Kevin Smith Reviews The Dark Knight; New Zack and Miri Photo
Last night was EPIC. I had one of those movie experiences that only happens once in a long long time, where you leave the theater completely blown away by what you just experienced. Folks, this isn’t hype - The Dark Knight is a movie will destroy your expectations.
Not only did I get to see The Dark Knight, but I got to see it with one of my favorite directors / one of my idols - Kevin Smith was my guest. How cool is that? I honestly didn’t plan to name drop, but it seems like Smith talked about it in his latest blog entry. And as cool as that sounds, and was, Nolan was some how able to completely overshadow that fact with his new film. I’m under embargo not to review the movie until release (not that Warner Bros would shoot me over the completely glowing review I plan on posting), but Smith gives his breif spoiler free review which almost completely echos my own thoughts.
“Without giving anything away, this is an epic film (and trust me: based on the sheer size and scope of the visuals and storytelling, that’s not an overstatement). It’s the “Godfather II” of comic book films and three times more earnest than “Batman Begins” (and fuck, was that an earnest film). Easily the most adult comic book film ever made. Heath Ledger didn’t so much give a performance as he disappeared completely into the role; I know I’m not the first to suggest this, but he’ll likely get at least an Oscar nod (if not the win) for Best Supporting Actor. Fucking flick’s nearly three hours long and only leaves you wanting more (in a great way). I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed by it. Nolan and crew have created something close to a masterpiece.”
Smith also released a new image from Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
The director says a theatrical poster and trailer are on the way as well. I’m guessing they will hit the first week of August with Pineapple Express.
Seth Rogen (Really) Makes a Porno
Kevin Smith’s upcoming comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno, with Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen, may actually be a porno. No, seriously. The MPAA is trying to slap it with an NC-17 rating, meaning you’d have a tough time seeing it down at the megaplex.
So what’s in this thing that makes it so, like, porny? We asked Seth, and here’s what he said…
“It’s like a romantic comedy,” Rogen told us this week, at the press day for The Pineapple Express, which opens in August. “It’s a romantic relationship moviewith a lot of porn and balls.”
Wait, whose balls? “My balls are not in it,” he clarified.
Still, Smith is fighting for an R rating, as he did when Clerks first got slapped with an NC-17simply for dirty language. “You can disembowel someone in a youth hostel in Romania, but you can’t show people having sex,” Rogen said. “I think it’s weird.”
If Zack and Miri does get an NC-17, Rogen thinks his hit flicks Knocked Up and Superbad should have, too.
“This is not anything outside of what we’ve done before,” he told us. “The word porno is in the title, and that kind of freaks people out.”
Well, that and the balls, maybe.
Funny Folk Salute [Expletive-Deleted] George Carlin
There may be seven words you can never say on television, but only five are needed to describe George Carlin. At least according to Robin Williams.
“He was one funny motherf–ker,” Williams said of his legendarily caustic comedic forebear, who died of heart failure Sunday evening at the age of 71.
“George Carlin was the living embodiment of the First Amendment. In the traditions of Mark Twain and Jonathan Swift, he dealt with the insanity of the world with the one-two punch of humor and honesty with no apologies,” added Williams.
“He was one of the greats,” Ben Stiller said in a more censor-friendly statement, “and he will be missed. [He] was a hugely influential force in stand-up comedy. He had an amazing mind, and his humor was brave and always challenging us to look at ourselves and question our belief systems, while being incredibly entertaining.”
Kevin Smith, who frequently cast Carlin in films and who gave the taboo breaker his last live-action big-screen role in 2004’s Jersey Girl, reacted to news of the death on his official website this morning.
“Dammit. My favorite memory of Carlin is sitting in the audience at one of his Vegas shows as he did his ’People I Can Do Without’ routine,” Smith wrote. “When he got to ’guys over the age of 10 who wear their baseball hats backwards,’ he tossed in ’Kevin, you’re exempt from this.’
“Changed my sense of humor forever. Sixteen years later, I was happy to have met the man, let alone worked with him. Honestly, I was lucky to have known him at all.”
Jay Leno also paid tribute to his fallen friend, who broke onto the national scene back in the 1960s as a hippy-dippy weatherman on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.
“If there was ever a comedian who was a voice of their generation, it was George Carlin,” Leno said. “Before George, comedians aspired to put on nice suits and perform in Las Vegas. George rebelled against that life.
“His comedy took on privilege and elitism, even railing against the game of golf. He never lost that fire. May he continue to inspire young people never to accept the status quo.”
Judd Apatow gave props to Carlin’s influence over today’s class of cutups.
“Nobody was funnier than George Carlin,” he said. “I spent half my childhood in my room listening to his records experiencing pure joy. And he was as kind as he was funny.”
Saturday Night Live mastermind Lorne Michaels was also in mourning for the comic genius who served as the first-ever host of SNL, albeit one who later admitted to having been on cocaine for the duration of his appearance.
“You never forget the people who were there at the beginning,” Michaels said. “George Carlin helped give Saturday Night Live its start as our first host. He was gracious, fearless and, most important of all, funny.”
HBO, which produced 14 Carlin-fronted comedy specials, also issued a statement on the funnyman’s death.
“Because HBO has had such a long and close relationship with George Carlin, his passing is like losing one of our own,” the cable net said in a statement.
“No performer was more important to helping our network define itself in its early years. And no performer was more committed to the ideal of freedom of speech, a principle he embodied for the 50 years he performed with his trademark wit.
“We will miss his humor and his righteous comic anger, and we will simply miss him.”
Jerry Seinfeld, meanwhile, is penning a eulogy to Carlin for tomorrow’s New York Times. He’s also set to speak about his comedic forebear on tonight’s Larry King Live.
BREAKING: George Carlin Dead at 71
Man, this is really sad. A Slashfilm fave, legendary comedian and thinking man, George Carlin, died today (Sunday) from heart failure at a Santa Monica hospital. He was admitted on Sunday afternoon after experiencing chest pains. Sadder still, Carlin was to receive the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center this November. No word on how that event will proceed, but let’s hope it will be a fine send-off from his peers for a career that spanned five decades. Carlin said this regarding the reward: “Thank you Mr. Twain. Have your people call my people.” That is one phone call that warranted a tap.
Peter’s Thoughts: This really sucks. Carlin was not only a legendary comedian but a master wordsmith. When he delivered comedy, it was like he was singing a song or reading a poem.
If you haven’t seen every one of his HBO television specials, than you haven’t laughed. Surprisingly he made few appearances on the big screen. My favorite was his performance in Kevin Smith’s Jersey Girl, where he plays Ben Affleck’s father Bart Trinke. Strangely it’s probably his least comedic attempt on the big or small screen. His performance is heartbreaking. I never got to see Carlin live (and it’s not for a lack of trying), and that will probably be one of my biggest regrets.
“The planet isn’t going anywhere. WE ARE! Pack your shit, folks. We’re goin’ away.” - George Carlin
Hunter’s Thoughts: Carlin’s comedy routines threw your mind on the treadmill, whipped it into shape and left you dying on the couch from laughter and the absurdity of a world gone mad (and madder still). I’ve talked to several friends in just the last few minutes–everyone’s watching YouTube clips–and one memory that many of us share is watching Carlin’s superlative HBO specials with our dads. Carlin said he made a decision not to “live a lie” and to speak the truth, and his boldness and intellect closed gaps amongst generations of guys (and women too–his pro-choice bits are classic–no doubt) that rock ‘n’ roll, a lot of literature and a lot of heated discussions failed to do.
His intellect, memory and honesty were brilliant and nearly intimidating, though he wasn’t a snob by any means. He never stopped thinking, he never let his brain age, and he stood on stage like some slender, creaky lightning rod and, tellingly, nothing shot him down. Goddamn it, he was one of the greats. Let’s be sure to put younger generations onto his act and not allow ourselves to easily become that which Carlin stood so humorously against. R.I.P. He was one of the only guys I ever listened to with a pony tail.
“In Heaven, the French do the cooking, the Germans are the mechanics, the Swiss run the hotels, the Italians are the lovers and the English are the police.
In Hell, the English do the cooking, the Italians are the mechanics, the French run the hotels, the Swiss are the lovers and the Germans are the police.” - George Carlin (via commenter Captain Awesome)