Take off, eh! Take off...To the Great White North. Take off...It's a beauty way to go. And that's just what I was gonna do.

I woke up around 4 AM on Saturday morning (not really the way I'd prefer to start most of my days off) to have enough time to shower, finish packing, and head into Harrisburg International for the first leg of my flight. I made it in plenty of time, which was the idea since my tradeoff for the incredible deal on the trip was that I had to fly standby. All the flights looked wide open for extra seats for the weekend, though, so I wasn't too worried.

By the way, all my flights were on Comair, the connection company for Delta, and they were fantastic. The service was good, the rides smooth (I always seem to be fortunate and have beatiful, clear weather when I fly), and all flights were on time. If you've ever got the chance to fly with them, you can't go wrong. Highly recommended. And I'm not getting paid to say that!

Comair's major hub is Cincinatti, Ohio, so I'd have a short layover there on each trip. Not a problem. We landed right on time around 7:30 in Cincinatti, and I was met at the gate by Pat Walsh, a really good guy (who DOES bear a striking resemblance to Quentin Tarantino) who organized the flights for me. Pat took time out of his schedule, even his day off on Sunday, to make sure that everything went smoothly and that I made all my flights out of Cincinatti. He kept me company, stuck with me during the layovers, and made sure that everything possible was done to get me onto those flights. Thanks, Pat, I owe ya one!

I was a bit concerned after hearing that I might actually need a birth certificate or a passport to get into Canada, so I immediately asked Pat about it after I arrived. When HE looked concerned as well, I didn't feel any better! He'd earlier told me that he thought a drivers license would be fine for getting into Canada (though Aimee warned me that I'd need the birth certificate), so silly me, I just brought my license. We took a walk up to the Delta agents to check in and asked them about the lack of proper ID. The agent replied, "You can take the flight, but you may be detained at customs in Canada." DETAINED!??! You must be kidding! Apparently, without proper ID, they had every right to hold me in Canada, even force me on a plane right back to the U.S. Wow.

I was a bit frazzled at first, but the tickets were bought, and I'd already come THAT far, so what choice was there, really? Pat tried to come up with other options (getting a copy of my birth certificate faxed, flying back to Harrisburg and taking a later flight, etc.) but the choice was obvious at this point: I'd fly to Canada, level with customs, and see what came of it. There was no way I was turning back now. Hopefully Aimee, who was meeting me at Terminal 1 of Pearson Airport in Toronto, hadn't left yet. I quickly ran over to a phone and gave her a call at home. Just made it. "Potential problem", I said. "I don't have a birth certificate with me and I may get held up in customs, just so you know where I am if I'm running late." "Okay", she said. Seriously, that was it. "Okay." Heheh...Anyway...Back to chat with Pat for a few minutes about News Askew, Dogma, and the like, and then it was time to hit the flight.

Again, another smooth flight, I had 2 seats all to myself (so I could look out the window as we flew over Lake Ontario and stuff, love that window seat). Now, the fun part. I've arrived in Canada, and I've gotta make that lonnnnng walk (why is it always a mile long?) to customs. There's a tableful of declaration cards (you gotta fill one out when you enter or leave the country) and NO PENS. Well, it's an icebreaker anyway, I thought. Since Customs was dead (a big, empty, quiet room, really) I chose an attractive friendly-looking young girl to present my dilemma too (Hey, wouldn't you?). "I'm here to make your day miserable", I told her. "I need a pen to fill out this card and, if that's not bad enough, I only have a driver's license and a social security card as proof of citizenship."

Tense, huh?

Surprisingly, I was very calm for all of this, it just didn't seem like something I'd get stopped over. As soon as I saw how things looked, really, it almost seemed certain I was getting through one way or another. I was right. The customs girl was incredibly friendly, talked to me for a minute, and said something to the effect of "Oh yeah, we're all big bad Canadians up here trying to keep you Americans out of our country", and let me right through. She joked about a couple of other things (like mentioning that I "looked and sounded American") and said it wasn't a problem, just to remember to bring better stuff next time. She also said I wouldn't have a problem getting back into the U.S. either, which was a relief. Customs was actually FUN! Maybe I should have asked her for her phone number.

Inside The Skydome Aimee was waiting for me in the terminal, right on schedule, so we headed out to her car and started on our way into downtown Toronto. Our destination? The Sky Dome Hotel. It turned out that Aimee wasn't QUITE as familiar with the city as I'd thought...She'd been downtown before, but had never DRIVEN there! I kid her, but she did a fine job getting us there. By just a bit after 11 AM, we were parked in the Sky Dome's garage and early for check-in. So early, in fact, that we decided to grab the Subway at Union Station and check out some sights. As much as I hate looking like a tourist, it was my first trip to Toronto, and I wanted to get the most out of it. I really did.

The CN Tower The CN Tower, which is the world's tallest free-standing structure (or something like that) was right outside the door. I thought about going up just to say I was there, but it seemed kinda silly so we skipped it. There were more important things to do...Like finding the Hockey Hall Of Fame! We footed it from the subway into town, stopping at HMV (A large video/music store where I was tempted to drop a few hundred bucks but got off light with just a couple CD's). We also walked by Maple Leaf Gardens, stopped into the main offices of the Toronto Film Festival to check on Dogma ticket availability, and the HUGE Eaton Centre mall where I had the pleasure of using my first Canadian Cash Machine. I can't WAIT to see the surcharge on THAT one!

After a quick bite to eat, it was out of the mall and into the Hockey Hall Of Fame! Wow, that place is impressive. Even if you're not a hockey fan, it's just a sight to see...I can see a die-hard fan spending a full day, if not more, inside. The place was just loaded with pieces of memorabilia, obscure history and facts, trivia games, skill games (where you could play goalie and block pucks or try out the accuracy of your slap shot)...Anyway, more than you'd probably care for me to go into here. Sure, again, it's a tourist attraction, but well worth the $24 CDN for us to get in.

By the time all this was through, it was after 2 PM, certainly late enough to head back to Sky Dome for check-in. It turns out that, unbeknownst to myself, Aimee had reserved a FIELD ROOM. Man, was this ever COOL! The Sky Dome's built into the sports stadium, you see, so the far wall of your room's got a huge bay window that opens right INTO the stadium! There was a football (CFL - Argos vs. Roughriders) game going on RIGHT OUTSIDE MY ROOM WINDOW! And what do I see when I first look out? Cheerleaders! OUTSIDE MY WINDOW! I was impressed. This was a cool room.

It was tempting just to stay in and watch the football game due to the novelty of it all, but there was business to tend to. We wanted to head to towards the Uptown to try and snag my reserved Dogma ticket (as well as try and get one for Aimee) so we had to motor.

It was around 4:30 when we got to the Uptown, and there was already a fairly long line (around 100 people, give or take) of fans in a "Rush" line just hoping to take advantage of open seats in the theater come showtime. Little did they know. I asked one of the festival reps about reserved tickets, and was told to come back close to showtime and track down the Lions Gate people. Reps from the film themselves always handle the special passes and stuff. Sounds easy, I thought. Little did I know...

So, we're around dinnertime, but just not hungry. We'd had a little bite at the mall earlier in the afternoon, and the walking around had made me more thirsty than anything. So we walked aimlessly around town a bit, until finally deciding to come back to a nice, quiet little pub next to the Uptown called Burgundy's Bar and Grill where we had a couple of beers. I think beer must make time go twice as fast, since before we knew it 7:00 had passed, giving us only about 2 hours to figure out WHERE to eat dinner, get seated, eat, AND get back to the Uptown early enough to get my ticket and try and track one down for Aimee. Yikes! We'd originally hoped to find a decent joint for a couple of steaks, but given the time Aimee suggested Planet Hollywood (since I'd surprisingly never been to one) as a place to get quick service and some decent food.

Back on the Subway we go to Union Station, since PH is basically right outside of the Sky Dome. As promised, good, fast service, and some good food (I opted for the chicken ceasar salad). The waitress, upon finding I was from Pennsylvania, took a moment to talk smack on the Flyers and even write "Go Leafs Go" on the check. They sure do like their hockey up there. Nice place, though. We sat near the alien from ID4, a backpack from Ghostbusters, and the big spider from the end of Arachnophobia. Spiders. I hate spiders.

It's now about 8:15, and man, are we gonna hafta HURRY to get back to the Uptown in time! We hustled back to the train and rounded the corner to an absolute MADHOUSE! People EVERYWHERE. There were lines going BOTH directions away from the theater, with one ending at an intersection, and the other wrapping well around the other side of the theater. Some folks were in line cuz they HELD Dogma tickets. Many were in line hoping to GET Dogma tickets. And others still were there for other films, which were also playing at the Uptown that night. Press and autograph seekers had gathered in droves outside of the Uptown's doors. Bewildered Film Festival reps continued yelling, urging folks to walk to the end of a line rather than mill about in front of the theater. Few listened. One guy even tried shouting "The Dogma Screening Has Been Cancelled!". No one seemed to listen.

Brad's Ticket Stub Aimee and I stood in total confusion with the press for a while, as I tried to figure out what move to make next. It was going to be tough finding a Lions Gate rep in this mess, and I didn't see any recognizable faces in the crowd nearby. If Kevin or any of the stars showed up, there wasn't going to be a chance to get close. After about fifteen minutes of this, they started filing the Dogma ticket holders into the theater. Show start was running about 30 minutes late due to the large turnout, and things were looking pretty bleak. Aimee started apologizing to me as if the fact that the ticket stuff still hadn't been cleared up was somehow her fault. She just wanted me to get in at this point, she didn't care anymore. I decided to take a shot and head towards the street where folks with phones and those important-looking earpieces were waiting for VIPs to arrive. When I asked one of the festival reps if they knew of anyone from Lions Gate, I heard a voice say, "I'm from Lions Gate!". I turned to see one of their PR folks (she was very nice and introduced herself, though through all the confusion I forgot her name, I'm sorry to say!). I gave her MY name and she immediately recognized it from News Askew, which was very cool. One ticket in the envelope with my name on it, and that was just all there was to be had.

So, I walked back towards the door with the ticket in hand, feeling pretty bad that Aimee wasn't getting in, though we both realized that the flick was just way too popular (some called it the hottest ticket in the entire festival). Aimee agreed to meet me back in the same bar next door at midnight, when I predicted the flick would likely end.

I jumped in the small line that remained and headed in...They really gave my ticket a good rip (as you can see from the scan, click it to enlarge if ya like), but there it is. The Uptown theater really is amazing. Not only is the layout nice (very steep, comfortable stadium seating), but the screen is huge and the sound system kicks ass. There are definite moments of HUGE subwoofer usage in Dogma which, if it holds up for the 5.1 DVD mix, will rock in your home theaters. I made my way to the reserved seating area, which was in a prime location in the center of the theater, with the screen at perfect eye level. I looked to see who was surrounding me but didn't recognize any celebs, so I kept quietly to myself as I waited for the flick to start.

Minutes later, the lights dimmed, and a Festival rep took the stage to introduce Kevin, welcoming him back to the film festival for the first time since Clerks. Huge amounts of applause greeted Kevin, who opened by jokingly asking everyone to take their seats ("I always wanted to say that.") and then declaring that he made Dogma for all of Canada (again, with tongue firmly planed in cheek). Due to the late show start, though, he then very quickly proceeded to introduce Jay Mewes, Jason Lee, and Scott Mosier. Then, it was showtime.

The film itself: I'm planning to write a full review of Dogma after I finish this piece, so what I'll concentrate on here are things that I found different from the workprint, as well as some of the more technical aspects of the flick, and the audience's reactions to things. Read my review for the full dish on Dogma.

The curtain rose close to 10 PM and the Lions Gate logo blared onto the screen, greeted by thunderous applause. This was not only the first time the print had been screened in North America, but the first time the film appeared with Lions Gate attached to it. Then, the disclaimers which I'll save as a surprise for when YOU see the film, and the flick kicks right into high gear.

I didn't have a watch, but do believe the flick ran the reported 2 hours and change. This is still by far the longest film of Kevin's so far, but the scope of the story and large amount of characters to deal with make this necessary. All in all, the cuts were done quite nicely. It had been a year since Chris and I had watched the first cut with Kevin, and there were only a few MAJOR segments noticeable missing: The gang "fight" and Fat Albert sequence is totally gone, a large chunk of Jason Lee's monologue in the latter part of the film (mostly due to pacing at that late point, Kev and Scott felt the audience wouldn't want a long-winded speech at that point, although it really was well written and quite good), and finally, the hospital sequence. I also noticed quite a few lines here and there missing, but all of the best jokes and movie references remain.

Audience Reaction: The audience was rather quiet, with smatterings of laugher here and there as the exposition took place during the first 20 minutes. It wasn't until Jay & Silent Bob appeared that the crowd REALLY came alive, and rightfully so: Mewes just steals the scene whenever he's around. It's incredible. (Jay, by the way, left about 10 or 15 minutes into the screening, as Kevin reported, with the parting thought: "I've already seen it, dude."). Other than that, I felt that the audience DID laugh at all the right parts, though some of the references did get a bit lost...Oh, and was that a HOWLING reference towards the end there? Wow. I'm proud of myself for spotting that one.

The cut characters: Both George Carlin and Salma Hayek suffered some large cut bits from the flick, though their parts were small to begin with, so it's not noticeable to folks who never saw the full cut.

Closing Credits: The closing credits are all in place, along with Alanis' new track in final studio form, which I thought sounded great to finish off the flick. Since only the "Dogma" title begins the flick, all the major acting credits come at the end, in the "final bow" format where highlights from the film appear with each actor's name. It was a neat touch to see Anderson and O'Halloran back together side by side on the screen like that. By the way, yes, the Dogma "font" that we've been using does seem to be in place for the flick. The "O" with the cross through it will be the final format, though no, we're not getting paid or anything like that as many of you have asked. The font just seemed a good choice, and others obviously agree, since The 13th Warrior just used it as well. It's just a public domain font, and nothing that we did any customizing on.

The Special Thanks section is also in place. The usual cast, crew, and family thanks were there, including one for Jen and a final thanks to Harley Quinn. Also, for those of you that asked: No, there's not a mention of News Askew or Dogma: RC anywhere there, but strangely, no mention of the View Askew website either. The plug for Jay & Bob's Secret Stash is tacked on, though. I also noticed the cast of the Howard Stern Show amongst a long list of other names thrown in at the end.

One final note: There WILL be a "Jay & Silent Bob Will Return In..." added to the end credits, though this was not yet in place. Perhaps we'll see the name of the next film listed? Kevin seems to indicate that, which many people might be happy to see Jay & Bob retire (he would as well), that the pair have got just one more adventure left in them.

Again, I realize I haven't summarized the film, read my forthcoming review for a hopefully non-spolier revelation on all of that.

A very short Q&A session began immediately after the end credits, to again thunderous applause from the audience who obviously dug the flick a great deal. I missed the first few questions to go next door and pick up Aimee (that quiet bar had turned into a loud madhouse with people dancing around like idiots, strangely enough) to at least bring her back in to hear a few questions. Seemed like the usual stuff, including the obligatory Superman Lives question for some reason, as well as a bit about the violence in the film, and the reason Alanis was cast. Because she was Canadian, of course, was Kevin's reply. With that, Kevin & the gang quietly slipped out to avoid mass hysteria, since the theater had to be cleared for the next flick. On my way out, I ran into the Lions Gate rep who gave me an address for the after show party on the other side of town. Sounded great!

We hopped the Subway to see where we'd end up on the street where everyone was supposed to gather, and found we were FAR off from the place. At 1:00 in the morning, a walk all the way up seemed like a daunting task, so we just decided to head back to the hotel to crash. Now that we read all the cast and crew showed, it kinda sucks that we missed it, but hey, that's life. The walk back to the Sky Dome practically killed us, anyway. When I got back into the room. I noticed they were clearing the football field off and putting out the baseball turf for the Blue Jays! Out my window! I'm easily amused.

We requested a late check out for Sunday, and we needed it! Walking through the city takes a lot out of ya. After some wrong turns here and there, we ended up at a super cool spot, the Sega Playdium, where we wasted a few hours playing some video games (I showed off my Wacky Gator prowess - I'm the world Wacky Gator champion), and got my ass kicked on the outdoor go-kart track. After an hour or so, Aimee dropped me off at the airport, we said our goodbyes, and I made that trip back through customs.

There's like 4 stations getting BACK into the US through customs! One station's just chatting about what you did during the visit, disclosing stuff ya bought. The next guy just looked at my license and asked, "WHERE WERE YOU BORN???". He seemed satisfied with my answer.

Pat met me yet again, on his Sunday off, in Cincinatti to let me know that my flight back into Harrisburg was already OVERBOOKED by 2 passengers. As we were making plans for me to crash at his place into Monday, by some miracle a standby seat opened and I was good to go. I arrived in Harrisburg, just about 10 minutes late due to a long queue waiting for takeoff in Cincinatti (Flying Sunday night is always busy) and had another pleasant trip on Comair. I headed home with a smile on my face, mostly because of the wonderful weekend I'd just had, and partly because I was going loopy due to lack of sleep.

All in all, I've gotta say this has been one of the most enjoyable weekends of my life. So fun, in fact, that I needed to take the day off today just to sleep in and recover. Just a few final Thank You's to the people whom without which this trip would not have happened:

Until the next event...Thanks for reading!

-BRAD