Category: Kevin Smtih

NYCC 2011: Brian O’Halloran Interview

On Saturday I had the pleasure of interviewing actor Brian O’Halloran. He is best known for playing the character of Dante in Kevin Smith’s CLERKS & CLERKS 2. He also recently appeared in BRUTAL MASSACRE and the upcoming CALENDAR GIRL. He was at the New York Comic Con this weekend signing autographs and agreed to an impromptu interview. We talked about the convention, theater, horror films and more. He even offered some great advice for indie filmmakers. After he interview, I ended up hanging around the booth another 15 minutes talking with him and some other fans who stopped by. Check out the full interview below!

Jerry Cavallaro – www.JerryCavallaro.com

Kevin Smith’s RED STATE Gets the Green

I talk about lots of stuff I wanna do that either happens years later or never happens at all. Happy to report RED STATE is not the latter.

This was the announcement yesterday on Kevin Smith’s Twitter account, and, to many horror fans, it was a blessing.  We’ve heard for years about Smith wanting to do a horror movie, and RED STATE was it.  Unfortunately, many obstacles began setting themselves directly in the path of the film getting off the ground.

Luckily, for fans of horror films and Kevin Smith films alike, today brings good news on the RED STATE front.

First draft was dated 9/5/07. Looks like we start shooting this July. Took nearly three years, but we’re finally gonna roll on RED.

Smith also answered a few questions throughout the day that people had regarding RED STATE, its backers, and who we may or may not be seeing make an appearance.

Here are those updates:

“RED STATE? And here I was looking to HIT SOMEBODY” Writing HIT now; shooting HIT on heels of RED STATE.

“Studio deal for RED STATE or going the full indie route?” (*Marches across big lawn, up front porch*) I’m home, Momma.

“cameo for jay & bob in #RedState ?” Be like Kermit & Fozzie cameo-ing in ORDINARY PEOPLE: just waaaaay out of place.

“is Red State going to be so-called torture porn” Nah. Tonally closer to RACE WITH THE DEVIL or DELIVERANCE.

“Are you doing Red State thanks to #copoutsuccess?” Some folks don’t wanna hear that, but yes: #CopOut got us to RED STATE.

“did Warner pony up for Red STATE?” Ah, bless… That made me chortle aloud, sir. Like asking if WB ponied up for SALO.

Me & WB get along great, with understanding that when I’m there, I’m doing their stuff. RED STATE decidedly not their kinda thing. At ALL.

No official dates on when filming begins or even a release date, but Kevin Smith confirms.  RED STATE is happening, and it is next on his plate.

A Lot of COPping OUT in This Trailer

If you want a movie where Tracy Morgan plays Tracy Jordan, Bruce Willis plays a shelled version of John McClane, and, somewhere in there, there’s a Kevin Smith film that’s just screaming to be let out, then COP OUT is the flick for you.   It’s the first of its kind, a film directed by Smith that wasn’t written by Smith, and it shows.   Writers Rob and Mark Cullen also wrote the pilot episode of MANCHILD, the male bonding comedy that was never picked up for a full series and also starred Smith.

Having said that, the new trailer released today over on Apple doesn’t feel like the new film directed by one of the most fan-followed writer/directors of our time.   It feels like precisely what it is, a director for hire working from a buddy cop screenplay that’s giving about as much effort as an uninterested child in a geography class.   Let’s just say this is no HOT FUZZ.

I can’t help but think A COUPLE OF DICKS, an imaginary, buddy cop movie written and directed by Smith would have played much better.   Some credit might be taken away from COP OUT simply based on the choice to water down the name alone.   We have Warner Brothers to thank for that, and Smith’s admitted quick acceptance to that fact.   I guess pandering to afternoon sports fans is pretty important to the guy.   At least it’s not called A COUPLE OF COPS.

Head on over to Apple, check out the trailer in HD, and shoot back with some comments on what you think.   Who knows?   The film could prove us all wrong when it hits theaters on February 26th.   We’ll just have to wait and see.

Kevin Smith Goes Through a COP OUT

couple of dicks

Evidently, Kevin Smith’s newest film, a buddy cop movie starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan previously titled A COUPLE OF DICKS, is going to be called COP OUT.   This comes to us today from The Film Stage, who got a trailer placement list for SHERLOCK HOLMES from WB.   On tap to run with the new film is the trailer for a film called COP OUT.   Kevin Smith has been saying the trailer for his newest film would be running in front of SHERLOCK.   2 + 2 isn’t that hard to put together.

It’s still not as interesting a title as the risque one WB has been shooting down since the beginning of production.   It was revealed just last week that the title was officially dropped.

Other trailers running in front of SHERLOCK HOLMES will be INCEPTION and CLASH OF THE TITANS.   There were rumors that the trailer for IRON MAN 2 (which ran during AICN’s Butt-Numb-A-Thon) would be running, as well, but it was not listed on WB’s site.

A COUPLE OF DICKS COP OUT comes out February 26th, 2010.

A COUPLE OF DICKS No Longer

couple of dicks

There have been some rumors leading up to this, but the announcement finally came this evening via a series of 140-characters-or-less tweets from Kevin Smith himself.

The Movie Formerly Known as A COUPLE OF DICKS has finally settled on a (network-policy-dictated) replacement title! While we’ll always have DICKS in our hearts, the title we just now locked makes me smile on a bunch of different levels – including this 1: we can now advertise our movie properly (& ironically). And said marketing begins… on every print of SHERLOCK HOLMES, Christmas Day!

Warner Brothers has brought the hammer down and forced Smith to change the title of his upcoming buddy cop film starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.   The studio has been fighting Smith on the title ever since the film’s inception.   This is nothing new to Smith, who had troubles getting ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO through the MPAA.

Hopefully, fans of Kevin Smith’s work will be as warm to the film’s new title as Smith himself is in that series of tweets.   He could just be saving face at this moment in front of the studio brass.   The new title is being kept under wraps, and we may not know what it is until the film’s trailer is released in front of SHERLOCK HOLMES.

Kevin Smith talks lack of funding for RED STATE

redstate

Kevin Smith has had a horror film in the pipeline for some time now, and we get updates every so often. Well right now is one of those times. He talked to MTV about the film during press for his new book. This is what he had to say:

“‘Red State’ has been tough to find f—ing money for, finding cash has been difficult. It’s not a commercial movie by any stretch of the imagination.”

“I was lobbying for a cheaper movie,” he explained. “One of the guys… who was making the flick with me was lobbying for a more expensive version of the movie. We weren’t going to find [the larger] budget in a zillion years, so I went off and made ‘A Couple of Dicks,’ came back and said ‘let’s re-concentrate our efforts.'”

“Instead of pie-in-the-sky, just down-and-dirty. I made f—ing ‘Clerks’ for crissakes. I can’t be the guy who’s like, ‘well I can’t make a movie for less than $15 million.’ I started my career that way and it’s still how I feel.”

“If money comes together for it, boom,” Smith said, snapping his fingers. “We’re ready to start moving forward. Script’s all done, crew is on board, we just have to find our cast.”

“For me, it’s just like, let’s find some cash, seeing if there’s any cash out there for the f—ing idea, then start attaching talent to it. So that’s where we are on that.”

So there you have it boys and girls, yet another update about the lack of money for this film. Kevin Smith doesnt do HUGE at the box office, but I have a feeling that a really good Kevin Smith slasher flick could do really well. At least it would make back its budget and do good business on DVD. He has a proven track record with that, so PLEASE someone step up to the plate and give him the fucking money to do it. Snap to it.

Early Review: ‘Official Rejection’

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Two weeks ago I posted a First Look at an independent documentary called Official Rejection. A few days ago I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to watch it. I expected to see a film that was funny and entertaining but also shed some light on film festivals. Official Rejection was that film and more. I was thoroughly entertained throughout the film but not always for reasons I expected. It is at times hilarious but there are also some moments that are heartbreaking, especially to those interested in filmmaking as a career.

I feel that in the interest of full disclosure, I should let you know that this film is about me. Well, technically that’s not true. I am not actually in the film but there is a general feeling of camaraderie and singularity among independent filmmakers. While we all take different paths to get our films released, nearly every filmmaker will visit a few film festivals along the way. Official Rejection may only cover a few filmmakers and their films, but this is very much a film about all indie filmmakers and their work. In fact, replacing film festival with a major concert or gallery makes this a film about musicians and other artists as well. So to put it simply, all artists despite your medium of choice need to see this film.

That doesn’t mean this film is for artists only. Anyone that is at all interested in film should see Official Rejection. If you are a fan of independent films (real indies, not Hollywood “indies†) this doc will show you the journey many of those films went on to gain an audience and find distribution. If you hate independent film, you should see this film to at least gain an appreciation for the struggles the filmmakers face. And for anyone who could care less about movies and filmmaking, there is still a compelling story being told here. After all, who doesn’t like a good underdog story?

Official Rejection follows filmmaker Scott Storm and his film, Ten Til Noon, from its first rejections to its first few acceptances. What gives this documentary such a personal feel is that the director of Official Rejection is the screenwriter for Ten Til Noon. Because of this, we get an in depth look at what filmmakers experience before, during and after film festivals. This is also beneficial because this means Paul Osborne truly cares about his subject and in turn, so does the viewer. And don’t worry; this does not make Official Rejection seem like a long commercial or some kind of bonus feature for Ten Til Noon. Ten Til Noon is meant to be the everyfilm and Scott Storm represents most independent filmmakers. To further prove this, we are treated to many interviews along the way from a variety of people in independent film.

Kevin Smith, Chris Gore, Lloyd Kaufman, Jenna Fischer, Andy Dick, Traci Lords, Troy Duffy and Bryan Singer are a few of the more famous people interviewed. They all offer some great words of wisdom and give some insight into film festivals. I will admit though that even though I agree, I was very upset to hear Kevin Smith say that Clerks. would never be accepted into Sundance if it was made today. We also hear from many other independent filmmakers, both in interviews and through footage captured at festivals. One of the best and most eye opening segments in the film is the nightmare of a situation that happened to filmmaker Blayne Weaver and his film, Outside Sales, at Indie Fest. I don’t want to ruin it but I will say that it is shocking to see how some festivals treat filmmakers. There are also a few actors, sales reps, audience members and representatives from a few film festivals that are interviewed.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic documentary that is fun to watch and very informative. I wish I had seen this movie a year ago before I started submitting to film festivals because I actually did pick up quite a few things about the process. Official Rejection should be mandatory viewing in all film schools.

I want to wish Paul and everyone else behind Official Rejection the best of luck with the film and its festival run. It’s going to be hard to get a film that exposes film festivals into film festivals, but that should only be the case for festivals with something to hide. All festivals that accept films based on their worth should accept this movie. I highly suggest seeking this film out if it is screening near you. For everyone else, this film will definitely find distribution in the near future so look for it then.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

WAMG First Look at ‘Official Rejection’

official-rejection-logo

A while back I discovered a trailer for a documentary about film festivals called Official Rejection. I had not heard anything about the film prior but immediately sent the trailer to a bunch of friends after watching it. Based on the teaser, this film looks both funny and insightful. I recently contacted the filmmaker behind it and we are working on setting up an interview very soon. Here is the synopsis from the film’s official website. (www.officialrejectiondocumentary.com)

Much has been said about the trials and struggles of making an independent film, and with good reason: it’s incredibly difficult, and not many are able to accomplish this feat. The perception is, however, that once you have finished your movie, you can just “take it to Sundance”. Yet the task of finding placement at a major film festival is often more daunting, and exhausting, then the making of the movie itself.

This is the story we intend to tell.

Following filmmakers along the festival circuit, OFFICIAL REJECTION will take a lighthearted but realistic look at the politics, pitfalls, costs, and toll of life at the fests. Our goal is to demonstrate exactly what happens once you finish the movie, the reality of today’s film festival landscape, and the emotional roller-coaster those who dare venture onto it find themselves riding.

By the way, Kevin Smith, Lloyd Kaufman, Chris Gore, Jenna Fischer and Bryan Singer are just a few of the awesome people interviewed in this film. I personally cannot wait to see this doc. The film will premiere at the Phoenix Film Festival on April 4th. Anyone attending should definitely check it out. I will be bringing you more coverage of this film in the near future. For now, here is the film’s teaser trailer.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Kevin Smith to direct ‘Couple of Dicks’?

twodicks

Kevin Smith has signed on to direct a movie that he didnt write called ‘Couple of Dicks’ which will star Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan has 2 retired LAPD officers that have set out to find a vintage 1952 baseball card.

Ok let me be the first to say THIS IS A BAD IDEA! Kevin Smith..pull out now dude, dont do it! This movie is with Warner Bros, which you havent done a movie NOT with the Weinsteins since Mallrats. Second the movie is written by Robb and Marc Cullen which you have never directed a movie that you didnt write. Not to mention the story sounds effing boring and not..Kevin Smithish at all! Please dont do this man..get ‘Red State’ or the Sci Fi flick going instead..

‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ on DVD Today!

zackandmiriearly1

Unless you have been living in a box, which is possible Jerry Cavallaro, but one of the most controversial movies of the year is on DVD today. If for some reason you haven’t gone and bought this DVD yet then I am not your friend and probably don’t even really know who you are. Here is a snippit from our review:

“‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ is anything but a PG-13 romantic comedy. It is as hard-edged as anything else he has done before. It might possibly be even harder than anything he’s done before. Fans of Smith will not be disappointed.”

Do yourself a favor and pick up one of Kevin Smith’s best movies which you can snag the 2 disc for only $16.99 at Amazon! I think $16.99 is the standard price everywhere for the 2 disc. Below is the dvd packaging:

zackandmiridvd