Posts Tagged ‘Clerks II’
4 items.
Since the action happens off-screen, there’s no telling if Jared actually succeeded in taking Ben Affleck’s head as a trophy. But in the alternate universe that ∗is∗ the buzzComix incentive sketch, we can peer through a mystical portal and view what could be… Click here uncover hidden mystery!
Incidentally, Jared’s been taking pot shots at Ben Affleck for years. I don’t think he would really try to take his head as a trophy. It’s more of a catch and release thing. The thrill of the hunt.
For those of you who are concerned you may have gone cross-eyed reading today’s strip, a sequel to Clerks is 100% true. Director Kevin Smith announced to the Associated Press last week.
Apparently, while working on the 10th anniversary edition DVD, Kevin got to thinking about the characters that unlocked Hollywood’s secret society to him and decided to revisit them 10 years after the events of the original movie.
According to Smith, “It’s about what happens when that lazy, 20-something malaise lasts into your 30s. Those dudes are kind of still mired, not in that same exact situation, but in a place where it’s time to actually grow up and do something more than just sit around and dissect pop culture and talk about sex.”
According the fan boy guru, Jay and Silent Bob will also be making an appearance. Which is slightly disheartening when Smith promised he’d hang the characters up for good after the all-out cameo laden road comedy Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. Apparently after the failure of the more “grown up” offering of Jersey Girl, Smith realized where his bread and butter really resided.
The film will be titled The Passion of the Clerks and principal photography will begin in January of 2005.
Personally, I don’t know how smart is it to return to the “Askewniverse”. Clearly there is a large fan base out there ready to lap this up. But to me it indicates a kind of creative bankruptcy to revisit the same characters 10 years down the road. Besides, didn’t Richard Linklater experiment with this very concept when he released Before Sunset earlier this year – the movie that revisits Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy’s characters 10 years after the events of Before Sunrise?
Although I don’t know how much griping I’m entitled to here. That aforementioned fan base? Well, I’m part of it. More than likely I’ll see The Passion of the Clerks when it opens in theaters. It’ll just be interesting to see if Kevin Smith can keep his integrity after the fact.
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I’m trying to remember where I read that report that said that Ben Affleck literally got down on hands and knees and begged Kevin Smith for a cameo in Clerks II. Oddly, I can’t seem to find it anywhere online! Funny how a rumor starts, isn’t it?
Yes, this is commentary!
I do remember reading the rumor, but there probably isn’t much truth to it. A Kevin Smith without an Affleck cameo is like a day without sunshine. Actually, what I heard is that Affleck was invited to come back to the Askewniverse, but accepted only under the terms that he would be in the background and not play one of his previous Kevin Smith-created characters. After a while on set, Affleck felt it was weird to be there and not have a line, so Smith forged one for him on the spot. I’m sure not unlike a childhood game of "Telephone," the message got jumbled along the way – but I was having so much fun with the idea that Jared had severely stepped up his operations beyond simply physical beatings, I couldn’t turn my back on it.
Clerks II commentary aside, I wanted to take a moment to talk to you about Wizard World Chicago coming up in two weeks, August 4 – 6 at the lovely Rosemont Convention Center right next to the fabulous (and always on-time) O’Hare Airport.
This will be my thrid year going to Wizard World Chicago and I’m hitting the ground running. I will have copies of my new book "Theater Hopper: Year One" for sale and I’m going to try and pass it around to as many members of the media that I can.
To help generate interest, I am having a book-launch party in my hotel room on Saturday night, August 5. It’ll probably start around 7:00 or 8:00 and go until we either run out of beer or get bored and want to go somewhere else. But the idea is not only to celebrate with fans, but to let the media know that web comics are a happenin’ scene and that Theater Hopper ain’t too shabby on it’s own!
If you plan on being in attendance at Wizard World Chicago, please be sure to stop by my book on Artist’s Alley to get your invitation. I don’t really want to share my hotel room number over the internet and I don’t know it offhand anyway. So it all works out. Stop by the booth, get the invite and come hang out with us. You can find me at booth 3134 A and you can view a map of the convention floor here (look on the second page, to the right). Everyone is welcome to visit me at the booth, but 21 and over for the party, please. Here’s a close-up of Artist’s Alley in case you can’t open the larger PDF:
I need to let you know that Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey will also be releasing a book (Volume 2 of his hilarious comic) that weekend and the book release party is a joint effort. There will also be several other web comic stars in attendance. Not only at the party, but on the convention floor. The Theater Hopper booth can be found in immediate proximity of Gordon McAlpin of Multiplex, Joe Dunn of Digital Pimp Online, illustrator extraordinaire and convention stalwart Taki Soma and the previously mentioned Zach Miller. It’s going to be a hell of a time.
If any of you happen to have connections in the comic press, web comic press or small press publication… press, please let me know so I can notify members of the media in advance. I’m not looking to get signed by any production house or anything. Pretty much just looking to network and inform people about Theater Hopper. I can’t tell you how many conventions I go to where people look at my booth and say "So it’s online?" They’re not expecting it. I feel it’s time to get over the hump and bring web comics to a wider audience. With book in tow, I hope to make that happen!
I will have more news to share about Wizard World Chicago in the coming weeks, but I wanted to start talking about it now. I hope to see several of you in attendance and I thank you for your support!
Oh, and if you’ve pre-ordered a copy of "Theater Hopper: Year One," don’t worry. I’m setting aside copies for all of you. Once back from Chicago, I plan on mailing them out as soon as possible. So you should be seeing your book sometime by mid-August (barring the length of time it takes for me to draw your sketch inside the book!)
Thanks again to everyone who has helped to make this possible. I finally feel I have something concrete to exhibit at Wizard World Chicago and that I’m not just there taking up space to say I had been there. It’s a good feeling!
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I have plenty to say about the controversy between Kevin Smith and Joel Siegel concerning the forthcoming Clerks II, but I’m saving that for later.
For now, I have more important news…
Seriously, guys. You should have been hanging out with me yesterday. I was on Cloud 9. As I was driving to pick up the books from the frieght agency that was storing them on their docks, I swear the air was sweeter and my car stereo was pumping tunes more clearly. Flipping through this book… to have it in my hands… WOW. Big accomplishment for me. You have no idea.
Sincere thanks to each and every one of you who pre-ordered a copy. You helped make my dream come true! Now that I have this first book under my belt, I hope to do "Theater Hopper: Year Two" very soon. I’d love for it to be out by Christmas, but it really depends how well "Theater Hopper: Year One" sells first.
On that note, if you were holding off on pre-ordering a copy of "Theater Hopper: Year One," these pictures are the proof that – yes – the book IS in fact REAL. You should order one soon. We’ve already burned through half of our first print run and I’m taking a BUNCH of these books to Wizard World Chicago. So there might be very less very soon!
I can’t tell you how excited I am. Cami and I have put together a great plan to get this book in front of many people as possible. You guys have helped us meet the first goal. Now we’re going to start trying to get press for the book – both local and national – and see if we can’t push things a little farther in regards to Theater Hopper’s overall visibility and success.
You guys got us to this point, so THANK YOU!!!
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Cami’s comments about the original Clerks comes from real-life around the time we were first dating in high school. With the resurgence of Clerks II, this seemed like the best opportunity to share it with you.
Our relationship was just starting out, but I was totally about sharing my passion for film with her. We didn’t get Clerks in any of the movie theaters here when it first came out in theaters. But I had become familiar with it by reputation and decided to rent it so that we could watch it together. We sat in her parents basement, watched it all the way to the end and when I asked her "What did you think?" she said "Eh, I don’t really like movies about guys who do nothing."
Okay, so I twisted the quote around a little to fit in with the joke of today’s comic. But the spirit is still the same.
Afterwords, I went home and left the video at Cami’s house asking if she could return it (since she lived closer to the video store and was going to run errands the next day). Before she could return the video, her DAD got a hold of it looking for some kind of entertainment on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Cami came home from her errands and he gave her the old 20 Questions about this boyfriend of hers and what kind of entertainment I’m picking out for her.
My now Father-in-Law never confronted me about it, but Cami told me the story once and it made me pucker, that’s for sure!
The moral of the story? Don’t leave rented copies of Clerks laying around the house for your future Father-in-Law to find! Incidentally, Clerks is the only Kevin Smith movie I don’t own. I mean, I own Clerks: The Animated Series, but I don’t own the original movie that bears it’s name. Oh, and one of Cami’s favorite comedies is Mallrats. Go figure.
Judgemental Father-in-Law’s absent from our shoulders, Cami and I went to see Clerks II this weekend and loved it. I’m glad that it turned out as well as it did. I think the movie had a real capacity to be horrible. Combined with the failure of Jersey Girl, if Kevin Smith couldn’t get Clerks II to sell to audiences, I think it would have put his career as a filmmaker in serious jeopardy.
Is he returning to the well? Sure, but as Smith has freely admitted, these are the kind of stories he’s best adept to tell. Let him tell them!
There were parts of the movie that I felt were very stagey, blocked awkwardly by the actors and very talky. But after a while, it occurred to me how much in love I am with Smith’s sense of dialogue. By the end, the subtle commentaries the film makes about arrested development and "starting your life" in your 30’s kind of hit home for me.
Personally, I never suffered from the same wage-slave malaise as Dante and Randal, but I empathize with their situation. I think all of us are concerned with leaving some kind of legacy in one form or another. But sometimes if you stop to really take stock of what you have, things aren’t that bad.
On a subject related to that of making a mark, I mentioned on friday that copies of my first book "Theater Hopper: Year One" are in stock. If you haven’t ordered on yet, I strongly encourage you to do so soon!
That is all!
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