This comes to us today from The Film Stage, who got a trailer placement list for SHERLOCK HOLMES from WB.   On tap to run with the new film is the trailer for a film called COP OUT.   Kevin Smith has been saying the trailer for his newest film would be running in front of SHERLOCK.   2 + 2 isn’t that hard to put together.

It’s still not as interesting a title as the risque one WB has been shooting down since the beginning of production.   It was revealed just last week that the title was officially dropped.

Other trailers running in front of SHERLOCK HOLMES will be INCEPTION and CLASH OF THE TITANS.   There were rumors that the trailer for IRON MAN 2 (which ran during AICN’s Butt-Numb-A-Thon) would be running, as well, but it was not listed on WB’s site.

A COUPLE OF DICKS COP OUT comes out February 26th, 2010.

There have been some rumors leading up to this, but the announcement finally came this evening via a series of 140-characters-or-less tweets from Kevin Smith himself.

The Movie Formerly Known as A COUPLE OF DICKS has finally settled on a (network-policy-dictated) replacement title! While we’ll always have DICKS in our hearts, the title we just now locked makes me smile on a bunch of different levels – including this 1: we can now advertise our movie properly (& ironically). And said marketing begins… on every print of SHERLOCK HOLMES, Christmas Day!

Warner Brothers has brought the hammer down and forced Smith to change the title of his upcoming buddy cop film starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.   The studio has been fighting Smith on the title ever since the film’s inception.   This is nothing new to Smith, who had troubles getting ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO through the MPAA.

Hopefully, fans of Kevin Smith’s work will be as warm to the film’s new title as Smith himself is in that series of tweets.   He could just be saving face at this moment in front of the studio brass.   The new title is being kept under wraps, and we may not know what it is until the film’s trailer is released in front of SHERLOCK HOLMES.

Kevin Smith has had a horror film in the pipeline for some time now, and we get updates every so often. Well right now is one of those times. He talked to MTV about the film during press for his new book. This is what he had to say:

“‘Red State’ has been tough to find f—ing money for, finding cash has been difficult. It’s not a commercial movie by any stretch of the imagination.”

“I was lobbying for a cheaper movie,” he explained. “One of the guys… who was making the flick with me was lobbying for a more expensive version of the movie. We weren’t going to find [the larger] budget in a zillion years, so I went off and made ‘A Couple of Dicks,’ came back and said ‘let’s re-concentrate our efforts.’”

“Instead of pie-in-the-sky, just down-and-dirty. I made f—ing ‘Clerks’ for crissakes. I can’t be the guy who’s like, ‘well I can’t make a movie for less than $15 million.’ I started my career that way and it’s still how I feel.”

“If money comes together for it, boom,” Smith said, snapping his fingers. “We’re ready to start moving forward. Script’s all done, crew is on board, we just have to find our cast.”

“For me, it’s just like, let’s find some cash, seeing if there’s any cash out there for the f—ing idea, then start attaching talent to it. So that’s where we are on that.”

So there you have it boys and girls, yet another update about the lack of money for this film. Kevin Smith doesnt do HUGE at the box office, but I have a feeling that a really good Kevin Smith slasher flick could do really well. At least it would make back its budget and do good business on DVD. He has a proven track record with that, so PLEASE someone step up to the plate and give him the fucking money to do it. Snap to it.

Two weeks ago I posted a First Look at an independent documentary called Official Rejection. A few days ago I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to watch it. I expected to see a film that was funny and entertaining but also shed some light on film festivals. Official Rejection was that film and more. I was thoroughly entertained throughout the film but not always for reasons I expected. It is at times hilarious but there are also some moments that are heartbreaking, especially to those interested in filmmaking as a career.

I feel that in the interest of full disclosure, I should let you know that this film is about me. Well, technically that’s not true. I am not actually in the film but there is a general feeling of camaraderie and singularity among independent filmmakers. While we all take different paths to get our films released, nearly every filmmaker will visit a few film festivals along the way. Official Rejection may only cover a few filmmakers and their films, but this is very much a film about all indie filmmakers and their work. In fact, replacing film festival with a major concert or gallery makes this a film about musicians and other artists as well. So to put it simply, all artists despite your medium of choice need to see this film.

That doesn’t mean this film is for artists only. Anyone that is at all interested in film should see Official Rejection. If you are a fan of independent films (real indies, not Hollywood “indies†ť) this doc will show you the journey many of those films went on to gain an audience and find distribution. If you hate independent film, you should see this film to at least gain an appreciation for the struggles the filmmakers face. And for anyone who could care less about movies and filmmaking, there is still a compelling story being told here. After all, who doesn’t like a good underdog story?

Official Rejection follows filmmaker Scott Storm and his film, Ten Til Noon, from its first rejections to its first few acceptances. What gives this documentary such a personal feel is that the director of Official Rejection is the screenwriter for Ten Til Noon. Because of this, we get an in depth look at what filmmakers experience before, during and after film festivals. This is also beneficial because this means Paul Osborne truly cares about his subject and in turn, so does the viewer. And don’t worry; this does not make Official Rejection seem like a long commercial or some kind of bonus feature for Ten Til Noon. Ten Til Noon is meant to be the everyfilm and Scott Storm represents most independent filmmakers. To further prove this, we are treated to many interviews along the way from a variety of people in independent film.

Kevin Smith, Chris Gore, Lloyd Kaufman, Jenna Fischer, Andy Dick, Traci Lords, Troy Duffy and Bryan Singer are a few of the more famous people interviewed. They all offer some great words of wisdom and give some insight into film festivals. I will admit though that even though I agree, I was very upset to hear Kevin Smith say that Clerks. would never be accepted into Sundance if it was made today. We also hear from many other independent filmmakers, both in interviews and through footage captured at festivals. One of the best and most eye opening segments in the film is the nightmare of a situation that happened to filmmaker Blayne Weaver and his film, Outside Sales, at Indie Fest. I don’t want to ruin it but I will say that it is shocking to see how some festivals treat filmmakers. There are also a few actors, sales reps, audience members and representatives from a few film festivals that are interviewed.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic documentary that is fun to watch and very informative. I wish I had seen this movie a year ago before I started submitting to film festivals because I actually did pick up quite a few things about the process. Official Rejection should be mandatory viewing in all film schools.

I want to wish Paul and everyone else behind Official Rejection the best of luck with the film and its festival run. It’s going to be hard to get a film that exposes film festivals into film festivals, but that should only be the case for festivals with something to hide. All festivals that accept films based on their worth should accept this movie. I highly suggest seeking this film out if it is screening near you. For everyone else, this film will definitely find distribution in the near future so look for it then.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

A while back I discovered a trailer for a documentary about film festivals called Official Rejection. I had not heard anything about the film prior but immediately sent the trailer to a bunch of friends after watching it. Based on the teaser, this film looks both funny and insightful. I recently contacted the filmmaker behind it and we are working on setting up an interview very soon. Here is the synopsis from the film’s official website. (www.officialrejectiondocumentary.com)

Much has been said about the trials and struggles of making an independent film, and with good reason: it’s incredibly difficult, and not many are able to accomplish this feat. The perception is, however, that once you have finished your movie, you can just “take it to Sundance”. Yet the task of finding placement at a major film festival is often more daunting, and exhausting, then the making of the movie itself.

This is the story we intend to tell.

Following filmmakers along the festival circuit, OFFICIAL REJECTION will take a lighthearted but realistic look at the politics, pitfalls, costs, and toll of life at the fests. Our goal is to demonstrate exactly what happens once you finish the movie, the reality of today’s film festival landscape, and the emotional roller-coaster those who dare venture onto it find themselves riding.

By the way, Kevin Smith, Lloyd Kaufman, Chris Gore, Jenna Fischer and Bryan Singer are just a few of the awesome people interviewed in this film. I personally cannot wait to see this doc. The film will premiere at the Phoenix Film Festival on April 4th. Anyone attending should definitely check it out. I will be bringing you more coverage of this film in the near future. For now, here is the film’s teaser trailer.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Kevin Smith has signed on to direct a movie that he didnt write called ‘Couple of Dicks’ which will star Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan has 2 retired LAPD officers that have set out to find a vintage 1952 baseball card.

Ok let me be the first to say THIS IS A BAD IDEA! Kevin Smith..pull out now dude, dont do it! This movie is with Warner Bros, which you havent done a movie NOT with the Weinsteins since Mallrats. Second the movie is written by Robb and Marc Cullen which you have never directed a movie that you didnt write. Not to mention the story sounds effing boring and not..Kevin Smithish at all! Please dont do this man..get ‘Red State’ or the Sci Fi flick going instead..

Unless you have been living in a box, which is possible Jerry Cavallaro, but one of the most controversial movies of the year is on DVD today. If for some reason you haven’t gone and bought this DVD yet then I am not your friend and probably don’t even really know who you are. Here is a snippit from our review:

“‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ is anything but a PG-13 romantic comedy. It is as hard-edged as anything else he has done before. It might possibly be even harder than anything he’s done before. Fans of Smith will not be disappointed.”

Do yourself a favor and pick up one of Kevin Smith’s best movies which you can snag the 2 disc for only $16.99 at Amazon! I think $16.99 is the standard price everywhere for the 2 disc. Below is the dvd packaging:

Checking in on my RSS I found out that in Toronto they are having a Kevin Smith Film Festival February 8th, 9th, and 10th! Not to mention that K Smith will do a Q&A after every movie! This is brilliant and I wish I could be there, but I cant so you might as well go. If anyone wants to cover this for WeAreMovieGeeks.com email me and we can hook that up, I will even pay for your 3 day pass which is 60 bucks!

The ticket will get into all three nights, which will show 2 movies a night and I will buy the ticket for you to attend in exchange for you doing coverage for WAMG, pictures and full scoops on everything.

For more info go over to View Askew.

The release date of Zack and Miri Make A Porno on DVD and Blu-Ray is just two weeks away (February 3^rd) so I thought I’d go over some of the details, especially if some of you are planning on pre-ordering it. The pictures above show the 4 main covers of the release. The top two, which I underlined, are the versions that you should buy depending on whether you have a Blu-Ray player or not and if you want the Blockbuster exclusive version. The first photo is of the “standard†ť DVD, which is actually 2 discs and packed full of features. The second is of the Blu-Ray release, which has all the features of the DVD plus the added bonus of BD Live. Since we all know how interactive Kevin is with his fans, we can all expect some form of BD Live goodies to come in the near future. (Perhaps even a Q & A like Christopher Nolan did with The Dark Knight) There is no commentary track on any of the releases, although Kevin has already stated he will do a Smodcast commentary for the film.

The DVD and Blu-Ray shown on the bottom contains the exact same film and the exact same bonus features. The only difference is the covers, which remove the words Make A Porno from the title. There is also a surprising change in the tag line. The covers that contain “porno†ť have the rather bland tagline of “what would you do to get out of debt?†ť but the edited covers have the more sexually suggestive “This is the last job they can afford to blow.†ť Personally, I like the second tagline better but I still believe we should all purchase the unedited cover. This is ridiculous that they even have two versions of a cover just because of three little words, which ironically are the three little words that got the Weinstein’s to greenlight the project right away. (I know it’s really just one word that upsets people but the other two are accomplices)

I won’t go into the details of how stupid all the controversy was surrounding the title. We all read about the arguments and Kevin already discussed it to great lengths in his SModcasts. Instead, I will go into details on the features we can expect on the discs. Here is some info direct from Kevin that was posted on his message board.

Just to be anally thorough about it…

The “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” DVD/BluRay Extras in Total:

• 43 Deleted scenes (totaling 95 minutes)
• 22 Money Shots Webisodes (50 minutes)
• Feature-length documentary, Popcorn Porn: Watching Zack & Miri Make A Porno (75 minutes)
• Comic-con Panel 2008 (23 minutes)
• Gang-bang: Outtakes & Bloopers (13 minutes)
• Seth vs. Justin: Battle for Improvisational Supremacy (8 minutes)
• Blu-ray only: BD Live—which will gives us the option of having downloadable bonus features at some time in the future

Totaling 4 hours and 21 minutes of bonus

It may not have a commentary track (but apparently could at some point in the future, if you’ve got BluRay), but that seems like a packed disc to me.

Full disclosure: The extra feature – Seth vs. Justin: Battle for Improvisational Supremacy (8 minutes) is only one of two parts. Due to Weinstein Co’s exclusive deal with Blockbuster, there’s a Blockbuster-Exclusive Extra Feature called “Seth vs. Justin: Battle for Improvisational Supremacy Pt. 2.” So if you’re a BlockBuster cat, there’s that. I have no control over these things; if I did, the “Porno” theatrical poster would’ve looked more like the Hong Kong release poster…

I have to agree that the Hong Kong poster is pretty awesome but I actually loved the stick figure poster we got over here. I actually plan on picking one up next time I head out to the Secret Stash, which is where you can order the Blu-Ray or DVD with the uncensored cover. Plus, like most things sold at the Stash, each copy is signed by Kevin Smith.

If you want the second part of the improv bonus feature that Kevin mentioned, then it seems like Blockbuster is your only option. They also have a really cool exclusive cover, pictured below.

That is probably my favorite cover and the most fitting for the film. So far no other exclusives have popped up anywhere but I will be sure to update this page if I come across anything. As for the edited covers, the only place I found currently selling those versions online is Walmart, which strangely has no problem selling the soundtrack that says, “make a porno.†ť If you see the edited cover anywhere else or any other exclusives, send it to me and I will add it to this page. And just because I can†¦PORNO!

Jerry Cavallaro -Ă‚  www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

The above poster is making the rounds in a new advertising scheme for ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’. This cute, kids version probably wont sway anyone else to go see the movie, especially with the word PORNO on it… but you have to love it. thanks Cinematical.

Because we love you, and Kevin Smith loves us, we are giving away 1 signed poster for ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’. How do you win this? All you have to do is be signed up for our daily emails, and then comment below. 1 lucky winner will get this freaking awesome poster! Good luck all you lucky bastards…

Thanks to Mr K Smith, we have a vintage ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ poster. What are you waiting for? Go see this damn movie…

Kevin Smith week here on wearemoviegeeks.com was all built around the release of ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ and today is finally THE day. The movie is releasing today and will conquer all of you crazy bastards in such a way that you will walk out of the theater crying, laughing, and probably just have pissed your pants. I know I did, and you will to.

Also please be assured that if you dont like this movie, you probably need to get checked out because this is THE funniest movie of the year. Enjoy the reviews:

Zac:

Kevin Smith’s latest is a hilarious, raunchy, and sweet look at two friends’ platonic relationship that probably was meant to be more but never was.

Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) have been friends from the first grade, they have never been romantically involved emotionally, accidentally, or really ever thought about it, and they are now roommates in a place with stacking up bills and no sign of an income to help pay them off any sooner rather than later. Zack works and Bean and Gone, a local Starbucks competitor in Pittsburgh and he spends his days hanging out with his friend Delaney (Craig Robinson) and avoiding getting in trouble with his store manager. Miri’s work situation isn’t pulling down much cash either, and the two are left with defunct computers, buying pointless items, while their bills go further and further past due. The night before Thanksgiving, the two have their 10 year high school reunion and Zack is practically dragged there by Miri who is looking to score with her high school crush Bobby Long (Brandon Routh). Once Miri finds her man she leaves Zack on his own who between trying to score with married girls from his past and drinking runs into a guest of one of his classmates, Brandon (Justin Long) and the two bond over discussions of Brandon’s profession; gay porn. After the reunion, the last of the Zack and Miri’s utilities are shut off and they are left with a hobo style heating system and a desperate desire to make money, when Zack comes up with the idea of making a porno based off their recent “viral” success. Miri is quickly talked into the deal, as is Delaney to produce with his plasma TV money, and after a couple of quick casting sessions and finding someone and somewhere to shoot it, Zack and Miri are ready to produce their Porno.

I have explained quite a lot so far, but have spoiled little, and will go no further with plot, but the chemistry of these characters is fantastic though. Smith has always been great at getting his cast to bounce off each other with ease and Z&M is no different. Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks bounce off each other with ease and the banter can go from dirty to sweet in a second. Craig Robinson provides many of the best lines in the film and he and Rogen have as equally as good a chemistry as he does with Banks. Jason Mewes also owns his role as the lead porn actor in the film; he isn’t a professional just more then capable with his equipment than most. Mewes is hilarious and it’s nice to see him doing something besides Jay in a Kevin Smith film, here is to him doing more original work in his friend’s future work. Both of the real life porn stars that make appearances in the film do an excellent job as well, with Katie Morgan bringing plenty of sweet and bubbly energy to her character of Stacey while hamming it up for the camera when she does the porn work in the film. She and Mewes do the majority of the sex work in the film and they make it funny and silly, while remaining somewhat authentic, nailing what Smith was going for I imagine.

The creativity Smith gets out of his porn ideas is great as well, the number of dirty jokes he comes up with around the theme of the film is pretty impressive. I also how he kind of makes an homage to the making of clerks with the shooting of the in film porno, you will know what I mean when you see it, and the coda video at the end of the film is well thought out and clever as well. Smith has crafted his most well rounded film yet with Zack and Miri but, I am not ready to anoint it as his best, though after repeat viewings we can reassess that element.

Now, the elephant in the room, how raunchy is this movie? It is pretty fucking filthy, so much so, I can’t believe that Smith got them to talk this thing down, he must be one persuasive man. Testicles, breasts, penis, vagina, and much, much more; this film has it all. And I can’t even mention the worst/funniest thing in the film as it is one of the best laughs in the film and of the year; disgustingly hilarious. The movie is so raunchy that the sweet emotional scenes become jarring because you’re so used to the profane and vulgar, but funny, material that fills a substantial amount of the film. Though, the movie does have its serious and sweet moments, and can be rather effective, even if they seem a bit out of place in this crazy flick.

I have already touched on the acting a bit but everyone in the film is working at top form. Banks’ Miri is both kind of a self proclaimed slut but some how Banks makes her sweet and adorable at times when she isn’t acting kind of dirty. Rogen does stray to far from the type he has been playing as of late, but that is OK because he is hilarious as usual. Jeff Anderson is at the center of the best gag in the movie and he just nails that while injecting plenty of good one liner’s throughout the picture. I can’t say anymore about Craig Robinson who we need to have more in movies, as he never fails to make me laugh. Justin Long steals every scene he is in, it is a shame there are only a few and Brandon Routh captures his character perfectly. Mewes is golden throughout this flick and it makes you wish he had even more work in the picture as he is a bit in the background much of the time, but he makes the most of every scene he is in. Also, Smith shows restraint by not putting himself or any of his regulars in front of the camera, and while I like those guys, it’s nice to see him moving out of the Jersey Chronicles and all that comes with it for something fresh and original with Zack and Miri here.

In the end, Zack and Miri Make a Porno is easily one of the Top 3 comedies of the year right now. I don’t know if it is quite as good as Forgetting Sarah Marshall right now as Z&M pacing falls out of whack from time to time and can’t touch Sarah Marshall’s perfect relationship/comedy balance, but there is a lot of room for this one to grow in repeat viewings. If you are a Kevin Smith or Seth Rogen fan, this one is a no brainer. A bunch of the Apatow camp guys were inspired by Kevin Smith and Clerks years ago and it’s great to see Smith come out and show that he is more than capable of creating a product as good as what those guys have been doing as of late. Though, the faint of heart, don’t say I didn’t warn you, but at least you gave it a chance.

Travis:

Kevin Smith is a filmmaker who doesn’t always get the best criticism, but he always makes quality, enjoyable films in my book. While his range in genres hasn’t truly shown itself yet, Smith has managed to widen his horizons a bit with films like ‘Chasing Amy’ and ‘Jersey Girl’. One thing I always enjoy about Smith’s movies is that he knows how to make us laugh, uncontrollably at times. Sure, his sense of humor may not be everyone’s cup-o-tea, but you can’t please everyone… just the really cool people.

Seth Rogen plays Zack, a slacker working in a Starbucks-style coffee shop in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Banks plays Miri, his best friend since grade school and roommate who doesn’t realize that Zack secretly wants to be more than friends. Zack and Miri are down on their luck and their cash flow is doing even worse. With the water and the power turned off in the middle of winter, Zack and Miri are desperate to find a new revenue stream before they lose their apartment. That’s when Zack has his brilliant idea…

Zack and Miri are going to make a porno! So, once they both decide this is meant to happen, Zack enlists his co-worker Delaney (Craig Robinson) to be the producer. Zack, Miri and Delaney begin casting and the real-life cast includes real-life porn stars Katie Morgan as the stereotypical blonde Stacey and the now “legit” actress Traci Lords as the kinky and specially talented Bubbles. The rag-tag cast of loser guys and attractive gals band together to somehow make an adult film, but not without their share of obstacles.

All of that aside, it’s the dialogue and the character interaction that makes the movie so good, as with all Smith films. Justin Long is surprisingly humorous as Brandon Routh’s gay lover who works in gay porn and it’s great to see Jeff Anderson still in the mix, playing the amateur cameraman Deacon… who happens to have some of the greatest lines in the movie! “She frosted me like a cake!” And finally, how can you have a Kevin Smith movie without Jason Mewes… exactly, you can’t! Mewes returns, but not as Jay. In fact, this is the first Kevin Smith film to completely remove itself from his usual cast of characters. Mewes does however put his “everything” into the role… and I do mean EVERYTHING!

Ram Man:

This is the movie I have been waiting for this fall. I don’t know if it strictly because it is a Kevin Smith film or because of the fiasco made by the M.P.A.A. concerning the rating and content. Either way I was able to catch an advance screening of ‘Zack and Miri Make A Porno’ and it is one of Smith’s best films ever. As he did with ‘Jersey Girl’, Kevin strayed from the coziness of the View-Askew universe of characters and introduced us to some “real’ people of Monroeville, PA. (Yes that is the same town the zombies took over in Night of the Living Dead) The people I speak of are Zack (Seth Rogan) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) or her high school nickname “stinky Linky”. Smith also realizing he needed some experience in this film, he recruited porn star Katie Morgan and a porn legend…Tracy Lords! The film also features Rogan sidekicks Craig Robinson (Knocked Up) and Gerry Bednob (40 yr. Old Virgin) along with Smith’s own buddies Jason Mewes and Jeff Anderson.

Zack and Miri are roommates and best friends since high school. They are strictly friends and have never hooked up. They also never understood what it was to live on their own. After Zack spends the utility bill money on new Hockey skates and Miri blows her check on a new outfit, they both realize they are in dangers of being tossed out on the street. In Pennsylvania, thanksgiving weekend, that is a chilling thought. That is wen the lights go out. Literally… the lights go out, remember Zack didn’t pay the bill. So that scrape together what money they have left and head to the local bar (with heat) to plan a way out of this mess. They do what any red-blooded American couple who needs money would do….no they don’t get second jobs…they make a pornographic movie. Zack was forced by Miri to attend their high school reunion in an attempt for Miri to at last hook up with football stud Bobby Long (Brandon Routh). Only to find out Long is actually gay (must be from the tights in Superman Returns) and in love with male erotic movie star (played by Justin Long).

Zack and Miri decide to make the film and now must get some financing and find a location. Zack handles both. Buddy and co-worker Delaney (Robinson) donates his cash saved up for a HDTV in exchange for a role as casting director and a chance to see some titties! Zack also finds a warehouse full of trash, set to be demolished after the holidays, to film the porno. Zack and Miri also round up a cameraman Deacon (Anderson) and cast a stripper who loves anal, Stacy (Morgan) and a gal whose nickname is Bubbles for that talent she exhibits blowing them out of her vagina. All that was left was the male lead. That was taken by Lester “the molester” (Mewes). Zack thought it was a great porn name. Lester responded”We get a porn name!” The group agreed almost simultaneously on the title of the film….”Star Whores” Lucas would be proud.

The sets are finished and costumes are made and the day had finally come to shoot the first scene. Except, when the arrive at the warehouse, it is half demolished. The guy they rented from took off to Florida with the cash and now Zack and Miri have no location for their sex tape. Zack, Miri and the gang re-convene at The coffee shop where Zack and Delaney work to come up with a new plan. All the costumes , sets and equipment is gone. Zack comes up with the idea to shoot it there..at Bean-N-Gone with the surveillance camera! Acting in pornos is not even close to good and what ensued in this homegrown erotica. Filming includes hilarious scenes from Mewes doing Morgan, a drunken Steeler fan walks in on filming to get a cup of joe and comes face to face with Stacy’s tits and thinks nothing of it. (I need to visit Pittsburgh). The filming also includes the most romantic love scene in a porno to date between Zack and Miri, who by the way manges to keep their clothes on. (In Rogan’s case it is a blessing. And you know with a title like ‘Zack and Miri make a Porno’ Mewes is going to dangle his yule log somewhere in the film…and he does to the shock of Zack!

OK I have manage to keep the soap box put away during the synopsis portion of the review, but now I’m bringing it out! Now that i have seen the film I can honestly say that the “blue hairs” at the Motion Picture Assoc. of America are full of S**T! There was nothing any worse in this film to pull down an NC-17 rating than in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Eastern Promises and American Pie (all rated R). Again it is another attempt by the MPAA to try to kill one of Smith’s films. They gave the rating strictly by the word “Porno” being in the title. After the decision was over turned they fined him for an unrated trailer released on his website and killed to publicity campaign in the states by saying the posters were obscene. How childish can you be. So Kevin, in his own style, released a new poster with stick figures on it to make the folks at the MPAA nursing home happy.

‘Zack & Miri Make A Porno’ is one of Kevin Smith’s finest films to date. It definitely has the best acting of any of the previous ones. It is hilarious and yes it has some bad language, nudity and sexual references, but it is done in a way to entertain and not insult. If you choose to skip “Zack & Miri’ just for the word porno in the tile I feel sorry for you. Not because you are missing one of the funniest films of the year. No, because you are subscribing to the stupidity that is the MPAA and becoming yet another one of the cattle that choose to be told rather than find out on your own. For those of you Kevin Smith “Die Hards” (blatant plug I couldn’t resist) I hope you enjoy ‘Zack & Miri Make A Porno’ and see it repeatedly and show the world by making it #1 at the box office and giving the MPAA the big “F**K YOU!” OK now I will stop channeling my inner Hooper and just say “Go see Zack and Miri this weekend and laugh your ass off! ”

[rating:4.5/5]

Jeremy:

The last time Kevin Smith stepped away from the View Askew universe, he punched out ‘Jersey Girl’. The film is enjoyable and heartfelt in its own right, but fans of Smith’s previous films were left wanting more. Smith’s foray into the world of PG-13 romantic comedies was not met with open arms to say the very least. Some even blamed Smith for trying too hard to work with the Hollywood system, something I’m sure Smith is sure never to do again.

With ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’, Smith again steps out of the View Askew universe. He even steps away from the New Jersey for the first time. However, ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ is anything but a PG-13 romantic comedy. It is as hard-edged as anything else he has done before. It might possibly be even harder than anything he’s done before. Fans of Smith will not be disappointed.

Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are two, high school friends/roommates, who are down on their luck financially. While attending their ten-year high school reunion, Zack runs into Brandon St. Randy (Justin Long), a gay porn star who is dating one of their high school friends. This encounter snowballs an idea into Zack’s head that he and Miri could make a porno to relieve them of their financial woes. As you can surely imagine, logistical issues and awkward hilarity are sure to ensue.

‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ is through and through a Kevin Smith film. Having said that, it seems like the perfect marriage between the world of Kevin Smith and the world of Judd Apatow. In this film, we are treated to some of Smith’s best-written dialogue in years broaching just about every subject regarding porn under the sun. At the same time, the film, particularly the nature of Zack and Miri’s relationship, is as sweet as anything in ’40-Year-Old Virgin’ or ‘Knocked Up’.

In fact, this is probably this film’s biggest flaw. When it is trying to be funny, it is extremely funny. There are moments where you will be rolling on the floor. But, when the comedy subsides and we are left with watching the romance blossom between the two, main characters, it becomes quite saccharine. This is something that is shocking coming from Smith. This is the guy who brought us ‘Chasing Amy’, arguably the most ground in reality love story ever told. So it takes you aback when you start to realize you are watching just another romantic comedy filled with drawn-out misunderstandings and cliched outcomes.

This aspect of the film is helped tremendously by Banks and Rogen. They are an adorable couple together, and, singularly, the two are incredibly funny. Who knew that Elizabeth Banks could hold her own comedically with Seth Rogen? And the chemistry that builds between them is genuine.

Luckily for us, though, the sweetness in ‘Zack and Miri’ is easily covered up by the unbelievably crude yet hilarious comedy that the film has to offer. Being a Kevin Smith film, the humor is, at the same time, very witty and original as well. When they are trying to come up with a title and premise for their porno, Zack and Miri spout out some extremely funny ideas. They eventually settle on ‘Star Whores’, an idea that will surprise absolutly no one in the Kevin Smith fan-base.

Everyone in ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ are hilarious, as well, but with a few standouts. Craig Robinson, an Abatow regular, is riotous as Delaney, the porno’s producer. Traci Lords and Katie Morgan are about as cute as they can be, being actual porn stars who are mainstreaming it here. Jason Mewes gives another amazing performance in a Kevin Smith film playing a character other than Jay for the first time. He proves with this film that he will do anything, and I mean anything, for a part in one of hid buddy’s films.

However, the biggest standout of them all, the one performance that is quite possibly the best thing about ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ is Long as the gay porn star. The way Long carries himself and the affectation he puts on his voice makes it the perfect performance. Seriously, a whole spinoff film about Brandon St. Randy would be a real treat. Stick around through the end credits to see even more of this character.

Between ‘Clerks II’ and now this, Kevin Smith has certainly shed any stigma that he may have garnered from ‘Jersey Girl’. At times, ‘Zack and Miri’ gets a little too sweet for its own good, and a little more realism could have done that part of the film wonders. That aside, ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ is one of Smith’s funniest films to date. He truly has put himself back on top as the reigning king of comedy.

[rating:4/5]

Melissa:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHHAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

I cannot tell you the last time that I laughed that hard in a movie theater!!! Mr. Smith has truely outdone himself. It has the modern day sarcastic humor mixed into Smiths already sarcastic, in your face crude humor. A winning combination I say!!!

Zack and Miri (Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks) are best friends with no money. They work dead end jobs and spend their bill money on frivolous things. After attending their 10 year high school reunion (by watching this I am horribly frightened to attend my own!), they are inspired to do something drastic in order to pay off their bills, and return to a life of electricity and water… MAKE A PORNO!

They team up with some crazy characters during their casting (and by crazy I mean AWESOME!) that include Lester (Jason Mewes), Deacon (Jeff Anderson), Stacey (Katie Morgan) and of course Bubbles (Traci Lords). I mean, what kind of porno movie would this be without Traci Lords!

The thing that I really enjoyed about this movie is that the characters were two people in a real life situation. They have no money, crappy jobs, the economy sucks, and they are down on their luck. Hmmm… I am guessing that more than just myself can relate to this…

One of the most unsuspecting funny men of the movie was Brandon, played by Justin Long. In most Justin Long movies that I have seen, he generally plays a more likable character… In this film he plays a gay porn producer with an emphasis on… you guessed it… gay porn. His character comes completely out of lest field and left me laughing with every word that he spoke!

Seth Rogan was funny, like always. I have been a fan of his since the television show Freaks and Geeks, even though the show lasted the better part of a year! He reaches beyond just the 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up comedy and mixes it nicely with the Kevin Smith style comedy that we all know and love!

I give this film two thumbs up… Go in prepared for your stomach and face to hurt from laughing so hard!

P.S. Jason Mewes gives everyone a special treat at the end… Hey Jason, call me ;-) lol

[rating:5/5]

Before Kevin Smith week comes to a close, I thought it would be fun for me to take one more trip down memory lane. When Clerks II came out in theaters Bulletproof Records, the company behind its soundtrack, held a contest on Youtube. People had to create a Kevin Smith themed music video for the song “Think Fast†ť by All Too Much, which is on the soundtrack but not in the film. Of course, I jumped at the chance to enter this. Below is the video I created in about 4 days from concept to upload. Enjoy!

Some of the finer details are lost in the compressed Youtube video (the book he takes out is The Diary of Anne Frank) but I am still really happy with how it turned out. Let me know what you guys think…

Jerry Cavallaro - www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Raise your hand if Kevin Smith rocks your face off!!!

Just so you know… I raised BOTH hands (but I can’t keep them up sinceits best that I put my feelings into words!).

The whole cast is back in this super funny sequel, and they serve it up in color! We pick up with Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) on their way to another day at their dead end jobs. Since the Quickstop burnt to the ground, along with the video store connected to it, Dante and Randal have been forced to work at the local burger joint Mooby’s. Dante has now found love, and will be moving away from Randal with his clingy fiance. The story takes us through his last day at work, as he says goodbye to his boss (Rosario Dawson), who he had an affair with, and the crazy coworkers and customers of Mooby’s.Randal is still rude to the customers, Dante is still offended by Randal but puts up with him since they are best friends. But it wouldn’t be complete without some slackers hanging around the business.Ă‚   You might know them, they go by Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith).

The jokes in this film are fabulous! By far my favorite new character is Elias (Trevor Fehrman). Elias is a virginal teen who’s likes include God, church camp, Transformers, and Lord of the Rings. Elias brings us the fun of Pillow Pants, Listerfiend, “One Ring to rule them all”, andĂ‚   “Since God created man, and man created the Transformers, the Transformers are like a gift from God, Randal!”. Innocence is funny!

Jay and Silent Bob are still selling drugs to the kids, but this time they are armed with the Holy Bible. I would throw some quotes in here, but I don’t think I could find any that would be PG. They are by far the coolest dudes ever!How cool you ask? I would punch someones grandmother to hang out with them! That’s how cool it would be! (Just so you know, it will never happen so all of you beautiful grandmothers are safe!) Rosario Dawson is a great addition to the cast. She’s attractive, sarcastic, smart, and can pull off the dorky attitude that fits with her less than cool cohorts.

I have heard people argue that Clerks II is not nearly as good as the original. Well, let’s think about this. Clerks was a groundbreaking film with dirty humor and lifelike characters. It was simplistic, and it didn’t try to blind you with beautiful characters and a well polished set. It was the first comedy of its kind. How can you recreate the first comedy of its kind? You don’t. Instead you evolve and build upon it, and that is exactly what Kevin Smith did. The characters were easy to relate to, with their dead end jobs and slacker attitudes. Clerks II picks up on where they are now, 10 years after the Quickstop burned down. I think if they would have shot it in the same way as the first, it would have been boring. I like the fact that they bring new characters into the picture, with a new job and color cinematographer. It would have been to easy to set it up exactly the same and do the exact same thing. Their new jobs are a great example of how we as Americans can easily fall into a rut with our careers. It’s been a decade and Dante and Randal are still just as unhappy with their occupations as they were 10 years ago. How many of us complain about our jobs yet stay in them for far too long? I dig that they can show this with some humor. Heck, it reminds me of a typical day hanging out with my friends, minus the Donkey show! I have far too many sarcastic slackers in my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

So quit trying to just compare and enjoy what it has become. Enjoy the awesomeness that is called Clerks II. KEVIN SMITH ROCKS MY FACE OFF!

‘Jersey Girl’, to many View Askew fans, is the red headed stepchild of Kevin Smith’s films, but not due to the content. Content wise, the material is far more tame, his only non-R rated film, but where this viewer thinks that the material is on par with the rest of his work, most View Askew fans hold this movie as a piece of shit, and Kevin Smith seems to embrace that idea himself, to a certain extent, by constantly poking fun at it ever since its release to much delight of his following. And to be quite honest, I don’t get it.

Well, that is a stretch, I do get it, people aren’t spouting the word fuck every other sentence and a lot of the Kevin Smith crowd sadly comes across as people who need that to enjoy a movie, which is fine, but we shouldn’t let that discrimination of a great product like ‘Jersey Girl’ sully what is actually a very affective and funny family comedy.

Ollie (Ben Affleck) is a PR rep in the early 90’s and is on the fast track for success. His wife Gertrude (Jenifer Lopez) and him are incredibly happy and are wondrously looking towards their future family with the expecting of their first child, Gertie (Raquel Castro) but Ollie’s world is shattered with this loss of his wife during child birth. Struggling to keep up with work and his child, Ollie turns to his dad Bart (George Carlin) to take care of most of the duties of the baby. Well, Bart puts the weight back on Ollie, telling him he needs to be her father, and unfortunate circumstances of having his baby at the Fresh Prince’s record release conference cause him to fall from grace in the PR world and forced to work public service, moving in with his father back in Jersey and out of NYC.

Ollie raises Gertie, being a loving father and forming an incredible bond with her, never dating since the loss of his wife, when Maya (Liv Tyler) enters his life and shakes things up for the first time in Gertie’s life.

Now, if you read this short synopsis of the film, you would never think it is a Kevin Smith film, but the film really is a Smith film at heart. Sure it surrounds a kid and her dad, but there are plenty of taboos and sexuality explored here. He has a couple stellar cameos, there are plenty of pop culture references, and there is a real heart to this film about the bond between two people that is a part of every Kevin Smith film ever released. If you think the stuff in this film is too sweet, you must have not grasped a lot of the filmmaker’s films in the past to their full effect. Whether it is the bond between friends or lovers, Smith is great at showing a real bond between to people that care about each other, and the sentiment he is able to bring to his films is really one of the most capturing things about his work. There are plenty of people that can create crude and funny jokes, but Smith’s ability to give it heart and build characters and connections that we care about is why we re-visit his films so much and not some of that other stuff that slowly fades out of focus. And this film holds true to that formula, Smith created a pretty edgy and boundary pushing family film here, with a great set of relationships and characters for us to connect to it.

Which brings me to the point I mentioned early, in that I can’t stand that this film is the butt of so many jokes. If this film was released today, it would be to much warmer and larger reception. It was released in a time when Ben Affleck was loathed by critics, and anything that he and J-Lo did together was painted a disaster before anyone saw a frame of the picture. ‘Gigli’ ruined this film before it had a chance to shine, and Smith was put in a very tough position. Pre-release and pre-Jo-Lo/Affleck backlash, Smith spoke profusely positive about this film. Said it was his most personal and proudest thing he has been a part of truly came across as it was his favorite film he had done to date. I even had the opportunity to ask him about his feelings on the film during an Evening With Kevin Smith session I attended, and he couldn’t have came across as more positive and sincere with his answer reflecting on the positive experience he took from making that film. After the fallout of Affleck and J-Lo in ‘Gigli’, Smith cut out a lot of their material, taking J-Lo’s part to a minimum and Smith’s original cut was long gone. He has since screened the original cut of the film to much praise, and many people prefer and enjoy this cut for sure. Personally, as some one who enjoys this film, I can’t wait till he releases it on DVD and see his true vision of this film that he and Affleck were both very vocally proud of before it became the butt of many jokes in the view askew world.

‘Jersey Girl’ is a great and different kind of family film that feels very real and avoids much of the sap, while giving us some great characters with amazing connections and relationships with one another that we can really get behind. So if you never gave this film a chance, I think you should reconsider, and if you still can only get off on dick and fart jokes, well ‘Zack and Miri’ has plenty of those for you. ‘Jersey Girl’ is full of laughs and heart and while Smith is one of the best at crude humor, as ‘Zack and Miri’ continues to show, he shows that he can be more than that with this film and remains a vastly underappreciated work from his catalog.

“Hey, what’s all this talk about farting?†ť

Ă‚  

‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’ is the fifth film set in the View Askewniverse and it stars Jason Mewes and writer/director Kevin Smith as the title characters.

The plot goes a little something like this: Jay and Silent Bob find out that there is a movie being made from the comic they inspired, ‘Bluntman and Chronic,’ and that people on the “internet†ť have been talking shit about it. To make matters worse, the duo has never even seen a dime of royalties. So it’s off to Hollywood†¦

Along the way, lots of random shit happens. There’s a monkey. A jewel heist. Farts. A nun nearly gets her pussy eaten. Mark Hamill. Will Ferrell. Tracy Morgan as Pumpkin Escobar.

One of the best bits involves Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on the set of ‘Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season,’ which the title alone is good for a laugh but when you throw in a shot of Gus Van Sant counting piles of money, well, then it transcends funny and becomes something more like magic.Ă‚  

This is the movie in a nutshell and it works, I think, whether or not you possess an encyclopedic knowledge of the Askewniverse. It’s just so fucking ridiculous. If you want to just sit back and laugh at crazy bullshit for an hour and a half, then throw this motherfucker in your DVD player. It’s not aiming at excellence, it’s aiming at fun and fun takes it in the balls repeatedly.

“Oh, what a lovely tea party.†ť

Hmm, on a side note, there is some really good work in this film by cinematographer Jamie Anderson. Widescreen is taken advantage of and used to full effect. Anderson has been working in film for a while, having DP’d films like ‘Piranha,’ ‘Grosse Pointe Blank’ and ‘Art School Confidential.’ This film is mostly spoof and Jamie’s work really puts that Hollywood glitter in every scene. Any comedic duo needs a straight man. As Silent Bob is the straight man to Jay, Jamie Anderson is the straight man to Kevin Smith.

“Boo Boo Kitty Fuck.†ť

[rating:4/5]

Ă‚