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Photos Appear Courtesy Of bbruce.
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Photos Appear Courtesy Of bbruce.
Sunday, October 29th - 12:00 PM
After running a few last minute errands (the usual gas, cash machine, and stuff) we depart from Enola, PA. Our plan has us making a couple stops on the way in, the first at the famous Midway Diner on route 81, haven for truckers, a damn good diner, and then to hit Best Buy in Allentown, PA to see if there's any DVDs or electronics to waste money on. With those stops, we expect to arrive in Red Bank, NJ (or basically at nearby Eatontown's Holiday Inn) around 5:00 PM today. It's a sunny day outside, cloudy skies, but not quite as cold as the temperatures predicted had led us to believe. We're anticipating a very cool couple of days ahead, and are sure as we speak quite a few folks have already met and are making plans for the event. I've got my laptop along today, so while Chris takes the driving duties, I can keep up with the events as they happen on the trip.
12:30 PM
Well, never underestimate the power of hunger. We made it about 3 exits up the highway when a McDonald's sign got the best of us. So much for the Midway diner! Oh well, there's always the way home. 2 large bacon double cheeseburger value meals (mmmm, bacon) later and we were back on track - Next destination, Best Buy.
2:30 PM
We're sitting in the ridiculously long line of traffic in the Besy Buy in Allentown, PA right now. This place is a madhouse any day of the week, but it's gotta be even worse on Sundays (Christmastime at this place has to be one of the closest things to Hell On Earth). Anyway, Chris made off with a couple of DVDs at a good price, I came out empty handed because I missed the sale on the Toy Story 2 DVD box set (dagnabbit).
Well we moved up about 2 cars now and there's about 8 to go before we get back to the highway. Someone just luckily let us in the line, there are a few kind drivers left here and there, after all.
The weather has turned colder and cloudier now. Who knows if rain is now in the forecast or not, it's amazing how much you take the internet for granted while you have it. Anyway, after about 10 minutes of sitting we're just a couple cars from route 22, putting us back on the path, so that'll do for now - Next stop, the Holiday Inn!
5:10
Well here we are at the Holiday Inn. It didn't take long to get here at all considering the stops we had to make on the way into the place. Not bad at all. The internet connection from the room's also working well and allowed us to post an update just now (along with a pic of our room with Chris's budget digital camera...sorry about the quality of that and all the pics we took for this story, by the way, but what do you want for $50?).
7:00 PM Or So...
Wow, it's a madhouse down here! Actually, things started out quiet enough (and we started in with the beers a little too early) but the crowd slowly starts to grow downstairs as the night goes on. Lots of Askew fans came up to introduce themselves and chat about the site, which was very cool. A guy named Stroker bought us a pitcher of beer early on (thanks man!). Later on that night, when I asked the guy why he wasn't drinking, he said he was waiting for midnight (near the cash machine) since he'd reached his daily withdrawal limit. Too funny. We also ran into Paul from the UK, who was kind enough to share a couple Daredevil CD-ROMs with us, and a group of guys who drove 42 hours from Calgary, just to attend the 'thon and hang out with the fans. That's dedication! It's also gotta take the prize for longest road trip. Pretty tough to beat a 42 hour drive, that's for sure.
9:00 / 10:00 PM
Later in the evening, somewhere around 9 or 10, a big group of Askew celebs showed up to hang out: Vincent Periera, Don May (whose Synapse is producing Vin's "A Better Place" DVD), Malcolm Ingram, Brian Lynch, Bryan Johnson, Ming, and more. It was fun hanging out with those folks for a while as the night began to wind down. Thanks also to Vincent for supplying us with one of the first soundtracks for A Better Place. Alas, they weren't pressed in time for sale during the thon, but we'll have a first look review of that for you very soon (in just a day or two!) along with some cover art.
Oh, those poor unexpecting Holiday Inn employees had their hands full with our crew. We've gotta give props to those folks who did a damn fine job keeping the crowd supplied with food and alcohol...There had to be well over 100 people down there. When all is said and done, the I chatted with a couple of the folks working down there who said we were a good, fun group, but that they were just surprised and overwhelmed by the heavy amount of traffic down there on a Sunday night. No doubt about it, though, the Eatontown Holiday Inn was THE place to be last night, and a fine time was had by all on hand.
I spend a good part of the night talking to Don May of Synapse, who tells me that they're recording the commentary track for use on the A Better Place DVD tomorrow. There's still no solid release date for the film, as everything will now need to be packaged up, but the new sound mix and print are ready, so it's looking good. Don's a great guy and has some fantastic stories to tell, as he's been in the business a while, producing such gems at the recent "Re-Animator" and "Evil Dead II" laserdiscs for Elite (that are now available as DVDs). We should be able to keep in close touch with Don and Vincent on the disc now, as well as have a test pressing for a very early look at ABP right here at News Askew, as soon as the disc is ready.
Monday, October 30th - MIDNIGHT
Things are finally starting to wind down a bit, and the hotel employees have asked everyone to move from the dining area to the main bar area as an effort to try and encourage some folks to head back to their rooms. As everyone moves on, it seems like a good time to call it quits - 7 hours of beer drinking is enough, especially since tomorrow's going to be a very long day. So, it's back to the room, for some much needed sleep.
12:05 AM
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
6:30 AM
Wow. What the hell are we doing up this early? Might be the noise, might be the rock hard mattresses at the Holiday Inn, who knows. At any rate, this leaves plenty of time for some yummy hotel breakfast before heading into Red Bank for all of the festivities.
7:30 AM
Alright, maybe a NOT so yummy breakfast. $4.99 seemed like a fair price for a full breakfast buffet. Too bad most of it was cold. Yuk city. The donuts were pretty fresh and damn good though. Should have went with the cereal instead of the eggs and bacon, though. Hopefully if you attended, you got some fresh hot stuff on the breakfast line.
9:00 AM
Chris was kind enough to promise a few folks we'd met the night before (Delilah, Katie, and Pat) a ride into town to allow them to get a decent spot in line. While he's gone, I can sit here at the laptop and catch up on some of this diary. It's pretty chilly out there this morning, but a beautiful day. Chris returns in about a half hour with reports that the line is already WAY long, stretching down the block from the theater entrance and almost up to Broad Street. And this is about an hour before doors are even scheduled to open.
9:45 AM
With about a 15 minute drive into Red Bank, we figure it's best we head in for the day, help out with whatever we can getting folks into the place, and get ourselves situated. Parking is actually quite easy to find in the theater parking lot. Many folks are told horror stories about the parking in Red Bank, but the truth is, if you use the theater parking lot and just feed the meter every 3 hours, you're good to go. After 6 PM, the meters don't even need fed anymore. Piece of cake. And we showed up later than most, too.
10:00 AM
10:30 AM
Kevin gives the word to get things started, and the doors open! Folks are wisely let in at a slower pace to avoid massive traffic jams as the available room inside the concession area is at a premium. Folks come in, mark their seats, and start buying amounts of popcorn and soda so massive that it looks like they're not planning to get up for 8 hours. Smart idea. I'm up front in theater one watching that the expensive projector doesn't get kicked over, and helping folks find seats (so anyone who saw the guy in the blue hat up front while they were coming into theater one, that was me).
It's a slow process moving 400+ people into two theaters at once, but it's also a lot of fun to check out some of the costumes folks came dressed in. A couple of dead ringers for Jay & Silent Bob were around, someone dressed as Vulgar the clown (Kev gave them some mad props later in the show), a girl dressed as Trish the dish from 'Rats, even the Marksman came dressed as a gorilla. If there was more time, they should have held a costume contest. To everyone who got costumed up, though, great job, it was a lot of fun.
11:45 AM
11:50 AM
12:10 PM
Back in the theater, I realize I missed our Dogma scene, but Chris tells me that there was a bit of applause when we did our little walk-on in the airport. Thanks, folks, you're too kind.
After a while the legs and feet started to get tired of standing in one spot, so I took a walk outside to get some fresh air. It turns out this was the calm before the storm, as Kevin, Jason Lee, & Malcolm were outside just chilling out and relaxing. I shook hands and talked with Lee for a few minutes about his pad (as seen in In Style magazine) and a few other minutae. I also discovered that Drawing Flies was going to get DVD distribution and that it'd be announced after the screening. Jonah from IndieDVD was there, and gave me his card. A couple folks had since walked over to the area, spotting Kevin and Jason alone, and hit them up for a couple of autographs. Before I left, Kevin suggested that we head to the office after the Dogma Q&A session, since we'd yet to see the place since they moved a while back and there was an update to post (about Flies and some other stuff, as you probably read).
DOGMA - CANNES PRINT
The Cannes version of Dogma actually had a lot more in store than we expected. This was the first time we'd seen a lot of this stuff since watching the original 3+ hour workprint a couple years ago. We knew that the famous "Hell" monologue from Jason Lee would be in there towards the end, as well as the imfamous "Fat Albert" sequence (which received HUGE laughs and a hearty round of appluase at its end). However, lots more was back in, including a Star Wars/religion comparison with Loki & Jay/Silent Bob and many of the line trims here and there that Kevin mentioned back during the editing process. It's amazing how much those little lines and clips add up to, but when it was all put together, the flick ran about 20 minutes longer. Don't expect to see this print very often, if ever again, since the print on the Special Edition DVD will be the same as the theatrical. All of the extra Cannes stuff, and a LOT more, is included in the extras supplement, though.
DOGMA - Q&A
2:30 PM - VIEW ASKEW OFFICE VISIT (DURING DRAWING FLIES SCREENING)
The place is really, really cool. Amy Noble was working the front desk and buzzed us in when we got there. SPACE is the key word here, having seen the old offices. This place has a ton of room, with a very nice reception area, 4 smaller offices and then Kev's massive space in the back, which has got some way cool stuff, including some chairs shaped like Mickey Mouse's head, a giant Sony WEGA TV, and more. All sorts of one-of-a-kind stuff is all over the place - Stained glass windows featuring Jay & Bob, snow globes, porcelain and ceramic figurines, rare posters....Great, great stuff. In addition to that, there's piles and closets just FULL of merchandise that's going out to fans, as this is the spot where it all gets signed, packed up and shipped, all by hand, to all of you who place your orders through the Stash or online. There's a pile of posters and books awaiting Kev's signature that we notice, so be patient for that stuff, he's got a lot to do and tries to keep up as best as he can. It's amazing though, seeing all the t-shirts, posters, books, and boxes upon boxes of View Askew merchandise. You'd never think there were that many items.
Kevin and Gail are very gracious and give us the run of the place, where we're able to hook into a phone line over in the packaging area and upload a mid-day update, the first ever from View Askew central. It's a moment in News Askew history, we suppose. Kevin and some of the others head back to get ready for the next Q&A, while we finish up with Ming hanging around to guide us back to the theater (though the new offices really are only a few blocks up the road, not bad at all).
4:15 PM (STASH VISIT)
4:30
We'd hoped to be back for the entire Q&A session for Drawing Flies, but since we'd lagged behind a bit then started talking with Gail, Amy, and watching Harley toddle around the office, we ended up just catching the tail end of the discussion. After the Q&A, Kevin and Jason came outside to sign a ton more autographs and take pictures with the fans.
It's really amazing how gracious and approachable these guys are to everyone. Kevin, Lee, and Mewes were pretty much swamped all day from the first Q&A on, with requests for photos, autographs, or just to talk, and they took care of everyone. Very, very cool of them.
4:45 PM (A BETTER PLACE)
Having seen the flick before and LOVED it (see Vulgarthon 98 for more on our thoughts on the first screening of the film), let's talk a little bit about the way Vincent's cleaned up this film. First of all, he's totally recreated or enhanced every sound element in this film (New music, directional sound effects, background noise, and tons more) thanks to the help of Skywalker sound. The picture has also been enhanced and looks crisp and clearer than ever before. Vin's also tightened up the story a bit by removing an unnecessary scene (don't worry, it'll be in the extras on the DVD) and added some flashback shots that emphasise one character's traumatic childhood. The effect is perfect.
You'll notice that we never really talk about the elements or the plot of A Better Place that much, and that's done for a reason. The film's such a great surprise for View Askew fans, and always seems to have such an impact since it's not one of those movies that you've got an idea about beforehand. It grabs you, pulls you in, and keeps you interested in these characters for the duration. Pereira's choice to focus on only the characters themselves and include very little background or screentime with parent figures or other minor players is a deliberate one, and allows the viewer to become all the more drawn into the story. This film continues to emerge as a fan favorite and a memorable experience for those that screen it. We can't wait to own this DVD, and, moreso, can't wait to see what Vincent turns out for his next effort. Bravo.
6:15 PM (MORE Q&A SESSIONS)
With this being the last session before the break, 2 simultaneous Q&A sessions were happening. I opted to hit the Dogma Q&A in theater two while Chris stuck around for the ABP Q&A in theater one, just to cover our bases. Good thing, too, as there was a TON to be learned in theater 2's Q&A about View Askew 5. You'll find most of that, including the cast list so far, possible titles, and a couple other tidbits, on the main News Askew website.
Kevin also talked about future projects, including the fact that he wanted Jason Lee for the Fletch movie and wouldn't like doing it if someone else got attached to star. He also for the first time mentioned that he had ANOTHER 50 page draft of a totally different movie, which is a comedy yet with dramatic/serious moments as well (think CHASING AMY) that he may also opt to direct next. Time will tell.
In addition to all that, there will be a Clerks Animated Movie, as Miramax was thrilled with the cartoon and the outline that Kev sent them for a feature (which has Randal and Dante filiming a black and white movie based on their lives as Clerks). Look for that project to start coming together after View Askew 5, as well.
On the ABP front, Vincent talked in depth about the production of A Better Place, from the technical changes that were made for the new print, to the actors he liked as well as one whose performance he had trouble with. Producer Paul Finn, Bryan Lynch, and the star, Robert DiPatri, were also on hand for the session. A soundtrack has been designed and is ready for pressing. We've got a test pressing of that here at News Askew (one of only a couple in existance right now) and will have a review for you very soon (writing this wrapup just took a LOT longer than expected).
7:00 PM (BREAK TIME!)
When you've got nothing but a cold, crappy hotel breakfast in your stomach from about 12 hours ago, pretty much anything would have tasted good, but we made a perfect choice in hitting the Boston Market a couple miles up Broad Street. What a GREAT decision. Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn....Whooooa baby, does this ever hit the spot. With stomachs full and plenty of time to spare, we make our way back to the theater for the final two screeings of the evening.
8:15 PM
We're still running an hour behind schedule on things, which isn't bad, and anticipate getting out of the theater by a bit after midnight if things continue running on schedule from here on. At this point, some folks have bugged out, and seats are more plentiful, so we grab the two folding chairs in the back of the theater. I've got the laptop out and take some time to catch up on things, as some more folks come up to say hello to us when they return from the break. We also finally get the chance to meet Kevin's parents, who are delightful, and tell me that they love the site and read it often.
Kevin comes into the theater to introduce the "surprise feature", and in the process makes sure everyone in there is from Theater one (so as not to leak the big surprise to the Theater 2 folks) and gets some of the standing folks in the back seated. There's still lots of single seats here and there, as there were all day, so remember folks, if you go to the next one, fill in those empty seats! Kevin also mentions that the next time (next year?) they hold an event, they'd do it at the Count Basie, which holds over 1,000 folks (more than double the thon attendees!). Wow, that would be some party.
8:45 - SURPRISE! CLERKS THE CARTOON (THE 4 UNAIRED EPISODES)
As far as crowd excitement, laughter, and fun, this was the highlight of the day. We've seen the Clerks cartoons before, but this was a totally new experience. If only the general American audience had the same opinions as the folks at the 'thon. The surprise feature, which most of you know by now, was the 4 unaired episodes of Clerks: The Cartoon, complete and, of course, commercial free. And what a blast. For us, the fun wasn't so much in seeing the shows again, but getting to enjoy them with a crowd that laughed and appreciated all the sly references, pop culture stuff, View Askew characters, and film references. These shows can stand alone for a non fan, sure, but with an audience full of over 200 Askew fans, they're a dream come true.
So many jokes were just drowned out with laughter from the previous one
10:35 - CLERKS CARTOON Q&A
Kev was showing signs of fatigue as the night was growing long, and wisely kept the Q&A to a fairly short session since we had Big Helium Dog, followed to another Q&A, left. He introduced Brian Lynch to the crowd, and the film began.
11:00 PM - BIG HELIUM DOG
Lynch wrote and directed this film and envisioned a sort of "Kentucky Fried Movie" feel to it, and it shows. The film is held together by a very simple plot, which helps to drive the various sequences and skits that appear thoughout. It's really almost like an episode of MTV's old show "The State" (and, coincidentally, features Michael Ian Black from that same show), in that the movie's main purpose is to present the sketches, but that it uses a common thread to tie them together. Very clever. BHD is funny, fast-paced, and custom built for the View Askew audience. You can't help but enjoy it.
The film's got tons of real laugh out loud moments in it, and isn't afraid to mock itself mercilessly. Lynch's wicked sense of humor comes through in his writing, and he knows how to make it all work onscreen. Sometimes a sketch will be interrupted for explanation, very Monty Python-esque, other times an animated introduction will introduce one of the film's deliberately offensive jokes, just to keep you on your toes. It's a really neat format, and one that you rarely see done in a motion picture, especially these days. Big Helium Dog was made by and for our generation of the short attention span, thus it managed to delight an audience that had already been sitting in theater seats for over 12 hours prior. Any movie that can do that has got something going for it. We hope that those of you not in attendance can see this flick real soon. Surely those in attendance would love another screening, as would we. It's a part of View Askew history that's not to be missed.
Tuesday, October 31 - 12:35 AM BIG HELIUM DOG Q&A
Brian Lynch and Vincent Pereira keep it short, as the masses are tiring. Folks seemed to dig the movie, yet others were a bit confused by it all, just because of the way everything jumps around. It's really not that tough to follow, though, in this writers' opinion. Folks did seem to enjoy it a great deal though, as evidenced by the rousing applause for the film and Lynch. The big question, of course, was "When can we see this thing again on video or DVD?". To that, Lynch didn't have an answer, sadly. We hope that he sincerely tries to get the film distributed, as it seems that fans will finally get their chance to see both "A Better Place" and "Drawing Flies" in their homes sometime next year. It would be perfect if BHD could also be added to that list. The film was a lot of fun, and has the potential to remain fresh even after repeated viewings.
12:50 AM - CHASING KEVIN/EMPLOYEES
As soon as the Q&A was over, theater one folks had the chance to watch the short "Chasing Kevin", which was supposed to put to rest all of the confusion about the film within THAT film, "Employees". Scott and Randy, the filmmakers, showcased this 15 minute short which chronicled the filmmakers on their quest to meet Kevin Smith and get his approval for their film, Employees, a black and white flick about 2 guys working in a shoe store. The first half of film or so deals with this quest and then, in the end, we finally get to see a scene from Employees. We're hoping that the guys make the short available online or otherwise for everyone to enjoy. It really needs to be seen to be appreciated.
The creators of Chasing Kevin assumed the short would explain itself, but you can decide what you want to make of it. We enjoyed it quite a bit, and know Scott and Randy worked really hard to get all their footage organized and together in time to showcase the project at Vulgarthon. The guys are huge Kevin Smith fans, and we know that Kev and the gang dug the short quite a bit. If you want to read more about the project and its intentions from the start, details are coming soon too their website at www.toomanynicknames.com. By the way, Scott Kramer is the guy behind "Waiting For Anakin", the short about waiting in line for Star Wars Episode 1 tickets from last year, AND plays a big part in Sci Fi's Exposure. He helped get all that cool stuff together and set up the interviews with Kev for the George Lucas episode.
1:10 AM
The hardest part of Vulgarthon is always leaving. This time was no exception, especially since we couldn't hang out at the Holiday Inn with everyone afterwards, unless of course I didn't want to be back at work on time on Tuesday. So, around 1:30 AM or so, it was time to pack it in. But first...
1:30 AM
We're back at the Holiday Inn now and man, are we ever exhausted. It's gotta be an even more tiresome day for all the celebs there who signed autographs and took pictures all day. Again, we've gotta say thanks to Kevin Smith, Vincent Pereira, Jason Lee, Carmen Lee, Brian O'Halloran, Brian Lynch, Brian Johnson, Malcolm Ingram, Don May, Robert DiPatri, Paul Finn, and (we're sure we're forgetting someone, sorry), EVERYONE who helped organize and operate the event. It was a blast for us, and certainly seemed like just as much fun for all who attended.
And so, with that, it's time to put up the big update for the night (The View Askew 5 cast listing details we heard in theater two) and catch about 3 hours sleep before having to get up and head back to Harrisburg (as I've gotta be at work, though how productive a day it's gonna be is a completely different thing). Chris, that lucky bum, gets to go back to his place and catch up on sleep after he drops me off.
2:00 AM
Zzzzz...
6:00 AM - HOMEWARD BOUND
It was one of those nights where you feel like the alarm clock went off the second your head hit the pillow the night before. Either the hallway outside was really quiet last night, even though folks were surely partying it up, or we were just too tired to care. It's gonna be a long drive home, but hey, at least we've got Howard Stern to tune into on the radio for the duration. That would make it bearable.
And so, there ya have it. Another trip to Red Bank, another fantastic View Askew event. Thanks again to Kevin, Vincent, and the rest of View Askew for taking the time to put together another fantastic, memorable day. Thanks also to everyone who came up to say hello and introduce themselves to us before, during, and after the event. It was great finally getting to meet so many of you who read the site on a regular basis. Thanks for the support and the compliments, and we'll see you all at the next one!
