In 2005 I waited over 5 hours on line in Red Bank, NJ to meet Kevin Smith. Not only did he sign my merch but he also spent a good 30 seconds trying to carefully remove a price sticker from my DVD slipcover. It amazed me that he cared about something so insignificant but it also perfectly illustrated just how much he cares about his fans. This actually calmed my nerves enough to work up the courage to ask Kevin for advice. He offered up a nugget of wisdom that changed my life forever.
“Write about stuff that matters to you because it always winds up mattering to someone else. And write cheap.”
Those words have been firmly planted in the back of my head ever since. A few years later I began working on my first feature, a no-budget rom-com about college life called STUCK LIKE CHUCK. It played a few festivals, won some awards and received some rave reviews but never saw an official release. When Phase 4 Films & SModcast Pictures announced the creation of a “Kevin Smith Presents…” distribution label, I knew this was the opportunity I have been waiting for. I submitted SLC the day I read the announcement but with thousands of submissions to sift through, it couldn’t hurt to stand out. So without further ado, I give you the official trailer for STUCK LIKE CHUCK, followed by 37 reasons why Kevin Smith & Phase 4 should release it!
http://vimeo.com/37945194
1. Simply put, SLC wouldn’t exist without Kevin Smith. That is not to say that I wouldn’t still be making movies but my first effort probably would have been much different.
2. While heavily influenced by Kevin Smith, SLC is not some second-rate CLERKS. ripoff. It is also not a film just for fans of Kevin Smith. It stands on its own.
3. That being said, there are enough View Askew references in the film to make a drinking game out of it.
4. $2,500. That was our total production cost and we proudly wear that budget on our sleeve. In a world of million-dollar “indies” we truly are the underdog.
5. I hope to inspire people to get off their ass and make a movie much like Kevin Smith has done for me. This would be a pretty damn good way to start.
6. My favorite part of screening SLC is the Q & A that follows. I am not quite the public speaker that Kevin is but I did get an A in Basic Speech Communications in college.
7. B-movie icon Lloyd Kaufman called SLC “The best two person conversation since Louis Malle’s MY DINNER WITH ANDRE.” This is probably because he has a hilarious cameo in the film but it just may be that this film is actually a modern masterpiece.
8. Speaking of cameos, I cannot officially confirm that Chris Elliott has a brilliant surprise cameo as the world’s worst film professor but why would I even bring it up if it wasn’t true?
9. SLC premiered at the 2009 SINY Film Festival & took home Audience Choice Comedy. Later that year, SLC inspired the creation of the Indie Spirit Award at the Orlando Film Festival. In 2010, the award was renamed the Jerry Cavallaro Indie Spirit Award.
10. I am an open book. I’m willing to reveal anything about myself, especially if it is informative or at least makes for a funny anecdote. My two specialties are stories about how to fail in the industry and how my own insecurity sabotages every chance I get of having sex.
11. Related to #10, I am in fact a virgin and this could possibly get me laid. But probably not.
12. Extremely rare for an indie film with such a low budget, SLC features 3 lead actors who can actually act. Our very own Jocelyn DeBoer has even gone on to become a rising star at UCB & CollegeHumor.
13. Similarly, we have a pretty damn good soundtrack featuring bands like Army of Freshman, Alex Goot, Sail By The Stars and the comedy stylings of Stuckey & Murray. All of the music is cleared & used with full permission of the owners.
14. Close to 8 hours of bonus material already exist for the film including 33 minutes of deleted scenes, a Christmas special & a very unique behind the scenes doc that actually runs longer than the film.
15. In addition to our badass trailer above, a series of promo videos also exist including this infomercial-style teaser:
http://vimeo.com/36677247
16. I’m 23 years old. The same age Kevin Smith broke onto the scene with CLERKS. Coincidence?
17. While the film’s target audience is the 18-35 demographic, the film has done surprisingly well with older crowds. After one particularly strange screening, an elderly woman told me the film was reminiscent of when her husband was “courting” her. In case you were wondering, it never gets less weird watching old people laugh at blowjob jokes.
18. The flick is gender neutral. It has traditional rom-com elements but also a lot of raunchy & geeky humor, which makes for a perfect date movie. I like to refer to it as a chick flick for guys.
19. I am a press whore with a degree in shameless self-promotion and no discernible social life.
20. As much as I love press, the press seems to love SLC a little more. Sites like Latino Review, Hollywood.com, Twitch, Cinematical, FilmSnobbery, Movie Cynics & more have all praised the film
21. SLC nametag stickers & “jackoff sock” door hangers are a huge hit at film festivals and colleges. I also have a custom nametag costume to wear outside of screenings. EVERYONE loves taking pictures with a guy in a dumb costume
22. Unlike most indie comedies, this one is actually funny. No pretentiousness or self-indulgence. The goal is for the audience just to have fun with it.
23. Admit it; STUCK LIKE CHUCK is a damn catchy title.
24. Bobby Bless of MovieCynics.com said, “The film manages to outshine any romantic comedy you’ll see in theaters.” So let’s take it to theaters!
25. I’ve been working the same part time job for over 7 years and this would be a great reason to finally quit.
26. A black and white version exists (and looks pretty damn good) if they decide to push the CLERKS. connection.
27. I had lunch with Bob Hawk once and he said I reminded him of Kevin Smith. He probably doesn’t even remember me but I will never forget that comment.
28. All the money for SLC came out of my own pocket so there are no producers to deal with. I own all the rights.
29. I never expected to make much money on this film. I just want people to see it & this is probably the best chance it has to connect with the right audience.
30. I designed all of the novelty shirts Charlie & Rob wear in the film, which means they can be recreated and sold to adoring fans. Merchandising!
31. Speaking of fans, I have nearly 4,000 loyal Twitter followers and at least 10 of them are not porn spam bots.
32. I finished third at the Netflix Movie Watching World Championship by watching movies for 68 hours 21 minutes 31 seconds straight while in a glass house set up in Times Square. We each got to contribute a movie to the list and my pick was CLERKS.
33. A movie that uses Tina Fey as a metaphor for love & features lines such as “She definitely wants some Charlie inside her brown” deserves to be seen.
34. While the film plays perfectly fine to an audience of one, it is best experienced with a large fun-loving crowd. I’ve always been a proponent of audience interaction. At my favorite screening so far, the audience joked around, yelled at the screen and even sang along to the catchy yet insanely raunchy musical number during the end credits.
35. I’ve been working my whole life for an opportunity like this and you can be damn sure that I will not mess it up.
36. I’m not ashamed to admit that I love JERSEY GIRL. Director’s Cut Blu-Ray please. Yes this is filler but give me a break; how could I end this on 36?
37. Because I’m a filmmaker who still fucks his art in a Denny’s bathroom.
Well there you have it. 37-ish solid reasons why Phase 4 & SModcast Pictures should distribute STUCK LIKE CHUCK. As you can tell from this list, Kevin Smith sort of already presents the film so why not make it official?
Please hit the share buttons below and send this post all over the web. Let’s see if we can get this in front of the right people or even Kevin himself. I promise to keep you all updated every step of the way. And for everyone still reading, thank you greatly for checking out what can only be classified as the most shameless display of self-promotion to ever grace this website. It truly does mean the world to me!
Jerry Cavallaro – @GetStuck – www.JerryCavallaro.com
