chat_guest2001: Special Guest!
bummer2323: uh, oh....
jackaltrades: (I loved the way you conveyed the Marquis's world-weariness/doesn't care attitude in that scene!)
Shirley_LeVasseur: I saw some of Frank N Furter in the Marquis :)
chat_guest2001: The guest is.......Kevin Smith!!!!!!
(Ed. Note: Some of the following is Kevin Smith verbatim, some is Stuart
quoting him, some is Stuart commenting on Kevin, some is my typing in what
Stuart and Kevin were saying on the other phone to each other, etc.)
bummer2323: WOW!!!!
Shirley_LeVasseur: Smithy :)
sno4wy: REALLY
bummer2323: Hi, Kevin!
sno4wy: whoo?
jackaltrades: (He should have told Jack + Em: "I see you shiver with anticiiii paaation"
bummer2323: LOLOL
Shirley_LeVasseur: LOL
chat_guest2001: he's on the other line
chat_guest2001: like Brogard
Shirley_LeVasseur: Hiya Kev, hows it going?
bummer2323: so, what did he think of JOAT?
sno4wy: oh
sno4wy: *ish so lost*
jackaltrades: You jest!
chat_guest2001: It's going fine! Hallo mates!
bummer2323: is he still alive on xena, or have they killed him yet?
chat_guest2001: He's doing a telly movie that Michael Hurst is directing
chat_guest2001: it used to be called "Love Muscle"
bummer2323: OOHHH>>>>i'd love to se that!!
chat_guest2001: that was thought to be a little rude
bummer2323: Love muscle..........
Shirley_LeVasseur: ROTFL
chat_guest2001: so it's now called "Dewey Duck"
bummer2323: ya think?
bummer2323: OK.......
chat_guest2001: oops - "Gooey Duck"
Shirley_LeVasseur: as in, Huey Dewey & louis?
chat_guest2001: (it's a shellfish)
bummer2323: so how do you get from one name to the rother.....
chat_guest2001: that project starts in January
chat_guest2001: it's a NZ telly movie
bummer2323: Michael and Kevin....what a combo...throw Bruce in.....
chat_guest2001: the shellfish looks like the "male member"
sno4wy: LOL! I luv that idea Bummer
chat_guest2001: And of course Kevin did "Lawless" with Angie
Shirley_LeVasseur: Hey are you doing anything with Renpix in the future?
chat_guest2001: beyond the end of Xena, he doesn't know
chat_guest2001: but we are all hoping!
bummer2323: hmmmm../.
jackaltrades: (So are we :) )
Shirley_LeVasseur: fair enough
Shirley_LeVasseur: :)
(Ed. Note: I asked him about the rumored spin-off of "Cleopatra 2525" that was to have featured him in the lead, nick-named "Pecs in Space" by the NZ crew)
chat_guest2001: on the potential Cleo spin off....
bummer2323: spin off??
chat_guest2001: He had heard that rumor
Shirley_LeVasseur: say, why weren't you in any JOAT episodes (ya bum!) ;)
chat_guest2001: but - it was just of those rumors
chat_guest2001: probably something they were discussing
chat_guest2001: possibly a way to keep as many options open as possible
chat_guest2001: Kevin says "How can it be a spin off when he IS Gina Torres?"
bummer2323: lol
chat_guest2001: he's got a performance next week
Shirley_LeVasseur: WHAT? haha
chat_guest2001: he and I (i.e Stuart) are doing a musical number
chat_guest2001: we both worked at the Court Theatre in Christchurch
chat_guest2001: 12-15 years ago
chat_guest2001: it's a farewell to the director there
bummer2323: my friend is from christchurch!! How verycool!!
chat_guest2001: we are performing a parody of a Sondheim song called "I'm
Still Here"
chat_guest2001: they had a rehearsal today
chat_guest2001: which I missed
jackaltrades: From which play does that come?
chat_guest2001: and I'm very concerned about all my good lines being cut!
chat_guest2001: it's from "Follies"
chat_guest2001: we were in "Into the Woods" together
chat_guest2001: he played the Wolf
chat_guest2001: and the Prince
chat_guest2001: with an enormous gooey duck
jackaltrades: (I think you're pulling our legs :) )
bummer2323: LOL
sno4wy: bye peeps =) its been fun
bummer2323: bye!
chat_guest2001: Kevin missed being in JoAT
jackaltrades: (Bye)
chat_guest2001: there was talk of getting him!
bummer2323: we missed him being in jOAT too
chat_guest2001: There was a strong possibility of his appearing as Emilia' s
husband!
chat_guest2001: BUT
bummer2323: AACCCKKK
chat_guest2001: He was busy with XWP during all that period
jackaltrades: He would have made a good guest... maybe a romantic foil for Jack (who attracts Em's attention?)
bummer2323: darnit
sno4wy left c_samraimi:1.
chat_guest2001: when I played the Marquis
chat_guest2001: we were both filming at the same site (he was doing XWP)
chat_guest2001: and he came out of his trailer
chat_guest2001: took one look at me, and went back in
Shirley_LeVasseur: LOL
bummer2323: that's funny!
bummer2323: kevin sounds like a nut, too!
Jordi32196: ROTFL
bummer2323: see what we miss by not working at ren pics?
Shirley_LeVasseur: Hey Kev, did you ever work with Josh Becker?
jackaltrades: (Maybe he was jealous he didn't get to wear a costume like that!)
bummer2323: lOL!!
chat_guest2001: on "Lawless"
chat_guest2001: one episode hasn't run yet
chat_guest2001: long term hasn't been confirmed yet
chat_guest2001: Kevin has met Josh
Shirley_LeVasseur: no comment? :D
chat_guest2001: they had a beer together with Charlie Haskell
Shirley_LeVasseur: cool
bummer2323: LOL
chat_guest2001: The fact that he was at Charlie Haskell's house had a lot to recommend him
jackaltrades: (Consumption of alcoholic beverages.... Gasp... I'm appalled !)
Shirley_LeVasseur: sorry, I don't watch Xena much but I know Josh
chat_guest2001: funny fellow- very amusing
chat_guest2001: and Kevin and Danielle Cormack are doing a play together
chat_guest2001: next year
Shirley_LeVasseur: yeah he is pretty amusing!
chat_guest2001: called the Blue Room
bummer2323: man, we need to move to NZ
chat_guest2001: Nicole Kidman did it on stage in London
bummer2323: I'm gonna miss seeing these people ...
jackaltrades: (Was that the one that caused such a stir because she was briefly in the nude in one scene?)
chat_guest2001: they have the luxury of a 5 and a half week rehearsal!
bummer2323: ouch
chat_guest2001: And I'm really furious
chat_guest2001: Yes, that was the one
Shirley_LeVasseur: jeez! if only you folks had that much rehearsal w/ Xena!
bummer2323: LOL
jackaltrades: You guys sure had to work under a lot of (time) pressure on those Renaissance series.
chat_guest2001: the poster for the show doesn't go all the way (the nude
scene) but the performance will!
chat_guest2001: Xena shoot time is usually 8 days
Shirley_LeVasseur: whoa! You crazy New Zealanders
jackaltrades: You mean Danielle Mc. will be... um... exposed (to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune)?
bummer2323: LOL
chat_guest2001: the shortest shoot was 3 days for the flashback episode
jackaltrades: Which episode was that (on Herc or Xena)?
chat_guest2001: but we think Pacific Renaissance shoots are a luxury by comparison
chat_guest2001: the shortest shoot was "Deja Vu All Over Again"
Shirley_LeVasseur: Do you have a role in Lord of the Rings, Kevin?
chat_guest2001: "slings and arrows" is a terrible way to describe Kevin
jackaltrades: (That was a funny ep!)
bummer2323: LOL
chat_guest2001: Lord of the Rings -
chat_guest2001: only cleaning up afterwards
bummer2323: after that pic they posted of him on the xena board the other day, i'd have to agree
jackaltrades: Oh no, that wasn't intended to describe him (hate to have him mad at me!)
chat_guest2001: Really the only NZ actor with a big role is Karl Urban
Shirley_LeVasseur: bummer! You would have made a good Boromir
jackaltrades: (aka Caesar/Cupid)
chat_guest2001: Peter Jackson's next project after "Lord of the Rings" will use an exclusively NZ cast (as an apology to all of us!)
bummer2323: ???
Shirley_LeVasseur: well he better!
bummer2323: oh...
jackaltrades: Didn't Stephen Papps appear in one of his early films called Brain Donors (or something to that effect)?
chat_guest2001: yes, Stephen was in that one
sovlawyer: Kevin is there any chance we will see you on Andromeda?
chat_guest2001: and why did they need Christopher Lee as Saruman when I'm here?
sovlawyer: I would love to see you team with sorbo again
sovlawyer: lol
chat_guest2001: By the way, Kevin is very impressed with the way Al Gore smiled during his concession!
bummer2323: AAACCKK...LOL
Shirley_LeVasseur: ha!
sovlawyer: lol
chat_guest2001: that's like getting all the people who didn't get the Academy Award to make a speech too!
Shirley_LeVasseur: so will you be on Andromeda, dude?
chat_guest2001: that would be awful wouldn't it?
bummer2323 chuckles in amusement
jackaltrades: One of my favourite (comedic) scenes Kevin Smith performed was as Ares the Love God in the other dimension: I was wondering if he came up with the line "Do these pants make my butt look big?"
chat_guest2001: on Andromeda...
sovlawyer: yeah andromeda
sovlawyer: (hopeful puppy eyes)
chat_guest2001: there's a little known SAG clause
Shirley_LeVasseur: (my hubby loves that show)
chat_guest2001: that specifies: only one Kevin on the set
chat_guest2001: so maybe I (i.e. Stuart) can do it!
sovlawyer: sag clause?
Shirley_LeVasseur: SAG is in Canada??
sovlawyer: kewl!!!!!!
bummer2323: snort!
jackaltrades: (It's filmed in Vancouver!)
sovlawyer: I loved the chemistry on herc
Shirley_LeVasseur: do it, I'll actually watch an ep w/ you
chat_guest2001: on the love god line....
Ed. Note: At this point, our transcriptionist Jordi had to go, so the last 30 minutes of the chat is lost to posterity. But of course lives on in our collective memories. Anyone who remembers anything else that was said, please e-mail me at joxerfan@hotmail.com and I'll be glad to mention it here. From memory, Kevin Smith went on to say that:
- the line about his butt was a suggestion from the director Bruce Campbell
- he thoroughly enjoyed being directed by Bruce; Bruce directed his first appearance as Ares, in fact
- he would definitely appear in several more Xena episodes after "Old Ares Had a Farm"
- he very definitely may have been joking, and/or pulling our legs, but Stuart asked him twice, and he said this was real. One script that is in development relates to Ares sharing a jail cell with Buddha. As in the Buddha! The unofficial, preliminary script title is "Ares - Buddha's Bitch." That's what he said!
- He then said he had to go, because he was taking his children to see "The Grinch." He asked the chatters if it was any good, or if he should have another drink before he left!
Kevin Smith then left, Stuart got back on, with a "guest appearance" from "Mr. Nipples!" Mr. Nipples got more questions, I think, than the other four guests combined. He revealed that:
- big celebrities in NZ such as Mr. Nipples never do their own stunts, but have stunt puppets to do the dangerous scenes for them. So Mr. Nipples was actually not destroyed, but is alive and well
- he is currently in negotiations for his own show, possibly to be called "Mooving On" or one of several other fan suggestions
- Stuart is very eager for Mr. Nipples to get a show, because he doesn't speak, and so he needs Stuart to speak for him. So it will be guaranteed work for Stuart as well.
Stuart then concluded, speaking fairly extensively and eloquently about how "generous" and "giving" that he and the entire cast felt that the "website" (i.e. the message board) had been to them, and how much they appreciated the instantaneous feedback that we the fans gave them. Whereas with most "telly" programs in NZ, the shows have been over and done with for months once they actually air.
I must note that the above was cut-and-pasted and transcribed and put together by Jordi, after which I corrected most of my typographical errors. Mr. Devenie paid for the entire call himself, which speaks highly of his commitment to and appreciation of his fans, and to all the fans of "Jack of All Trades."
While of course Croque and Brogard are supporting characters, it became very clear that Devenie and Papps are major players in the New Zealand stage world. It's kinda like getting Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters do to a comedy show in the US. And whether because of his background as a teacher of young drama students, or as the "senior" member of the cast, or maybe just because he's a nice and caring guy, I think that what Mr. Devenie was doing in arranging this extended chat was in a way saying "farewell" and "thank you" from the cast and crew of "Jack" to the U.S. and Canadian fans. With only a half season aired by the time we learned it was going to be cancelled, we never had a chance to build up an extensive fan base, bombard the stars with cards and letters, flock to their convention appearances, etc. And with just the occasional guest spot on "Hercules" or "Xena," it's somewhat unlikely that the principals will develop a fan base in the western hemisphere, in the near future anyway. But with this show, they were able to reach out to a new audience, and through the "Jack of All Trades" Message Board, we were able to let them know how much we enjoyed it and appreciated it. As they all come from stage backgrounds, immediate feedback from the audience is a big thing.
Maybe it's just me, but the whole experience just gave me a warm Christmas-sy feeling, and made me want to say "God bless us all, every one!" Truly, this was the most rewarding fan experience of my life!
