Kevin Smith’s Banned-in-the-US ‘Porno’ Poster: Exclusive first look!

You know what’s so special about this, the first poster for Kevin Smith’s new flick, Zack and Miri Make a Porno (due out October 31st)? It’s not that the one-sheet drops just before the movie’s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival (which it does), or that Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks look so surprised, or that the chocolate-mint color scheme is making me a little hungry for Friendly’s. No, it’s that you’ll only see this poster in Canada.

Even after winning an appeal to overturn Porno’s NC-17 rating, Smith says the MPAA won’t give their blessing to the image shown here�which is eyes-only for our neighbors to the north. “When you’ve got the word ‘porno’ in the title, naturally, the marketing materials are gonna be scrutinized more closely by the MPAA,” says the director. “I understand they’ve got a job to do, but c’mon…this image isn’t that dirty; they’re both fully clad.”

We can just add this to the long list of things we have Canada to thank for, like William Shatner, Michael J. Fox, and the fittingly monikered Peter North. “I’ve always loved Canada and Canadians for giving us hockey,” says Smith. “Now, I love ‘em just a little bit more. For allowing tufts of hair.”

We don’t really get it, either, though hey, it’s a minor loss and maybe just a nice final jab from the MPAA, who kindly left the film intact after an appeal, so we say THANKS to them for that. Of course we could all play the game of finding more offensive posters, but hey, we’re sure they’ll come up with a suitable US replacement. You can bet these will sell online for a decent amount now, so scoop ‘em up — Perhaps the Stash can even find a way to sell some signed ones, as well? Sign us up.

We’ve got a few more shots from the Zack & Miri panel and behind the scenes at the San Diego con, as well as the final batch from the great Stash West “Spaced” signing that we found as a bonus, sitting in the wrong inbox! But of course we’ll just say we MEANT to do that.

As always, click the minis and you’ll get the biggies. And my are they ever glorious. Enjoy, and special thanks to our photographers for their generous contributions.

“We always have a standby line for ticketed special events such as this one. The policy is you have to be present at the theater one hour before showtime (though people sometimes start lining up earlier) to have your name added to the standby list. The list is first-come, first-served, no guarantees. JBFC members are always given priority on the list over non-members.”

So there you have it. How bad do you want in?

In other screening news, Kevin confirms that the Hollywood premiere will be at Grauman’s on October 20th.

More ink on the Woodstock announcement yesterday comes from USA Today as well as Variety. Still no official time or venue for the “Zack and Miri” screening at that festival, but Keivn does also confirm the flick WILL be there, and we’ve heard it’ll close the festival. So, sometime on October 5th. More details as we get them, along with another full post summarizing all the screenings will be in the next update. Now we just need to find a venue in Pennsylvania to host one of these screenings, dang it!

…”You’re not allowed to bring in clips — but you can cite precedent,” Smith started to explain during a not-long-ago MTV stop.

As far as the sex stuff goes, one of the bones of contention involved a scene that the Motion Picture Association of America, the ratings board in question, said had much too much “thrusting” and was “gratuitous.” And so our Freedom Fighter stepped up his game, and took to referring to Taking Lives, a movie starring Ethan Hawke (during his Uma days) and the aforementioned Jolie (during her Billy Bob phase).

“There’s a sex scene where they f—on a dresser,” Smith recalled, like the erudite student of film that he is. One that is “insanely titillating” and, um, “looks real.”

Some tidbits from the press release:

“I can’t imagine a single person in the entertainment industry who embodies the spirit of the Woodstock Mavericks more than Kevin Smith” said John Sloss, head of Cinetic Media, member of the Woodstock Film Festival Advisory Board and a long time colleague of Mr. Smith. “From “Clerks” to “Dogma” to the upcoming “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” he has tweaked the noses of the Establishment and expanded the bounds of propriety in a singularly brilliant and irreverent way. More remarkably, all the while imbuing his work with an uncommon humanism, a quality also historically attributed to the Woodstock community.”

…

“Woodstock embodies the Maverick spirit as a symbol of creative, risk-taking, independent thought,” said Meira Blaustein, WFF Executive Director and Co-Founder. “This year’s honorary Maverick Award recipient, Kevin Smith, personifies all of these qualities. His films perceptively pursue humanity with a satiric and fiercely independent eye. He’s an outstanding choice for this award.”


“I don’t know about the ‘Maverick’ part, but I’m delighted to be getting an award from Woodstock, as I’ve been a Peanuts fan for years,” Smith said. “Truly, it’s an honor.”

Find more info on the festival, which runs from October 1-5, at their official site. The date the award will be presented, in person, to Kevin has not yet been disclosed. However, our press release states that “Zack And Miri Make a Porno” will CLOSE the festival, which has us guessing Kevin may be there on the 5th at the very least to screen the film. Catch the full press release HERE. Congratulations to Kevin on another well-deserved honor.

Just a correction we wanted to note as well – While Mr. Ortega has forwarded us all the photos, and this week’s offerings have been by way of his camera, the bulk of the shots we hosted last week were shot by his colleague, Austin Gorum – We’d like to give a big round of thanks and applause to Austin for being kind enough to offer up these shots as well, in addition to the Albert Ortega shots featured above and yesterday. Much thanks, fellas.

Some tidbits from the press release:

“I can’t imagine a single person in the entertainment industry who embodies the spirit of the Woodstock Mavericks more than Kevin Smith” said John Sloss, head of Cinetic Media, member of the Woodstock Film Festival Advisory Board and a long time colleague of Mr. Smith. “From “Clerks” to “Dogma” to the upcoming “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” he has tweaked the noses of the Establishment and expanded the bounds of propriety in a singularly brilliant and irreverent way. More remarkably, all the while imbuing his work with an uncommon humanism, a quality also historically attributed to the Woodstock community.”

…

“Woodstock embodies the Maverick spirit as a symbol of creative, risk-taking, independent thought,” said Meira Blaustein, WFF Executive Director and Co-Founder. “This year’s honorary Maverick Award recipient, Kevin Smith, personifies all of these qualities. His films perceptively pursue humanity with a satiric and fiercely independent eye. He’s an outstanding choice for this award.”


“I don’t know about the ‘Maverick’ part, but I’m delighted to be getting an award from Woodstock, as I’ve been a Peanuts fan for years,” Smith said. “Truly, it’s an honor.”

Find more info on the festival, which runs from October 1-5, at their official site. The date the award will be presented, in person, to Kevin has not yet been disclosed. However, our press release states that “Zack And Miri Make a Porno” will CLOSE the festival, which has us guessing Kevin may be there on the 5th at the very least to screen the film. Catch the full press release HERE. Congratulations to Kevin on another well-deserved honor.

“Zack and Miri Make a Porno” (Oct. 31)

Seth Rogen shifts gears from Judd Apatow to Kevin Smith in the indie icon’s latest raunchy comedy. Rogen stars as Zack (Rogen) who reevaluates his long-time platonic friendship with Miri (Elizabeth Banks) after they decide to make an adult film to earn money. Count on Smith, who won an appeal to lower the NC-17 rating to R, to embrace the dirty stuff while finding the heart within. Plus, Traci Lords plays a character named Bubbles. Nice.

Curiosity level: 7

UPDATE: This trailer is the one and only, folks, and it’s R-rated, meaning NOT SAFE FOR WORK! At least, watch it on mute if you’re in the office today. Pay no attention to the title calling it a teaser, as this is THE trailer.

The long wait is over folks! Here it is — The official R-rated trailer for “Zack And Miri Make a Porno”! Don’t let the date on the link contained here throw ya off, just click in and enjoy this awesome exclusive.

This trailer marks the first footage from the actual film seen ANYWHERE, and will hopefully whet your appetites as the march towards October 31st begins.

Click above for some stills we grabbed and watch away. We’ll be back with more commentary and info shortly after we take it all in ourselves.

UPDATE: Some screen grabs above, just a few. The trailer hits all the right notes, especially coming from our point of view as an audience who’s stayed spoiler free on this one. TV spots will obviously be a lot less graphic than this, but there’s some great gags here already. Knowing Kevin’s ability to rapid-fire the jokes, these just scratch the surface. And one line delivery from Craig Robinson about halfway through gets funnier every time we hear it. A perfect cast that we can’t wait to spend 1:40 with in theaters. Hopefully soon we’ll have access to an HD quality Quicktime of this and enjoy the jokes over and over, ’til then, watch the exclusive streaming copy courtesy of IGN.

• SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 – UNOFFICIAL WORLD PREMIERE AT TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL – This showing was added after we first announced the September 9th showing, and is at a different venue. Kevin will be in attendance though no other cast and crew have been confirmed. Showing at 9:15 PM on a Sunday night though, at the Ryerson Theater, we have a feeling this one might attract some big names. We see no way to buy tickets online for this particular event, though you could always call the box office this week and ask.
• TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 – TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL SCREENING – This event takes place at the Visa Screening Room in Toronto and is in the afternoon, 3:00 PM to be exact. We’re sure Kevin will show to introduce the film, though have not confirmed any other guests. We’re betting the Sunday showing MIGHT have a few more “names” in the room, but you never know. As of presstime, the TIFF website still has tickets on sale for this showing.
• THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 – FANTASTIC FEST OPENING FILM – The film will kick off Fantastic Fest 2008 in Austin, Texas. Kevin will be on hand to introduce the film as well as hold a live Q&A session following the screening. Tickets for the fest are selling out fast , and this one’s likely to be the hottest of the show. There is a SLIGHT chance you can get a specific ticket for the show on the day of the screening though it will likely be a standby situation. Your best bet is to have a festival pass.
• WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th – Pleasantville, NY – Jacob Burns Film Center Benefit Screening. 7:30 PM, SOLD OUT! Tickets were $20 for members and $30 for non-members. We have confirmed that Kevin will be on hand for the screening, but can not speak for any other cast at this time.
• MONDAY, OCTOBER 20 – OFFICIAL WORLD PREMIERE – This will be considered the official world premiere, and likely held in Los Angeles. This is the one with the red carpet and all the celebs that you typically see on Access Hollywood and shows of that ilk. No further details, and obviously this one is by invitation only, typically reserved for cast, crew and friends. We’re assuming this will be the most celeb-packed affair.

Amongst all the premiere announcements, we HAVE seen something we hadn’t seen confirmed before – A running time of 101 minutes along with the confirmed “R” rating. So, for the math-challenged, that’s 1:41 minutes, from opening frame to end of credits. Should move at a fast pace at that rate. For those of you lucky enough to have scored tix to one of the shows, enjoy — We’d love to hear reviews but obviously will stray from spoilers at this site until after the film has opened. So send away without spoilers or save ‘em up for November.

That wraps up our review of the screenings that we know of until opening day. So that’s 2 in Canada, one on the east coast, one in the deep south, and the world premiere, likely on the west coast. If more opportunities come up, you can bet we’ll have the scoop for ya here — And, as always, we’re thinking you might be able to catch Kevin on opening day/weekend around the Arclight Theaters in Los Angeles, where he sometimes surprises audiences with a Q&A or an appearance to thank fans for coming out on opening day (again just speculation, but it’s happened before). Remember — If it’s happening, we’ll have the story here at News Askew.