kevinsmith

Sick of the giveaways yet? I didn't think so. This time we're offering you a Kevin Smith-signed one-sheet poster for The CW's upcoming new show, Reaper. In case you didn't know, Smith directed the pilot episode (which at least Joel and I really dug.) If you want a chance at getting the poster, simply leave a comment below before September 11 and we'll chose one lucky person to receive the poster.

Some other details:
And now we present you with the legalities of the giveaway. (Read them. Please.)

It looks like Kevin Smith is really getting his feet wet in the TV business this year, isn't he? Not only did he direct the very funny pilot to the CW's new series Reaper and write and direct the first episode of Heroes: Origins, but it now looks like he will also be directing an episode of Battlestar Galactica during its upcoming final season, as well.

Smith revealed that little tidbit to our friend Angel Cohn at AOL's TV Tattler, where he spoke about how he came on board all three of his upcoming TV projects, as well as a couple of details about his non-TV work. But, for right now, the most important part of the interview will be the details about his BSG episode...

While there are still a couple of panels left to go, things are definitely winding down at the Comic-Con. Stormtroopers are starting to smell a little rank, and the Junior Justice League isn't looking nearly as plucky. As the dust settles and the marketing teams rest their weary heads, what news items are we left with from Ye Old Comic-Con?

The best TV-related news items, in no particular order, follow:

The Heroes Comic-Con panel was jam-packed - so jam-packed that I almost didn't make it in despite getting in line three hours before it kicked-off. Fortunately, I squeaked in for the last 2/3 of the event - just in time to catch the announcement that none other than Kevin Smith would write and direct the first episode of Heroes: Origins, the mid-season replacement spin-off that will feature six episodes introducing six new characters. Viewers will decide which character joins the full-time Heroes cast. Each Origins episode will be directed by a different auteur. We'll be getting more announcements about the talent line-up for Origins in the coming months.

By the grace of the fire marshall, I just squeezed into the second half of the Heroes' panel at Comic-Con. I'll have a report up later, but in the meantime, big news, kids. Kevin Smith has signed to write and direct the first episode of Heroes: Origins. It will air in April. Each episode will have a different auteur at its helm, and yes, Smith is the first up. He promises to bring us the story of the two gay heroes. "The Japanese dudes are gay, right?" He was kidding.

Is there a better way to kick-off a panel than by having director Kevin Smith tell impossibly crude jokes about Stan Lee's semen? I think not. Smith was in town to screen the pilot for The CW's Reaper, which premieres this fall. Smith's involvement with the show beyond the pilot is unclear. He didn't write it although he could have. It would just be way dirtier and not on The CW.

My femurs feel like they have been broken in several places and each step I take sends the sensation of broken glass into the soles of my feet. The odor of hordes of people still lingers around me, but I don't know where it's coming from because my clothes smell fine. Next to me, I have a large bag of various free things, half of which I don't need nor like (so much manga). You see, I have just spent the entire day at the New York Comic-Con. I shall share the story of my short Saturday with you, not just as a reporter, but also as a fan and a first-time convention-goer.

Upon closer inspection, I think the "hordes of people" smell is coming from my shoes. Ew. Convention feet.

You know how it is when you're visiting your parents and one of them suddenly tells you that on the day of your birth they sold your soul to Satan? I tell you, that's something you never forget, and it's also the premise of a new series for the CW called Reaper. The pilot will be directed by indie filmmaker Kevin Smith and will begin shooting in Vancouver next month.

The series was created by Michele Fazeka and Tara Butters, former writers and story editors for shows such as Ed, Law and Order: SVU and The X Files. The new series, in which twenty-one year old Sam Oliver must pay his debt to Satan by hunting down souls escaped from Hell, is being described as a dramatic comedy.

This new show could actually be really cool, though I must say that if you're the most powerful evil force in the universe you should be able to create a domain from which no soul can escape. What kind of contractors does Satan have working for him, anyway?

[via TV Filter]

The Showtime pilot based on the British hit Manchild has its four leads now. Julia reported that John Corbett (Lucky, Northern Exposure) had been cast. Now comes word that he will be joined by Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, etc.), James Purefoy (Rome), and Paul Hipp (Carnivale). According to the Hollywood Reporter, Smith will play Paul, an angry, divorced, 40 something guy who hates his ex-wife and her new husband. I can totally see that working out perfectly. Purefoy is cast as Joe, the leader of the group. He's a good looking rich guy who revels in his single lifestyle.

It's still just a pilot project, but that is some serious casting. I'm always a little leery when someone decides to adapt a British show for a U.S. audience. The track record for doing that isn't exactly stellar. But given this cast, I'm certainly interested to see their take on the story.

NBC has announced that they are searching for a new national correspondent for the Tonight Show. Viewers who think they have what it takes to be Jay's field reporter are encouraged to send video or DVD auditions to the show. Submissions will be reviewed by a team of Tonight Show producers and writers. And hey, if you are just too busy this week to get to making your video, no worries. According to NBC, this is not a contest and the submission period does not close.

The winner, or winners, will join the long list of roving reporters for the Tonight Show, which includes Howie Mandel, Kevin Smith, Mo Rocca, Ross the Intern, and Tom Green, among others. More information on the rules for submissions, as well as some tips on making your video, can be found on the Tonight Show website.

I say they combine this with Who Wants To Be A Superhero? and send Lumeria and Major Victory to interview some nutters at a U.F.O. convention.

Despite the popularity of the Fletch movies (starring Chevy Chase as the sarcastic reporter), it has taken longer to get more of the movies made than it took to get another Superman movie made -- and presumably, Superman Returns required many more special effects. Director Kevin Smith (whose new movie Clerks II is in theaters and who was also associated with Superman at one point) had been talking about making a Fletch movie years ago. As in more than five years ago. He wrote on his View Askew message board back then that he wanted to cast Jason Lee (who now stars in the title row of the terrific show My Name is Earl) as Fletch.

When I read the story, published yesterday by the NY Post's Page Six, that Good Morning America film critic Joel Siegel vocally walked out of a screening of Clerks II after 40 minutes, I thought it was quite a strange one. He apparently couldn't deal with repeated references to hiring a woman to perform certain acts with a donkey. It left me and the rest of America wondering: It's a Kevin Smith movie! What the hell was he expecting? I mean, I've seen just about every one of his movies, and the references Siegel walked out on seem mild compared to ... well, the first Clerks (a movie Siegel loved), which had, among other things, one of the characters having sex with a dead guy (off-camera, of course).

Smith, who admits to obsessing over reviews, ripped Siegel on his MySpace blog, then confronted him on the "Opie & Anthony" radio show yesterday, calling what he did "unprofessional". TMZ has the audio of the shouting match, where Siegel doesn't realize he's even talking to Smith until a few minutes into the argument.

[via Pop Candy]