- After being held captive by the awesome “Breaking Bad” series on Bluray (seasons 1 and 2 now available, season 3 kicking off this Sunday, and one of the best shows on TV today)…Kevin’s back with some more love for the twitter followers, as well as this hilarious video of the man (looking quite thin these days, we might add) he contributes to the “Night of 140 Tweets” — Stick around to the end. Here’s a few more from the feed:
Via @GothyChainsaw “saw COP OUT. I totally loved it!” This week it’ll be the first film I directed to have a 4 at head of box office gross.Via @AnZsDad “Fantastic episode. Glad to have Scott back. Now to order a Fleshlight” In two weeks: SCOTT’S tale of Fleshlight ribaldry…
If you love(d) Carlin, come see him get blown posthumously @ NY Public Library’s George Carlin tribute event, March 24th. I’m totally going.
Lots more fun as always, direct on the feed – We’re just spotlighting the big news. For all the fun, humor, and random comments, you gotta follow @ThatKevinSmith.
You are at the archive for the Cop Out (FKA "A Couple Of Dicks") category &rarr
The Twitter Report…
- Various tweets from Mr. Smith on various subjects over the past few days, so here’s some catch-up for those of you who need the Cliff’s Notes…
Via @FiendishDrWu “Any chance of Mewescast being resurrected?” He’s shooting two gigs, so no time. But I’ve still got 2 more pods coming…Via @KIRedford “saw #COPOUT but i didnt see Morgan funny “hand-twitch” as mentioned in SMod. Why?” Scene was shortened. Deleted scene now.
Consider for a moment that both Bryan & Walt, and Malcolm & his Mom both saw their podcasts debut at #20 in iTunes. Out of what? 2million?
Via @DaveHarper1888 “DUBLIN shows. WHEN?” We’re looking at Sept/Oct/Nov at the moment. That’d be London, Glasgow, Dublin again, + new stops.
Via @billlehecka “$9.1mil weekend. #CopOut looks profitable. Better: profitable or have critical acclaim?” The former means you work again.
Don’t forget — Kevin exclusively offers a dirt cheap swag item each day via his Twitter feed , but only to the first 37 twitter users who buy it. Then, it’s gone. That, and the daily laughs, are but two of the many reasons you gotta be following @ThatKevinSmith if you’re not already. While you’re at it, don’t forget, @NewsAskew is on there too.
“Cop Out” Box Office: A Major Success!
- Over the weekend, a Twitter fan asked Kevin which was more important: Crticial reviews or box office numbers. Kevin’s response? If you want to continue to work in the biz, the latter is much more important than the former. This weekend, “Cop Out” has us thinking that Mr. Smith will be back behind cameras with another flick in a very short time, considering the film took in another $9,100,000, good enough for 4th place in its second weekend out. It’s now got a total gross of $32,360,000 and will easily be a profitable endeadvor for Warner Brothers.
Congrats to Kevin and all the cast and crew of “Cop Out” for getting the job done. Box office analysts are calling the film a win as well, citing that it’s one of Willis’ best openings in years. This weekend’s numbers also tell us that word of mouth is good, and that audiences are continuining to check out the movie despite some other big releases looking to push it out of the way. With many international releases still on the way, and the eventual DVD/Bluray versions, we’re expecting continued kudos to Kevin, and crossing our fingers for good news on the “Hit Somebody” and “Red State” projects here in 2010. Stick around, it’s gonna get even more interesting around here. More news later today.
Kevin Talks “Cop Out”, SWA To L.A. Times…
- Two new articles taken from a new interview with Kevin are hitting the Los Angeles Times website this week. Another version already appeared in the Friday print edition, but if you missed that, you’ll certainly find these a worthy read. Some clippage and links follow for both. Don’t let the titles fool you, as there’s a lot of stuff about “Cop Out” and “Hit Somebody” as well as the Southwest comments (equally interesting to read now that some distance has come between the incident).
“We all took pay cuts to keep it R-rated, which with me meant I gave up 80% of my salary, but it was worth it,” he says, explaining that, thanks to some tax rebates, the movie cost roughly $37 million to make. He certainly wasn’t worried about his actors having good chemistry, always a key ingredient with a buddy picture. “Tracy just oozes chemistry,” he says with a hearty laugh. “He could have chemistry with a ceramic ashtray. Bruce loved him. He kept calling him kid, even though Tracy’s over 40, so there’s not really that big an age difference. But I think calling him kid meant Bruce liked him.”
Smith insists that he didn’t have any problems communicating with Willis, at least once he realized that Willis wasn’t going to do anything that he felt was out of his comfort zone. Smith illustrates the issue with an unbelievably raunchy metaphor involving a detailed description of oral sex, then teasingly said, “Try and get that into your old-media story.” I asked him if he could offer a PG-13 version of the story.
“Put it this way,” he said. “On the first day of shooting, I started to mess with Bruce, trying to get him to do something crazy, and he took out his gun and went bang — and shot me in the head. His point was pretty obvious. He’s done this part so many times that he knows what works and what doesn’t. He’s the caretaker of the Bruce Willis persona. He’s been a star for 25 years while most of his peers have fallen by the wayside, so he knows what works for his image. Basically, we all tried to make him laugh, figuring if we got Bruce just to smile once we’ve have something to tell our kids about.”
Q: So does that mean we can expect you to do another movie with them?
KS: It was easy this time. I don’t know what it would be like if I went in with something I wrote, or let’s say something I didn’t write but wanted to write. They were talking about “Hit Somebody,” the hockey movie I wanted to make based on the Warren Zevon song. And I said, “I know you like me right now. But I sweat blood for this. If you say you’re committing to it then you’re saying you’re greenlighting this movie.” So we said we’ll talk.
Q: What’s “Hit Somebody” actually about?
KS: It’s not a movie about the NHL. It’s a movie about the game, and it’s a movie about Canada. I look at it and keep describing as what I’m going for as the “Forrest Gump” of hockey movies. Not flat-out funny stuff I’ve always done. It’s a more serious comedy.
Q: If you get that one going, does that preclude you from coming on to direct another studio comedy that already has a script written?
KS: There are about five scripts that Warner Bros. has handed me that they’re interested in. One of them is with Tracy [Morgan]. The romantic in me wants to paint it as a “Platoon”-like battle for one soul, a battle between Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe. But it’ll come down to what happens next. If best-case scenario, I’m shooting “Hit Somebody” by the end of the year, then what am I going to do between now and then? Maybe nothing. Or I can multi-task and spin another plate while waiting for it to come together. And there’s also “Red State” [a dark political drama he's written]. There’s some very interested money that wasn’t interested a week ago, before “Cop Out” came out.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Podcast updates: Kevin issued Bear SModcast (#108) unto the world earlier this week, and tomorrow, the SMODnet gets a third family member. Malcolm Ingram’s new ‘cast hits the airwaves for a regular series, joining Kevin and Scott’s original SModcast and the new Flanagan/Johnson SteveDave series. Rumor has it that Malc’s Mom will join him for the broadcast.
- More “Cop Out” foreign trailer fun: This one was dubbed in Quebec a few days ago for French-Canadian audiences. Fun facts: The French version of the movie was released at exactly the same time as the original version. Bruce Willis always has the same guy doing his voice for French-lanauges as well. The title in French (“Flics en service”) literally means “Cops on Duty”.
- While we’re on the fun facts, take a look at this image, clipped from a Newsweek article on indecency complaints filed with the FCC last year. It reveals that, for the year, “Zack & Miri” ranked at #22 for their horribly “offensive” promos that aired on cable. Interesting, though looking at some of the other entries (“Nip/Tuck”, “Girls Gone Wild”, and various MTV programs) is just as fascinating.
- It goes without saying, but we’d love for you to head on out to see “Cop Out” this week or weekend, be it for the first time or for a repeated viewing. If your theaters were anything like ours, you missed some good jokes due to the audience laughter anyway. See it again on the big screen — Support Kev’s work and this wonderful cast. See ya next time…
“Cop Out” Scores 2nd & $18,600,000!
- Excellent word of mouth from folks who say “Cop Out” gave the flick a very nice uptick in ticket sales on Saturday, which helped the film score a very respectable $18,600,000 box office take for the weekend, coming in just a bit behind “Shutter Island”. Variety calls this a “solid” opening weekend:
Frame’s wide releases, Warner Bros.’ buddy comedy “Cop Out,” starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, as well as Overture’s horror-thriller pic “The Crazies,” turned in solid estimates with $18.6 million and $16.5 million, respectively.Kevin also mentions that the WB was very pleased with the weekend’s take, especially the rise in ticket sales on Saturday, which is always an excellent sign that a movie was well-received:
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Thanks for all the well-wishes. Got called by happy WB big guns. 35% spike on Saturday means good things. Thanks for the support! #CopOut
Let’s hope one of those “good things” is a chance for “Hit Somebody” to become a reality with the WB. Of course, competition always gets tougher when new movies hit theaters next weekend, but that doesn’t mean you can’t see the film again, or spread the word to your friends and co-workers this week. When you’re having trouble getting into work mode on Monday, let folks know you saw “Cop Out” and that it’s hilarious. Let’s just see if we can’t rake in a few more bucks. If bad weather kept you indoors over the weekend, treat yourself to a movie this week as a reward to yourself for all that digging. “Cop Out” is now playing all over the place.
“Cop Out”: Weekend Box Office, Reviews & Commentary…
- Here’s the best thing about “Cop Out” – It’s a movie that, from the first day a frame of film was shot, knew what it was going to be. Kevin set out to make an 80’s style throwback popcorn movie, a tribute to that genre, and he’s come through in spades. While some folks have pointed out that some critics just didn’t get what the movie was trying to be, fans have spoken out with a comfortable #2 weekend box office bow, just behind “Shutter Island”. Fan scores and reviews continue to be highly positive (the film is enjoying a “Fresh” community rating among moveigoers at Rotten Tomatoes). And, best of all, both Warner Bros. and Kevin himself are pleased with the results from this weekend.
Kevin spent some time on Twitter yesterday to talk directly with fans who dug the film. We won’t list all those tweets here, for that you can visit his Twitter directly, but here’s some of the some significant from the day:Hey! Thanks, all, for braving the elements and peeping #COPOUT last night. Best opening of my career! Means a lot to the whole COP OUT crew.
Via @bLouMagic “I wanna see Cop Out but I’m snowed in.” Saturday’s good, too. Sunday as well. If not, then next week. Peep it if you can.
Via @Svayvan “I feel obligated to see Cop Out because of all the free smod” I like the way SNrub thinks! #COPOUT
Via @proudcanadianer “number of sources saying 20mill for #copout congrats buddy!” With that weather back east, I’m just hoping for $18mil.
Via @amadcow2 “loved Cop Out, great cast, great pacing, & really really funny.” Thanks! Getting this from vast majority of you, & I love it!
Via @TobysKat “just watched CopOut gonna go see it again. I laughed so hard, so did the entire audience!” Excellent to hear. WB & I thank u.
Via @markhoward “Saw #Copout last night in Northern NJ crowded house even with the snow. Really liked the flick, good job” JERSEY REPRESENT!
Via @dvdmike “are you and the studio happy with the numbers on #copout ” I can’t speak for the studio, but I will: it’s all happy emails.
Many of the more critical reviews for “Cop Out” seemed to be reviewing Kevin himself rather than the film’s content, which struck us as quite strange. That being said, we wanted to point out some major venues that dug the movie and share some links and clippage for ya:
“Kevin Smith’s lowbrow buddy-cop comedy is ridiculous fun.”
“‘Cop Out” is foul-mouthed, puerile, crude, haphazard, superficial, silly and funny a lot of the time.
Of course it is. It’s supposed to be that way.
That’s why the producers hired indie wisenheimer, director Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Chasing Amy,” “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”) to helm what would otherwise be a standard black-and-white, buddy-cop flick.
Smith certainly does his thing here, delivering a film that’s part celebration and part parody of the well-worn genre.”
“”Cop Out” is a silly waste of time. In other words, it’s just what we need right now. An outrageously smutty comedy that riffs on cop movie clichés even as it uses them to anchor its loopy plot, it’s got automatic weapons, Tracy Morgan in overdrive and Bruce Willis rolling his eyes in a way that says, “I’m surrounded by crazy people.”
PLEASE do go see “Cop Out” today, for the first time, or go at it again with some new friends…And if your schedule allows, do yourself a favor and watch some of the best hockey ever played today at 3 PM EST, when the USA takes on Canada for the gold medal! The last match was insane, this one’s shaping up to be even crazier. Must see TV.
Mr. Smith Talks to “Wired”…
“Oh, I’m online all the time now. I’m not an outdoorsy type. Everything I do that’s not related to filmmaking or child-rearing or trying to fuck my wife is online. The medium of Twitter is built for me. I recently did a 24-hour tweetathon, and people asked me how I did it. I said, “The only difference between this and my normal regimen is that I let you know I was doing it.” I have 1.6 million followers—this army of people who think like me. There aren’t enough of us to invade a whole country, but we could probably take Quebec.”
This smaller piece is followed up with a much larger interview with Wired that again takes a tech slant, but covers the span of his career. It uses some of the same material from the previous interview but is a lot more detailed. That’s the one we’d recommend if you’re choosing:
“…If nobody gave me another dollar to make I movie, I’d probably finance it myself if I were passionate. But I’ve done it enough. So long, and thanks for all the fish. Zack and Miri really took box office away from me. If A Couple Of Dicks came out and made $30 million I wouldn’t care. I can’t tell you how miserable it was to be the guy who made Mallrats. But now there are kids who come up to me that are 15 who tell me how much they loved Mallrats. He was some bastard’s dirty urge when the film came out, and now he’s watching my flicks and relating to them.
My entire career I owe to the Internet. I owe Harvey Weinstein for the money to make Clerks and Universal for Mallrats. After that, I had to rebuild everything that I had. The rest I owe to the good fucking people of the Internet.”
View Askew NewsBites™
- The German premiere of “Cop Out” happens in April, and the official trailer in the German language is now available. It’s a fun watch. We hear that the Willis voiceover is the same dude who always provides his voice in German language versions, though Tracy Morgan’s voice seems a little…well, it’s an odd choice, anyway. Definitely worth a click over to see what the Germans will hear in April — The voice dubbing never gets old to us.
- If only parents would have taught this kid to fear and respect that escalator . Sad story, though — The kid wanted to be a hockey player. Bummer. Keep your kids safe on those escalators, folks. Listen to Brodie.
- If anyone’s got audio from Kevin’s call-in to Friday’s Opie & Anthony radio show, drop us a line — The call caught us off guard and we didn’t get to hear it. He was calling in to promote “Cop Out”.
- We enjoyed scooper Kat’s defacing of the dollar bill and wanted to share her work with you. Nice job, Kat.
- Update’s over, time for you to go out and see “Cop Out”! Go go go…
See “Cop Out” This Weekend – And Bring Friends. NOW PLAYING!
- It’s Friday, Februrary 26th, and we can now all enjoy “Cop Out” in theaters here in North America! So, let’s do some quick math — Kevin’s got 1.6 million twitter followers. At an average of 10 bucks a ticket, if all those loyal followers head out to the theater to support his flick, that should be 16 million this weekend, right? Let’s do it even BETTER by bringing along some friends, too. If you’re up for a fun time at the theater this weekend, bring your friends, family, and significant others…They’ll get to see one of the biggest movie stars in the world, as crafted together by your favorite director in the world. It’s a win-win for all.
Ads are continuing to run for “Cop Out” up to the wire (on Thursday night prime-time network programming as we write this) and hopefully throughout the weekend to keep awareness high. We’re assuming a large general audience penetration for this one, given the starpower and the amount of , it’s promotion Warner Brothers has put into this one. At this point, it’s on YOU. So get into that movie theater, dear readers.
Wanna pass on some “Cop Out” love via YouTube to help speed Friday along in the office? YouTube shares this new quick featurette that gives newbies a taste of what it’s all about. See you in the theaters, folks.
