Worth Your Consideration #029

• I’d like to begin today’s WYC column with a little bit of rubbing it in for my least-favorite football team in the world, the Indianapolis Colts. Here’s Peyton Manning’s Super Bowl-Clinching Interception Recreated On Tecmo Bowl (courtesy of Best Week Ever).
• And, speaking of must-watch videos, have you seen the third trailer for Toy Story 3? It doesn’t wow me as much as the first two did—I’m past the wow stage anyway, though, and onto the “When is it coming out?” stage—but it is pretty darned nifty, and it sets up even more of the story. I love that we get to meet Ken, and that Barbie compliments him on his ascot. [Via Ain’t It Cool News]
• Now, when it comes to must-see video that ain’t even out yet, there’s one story today that tops the rest (at least for me): Web video producer John Herman and Cinema Suicide head honcho Bryan White are teaming up to produce How To Survive The Strange, which Bryan describes as Bob Vila, Vampire Hunter. It debuts in May, and there’s an open casting call on March 15. Learn more here.
• In far less appetizing news, I present the Taco Bell Cheesy Double Beef Burrito Stuffed Sausage Log. Um, what is the opposite of “Yum”? Anyone know?
• Palate-Cleanser, Part One: Christopher Nolan will help reboot Superman, hopefully with the same (or similar) results as his Batman reboot.
• Palate-Cleanser, Part Two: There appears to be some recording going on at Nine Inch Nails HQ.
• Palate-Cleanser, Part Three: Disney Princesses Letting It All Hang Out.
• And, last but not least, let’s talk about our old pal Kevin Smith. The Internet is in an uproar over the mistreatment of the Clerks director by Southwest Airlines. Many are mad at Southwest, some are mad at Kevin, and a few are even mad at Heather Armstrong, who had “the nerve” to compare her washing machine experience with this latest debacle. Me, I don’t care. Companies in the service industries do wrong by their customers all the time, and there ain’t a one of them that is totally innocent, least of all a company as big as Southwest. Me, I’m much less excited to hear Kevin Smith tell Southwest to go fuck themselves on SModcast than I am to hear more about his bold ideas on how to create fan-financed films.

The Very Filthy and Very Funny Red Band Trailer for COP OUT

I’m on record as having hated the first trailer for Kevin Smith’s new flick Cop Out, but I gotta say that my once (and future?) favorite director has knocked it out of the park with the red band trailer for the film. The jokes are about one-thousand times better, and the interaction between Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan is working on all levels. Mr. Smith and company got their second chance to make a first impression, and they’ve got me craving another dose Cop Out as soon as possible.

The Trailer for COP OUT Sucks A Couple Of…

It makes me incredibly sad to realize that the trailer for Kevin Smith’s next film, Cop Out, is completely devoid of funny. I mean, I didn’t laugh once while watching it. Not once. And this is coming from the guy who made View Askew films one of the five fingers of Geek Force Five’s inaugural fist when the site debuted two years ago.

Now, part of the problem might be that the script ain’t Kevin’s—some say that might be part of the solution, but I ain’t going there—but I think the larger issue here is Tracy Morgan. This trailer is all about Tracy, and if you don’t dig his shit then you are not going to be amused by the schtick here.

Infinitely more amusing than the movie itself—or, at least more entertaining than this trailer—is Kevin Smith’s account of how the film formerly known as A Couple of Dicks came to be called Cop Out.

Thanks to News Askew for linking this up, but I think I’m gonna sit this one out and wait for Clerks III in 2016 (or at least until Kevin gets back to his own scripts).

Worth Your Consideration #025

• Be a Mind Blower has collected the “Top 25 Mind Blowing Ideas” on how to control devices by blowing air at them. Now, we the people have a chance to vote and determine the Top 5, which may be integrated into Zyxio’s projects in the future. Ideas include everything from how to stop excessive spread of swine flu to how to create HarmonicaHero-type games.
• Our friends at Film Pop! are running a workshop on “Indie Film Marketing On A Shoestring” in Nashua, New Hampshire on December 16, and they’re running it at our favorite Gate City venue Studio 99.
• My favorite band of all time, Nine Inch Nails, is auctioning off their gear on eBay. Thanks to our friends at Moss Creek Media for reminding us to write about this.
• Another Moss Creek reminder: Amanda Palmer’s Party on the Internet. I’m not sure how often it runs, but Amanda Palmer doing live Web video definitely seems like something kick-ass and worth our consideration.
• Speaking of things that kick ass, be sure to check out this poster of McLovin as Red Mist in the new Kick-Ass film adaptation.
• And then, when you’re done with that, why not give a listen to an iPhone orchestra. We’re all sick of Christmas tunes by now, right? So, why not broaden your horizons? Here’s another link, just in case you’re not convinced yet.
• If you’re interested in broadening your toddler’s horizons, and you want to make sure they’re even more ahead of the curve than the rest of the kids at your daycare center, why not buy ‘em a Twoddler for Christmas? It’s a toy that allows babies to use Twitter. Now, doesn’t that sound like a wonderful idea?
• Switching gears, here’s something for you video game mashup lovers out there: a sweet Half-Life 2/Contra mashup (embedded above, for your convenience).
• And, if Contra’s just a wee bit too violent for you, what about Dragon’s Lair for the iPhone and iPod Touch? That sounds neat, right?
• Also neat: Apple buys streaming music service Lala. What does this mean for iTunes? Is cloud storage of our tunes forthcoming?
• And, speaking of things forthcoming, what about Clerks 3? Kevin Smith says it’s a possibility if he makes it to his late 40s.
• Wrapping up, here’s a peek at the temple that’s been mentioned but never seen on Lost. Excited for season six yet? I know I am.

Kevin Smith Rewrites Script for Cancer Survivor

I’ve said recently that Kevin Smith is no longer my favorite filmmaker. He remains among my top 10, but he’s no longer #1. That said, he remains one of my favorite human beings. This story, from Echo Press by way of News Askew, is a perfect example of why.

Cody Saurdiff, a cancer survivor and a kid who “pretty much grew up around doctors,” is a big Kevin Smith fan. Thanks to the folks at the Make-A-Wish Foundation, he was granted access to Smith and to the director’s latest film project, tentatively titled A Couple of Dicks. But Kevin Smith did more than just meet and greet the kid.

The Saurdiffs were amazed to learn that Smith had rewritten part of the script to accommodate a part for Cody.

In the scene, Cody plays a teenage student driver who hits [Bruce] Willis with a car. Although it would be a 20-second scene, the Saurdiffs spent eight hours on the set.

After he was done filming, Cody got out of the car and the film crew gave him a standing ovation.

“They took a shining to Cody,” said his proud dad. “They loved this kid. He was holding cameras and everything. They couldn’t do enough.”

“Everyone there was super nice,” Cody agreed.

When the filming wrapped up, a satisfied, overwhelmed Cody expected to shake hands and say goodbye.

Then it got even better.

I’m not sure if A Couple of Dicks will be any good, or not. Nobody’s even sure whether it’ll be called A Couple of Dicks by the time it hits theaters. But what I am sure of is that I’ll be looking out for the film debut of Cody Saurdiff when I see it, and that I’ll be thinking about how awesome this bit of backstory is.

Chasing AMY To Blu-Ray

News Askew has the full deets on the forthcoming Blu-Ray release of Chasing Amy, and this sounds like a sweet release. I still don’t plan on ever buying a Blu-Ray player—I’m sticking with the discless awesomeness of Apple TV, thank you very much—but this is the sort of package that would sway me, if I was willing to be swayed. It includes not only my favorite Kevin Smith film but new documentaries and Q&A sessions, as well.

Geek Force FiveCast 205: Apatowisms

In which ECC rambles a bit about watching Knocked Up last night, and then gets into comparing Kevin Smith films with Judd Apatow films.

Kevin Smith Brings the Funny to Comic-Con

If only Kevin Smith’s films were as consistently funny as his Q&As, man. If that were the case, he would be a box office success every time he brought a new flick out of the gate. Alas, he has yet to establish any kind of creative rhythm in his career—though the back-to-back combination of Clerks II and Zack and Miri Make a Porno came close—always seeming to follow a good film with a not-so good film (and sometimes a good scene followed by a not-so good scene within the same movie).

Anyway, this is all my way of introducing the clip that I’ve embedded above, which is the first of eleven documenting his 2009 San Diego Comic-Con panel. You can find links to all the clips at News Askew, or by clicking on the related videos that pop up in the YouTube player after the first one, but please do give it a watch if you are in any way a Kevin Smith fan. The dude really does deliver the funny, and though he has nothing coming out in the near future to promote—his next film, tentatively titled A Couple of Dicks isn’t due out until early next year—he succeeds at making the viewer want to go out and support his work straight away.

Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan Are Such Dicks

I once thought of Kevin Smith as my favorite filmmaker. That’s certainly not true anymore, but I still love what the guy does. But man, he is a sucker for punishment. If he thought he and his production house had a hard time marketing a film titled Zack and Miri Make a Porno, what does he think is going to happen by calling his latest A Couple of Dicks? Sure, this one stars Bruce Willis, but I don’t think that Bruno’s presence as headliner is really going to make that much of a difference. They aren’t going to get a poster hung anywhere with that title. It’s a shame, because it’s a great title, but it’s just true.

Anyway, the photo above, which comes to us courtesy of Accidental Sexiness (by way of News Askew) is quite promising. I love the looks on their faces. As the boys at News Askew put it, this pic “OOZES character.” At least I think so. What about you?

Geek Force Utterz #065 - Commute as Adventure

How many things have to go wrong during a morning commute before a curmudgeon with anger issues loses his cool and lets loose all of the hot air in his system? Find out by listening to today’s episode of Geek Force Utterz. You can do so by listening to the embed above, or by visiting Utterli.com.