- This just in! Our pal Will Wilkins comes through again with another great MP3 audio capture of a recent surprise Smith appearance - Kevin called into the Opie & Anthony show to chat with the guys earlier this week. Due to a slow connection at work today, we’ve yet to listen to the audio, but will be soon - So we can’t for sure say what’s discussed and newsworthy, but we’ll be back with a full report of any breaking news from inside this audio clip. ‘Til then, listen for yourself and enjoy.
- Several View Askew references appear in Entertainment Weekly’s gallery of “Perfect Casting: 23 Stars as Themselves”. Surf through the gallery to find Stan Lee’s turn in “Mallrats” and of course, the unforgettable appearance of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”. The entire gallery’s great, and well worth your time to click through.
You are at the archive for the Mallrats category &rarr
View Askew NewsBites™
- Catch Brian O’Hallorn and the entire cast of his upcoming horror comedy “Brutal Massacre”, next week at “Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors”, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The discussion panel will take place on Saturday, April 26th at 2:15pm PT, with all the headliners, including our pal Brian along with other genre greats such as David Naughton, Ken Foree, and Gunnar Hansen. Of particular interest, Gerry Bednob, who Kevin has confirmed has a small three-scene role in “Zack And Miri Make a Porno”, will also be on the panel.
- Speaking of Dante, the character gets a brief shout-out in the blurb for an upcoming Fantastic Four comic title at IGN.
- And finally today, mark your calendars if you’re near Minneapolis. The classic “Mallrats” will screen at The Uptown Theater as part of their midnight movie series on May 17th. You saw how much fun the last screening of the film was in a recent update, so be sure and check out the film with a great crowd if you’re in the area. “Mallrats” remains one of the best View Askew films to watch with a midnight crowd. In fact, when there’s another Vulgarthon, we’re secretly hoping it might get dusted off for one of the slots. See ya next time!
Reports: Major “Mallrats” Event In Nashville!
“…I wanted to thank you for mentioning an event a few weeks back that was in my neck of the woods this past weekend, the midnight screenings of Mallrats at the Belcourt Theater. You certainly prevented me from feeling like Brodie when he found out that Stan Lee was signing comics at his mall and he knew nothing about it.
The theater went all out and you could tell that the staff were huge fans. With each admission, you got to have your picture taken with the Easter bunny. They have a full bar, so they had a drink special called the Kryptonite Condom and of course sold chocolate-covered pretzels. I’ve attached some pics from the event and you can see my Bunny experience here:
You can see the all the Bunny pics here:
This guy got into the spirit of things way too much….
Anyhow, it was a great night and an opportunity to see this often overlooked gem on the big screen. Thanks for the heads up on it via your site.”
“…I attended the Saturday midnight screening of Mallrats in Nashville, which was phenomenal. Their drink special was a “Kryptonite Condom”, and they also sold chocolate-covered pretzels. I won a Mallrats poster for wearing Brodie’s shirt, and everyone got their picture taken with the Easter Bunny. I highly suggest seeing Mallrats with an audience. Keep up the great site, guys.”
Does that seem like a blast, or what? View Askew audiences are the best. Don’t miss your chance to join the party at the next screening near you. We’ll let you know, as we usually hear of them first.
MALLRATS Screening @ Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, TN
- The Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, TN will be showing Mallrats on April 11th and 12th at Midnight. More details can be found at the Belcourt site. Mallrats is one of the best View Askew flicks to see with a crowd of fans, so if you’re in the area, do NOT miss this chance!
View Askew NewsBites™
- As we mentioned last update, here’s the actual scan from Empire Magazine where “Chasing Amy” is mentioned among the best “get you laid” flicks. Click and enjoy.
- Ever wonder what “Clerks” might have looked like as a horror flick? A cool contest being held over at our favorite horror genre site, “Bloody-Disgusting”, asked their users to turn movie posters from non-horror into horror. The results are great, including one reader’s take on “Clerks” (see scan above). You can view the entire crop of entries over at their site.
- The website “Monsters & Critics” reports that View Askew alum hottie Shannon Elizabeth will be one of the newest celebrities to take on the challenge of “Dancing with the Stars”. Shannon will appear as part of season six of the program, which returns to ABC on Monday, March 17th. Shannon is also an avid poker player. We wish her the very best of luck.
- Composer Ira Newborn talks briefly about working on “Mallrats” with Kevin in this new interview from “The Den of Geek”:
Moving more recently, how was working with Kevin Smith? He seems to be a very big fan of your work?Working with Kevin was very nice. He did seem to appreciate my previous work and he did seem to like what I wrote for him for Mallrats.
I’ve read an interview when you seemed to really appreciate that level of detail Kevin went in to regarding your work. Do you find that most directors don’t have that level of respect or understanding for the scoring process?
Most directors don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground about music. If they’re regular guys and somewhat modest people who are interested in having a fruitful relationship with the composer, they don’t puff themselves up and they speak frankly with their composer, who is almost always ready to bend over backwards to help them get what they want and need… just like an intelligent homeowner who wants to get a great paint job and listens to the expert painter that he hires.
View Askew NewsBites™
- HEADS-UP: Kevin’s Bergan County Q&A date is going to be changing. We don’t have a new date to announce at this point, but we DO want to let you know it’s coming soon, this week. The appearance is not being cancelled, just moved.
- It’s a small mention, so we’re not running a scan, but writer Diablo Cody (”Juno”) makes reference to a hilarious Affleck line from the great “Mallrats” in her back page column for the mid-month issue of “Entertainment Weekly”, while discussing a rumored “New Kids on the Block” reunion:
“In the movie Mallrats, Ben Affleck famously (rhetorically?) asks, ‘Who’s your favorite New Kid?’ while atop a schoolgirl. This surprisingly profound question begs the inevitable Beatles analogy.” - More love from the folks at Film-411 today: Jay & Silent Bob show up as #32 in their list of all-time greatest movie characters, along with a detailed write-up and a clip.
- As promised, here’s a German-to-English translation of that Jersey Girl scan from the last edition of NewsBites, for the curious:
NEW: Jersey Girl
Arrogant Yuppie finds his way back into the simple, real life.
Charming, tragic comedy with Ben AffleckCritics bashed this Kevin Smith movie really hard, although it is a pleasant watch until the happy end.
PICK OF THE DAY: Charmingly sympathetic
The Ben Affleck Info-Box says:
Arrogant and rude
A Producer denied Affleck the leading role in Smiths Mallrats. The director gave his friend a supporting role, and after Ben’s Oscar win for “Good Will Hunting”, even leading roles. (Chasing Amy, Dogma) In 2007, Affleck made a critically acclaimed directorial debut with “Gone Baby Gone”. Right now he is filming with Russell Crowe the Remake of the BBC Movie “State of Play”.
- Seems that Netflix is recommending the recent film “F*ck” to folks who love Kevin Smith movies, according to this scan from their site. Check it out.
- And finally today, we can’t go by this update without mentioning our sadness on the passing of actor Roy Scheider, best known for his work in “Jaws”, a favorite film of Kevin’s where his character’s name (Chief Brody) was inspiration for our favorite dude in “Mallrats”. Our condolences to all his friends and family.
View Askew NewsBites™
- JoBlo also reports that striking WGA writers will be allowed to work for the Weinstein Company’s films due to a recently struck deal. Good deal for them, for certain — While the film industry hasn’t quite yet felt the sting of the strike, it will be in the near future.
- In other JoBlo news, Episode #142 of their “The Bottom Shelf” column, dedicated to DVDs you may have missed, cites both “Vulgar” and “Now You Know” as two discs worth checking out.
- We’re told that you’ll find a Mallrats poster in the background of Episode #42 of Black 20’s “net_work” web program. The episode is titled “Rockin’ Eve” — The show’s pretty amusing, to boot. Each segment runs just 5 minutes and makes for a quick dose of the funny when ya need it.
- Finally today, wanna OWN a flying car? Only on
View Askew NewsBites™
- For those of you who were looking for new SModcast today, and not finding it, here’s Kevin with the why:
Mos was at a Steelers game all day, and I was out Christmas shopping with Jen, so no new SMod tonight. Earliest you can have it is tomorrow night (we’re scouting all morning).Sorry.
‘Tis that time of the year, and we can relate. We’ll of course keep an eye on SModcast, and let you know if an episode does drop this week. If not, we’re pretty certain the guys will have things set up for next Monday (with two full weeks of great stuff to chat up). Stay tuned. - Both Clerks and Mallrats make the ReelzChannel list of films related to shopping , part of their holiday feature:
9. ClerksSure, the clients here are shopping for snacks, gum and cancer sticks, but still shopping nevertheless. And if you have really crappy parents, they just might go to the Quick Stop to fill your stockings.
6. Mallrats
Kevin Smith clearly has a thing for shopping as he graces our list for a second time with this cultish little mall-based movie from the mid-90’s. Jason Lee and Jason London troll the malls discussing everything from relationships to comic books and even new and exciting uses for chocolate covered pretzels.
- Screenwriter Michael Wilson has great kudos and comments towards Kevin in his latest blog entry, where he announces his next project and names Kevin as his inspiration for it all. We’re looking forward to seeing what he’s got planned.
- Finally today, a couple more scans from the Wizard movie ish - Kyle Newman, the director of “Fanboys”, shares with us information that Kevin and Jay’s appearance in the film may be too “R-rated” to make the PG-13 cut of the film that’s planned. The full footage will be on the DVD. He also shares with us a blessed vision of Kristen Bell in the slave Leia costume. Wowza! Click the scans for a closer look at the article (and Kristen).
View Askew NewsBites™
- Today’s edition of News Askew comes to you LIVE from downtown Pittsburgh, PA! Coincidentally, one of us had to head out here for the day job, NOT related to Zack & Miri — Still, it’s cool to be in the city soon to be home to the latest View Askew opus…
- Diamond Previews reveals what looks to be 2 new Clerks II tee designs , one titled “Disco Dancing” and the sure to be controversial “Goodbye Horses”. We’ll let you know as soon as stock arrives at the Stash, of course.
- Kevin was mentioned by ESPN’s Bill Simmons today via their website, citing that he’d love to do a podcast with him. Here’s how the transcript looks:
Matthew (Columbus,OH): Hey Bill are you a fan of Kevin Smith? He just announced his new movie will star Seth Rogen (quickly becoming a huge comedy star) and Elizabeth Banks (a very underrated and good looking actress). The best part is the title “Zach and Miri Make a Porno.” Can this movie go wrong?Bill Simmons: (3:36 PM ET ) On paper, I like everything in that paragraph. I do like Kevin Smith - his movies always have just enough going on in them that you never feel like you wasted 90 minutes of your life. He’s on my short list of “Podcast Guests I want To Get,” along with Larry David and Hank Steinbrenner.
- If you haven’t checked out the new Futurama DVD release, “Bender’s Big Score”, it’s well worth the watch, especially for fans. This is a true feature, and not just strung together episodes. Why the mention, you might ask? Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back’s Mark Hamill lends a voice during the film’s Christmas battle sequence. An instant, epic classic. We’re already looking forward to the next disc.
- An interesting “Die Hard” tidbit - The extras on the newly released disc actually reveal that the appearance of Kevin’s name in the opening credits, where letters fade in gradually to form star names, intentionally appears as “S ITH” for a brief moment as a tribute to his love for the 3rd installment in the new trilogy.
- Mallrats is briefly named dropped in the “Letters” area of the latest issue of Wizard when discussing sex and The Fantastic Four. Kevin’s mention of The Thing in ‘Rats is used as an example in the editor’s reply.
- What’s Kevin’s famous Tonight Show “The Flying Car” sound like when done by different actors…and in another dialect? Check out this YouTube video of “The Nasol Show - Episode 3″ for the answer.
- And finally today, anyone notice the similarity to the beloved Buddy Christ in the DVD cover pose of “The Best Of The Colbert Report”? We’re just sayin’…See ya next time.
Graves Interview: Flav of “Squirtgun”…
- While at first glance you may be thinking “Huh?”, the song “Social” from the band Sqirtgun is quite possibly one of the most memorable in the View Askew tune catalog — This track ran over those brilliant custom comic book covers during the Mallrats opening title sequence, blaring. Flav Giorgini was the guitarist and co-singer of the band, with his brother Mass, for the punk rock band Squirtgun. Flav also earned a PhD degree in molecular genetics, as well as starting guitarpunk.com and the GPC guitar company, designing original guitars for various bands including Alkaline Trio, Screeching Weasel, the Queers, Allister, and many others.
Our man with the questions, Chris Graves, got some answers from Flav himself, who has been a fan and a friend of News Askew for years:
AN INTERVIEW WITH FLAV GIORGINI (FROM THE BAND “SQUIRTGUN”)
BY CHRIS GRAVESChris Graves: What is your background and how was Squirtgun first formed?
Flav Giorgini: All of the Squirtgun gang (Mass Giorgini, Flav Giorgini, Dan Lumley, Matt Hart) were born in Indiana…with Mass, Flav, and Dan from Lafayette, and Matt from Evansville. We all started playing in bands in the mid 1980s; Matt had a series of bands in Evansville and Muncie, the best known of which was F.0.N. (Freaks of Nature). Mass, Dan, and I were in the band Rattail Grenadier from 1984-1993. In 1993 we decided that we needed a change, and we recruited Matt to sing for us, and we named the band Squirtgun.
CG: The band’s song Social was featured during the beginning credits of Mallrats. What was the song about and did it have a music video back in the day?
FG: “Social” is basically about being yourself, and not following the crowd just because it’s the trendy thing to do…which I feel is the basic theme to real punk rock. We never did a video for “Social”, though Kevin Smith was considering it for a while, and at the last minute he changed his mind and did a video for the Goops instead (”Build Me Up Buttercup”). “Social” was used, however, in the promotional trailers for Mallrats, in addition to the opening credits, and the soundtrack album.
CG: How did the band get involved with Mallrats and it’s soundtrack?
FG: We heard from Green Day’s manager at the time that Kevin Smith was looking for songs for his new movie (Mallrats), and so we submitted “Social” to him. When he heard the song he thought it fit perfectly with the theme of the movie, and decided to have it as the opening song.
CG: Can you talk about Squirtgun’s connection to Green Day?
FG: We initially knew Green Day through their connection with Lookout! Records, which was our record label at the time. My brother Mass (who is a well known punk rock producer) had had some contact with them regarding a recording session prior to their signing with Reprise, which never materialized. Mass had some more contact with them when Mike Dirnt played bass for the Screeching Weasel record “How To Make Enemies” which Mass produced. Mike also contribued guest vocals to our song “Make It Up” on our first record. Mass also did a bit of production work with Billy Joe (Armstrong) in the late 90s. We crossed paths with them several times over the years, and they were also very supportive and cool.
CG: Is being a part of a cult movie like Mallrats something you’re proud of? What were your thoughts of the movie?
FG: We are very proud of our involvement with Mallrats…it’s especially cool because it’s become a cult classic. At the time, it was a bit of a disappointment because it did horribly at the box office, and the critics hated it. I have to admit that at the first viewing, I felt a bit let down, and didn’t think it was as good at Clerks. However, after a couple of additional viewings, it really grew on me, and I realized it was hilarious. I really feel that it’s a classic now…
CG: Do you have a favorite View Askew/Kevin Smith film (Mallrats excluded)?
FG: That’s a tough question, because I love a lot of Kevin’s movies. I guess I would have to go with three: 1. Clerks, 2. Dogma, and 3. Chasing Amy.
CG: What is the current status of Squirtgun? Did the band regroup for a charity event recently?
FG: We haven’t split, but we are definitely on the back burner for now. We regrouped about a year ago to do a charity event for a friend of my brother’s that needed surgery and didn’t have medical insurance. We have slowly been getting a new album’s worth of material together, which we hope to eventually release. We are thinking about doing some shows in the Spring of 2008. We’ll see! Musically, I’ve been busy doing solo acoustic punk shows, and also playing with my new band Sinister ‘66.
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