It's now October, 2002 and the Asknewniverse has changed. In fact, some say it's no more -- We prefer to look at the first 5 films as the first chapter in a long line of films from writer/director Kevin Smith and producer Scott Mosier. Right now, they're over half finished with principal photography for their next film, Jersey Girl, starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, George Carlin, and Liv Tyler. Release is scheduled for the Fall of 2003. Filming's taking place, for the most part, in Philadelphia, PA and Paulsboro, NJ, putting us just over a 2 hour drive away from the action. On Friday night, October 4th, we're marking our first trip to the JG set, to witness an all-night shoot taking place outside of a video store in Paulsboro.

There's no question about it, Kevin's films get bigger and bigger each time. Having been on previous sets, it's easy to see that this is BIG business. The entire parking lot is brightly lit with HUGE spotlights on cranes that are towering way above the surrounding area. The area has also been roped off on both sides, with security and area police patrolling the borders. It's clear that they don't want any outsiders getting even CLOSE to any of the actual filming. We can see the crew and technical equipment off in the distance, and assume that's the place we need to be. A fairly large crowd has gathered on both sides of the roped-off parking lot, a lot of them in for the long haul, sitting on lawn chairs, clutching autograph books, posters, and CDs. It's a small town, and even a casual passerby can't help noticing those huge lights and letting curiosity getting the best of them.

We grab a hold of the first security guard we can find and identify ourselves. He then introduces us to a nice young woman who's fully aware of our arrival. She escorts us through the perimiter tape (much to the onlooker's chagrin) and towards the crew. Folks begin to radio for the location Kevin's assistant, Gail (the on-set lingo is "20" as in "Can I get a 20 on Gail?"), who's got our guest passes for us. That's right, no one that doesn't have a guest pass clearly displayed on their person at all times is subject to getting bounced off set. Like we said, bigtime security!

Speaking of which, let's talk photos. Gail hooks us up with our little guest passes and immediately informs us that the crew on the set are absolutely crazy against any photos being taken. They can't control what crowds on the far away sidelines do, but anyone who's inside the parameter shouldn't be taking photos. Our visit wasn't anything that was scheduled with the producers ahead of time, and no one knew who the hell we were, so we decided it'd be best to keep the camera away before folks (especially the actors) started to freak out when strangers started snapping away. Sometimes, when press is coming to the set, the daily call sheet indicates who will be on set and what they'll be up to. In the case of Jersey Girl, press is being controlled and quite limited, so the crew's just not expecting photography going on.

And speaking of press, we're surprised to see "Mysterio" Mike, who covered Jay & Bob for Aint It Cool News last year, standing in the shadows of the set as well. He's just arrived for a 2-week stay in town (obviously having a lot more time, cash and flexibility than we've got)! So, expect more coverage from his spectrum as well, possibly over at Movie Poop Shoot, from what we understand.

Gail informs us that she's got some chairs ordered for us, which is an incredibly nice gesture -- The feet do tend to get a little sore just standing in a spot for hours. As we're waiting for that, we're greeted by none other than writer/producer extraordinarie and all-around great, funny guy -- Paul Dini! Paul's been a fan of Kevin's for years (having scripted for the Clerks cartoon show) and of course masterminded the outstanding Batman Beyond animated series (not to mention creating the character for which Kevin's child is named after). Paul's also a regular News Askew reader, and probably reading this very column (Howdy Paul!).

Dini's a blast to chat with, and shares some hilarious sketches & stories with us, which we won't detail here, suffice as to say he gets some fantastic material just from observing his surroundings. He's also on set to film a cameo in Jersey Girl -- That of a video store employee who works alongside Liv Tyler and has an obsession with rewinding a cassette by hand. Paul's one-line cameo in Jay & Bob was a true highlight of the film for us, and it's great to see that he'll return yet again in this one.

The Tonight Show crew is on set to film some bits for "Roadside Attractions" and possibly otherwise. We can't see what's happening as far as the dialogue, but Kevin's interviewing some folks in front of the camera. We're sure he'll fill us all in as to when those pieces are going to air. Looks like that's just finishing up.

Anyway, back to the action -- We've arrived on set around 8:00 and it looks like they're just warming up. Ben Affleck's stand-in is driving the character's BMW into a parking spot with video store "Mub & Renee's Video Blast" in the background. Liv Tyler's character, Maya, is working at the store. After Ollie (Affleck's character) drives up, he'll park and walk out of the vehicle towards the store, with Maya standing outside of it, in the background.

Here's a fun fact that seemed like common sense, but nothing ever thought of before. How do they get those folks with their cars to hit the perfect mark when they're driving and stopping a car? Sandbags, of course. Seems simple now, when ya think of it. One thing that's plentiful on a movie set is sandbags, which are used to hold lights, shades, and the like in place. So, two simple sandbags placed where the left and right tires are to stop help Affleck hit his mark perfectly every time, Kevin and the director of photography get the shot they want in frame, and the audience is none the wiser (in this case, only the upper 2/3rds of the car will be visible in frame, from what we saw on the monitors). All the while, by the way, a crew is feverishly cleaning the entire exterior of the car, windows and all, between EVERY TAKE, to make sure the vehicle is absolutely spotless on camera.

After about 4 practice takes with the stand-in, it's time for the main event. Affleck takes his spot in the BMW and, after about 6 takes, the crew's "checking the gate", with Kevin and DP Vilmos happy with the way things look (Checking the gate, by the way, means ensuring that the camera was clear of hair or other small debris that might have messed up the shot). By now, it's after 9:30 -- That's right, folks, to film a scene where Affleck parks a car, gets out, and walks (amounting to around 10 to 15 seconds of screentime), takes about an hour and a half. Makes you appreciate films more and more when you see the amount of precision that's put into everything.

Now it's time to move shop from the wide shot to the closeup in front of the video store. At an amazing pace, the crew moves the mountains of monitors, lights, cables, and other equipment within about 15 feet of the video store front. We grab our folding chairs and follow suit, yet again carefully sitting behind the monitors but out of the way of the folks who need room to work. This next scene will showcase some of that trademark Kevin Smith dialogue, with a conversation between Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck outside of the video store. A few select members of the crew gather at the store to practice the blocking of the scene with Ben and Liv. Meanwhile, crews set up lighting and a HUGE black tarp to block the increasingly annoying winds that are whipping through Paulsboro tonight.

By the way, since we can't show you, a few words about how wonderful that production designer Ratface has done yet again on this film. We had assumed that Mub & Renee's and the grocery store on its left were actually real places. Not the case at all! Most of this strip mall (aside from a dollar store) has actually been vacant for quite some time. Ratface created "Mub & Renee's Video Blast", outside and inside, from scratch, and it looks so much like your typical small town independent video store, you'd swear it was authentic. The grocery store on the left, in fact, is vacant (and where the crew takes lunch breaks and stores equipment), but half of the front has been dressed up with plants and signs, so, on camera, what you see will look like an operating grocery store (same with the vacant laundromat on the right, which two extras are carrying laundry out from scene after scene).

While they're setting up, we take a walk through the laundromat and around back to check behind the scenes. Some massive trailers are lined up for the stars back here, along with a small craft services table filled with enough candy and junk food to make a kid go nuts. Not much going on back here, though we hear that Kevin, wife Jennifer, Affleck, and yes, Jennifer Lopez are currently in their trailers and preparing to shoot the next scene. Lopez was quite a surprise, as we didn't expect her to even be on set tonight -- Apparently, she's stopping by as often as possible to spend time with Ben and support him.

Scott Mosier's also taking a quick break back here, and stops to chat for a moment. After telling him that I've yet to read the script for Jersey Girl he asks, "Do you want to?" The offer's tempting, however the site's better served with us at least somewhat in the dark as far as plot points go. Sure, we hear more than the average Joe, but it always seems like a lot more fun to WATCH a Kevin Smith movie for the first time than to just read it. Reading the script afterwards always seems like the more appropriate path. So, temptation averted, it's...

Back out front and to the scene -- It didn't take long to set it up at all. From our distance, we can only see what's happening on the monitors, not hear -- The huge black wind barricade doesn't help, either. Moments later, here come the stars! Ben Affleck and yes, Jennifer Lopez casually walk out, to a few screams from the onlooking crowd which seems miles away from where we are (some, we understand, have binoculars). Ben and Jen take seats in director's chairs right in front of us. As Ben's makeup folks feverishly check him over to make sure he's picture perfect, Jen's given a headset that's hooked directly into the monitors, allowing her to listen to the dialogue as it's being shot.

As many times as we've been on one of Kevin's sets (quite a few for a couple of non-industry folks from Pennsylvania), the sight of big name talents just standing right in front of you is always quite amazing. That moment's always the wake up call, the realization that you're watching a big Hollywood production happen, an experience that not many fans are as lucky as we are to have.

So here we are, sitting no less than 4 feet from Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, and Liv Tyler, as they sit in director's chairs behind the monitors between takes and to watch playback. Sorry to say, folks, not a word was exchanged between us and them! The way we play things when we're invited to a set is this -- Basically, don't speak unless spoken to! We're grateful for all the set invites and truly believe that we're allowed all of the access due to our proper behavior on the set, thus, we stay out of the way as much as possible. So, as much as we'd have loved to chat with Affleck again and to meet Lopez & Tyler, we let the opportunity pass us by. After all, these folks are here to do their jobs, not to do a meet and greet with every web journalist to come down the pike. Anyway, we find ourselves privileged to have our own seats right up front as Kevin turns up the audio and plays the scene just filmed for all of us to watch.

Affleck and Tyler have some great onscreen chemistry going, for sure. Having not read the script and only being able to speculate on the relationship between these characters, the scene is out of context for us. From what we gathered, they're discussing the "Jersey Girl" of the title to some degree. That's all we want to say, lest spoil anything related to the plot. After a couple of takes, a second wind screen is quickly assembled by the crew, as the winds are getting so strong that Tyler's hair is blowing around in the scene and very distracting.

Several takes are done on the scene, actually. From what we recall, at least four, maybe five or six. It was tough to see if they were doing a lot of coverage on the scene, but it did look to be focusing more on Affleck's dialogue than Tyler's (we saw very little coverage of Tyler on the monitors, but that could just have been the monitors that we were able to see). It was fun to watch and listen to playback on the monitors, which continued to roll and complete the scene even when lines were forgotten or flubbed by the actors (can always be fixed in editing).

After the last take, Kevin gives an exhuberant thumbs-up, indicating that the dialogue was spot-on, exactly what he was looking for! Jennifer Lopez has been patiently sitting in her director's chair for this entire scene, watching and listening to each take very intently, spending time talking to Ben as he came over to sit beside her between takes. After the scenes wrapped up, the actors and actresses head back behind the strip mall to their trailers, becuase...

It's around 12:30 AM, and yep, it's LUNCH! It was kind of amusing that the mid-shoot break is still referred to as just that, but hey, what else could you call it? Finally, Kevin's got a few minutes of downtime, so he comes back to greet us and chat for a couple of minutes. He's been working non stop on this flick, and it shows. He's tired, but obviously pleased at the way things have been going. No one likes shooting in the middle of the night, but everyone's taking it in stride. We spend about 5 minutes chatting about the drive in, what we've seen, and what's to come. Kevin informs us that after the lunch hour, it'll take an entire hour to set up for the next scene, with no new filming starting until 2:30 or 3:00 AM. At that point, we make a judgement call and decide that we may as well hit the road. We thank him again for having us on the set as wife Jennifer stops to say hello before whisking him away behind the scenes.

We decide that it might be a good idea to have a bite before the long drive back home (though not too much, don't want to fall asleep or anything). The craft services folks sure know how to do it right, and this crew sure knows how to eat! What has to be 3 times the amount of folks we saw on set appear from all directions and line up for a hearty meal, which consists of a variey of freshly cooked seafood, salads, breads, and desserts galore. One thing's for sure -- If you're in the film biz, you won't go hungry. On the contrary, you'll probably need to log some time on the treadmill regularly.

After a few final words with Paul Dini and Mysterio Mike, we're on our way out through the parking lot and back to the truck. The crowd, which had been moved earlier to one side of the parking lot (the entire other half's been closed), are still loyally there, standing, waiting for that slim chance that they might get a handshake or an autograph -- Something tells us that it's not us they're waiting for. A loyal, devoted bunch, the fans. That's for sure. It's 1:00 AM, with the winds kicking up and a slight chill in the air, and there they stand, as we walk away from them, Mub & Renee's, and back to the reality of a late night drive home.

Jersey Girl truly does mark the dawn of a new era for View Askew. Everyone we spoke with on set was genuinely excited at the way things are coming together. With an experienced, talented cast, an Oscar-winning director of photography, and the Smith/Mosier team together for another one, rest assured that View Askew fans will again be most pleased. Sure, this is no fan-tribute like "Jay & Bob" was (as Kevin commented to us tonight, it'll be tough to make a drinking game out of this one), we're excited at the mainstream audiences that this cast and expected PG-13 rating could bring out. This one could be the flick that finally make Kevin and View Askew household names worldwide.

We're hoping to make another couple of visits to the Jersey Girl set, but that's of course as our schedules allow. Philly and Paulsboro are still over 2 hours drive from here in Central Pennsylvania, so it's not something we can easily do with our day jobs keeping us so busy at this time of year. However, it does seem that other web journalists are being welcomed on the set as well, so, with our reports, fan sightings, other sites, and Kevin's own diary, we're sure that JG will have sufficient coverage on the web. Stay tuned though, as we're looking forward to having more exclusive stuff for you right here, at News Askew and Exit 37!

Thanks very much to Kevin and Gail for setting up this set visit and taking great care of us yet again. We're looking forward to the next one.