In celebration of the the JURASSIC PARK ULTIMATE TRILOGY being released on Blu-Ray and DVD, WAMG was invited to a special effects press day. Melissa (that would be me) from WAMG sat down with Ariana Richards, who plays Lex Murphy in JURASSIC PARK and THE LOST WORLD : JURASSIC PARK, and three of the top special effects professionals in the world, Dennis Muren,  Phil Tippett, and John Rosengrant to talk about their experiences working on the film. Muren, Tippett, and Rosengrant worked on the special effects of the films, create things such as the giant tyrannosaurus rex! Pretty neat, huh?

From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg, the Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy is one of the most successful film franchises in worldwide box-office history. On a remote tropical island, an amazing living theme park becomes a game of survival for humans foolhardy enough to set foot on it. Meticulously recreated dinosaurs spring to astonishing life as the film’s breathtaking special effects and thrilling action sequences keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Each chapter of the history-making saga delivers even more action and spectacular visual effects than its predecessor, as nature’s ultimate killing machines once again rule the earth. Almost 20 years after its inception, the Jurassic Park Trilogy remains an unmatched cinematic experience.

First, here is my interview with Ariana Richards, who plays Lex Murphy. Enjoy!

Ariana is now a successful artist. Check out some of her paintings, and other works at http://www.galleryariana.com/

Next, I got the chance to sit down with Dennis Muren of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Phil Tippett of Tippett Sudios, and John Rosengrant of Legacy Effects (Formerly Stan Winsten Studios). Check it out:

SYNOPSIS:

JURASSIC PARK

A multimillionaire (Richard Attenborough) unveils a new theme park where visitors can observe dinosaurs cloned using advanced DNA technology. But when an employee tampers with the security system, the dinosaurs escape, forcing the visitors to fight for their survival. Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern star in this thrilling, action-packed blockbuster from acclaimed director Steven Spielberg and based on the novel by Michael Crichton.

THE LOST WORLD : JURASSIC PARK

Four years after Jurassic Park’s genetically bred dinosaurs ran amok, multimillionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) shocks chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) by revealing that Hammond has been breeding more beasties at a secret location. Malcolm, his paleontologist ladylove (Julianne Moore) and a wildlife videographer (Vince Vaughn) join an expedition to document the lethal lizards’ natural behavior in this action-packed thriller.

JURASSIC PARK III

In need of funds for research, Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) accepts a large sum of money to accompany Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni) on an aerial tour of the infamous Isla Sorna. It isn’t long before all hell breaks loose and the stranded wayfarers must fight for survival as a host of new — and even more deadly — dinosaurs try to make snacks of them. Laura Dern, Michael Jeter, Alessandro Nivola and Trevor Morgan co-star.

The wait is finally over to experience one of the most anticipated motion-picture trilogies of all time like never before when JURASSIC PARK, THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK and JURASSIC PARK III debut as a trilogy set on Blu-ray™ October 25, 2011 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Hey there, all you fancy kids! Melissa here. Yesterday, I had the chance to sit down with some of the people behind Dreamworks Pictures’ REAL STEEL, starring Hugh Jackman.

REAL STEEL is a gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future, where the sport of boxing has gone hi-tech, starring Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

My day was filled with roundtables, which you will find below. The first was with screenplay writer John Gatins, producers Don Murphy and Susan Montford. They talked about the inspiration behind the film, and using new technology on set.
REAL STEEL ROUNDTABLE WITH DON MURPHY, SUSAN MONTFORD & JOHN GATINS

My second roundtable of the day was with Director Shawn Levy. During our session, he talked about being compared to other directors, THE HARDY MEN, and whether or not there will be a sequel to REAL STEEL. He is quite a charismatic guy!

REAL STEEL ROUNDTABLE WITH SHAWN LEVY

Sugar Ray Leonard… What more can I say? This man is a legend. He spoke to us about teaching Hugh Jackman how to box on camera, and why he thinks boxing movies have such an impact on audiences.

REAL STEEL ROUNDTABLE WITH SUGAR RAY LEONARD

It is hard not to like Anthony Mackie… not that I tried! Mackie plays Finn in the film. It was apparent during this roundtable that he is very well read. I had no idea that he is such a history buff. It’s quite impressive. He also has a snarky comedic presence, which is something that I always appreciate.

REAL STEEL ROUNDTABLE WITH ANTHONY MACKIE

These next two are visual. Hugh Jackman, who plays Charlie Kenton, has quite the presence when he walks in the room. Not an overwhelming presence, but more of a kindness. He was extremely polite and engaging. Jackman spoke with us about shooting a film that his family could enjoy, Wolverine, and LES MISÉRABLES.

Oh, and I might have had my picture taken with him…

The final event of the day was getting to speak with John Rosengrant and Erik Nash about the special effects of the film. John Rosengrant was the animatronic supervisor for the film. He talked about designing the boxing robots in the film. The coolest part was that when we walked into the room, Atom and Noisy Boy, two of the bots, were set up in the room! All 8 feet of them! It was incredible to see the actual animatronics up close. Then Erik Nash, the visual effects supervisor, took us through a brief presentation on how they developed the fight scenes. Technology has come a long way!

What a fun day! Thanks for reading guys. Until next time…
Stay Fancy,
Melissa

Make sure you check out REAL STEEL in theaters OCTOBER 7th

Joel Robinson, the insanely talented artist who created the logo for our recent Vincentennial, the Vincent Price 100th Birthday Celebration, will be in St. Louis this weekend. Joel will have a booth at Contamination, St. Louis’ First Horror, Sci-Fi and Pop Culture Convention June 24-26th at the Westport Sheraton Chalet. Details for Contamination can be found at their website HERE

Joel Robinson created the covers for the first 8 issues of Bluewater Comics’ Vincent Price Presents comic book series.

In addition to being a staff artist at HorrorHound Magazine, Joel produces Prints of the Macabre, designs convention posters and creates artwork for various bands including Unknown Hinson. He’s a frequent guest at horror and comic book conventions across the United States and his art has been featured on cable channels G4 & Sci-Fi Network, AMC, TCN, fangoria.com, comicmonsters.com and in HorrorHound and Rue Morgue Magazine.

Joel’s website can be found HERE.

When I began working on Vincentennial, I contacted some artist friends I know and asked them to come up with logo designs, but none quite captured what I was looking for. Everyone wanted to do a horror-themed logo with dripping-blood lettering and such. I knew this was not what Cinema St. Louis, who was throwing the Vincent Price Film Festival, nor the Sheldon Art Galleries, which was hosting the Vincent Price exhibit, wanted. We were celebrating the complete life of Vincent Price, not just his horror career. Joel contacted me in the Fall and I was already aware that he was the go-to guy for Vincent Price illustrations so I asked him to have a go at the Vincentennial logo. What Joel came up with made everyone very happy. It was a great hybrid of art deco and Hollywood, with Vincent Price’s raised eyebrow adding the perfect, subtle, sinister touch. Joel also came up with the idea of adding the St. Louis Gateway Arch to the logo, a perfect way to brand it with our city’s most iconic monument. Everyone involved with Vincentennial loved Joel’s logo and it was featured on the Vincentennial posters, programs, and all internet promotions. Joel has five pieces of Vincent Price artwork currently on display and for sale at the Vincent Price Presents at Star Clipper exhibit at Star Clipper Comics (6392 Delmar – in the Loop). This exhibit ends next week so go there this week and check it out. Joel was not able to sell prints of his art at Star Clipper but will be selling prints at Contamination 2011 this weekend. Joel’s a super-nice guy so go to Contamination this weekend, visit with Joel, and take home one of his amazing signed pieces.

Hola kids…

It’s your old pal Melissa here, and I have a treat for you! This past week I was invited to the PRIEST Junket, and got a chance to sit down with some of the actors for the film. Then, I thought to myself, who better to share my interviews with than the movie geek community!

So, let’s get to the meat and potatoes!

PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci fi thriller, is set in an alternate world — one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendary Warrior Priest (Paul Bettany) from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece (Lily Collins) is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on an obsessive quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece’s boyfriend (Cam Gigandet), a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess (Maggie Q) who possesses otherworldly fighting skills.

The first night of the junket we were taken to AMC Century City 15 for a press screening of the film. That theater was amazing! My only complaint is that they had the film up entirely too loud. It actually hurt my ears, and we all know that I have been to a concert or two in my day. That has nothing to do with the film itself, so if you want to hear my opinion about the film you will have to check out my review tomorrow.

The next day was filled with television interviews. Since I host a movie show here in St. Louis, FILM FIEND on WRBU MY46, I was lucky enough to participate. I was pretty darn nervous, but it was fun! I have to say, the cast was incredibly nice! You can check out my interviews below.

 Paul Bettany (Priest)

To play this reluctant hero, director Scott Stewart chose acclaimed British actor Paul Bettany, whose diverse credits include acclaimed performances in Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code as well as Jon Amiel’s Creation. He also recently starred as the archangel Michael in Stewart’s directorial debut, the apocalyptic horror-action film Legion. Bettany’s performance in that film convinced the filmmakers that he has what it takes to be a major action star. He is such a great actor, and he’s so much fun to watch in these kinds of roles,” says Stewart. We decided to double down, and even do it in an even bigger way.

Karl Urban (Black Hat)

Priest’s nemesis, the towering villain Black Hat, is played by New Zealand native Karl Urban, best known to moviegoers for his role as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, as well as in The Bourne Supremacy and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

“Black Hat can do just about anything Black Hat wants,” says Glenn S. Gainor. “He can destroy a town in broad daylight, he can survive the hot sun, and he can live among the familiars and vampires at night. His strength and discipline rival that of a priest, which makes him a formidable adversary. But what he really wants is to get Priest to join the forces with him. Karl Urban has the kind of charisma needed to pull off this character.”

Maggie Q (Priestess)

Maggie was so nice! We chatted a bit before the interview about both being vegetarians, and I had to pet her adorable dog Ceasar! It’s always nice to meet someone who cares about animals as much as I do.

When Priest defies the orders of the Clergy by leaving the city in pursuit of Lucy, the Council of Monsignors dispatches a team of warrior priests to bring him back. For the role of Priestess, the group’s leader, the filmmakers chose Maggie Q, a Hawaiian-born actress who brought martial arts skills honed in in several Hong Kong action films. No stranger to Hollywood action roles, she’s starred in Mission: Impossible III, alongside Tom Cruise, and Live Free or Die Hard, with Bruce Willis.

Maggie was excited to work with the director of Priest. “Scott Stewart is a bit of a throwback,” she says. “Scott has created a world that feels like a classic adventure, but you don’t know what year it is, what’s happened before or what’s going to happen next. It’s kind of undefinable and definitely original.”

Lily Collins and Cam Gigandet (Lucy and Hicks)

Priest learns of Lucy’s (Lily Collins) abduction from Hicks, the sharpshooting lawman of the tiny wasteland town of Augustine, played by Cam Gigandet. Gigandet first gained fame for for his role as Kevin Volchok on the FOX television series, “The O.C.” and went on to attract an army of admirers as the predatory vampire James in the blockbuster Twilight.

A young man with a chip on his shoulder, Hicks is eager to prove himself worthy of his badge. “Hicks has had responsibility thrust upon him early in life,” says Michael De Luca. “It’s tough to walk the line of justice in the wasteland. But his father and his grandfather held the job before him. It’s his duty.”

I would like to thank everyone at Studio Gems, Sony, everyone from PRIEST, and everyone at the Four Seasons Hotel (Los Angeles at Beverly Hills).

Thanks for tuning in, and remember…
Stay Fancy Kids,
Melissa

PRIEST OPENS FRIDAY THE 13th OF MAY

Hello all you fancy boys and girls… Melissa here, and I have a treat for you! James Gunn was in town recently while promoting his new film SUPER, and I got the chance to sit down and discuss the film with him, as well as his career. He was wonderful to talk to! I did, however, get thrown for a loop… and got the giggles like the big ol’ nerd that I am!

Check it out here!

This movie is awesome! Take a look:

SYNOPSIS:

SUPER is a gritty, realistic and darkly funny tale of one man’s crusade against crime. With some insane violence, blood, sex and drugs thrown in for good measure.

After his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer, an everyday guy transforms himself into Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, though he lacks for heroic skills.

AND MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT SUPER, IN THEATERS NOW!

CHECK OUT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE HERE

BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK HERE

Hi all… Melissa, your beloved geek here. I just had the privilege of talking with Jenna Fischer, star of the upcoming indie film A LITTLE HELP, and HALL PASS. (Do I need to mention that she plays the role of Pam on THE OFFICE). She was extremely nice, and very sweet. I thank her much for her time. So, naturally I have to share it with my fellow geeks!!! ENJOY!!

Your character is very relatable and real. How did you prepare for such an intense role?

The character that I play is so unlike me. At the same time it was fun playing such a misfit. I actually had to learn to smoke for this role, because I don’t smoke. I am not a beer drinker either. For most big budget movies, they will make cans with fake beer in them, but for an indie film, they just don’t have the budget. So for two hours, I had to drink beer while filming, and I got drunk. I just don’t have a taste for beer.

Even growing up in the hometown of Anheuser Busch ?

I have never really had a taste for it.

Your character goes on a date in the film and they end up sleeping together. How do you prepare, or go into a scene where someone is talking dirty on top of you?

I think a big thing for me is whether or not the male actor is uncomfortable going into the scene. If the man is a gentlemen, he is more uncomfortable than I am going into the scene. We spent some time together beforehand, rather than just “Hello, now I’m going to hump your leg”. The scene could have been more graphic than what it was, but in the end it was important to the story of my character. He is actually a very funny guy. His name is Jim Florentine. He’s on the Howard Stern Show all the time and he does these prank calls where he harasses telemarketers. You should listen to him sometime, he’s very funny!

I thought we could wrap up with your rescue work. I was actually very impressed to find out that you have done some work with animal rescue and have even fostered. Can you tell us about the organization that you are involved with?

Kitten Rescue. I haven’t been able to foster lately, but I have in the past. I had two that I named Mifflen and Dunder, but now they have homes. I fostered them until they were old enough to be adopted. I just got a picture of them now that they are a year old. It’s really cool. My mother actually got her kitten from Stray Rescue in St. Louis. They do a wonderful job. I think it really is God’s work.

A LITTLE HELP is playing during the St. Louis International Film Festival on Sunday, November 21st at the Hi-Pointe Theater at 4pm. Jenna Fischer will be on hand (schedule permitting) to recieve a SLIFF Cinema St. Louis Award and follow the film with a Q&A session.

Synopsis: “A Little Help” takes an affecting, seriocomic look at a few pivotal months in the troubled life of dental hygienist Laura, who’s played with delicately shaded nuance by St. Louisan Jenna Fischer (“The Office”) in her first major starring role. Stuck in a tense and loveless marriage to Bob (Chris O’Donnell) and no longer able to connect with her alienated 12-year-old son (Daniel Yelsky), Laura is already coming emotionally unmoored when she finds herself completely at sea after the unexpected death of her husband. Stunned by this abrupt turn, Laura becomes entangled in a web of bizarre lies that further complicates her life. Rejecting the unwelcome advice given by her intrusive mother (Lesley Ann Warren) and judgmental older sister (Brooke Smith), Laura finally receives “a little help” from an unexpected source – her sister’s husband, Paul (Rob Benedict), whose unrequited crush on Laura offers both new problems and new possibilities. The feature-film debut of respected TV veteran Michael Weithorn – creator of “King of Queens” and writer/producer on “Family Ties” – “A Little Help” features original music by Jakob Dylan.

A tweetup is a meeting amongst people who met or generally converse on Twitter. Miramax Films is working on perfecting the art of the tweetup. They held their first one in March to promote Adventureland, which is still one of my favorite films of the year. I wrote a recap of it a day later that you can read HERE. On Thursday, Miramax held their second tweetup. They sent me an invite (through Twitter) and I, of course, said yes. I loved explaining to my boss why I needed to switch my hours.

Me – “Miramax invited me to a party to promote Mike Judge’s new film ‘Extract’. They are showing the film and then afterwards there’s a reception where we can get a drink and actually get to talk with Mike Judge. It’s an awesome opportunity.�

My Boss- “Who is Mike Judge?�

My boss doesn’t exactly have her finger on the pulse but she gave me the hours I needed off anyway. Since we already posted a review of ‘Extract’, I won’t go into much detail about the film itself. It is funny, with some really great moments. It’s definitely akin to ‘Office Space’ but with a bit less satire/commentary. In my opinion, the standout performance of the film was Ben Affleck as the best friend with terrible advice. That advice mainly being to take drugs.

After the film, Mike Judge was waiting in the reception area to greet people as they exited. Already in a conversation by the time I left, I grabbed a beer and started talking with someone about how weird it is to start conversations at these things. He initiated the conversation but I will steal that opener for the next time. You can find him on Twitter @Agent_M or @Marvel, which is the official account for Marvel. No, I don’t have any Disney acquisition exclusives for you. I also talked quite a bit with @StitchKingdom, who you should follow for tons of Disney news. Again, no I don’t have any Disney-Marvel acquisition exclusives for you. I also met the awesome @ScarletScribe who writes for Latino Review and spent some time chatting with @MiramaxFilms in person.

When Mike Judge finally came over, somehow the topic of surfing quickly came up. Mike told us how he got really into it in the summer of 1997 and he’s a lot more fit because of it. He also told us of this place in Texas that has good surf after bad weather but the water looks like chocolate milk. Then the conversation moved to Liquid Television before talking a little about his appearances on Howard Stern and then briefly about the film’s release. I told him how well Miramax has been pushing it on Twitter and that ads are everywhere. He agreed, saying that Miramax has been great and that if the film does bad this time, it definitely won’t be from a lack of trying. (He was referring to Fox screwing him over with his last two movies)

No we didn’t talk ‘Beavis & Butt-Head’. Or ‘Idiocracy’, which is still my favorite film of his although no one else seems to think so. We barely even talked ‘Extract’. I think that is sort of the great thing about these tweetups. They are a chance to just hang out with talent and talk about random stuff in a laid back environment. With Greg Mottola in March, a lot of the conversation was about Twitter itself since he was new to it. I’ve often said that I hate interviewing celebrities but I love talking to them. I do wish we had a little more time to talk but it was still a very cool experience. Plus, what makes it a slightly cooler story for me is that since I turned 21 on Monday, I can say that I had my first legal beer talking with Mike Judge. I hate beer and barely ever drink but it’s still cool to say.

I hope Miramax does another one soon and I really hope some other studios start picking up in this trend. If you’re going to the movies this weekend, definitely check out Extract. And if you aren’t already, follow these awesome people on Twitter: @MiramaxFilms, @Agent_M/@Marvel, @StitchKingdom and @ScarletScribe. Plus you can always follow me @GetStuck.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Many of you know that most of us here at WAMG are big fans of Twitter(@moviegeeks, @wearemoviegeeks, @cinetrav, @kirk13). For those of you who don’t tweet, you don’t understand how addicting the site is. I started my account (@GetStuck) a little over a month ago just to promote Stuck Like Chuck. I’m now tweeting several times a day talking about a variety of different things. It is a fun way to stay connected and also to meet/socialize with new people. A lot of people have discovered Stuck Like Chuck through Twitter and I’m sure Scott will tell you that a lot of readers discovered WAMG through Twitter as well. Even better, there are a lot of celebrities and movie studios that have embraced Twitter, although it is sometimes hard to tell if the account is real or not. Recently something happened that I am currently labeling My Greatest Twitter Moment.

No, @Jon_Favreau did not respond to my sending him a link to my ‘I Love You, Man’ review…yet. This is better than that anyway. Yesterday, @MiramaxFilms held a Twitter-only screening of Adventureland in NYC. Last week they posted the idea on their official Twitter account and film bloggers who responded to the tweet were sent the full event details. In addition to the screening, there was a very informal reception afterwards with director Greg Mottola (@GregMottola) and actress Margarita Levieva (LISA P). To my knowledge, this is the first time this has ever been done and hopefully more studios follow suit.

I was asked to hold my review of the film till the release but I will tell you that I absolutely loved it. Don’t expect Superbad 2 and you will enjoy the film a lot more. Read my full review on April 3rd to understand why. And while you wait for the release, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of the awesome 80’s soundtrack. I plan to do so very soon. If purchasing on itunes, also download the free exclusive Adventureland Orientation Video starring Martin Starr (@MartinStarr).

So I can’t really tell you much more about the film but I can tell you that the overall experience was incredible. After seeing the movie, we moved into the next room where there was beer, wine, cheese and fruit set up. There were only about 15 bloggers and we all grabbed some refreshments and then sat at one of three tables. A few minutes later, Greg and Margarita were brought in and they moved from table to table “wedding style†� spending about 15 minutes with each table. It was completely informal; no tape recorders, cameras or note pads were present. In fact, we barely even talked about the film. Not surprisingly, one of the big topics of conversation was   Twitter. However, here are some of the movie related tidbits I picked up…

• Margarita helped craft the look of Lisa P. with the cut up Rides t-shirt
• She also contributed to some of the suggestive dance moves, which she learned from a really bad dance instructor a few years ago at a gym.
• Greg’s next project, Paul, which stars Nick Frost and Simon Peg, officially got the greenlight this past Friday.
• Paul will shoot in New Mexico, in June I believe.
• The alien in Paul will be a mix of CGI and animatronics.
• It will be amazing!

Ok, so the last tidbit is more of an opinion but a valid one at that. I’m not sure if it was because of the completely informal atmosphere or the fact that I really love Mottola’s work but I was nervous the whole time he sat next to me at the table. I kept telling myself not to say Superbad quotes and not to geek out too much. I didn’t want to steer the conversation in a different direction but I definitely wanted to speak to him about independent film.

When the event was winding down, he was being walked out and I decided I could not blow this opportunity. I popped up and asked if I could talk to him one on one for a minute. Unfortunately when I went to shake his hand someone leaving bumped into me and I accidentally punched his chest. Just kidding. Actually he agreed and we talked for a few minutes. I nervously told him about Stuck Like Chuck, how it was recently accepted into the SINY Film Festival and asked if he had any advice. He basically told me everyone has different career paths and not to pass up good opportunities. Sorry that terrible generalization does not do his advice justice. He also offered a quote from Steven Soderbergh, which is “Talent plus tenacity equals luck.” Then we talked a little more about Stuck Like Chuck and he agreed when I said we should set up an interview sometime soon. He was truly a scholar and a gentleman and it was an honor to get to meet him.

To tie in with this whole Twitter theme, when I got home I sent out a bunch of tweets. I tweeted some of the other bloggers I met (@EDouglasWW, @Da7e), thanked Miramax (@MiramaxFilms) for holding the event and thanked Greg Mottola (@GregMottola) for speaking with me. This morning I checked my Twitter to see this†¦

Greg Mottola tweeted to me. Now, I’ve spoken on the phone, through texts, in email correspondences and face to face with many celebrities but this is my first celebrity tweet. Suck on that  @Jon_Favreau and @jimmyfallon. Just kidding guys.

So in summation of this overly long and fairly pointless blog that probably no one is still reading, I believe  @MiramaxFilms has a great idea and hopefully more studios do Twitter events like this. Or at least start serving food and alcohol before, during or after the movie screening. Oh, and go see Adventureland April 3rd. You won’t be disappointed†¦unless you don’t like good movies.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Anyone who read the last story I posted about Bruce Campbell knows that I’m a big fan and that I tried like crazy to get an interview with him when he was in New York. I finally settled for a two-part question about Bubba Nosferatu that I got on tape during one of his Q & A’s. Well things finally worked out and on Black Friday, when all of you were shopping, I was on the phone with Bruce Campbell. We covered a variety of topics including My Name Is Bruce, the accuracy of IMDB and yes, we even dabbled in discussing Evil Dead 4. Enjoy!

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Adrienne Shelly began her career in 1989’s The Unbelievable Truth. She went on to star in numerous other films, as well as over two dozen off-Broadway plays. She moved towards behind the scenes, working as a writer and a director, but she still stayed in front of the camera as well. On November 1^st 2006, she was murdered in her office by an illegal immigrant doing construction in her apartment building. This was just a few short weeks before Waitress, her final film, was accepted into Sundance. Soon after, her husband, Andy Ostroy, started the Adrienne Shelly Foundation to honor her and to help struggling female filmmakers to foster their visions and find an audience.

Last Monday, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation 2^nd Annual Fundraising Gala was held at NYU. Paul Rudd, Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines and Keri Russell were some of the stars who showed up to support the foundation and perform for the crowd. Tickets were available to the general public at various prices, with the money raised going towards the foundation.

The evening began with a video reel showing clips from various project Adrienne worked on through the years. It even showed a video of her singing on a home video from what looks like a school play at Jericho High School. Once the video ended and was met by a round of applause, Andy Ostroy came out with his and Adrienne’s adorable daughter, Sophie. He told us a little about the foundation and how Adrienne would have liked to make the evening as little about her as possible because that’s the way she was. He introduced Paul Rudd who came out and did an absolutely hilarious bit. He taught us all the meaning of Independence, by reading us multiple definitions of the word and giving us an example for ach usage. For years I have been a huge fan of Paul Rudd and I have said before that he could read from a dictionary and I would find it funny. Well, he proved my theory correct.

Rudd then introduced a video, which showed clips from last year’s grant recipients films and some interviews with them. The recipients then came on to the stage. Cynthia Wade, who won an Academy Award for her documentary short funded by the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, gave a short speech on behalf of herself and the other recipients. Michael Cerveris then came out to perform the song “Baby Don’t You Cry (The Pie Song)†�, which is from Waitress.

After the beautiful song played and received a rousing applause, a reading of the O Letters was performed by Keri Russell, Lilly Taylor, Cheryl Hines, Maria Tucci, Ally Sheedy and Karen Black. The O Letters, is a short satire written by Adrienne Shelly about 5 love letters uncovered in the year 4046 and read at a women’s conference. Each letter read at the Cognitive Center For Women’s Emotional Health is addressed to Stedman and signed only with an O. The hilarious letters are meant to be fictional correspondences between Oprah and Stedman Graham. Some of the funniest moments come when O continuously brings up her studio audience and complains about why Stedman won’t commit.

Following the reading, a mockumentary was shown that honored the biggest individual donor to the Adrienne Shelly Foundation. If you don’t know Brian Darcy, you should really do some research on him. According to the video, he delivered John Slatterly’s baby, de-boned himself to be a guest skeleton on Bones, and was Marie Louise Parker’s first. He was also Keri Russell’s. And Paul Rudd’s. He was also a great inspiration to Seth Rogen, John Hamm, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen. Following the video was Jeremy Sisto who introduced singer Dana Parish, who performed two songs off her new album, Uncrushed.

The evening lasted almost 2 hours and was a lot of fun. Everyone on stage seemed to enjoy themselves and you could tell they all really loved Adrienne and are proud of this foundation. If you would like to make a donation to the Adrienne Shelly Foundation or find out more about it, please go to www.AdrienneShellyFoundation.com.

Prior to the actual performance, I was waiting out in the press area to speak with some of the stars. The following is a video of what some of them had to say about Adrienne and the Foundation. You may notice that a lot of the footage is of the celebrities speaking to other media outlets. That’s because I am still very new at this and the whole Red carpet is definitely not my thing. Thank God this was a very well run media event or I would probably have no decent footage to show you right now. Since most of the other outlets were just recording audio for news stories, they were mostly fine with me joining them. In fact, some of them recorded audio of my interviews, as well. Enjoy!

Remembering Adrienne Shelly
  

Now I tried to keep my coverage of this event as unbiased as possible but now it’s time for me to geek out. The highlight of my evening was getting to meet Paul Rudd. As I said above, he has been one of my favorite actors for years. When I posted my Jason Ritter interview, I said that meeting him has put him high up on my list of actors I’d love to work with. Well, before I met Paul Rudd, he was already honing in on the top of my list. Below is a video of my interview with him, as well as some great footage of him talking with other media outlets. He was a lot of fun and really is a great guy. I hope to get the chance to interview him again someday. Enjoy!

Paul Rudd is a Role Model

Jerry Cavallaro -Â  www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go to one of those Hollywood Red Carpet movie premieres? See the stars from the movie and local celebrities walk the red carpet and maybe even score an autograph? Your chance is coming to you THIS WEDENSDAY!   On November 19Th, at ST. Louis’ AMC Creve Coeur 12 Cinema,  is the St. Louis premiere of the new film ‘Seven Pounds’ and live and in person on the red carpet will be none other than Will Smith Himself!!!!! The red carpet will also feature some local celebrities from the St. Louis Rams.

This is free to come out and catch the festivities, but this event is being held to benefit St. Louis’ Food Bank and the Urban League, so if your coming out brings some canned goods from  your kitchen and help out those less fortunate. The Foodbank collects and distributes more than 13 million pounds of food  for the local community in need, and they need your help with the holidays coming up.  If you bring some canned goods you will not only see Will Smith…you may be able to catch his new film ‘Seven Pounds’   before anyone else sees it.   That’s Right! A few lucky fans (that bring canned goods) will win premiere tickets to see the movie ‘Seven Pounds’ that very evening with Will Smith and the Rams.  

‘Seven Pounds’ is the story of Ben Thomas (Smith), an IRS agent with a fateful secret who embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers. I saw the preview last night and this movie looks AWESOME! Don’t miss your chance to do something great for the community and to see Hollywood’s brightest star Will Smith in person!

Here are the details again:

What: Will Smith Red Carpet Premiere Of His New Film, ‘Seven Pounds’.

Where:AMC Creve Coeur 12 Cinema, 10465 Olive Street Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 63141

When:Wednesday, November 19Th, 2008 (Red Carpet Arrivals begin at 5:30pm., Screening  Ã‚   begins at 7pm.)

Come out and check it out with the Geeks!

His Name Is Bruce OR, How I Became Bruce Campbell’s Stalker For 2 Days

Two days ago I posted my review of My Name Is Bruce, the newest film from B-Movie Icon Bruce Campbell. I gave it 4 out of 5 buckets of Bean Curds. To see why or to understand what the hell Bean Curds has to do with anything, read the full review here. You’d also see that I upped the rating to 5 out of 5 if you attend a screening that Bruce Campbell hosts. He just kicked off a nationwide tour of the film, where he introduces and follows the film with a Q & A for several screenings in each city he visits. I went to a few of the NY screenings and made several attempts to get an interview with the man himself. What follows is the story of my failed attempts, a rundown of Bruce’s answers from the Q & A’s I attended and if you skip down to the bottom, 2 videos of Bruce. The first is an entire 20 minute Q & A, which is hilarious, and the second is what I am calling my 2 question sorta semi-interview with Bruce Campbell. Enjoy!

I consider myself a Bruce Campbell fan. I personally believe the Evil Dead trilogy is the greatest horror trilogy of all time, despite the fact that Army of Darkness is an action comedy and Evil Dead 2 is more funny than scary. I loved his autobiography, enjoyed what I read of Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way and generally feel that Bruce is the best part of whatever terrible movie he is in. There are also some other great movies he stars in like Bubba Ho-Tep and Man With The Screaming Brain, which was his directorial debut. The point is that I am a fan so I was really looking forward to this movie. I saw Bruce live before so I was looking forward to the Q & A almost as much as the film. I also was going with the goal of scoring an interview with him. A task that I learned is not an easy feat, even when you talk directly with him a few times.

The last time I was at Sunshine Cinema, I attended the Good Dick screening, which was hosted by Marianna Palka and Jason Ritter. After the Q & A, they exited through the main lobby, which requires walking to the back of the theater. I thought Bruce would do the same so I sat in the aisle seat of the last row on the right side of the theater. Bruce entered through a stage door on the front left side of the room. Fuck. I knew I would not get close enough to talk to Bruce this time so maybe I’d bring it up during the Q & A after the movie. If not, I told my friend Kenny that we would have to stick around for the next showing.

Bruce comes out and introduces the film. He jokes if anyone has any questions about a movie they have never seen before. He uses this joke at every other intro to the film that I attended and it got laughs every time. He tells us how the NY Times, Village Voice and TimeOUT NY all trashed the film so he hopes we enjoy it more than them. He also reminds us that the Bruce Campbell in the film is a fictional character that is only somewhat based on the real Bruce Campbell so don’t get pissed off at him when he rips on his fans, which happens a lot in the film.

The movie plays. It ends to a round of applause and some people clap along to the theme song played over the end credits. Bruce comes out and things get interesting. If you’ve never seen him in person, think of Ash Williams and that is Bruce in person, minus the chainsaw for an arm. Bruce is completely self-deprecating and he hurls insults at the audience throughout but it’s all in good fun.

• The film is a “redemptive story†� and a “cautionary tale†� of what could happen to a promising actor held back by crappy B-movies.
• Someone asked if he reads the Burn Notice fan boards since she submits fan fiction on there. He asked if “Sam and Michael get it on†� in her fan fiction. He never lets the fact that she writes fan fiction go and he picks on her the whole night.
• “There is a code for each monster†� – Every monster has to have a weakness and this particular monster’s is bean curd. The crowd laughed so Bruce told them that My Name Is Bruce is an “extremely well researched picture.†� Guan Di really is the Chinese God of War and was also the Patron Saint of Bean Curd because before Guan Di became a deity, he was a bean curd seller.
• If Bruce Campbell were elected President, he would “rule with an iron first†� but he has done so much crap and made so many bad movies that it would take them only about an hour to rule him out as president. “I inhaled†�
• Â  Someone gave him a bottle of homemade blueberry liquor and Bruce asked for any other gifts, which he went around collecting.
• When speaking to someone in the front he told them they were too close to watch the movie. “It’s all chin!†�
• Someone asked if the movie could get any more masturbatory since the film is basically 86 minutes of Bruce Campbell and why he is so awesome. The crowd booed and Bruce said the film would only be masturbatory if he took himself seriously. He then told the guy to go home and jerk off while thinking about him.
• Has no plans for a 3rd book.
• Someone realized that no one complimented the film yet so he told Bruce the film was awesome. Bruce gave the guy $5. The guy got a few more bucks out of it when he changed it to “fucking awesome!†�
• Will Ferrell took over his spot as spokesperson for Old Spice.
• Jack of All Trades has the best TV theme song ever.
• The Olympics stole the theme song from Briscoe County Jr.
• Someone requests an autograph and is booed. Please don’t waste time with personal requests. (Shit, there goes asking him for an interview)
• Most Obsessed Fans? A while back a guy approached him who had the Army of Darkness poster tattooed on his back. “The entire back was the poster.†� Someone in the crowd screamed that he has it on his arm. Bruce said yeah, “guys like that†�
• Someone said something that made no sense and just stared at Bruce silently afterwards. Bruce replied, “Did you have a question or are you just gonna keep being weird?†�
• He never met Mike Nichols or most of the other people he wrote about in his book Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way. No one cares who he is, that’s why no one has sued him yet over the book.
• Most low budget director’s blow.
•   At the Halloween screening a day before, he exchanged Hawaiian shirts with a girl who came dressed as him. She came back to this screening and he asked where his shirt is. She said it’s hanging on her cardboard cutout of Xena. He replied “I could have called that one†� He then asked if she was friends with the girl who wrote fan fiction and if they weren’t, he suggested they should hang out.
• Someone asked if there will be My Name Is Bruce The Musical and Bruce said “Why not?†�
• Â  Doesn’t have a favorite film that he has worked on cause he isn’t dead yet.
• Someone yelled out that this was his favorite so Bruce gave him $2.
• Â  Someone asked what they had to do for $10 and Bruce said kill the movie critics at the NY Times, Village Voice and TimeOUT NY.
• There are several 3 stooges references in the film. 3 Businesses are named after the stooges. (Moe’s Manure, Shemp’s Whiskey and Larry’s Livery)
• Â  Believe it or not, his cameos are the most important part of each Spiderman movie. In the first one he names Spiderman. In the second one he does not let Peter in to the play, hence he is the only man to defeat Spiderman. In the third film, Peter goes to him to advice. People in trouble go to Spiderman for help and Spiderman goes to him for help. Therefore, he is the better of the two.
• Don’t try to find the cabin from the Evil Dead. You will be shot.
• Could you say groovy for me? “I could if I was your monkey†�
• “Thank you for supporting this theater.†�

Bruce left and we decide to stick around for the next showing. I had a note as backup in case I didn’t have time to talk to him. We went back on the line and waited till close to midnight. Then we found out the theater changed for the midnight showing and we were on the line for a special screening of Nightmare on Elm Street. We run upstairs to the ticket taker and I play dumb. I ask what theater Bruce is in and he tells me Auditorium 3. I thank him and we run up to the theater. We enter in the middle of Bruce’s intro. I head down to the front row and Kenny sits a few seats away.

• Bruce asks if anyone has any questions since he would not be back for a Q & A after this screening since it was so late.
• Someone asks if he will be playing Mysterio in Spiderman 4. Bruce says that everyone asks him that and he doesn’t even really know who that is so he asks the person to tell him about the character. “Why do fans torment me about him?†� After hearing the description and getting a confident yes that a battle between Spiderman and Mysterio would be awesome from the questioner, Bruce said Ok, he would play him.
• The movie he hates the most is Frogs.
• A strange man asks him to sign a miniature wooden bowling pin. Bruce agrees only because it is the most unrelated thing anyone has ever asked him to sign. Bruce asks the guy for the story behind the pins and he explains that his friend owned a bowling alley and gave them out as gifts and now he makes celebrities sign them. Bruce asked who else the guy has. Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep were the first two he named. Bruce requested that his pin go right next to Eastwood’s. He kept going back to the man and asking him personal questions because he was just so fascinated by him.
• His biggest fear is this movie. He then asked the crowd what their biggest fears are. Kenny yelled out apples, which caused Bruce to crack up. He asked why and Kenny told him that they are red on the outside but white on the inside and it’s deceiving. He then started naming types of apples. Bruce and everyone else laughed. As far as I know, he made up this fear but I do plan on leaving an apple in his locker at work.
• He filmed the movie in Oregon, his home state. In fact, most of the movie was filmed on his property. They built the entire town of Gold Lick on his land but he did not say if the town is still up or if they took it down yet.
• He then thanked everyone for coming and supporting his film and the theater.

That’s when I sprung into action. I popped up and told Bruce that I was a writer for We Are Movie Geeks. He held the mic out and we had a private conversation in front of everyone. I told him that I loved the film and he would be getting a good review from us. He said finally, “one good review this weekend.†� I then showed him on my note where I wrote, “Fuck the NY Times†� and he laughed. He told me that if I killed the papers that gave him a bad review, he’d make it worthwhile. I told him that I didn’t need the $10 and he laughed. I then mentioned I’d love to do an interview with him and in typical Bruce Campbell fashion, in an overly sarcastic way he said, “I’ll be in touch†� and then walked out the door. I decided right then that I had to go back the next day.

I go home, order the tickets and come back the next day with my dad who is a big time Bubba Ho-Tep fan. I sit in the front row again. Bruce comes out and introduces the film. He asks if anyone has any questions about a movie that no one has seen and hen tells the crowd he will be back after the before walking off. I pop up and hand him my review of the film, as well as a little note thanking him for talking with me and once again asking for an interview. He said he remembered me from the night before and then leaves. He was not too open to the idea of an interview.

He comes back after the film for the Q & A. I decided that if I wasn’t going to get an interview with him, I’d steal one. So I took out my camera and filmed the entire Q & A. Below is the complete unedited footage. I would consider it mostly audio only since the video quality is really bad. It was a dark theater and I used my cheap minidv. The part with the tattoo came out pretty good though and there are some very funny visual moments that are decent quality.

Bruce Campbell Q & A

After this Q & A, I still was not satisfied. I knew I was not going to get a one on one interview with him but I at least wanted my question answered. I’m not sure if it was the fan inside of me or the budding journalist but, you guessed it, I decided to stick around for one more screening. I settle back in to the front row and watch as Bruce comes out. He asks if anyone has any questions about the film and he does not see my hand go up. He then talks a little about the film and tells everyone that he will be back after the film for a Q & A. He starts waking off. I stop him and tell him I have a question†¦

Bruce Campbell on Ron Perlman & Bubba Nosferatu

That ladies and gentleman is how you get a 2 question sorta semi-interview with Bruce Campbell. One day I hope to actually get a real interview with the man but for now that will do just fine. Did I act as a stalker or was I just really persistent? You decide.  

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Kevin Smith Week is now in full swing with some great posts about the man and his films. I decided to follow up my coverage of his Zack and Miri Make A Porno Q and A from last Thursday with a post about a video I recently put up on my website. In Fall 2005, I was lucky enough to meet Kevin Smith for the first time at a DVD signing he held at his store in Red Bank, NJ. I brought my camera along and decided to ask for a little interview. After waiting outside for over 5 hours, I was glad to find that the reason for the huge wait was that Kevin Smith truly cares about his fans. He took the time to talk and really connect with everyone who showed up, unlike some celebrities I’ve met who barely greet you and just push you along. He agreed to the interview and it actually lasted until I ran out of questions. He also gave some sound advice on filmmaking; advice that helped me when making Stuck Like Chuck. Last month I took a clip from my film and combined it with some of the interview footage from 2005. I altered the footage/audio and edited the video in a way to resemble the film that’s inspired a generation of filmmakers. Enjoy!

I’ll be back before the end of the week with another Kevin Smith video.  

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Yesterday, Zack and Miri Make A Porno premiered in New York City and Kevin Smith was on hand for a question and answer session with the crowd afterwards. We will be posting reviews of the film next week so I won’t go into much detail about the flick. However, I will say that I think it is Kevin Smith’s funniest film and I absolutely loved it. It has the amazing dialogue of Clerks, the gross out humor of Mallrats and as much heart as Chasing Amy. It will definitely be a hit. And that’s all I’m going to say about the film.

I went to this screening with two goals in mind. The first was to see what I knew would be a great movie and the other was to score an interview with the man himself. I knew the second was a long shot but I was determined. I arrived at the theater about an hour early and was shocked to find no one there. Unfortunately a visit to the Box Office revealed the confirmation email listed the wrong movie theater. I rushed to the theater a few blocks away and found a huge line waiting for me.

I finally got into the theater and I sit in the worst possible seat. I was front row center. I had to look at an 80-degree angle to see the screen and the image was horribly distracting at such a close range. I didn’t care though since I knew I’d have the perfect seat for the Q and A portion. When Kevin finally came out, he settled about 4 ft away from me, which is where he stood most of the time. He immediately asked that the house lights be brought up, the spotlight be brought down and the emo music be turned off. He then told us that he made the mistake of having a big dinner just prior to coming to the theater so he had to take a “wicked shit†� but he will hold it in for the next hour.

The first question was the always dreaded “will you hang out with us after the show?†� but Kevin handled it in a polite way. At other events he has been more vocal about not wasting time on asking to hang out or read a script because he won’t do it. I knew that if I was going to ask for an interview, it would have to be as he was leaving the room. Without further ado, here is my rundown of most of the Q and A†¦broken up into two convenient sections.

Kevin on Zack And Miri Make A Porno
- The title came before the script but he has had the idea for a while and he’s been “researching this movie since I was 12†¦usually into a fucking gym sock†�
- He has had most of the film in his head for years but it took him about one week to write the first draft when he finally decided to type it up.
- The film did in fact get the Greenlight based on the title alone. While discussing details on Clerks 2 with Harvey Weinstein, he mentioned the title when Harvey asked if he had any other ideas and Harvey told him it was a go.
- Seth Rogen helped Kevin cast many of the characters, which is why there are so many Judd Apatow regulars in the film. Kevin was a bit worried and asked Rogen “is this dude gonna put a hit out on me†� for stealing his actors. Kevin finally met Apatow at the end of production and is pretty sure Apatow doesn’t want to kill him.
- In addition to writing Zack for Rogen, he wrote the role of Miri for Rosario Dawson. After working on Knocked Up and promoting it worldwide, Rogen was exhausted and asked to push the start date to January. Smith agreed but Rosario had to drop out because she was scheduled to shoot Eagle Eye in January. Left Miri-less, Smith got a list of about 6 actresses who might be willing to do the film and were free January-February. The first name was Elizabeth Banks and Rogen told Smith how perfect she would be for the part.
- If Rogen did not say yes, he would have put the script in the drawer and started working on something else.
- The name Zack comes from Kevin’s friend Zak Knutson, who played the Sexy Stud in Clerks 2. He also filmed the Behind the Scenes footage for Clerks 2 and Zack and Miri and the Sold Out: A Threevening With Kevin Smith documentary through his company, Chop Shop Entertainment.
- The name Miri comes from Jen Schwalbach’s friend Miri.
- There is a part of the film dedicated to making Star Whores, a porn parody of Star Wars. Smith did not get clearance from George Lucas and made a point that Zack refers to it as a parody in the film to cover his ass.
- Yes, Jason Mewes does have a scene of full frontal nudity. And yes, Kevin does have a great story regarding it. And no, I will not tell it because I could tell Kevin loves telling this story and he will definitely make a point to tell it at any upcoming Q and A’s. I will say this though; the usually brazen Mewes was hesitant to doing the nude scene because he had recently gotten engaged. She agreed so he disrobed.
- He chose Pittsburgh because he wanted to leave Jersey along with the View Askewniverse. Plus, it’s the last place in the world anyone would make porn.
- Kevin’s iPod was his music supervisor. He originally wanted to use the song “Maps†� by the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’s but they declined because they felt the song had been overplayed and they wanted to move past it. He replaced it with an unreleased song from Live, called Hold Me Up†�, that he had wanted in Mallrats but they declined since they wanted it as their next single. They never released the song and to this day it has not been released, but it’s now in the film. It will not be on the soundtrack.
- The film is essentially about Kevin making Clerks†¦but with porn.
- Rogen convinced him to cast porn actors in some of the roles because they would be comfortable with the nudity and could bring some experience to the set.
- Kevin found Katie Morgan while watching porn on Youtube. He was watching clips from adult films but was looking for the acting in scenes between the sex. Since Youtube only shows clinical nudity, he was watching the pre-fuck scenes and thought Katie Morgan was a great actress.
- Kevin steals a lot of the conversations from real life and puts them in his films. One of my favorite scenes in Zack and Miri is a discussion of sex toys you can buy on Amazon that Kevin said he had with his wife one night.
- Justin Long’s deep voice in this film was not an original choice. Long had a cold causing him to sound congested but he played it up and turned it into a “porno voice†�
- He does not understand the controversy surrounding the title and why people think it is a porn film. What is the last porno you heard of with the word porno in the title?
- Would rather release films without controversy. He thinks Dogma would have done better without people picketing and thinks the negative press against the title and baning of the posters does not help the film.
- He does not believe in Unrated Versions of movies. The version going in theaters is the version he intended. Don’t expect a Director’s Cut DVD but there will be plenty of deleted scenes in the special features that were deleted for other reasons.
– Many of you already know that Smith faced many problems in securing an R-rating for the film. He first needed to accept an NC-17 rating and then take it to appeals. The two main problems the MPAA had with the film was one quick shot that I will not ruin but many sites are reporting as the “NC-17 shot†� and the other complaint was the amount of thrusting in one sex scene. In his defense, Kevin brought 2 arguments. The first is the “tug one out†� argument. He said that if this was the early 80’s and he was a 13-year-old boy watching this film on his father’s Betamax, sure he would “tug one out.†� However, nowadays porn is easily accessible online and there are much more erotic films that no kid would “tug one out†� while watching this movie. His other defense referred to the “NC-17†� shot and his argument was comparing it to something shown a stunt done in Jackass and then explaining how Jackass was worse since it is basically a documentary. The rating was overturned and he got his R. His very hard R.

Kevin on Filmmaking, Life and Other Randomness
- He has “porked the fuck up.†� He has gained about 75 pounds since beginning production. He wasn’t on camera in the film so he figured it was ok to let himself go. After completing the film, he discovered a newfound love for smoking weed after toking up with Seth Rogen. He blames most of his weight gain on doing nothing but smoking, eating and watching TV for the last 5 or so months.
- The TV he is watching is a 103 inch television given to him by Panasonic. It is about 2 ft from the end of his bed. He likes to interact with the TV. He puts on the Blu-Ray of Live Free Or Die Hard and pauses it when on screen so he can compare his weight gain from then to now.
- Kevin has seen Watchmen twice. It is an amazing film that truly does the graphic novel justice. “You won’t be disappointed.†�
- Someone asked him if after taking a shit, does he sit and wipe or stand and wipe. Not only did Kevin answer but he gave a reason followed by a hilarious story. He sits. He has to. (Warning: It gets pretty graphic from here on) When going to the bathroom, he likes to spread his ass cheeks on the side of the seat so that he has a “clear shot.†� He always used to wipe from the front but when his daughter was born, the nurse told him to always wipe front to back so that you don’t get anything in your private area. That was an epiphany moment because he realized that’s why he always had “shit in my ball hair.†� He stole the advice and used it in Jersey Girl. He then went into a story about how he recently went to the bathroom at Lazer Blazer, a DVD store in LA, which now houses Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash West. One night he went to the bathroom duringa poker game and it was an old toilet. It did not have a porcelain base; it was just a bowl jetting out from the wall with no support. After doing his business, he leaned forward to wipe. When doing so, the bowl cracked and he fell slightly forward. The contents of the bowl did not spill out but he could not stand up. His pants were resting around his ankles and he was still on the bowl. He decided to “Lethal Weapon 2 it†� and he counted to 3 and leaped forward. He called Ron, the owner of the store into the bathroom. Ron looked at the mess he created and said, “no one has to know.†� I love how Kevin decided to tell us anyway. And now I’m sharing it with all of you.
- Kevin has never met George Lucas and he actually turned down the opportunity. A while back Ben Affleck had Thanksgiving dinner at Steven Spielberg’s house and George Lucas showed up. On behalf of Kevin, Affleck asked if he had ever heard of Clerks. George Lucas’ response was “Death Star contractors, very funny†� and that was it.
- He writes movies around dick and fart jokes because fucking and pooping are the two things that everyone in the world shares.
- In March or April, he hopes to shoot Red State. It is a “political horror movie†� that is a total 180 from what he is used to and it will be his test to see if he is a real filmmaker. He also expressed some interest in working with Trevor Fehrman (Elias from Clerks 2) possibly in it.
- Sadly, the Clerks cartoon is DEAD. When the Weinstein’s split from Miramax/Disney, the rights to the cartoon didn’t make the leap. This means the long rumored straight to DVD cartoon movie will probably never happen.
- “Fuck film school”
- Go out and “make Clerks because it worked for me.†� First time filmmakers should probably focus on dialogue driven films that are easy to shoot and then just go out an make it.
- Number one thing he learned about being a filmmaker: “Tell the story that you want to tell†�
- He loves to write arguments but does not write them as he would realistically have them. In real life in an argument he would just say, “fuck you†� and walk away. He crafts the arguments “you wish you were having†�
- With Halloween coming up, it made sense for someone to bring up how Silent Bob is a blessing for any fat guy with a beard in need of a Halloween costume. Kevin agreed that it really is a simple costume and that every year at Comic Con, he is approached by “Silent Bob’s†� who just walk up and stare at him.
- He will be in some upcoming episodes of Degrassi but Jason Mewes has more screen time.
- His nickname of Lunchbox comes from him being filled with food. When asked for a deeper meaning, Kevin replied that there is none. He is not clever enough to work on that many levels.
- If he were to direct Aquaman 2 (Entourage reference) there would be a lot of underwater farting. And if people asked him why, he would tell them because Aquaman eats dolphins.

As he was finishing up on the Aquaman question, Kevin quickly thanked us for coming and said he had to go. In somewhat of a rush, he made his way to the exit. This is a little out of character from him since all of the times I had seen him speak before, he would end with a nice wrap-up. He sometimes warns of only a few more questions and leisurely exits as he continually thanks the audience. I was jotting down his remarks to the last question as he said his goodbye. By the time I looked up he was about 10 feet away. I tried to get to him but it was too late. I’m curious as to what caused him to suddenly leave. Perhaps he had to take his “wicked shit†�?

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

We have talked about this already but I just wanted to remind everyone that lives here in St. Louis or the surrounding area that Malcolm McDowell will be in town tonight and tomorrow at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.

Tonight he will be screening ‘A Clockwork Orange’ at 7pm, 10 bucks if you aren’t a student gets you in, 5 bucks if you are a student with an ID gets you in. After the movie he is doing a Q&A, and an autograph signing… don’t miss this! This legendary actor doesn’t do a whole Hell of a lot of appearances, so get out and see him tonight!