'Moose Jaws' - A Part of Kevin Smith's True North Trilogy
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Kevin Smith Reveals Plans For ‘True North Trilogy’ Beginning With ‘Tusk’
By now, you’ve probably seen the trailer for Kevin Smith‘s Tusk. And if not, click here and check it out. Revealed in Smith’s annual Hall H panel at Comic-Con, the footage shows a very different Smith from the “snoochie boochies” days of the past. This is a Smith with something messed up to say. And, according to the writer/director/podcaster, he’s going to be saying much more of it.
On his panel, Smith also revealed Tusk is the first film in what he hopes will be a trilogy of films he called “The True North Trilogy.” Likely a reference to a similar Canadian setting, Tusk would be followed by Yoga Hosers (which Smith wants to make next, and be PG-13) and a new movie called Moose Jaws which he described as “Jaws, with a moose.” All three films would return the same actors as Tusk. Read more about the Kevin Smith True North Trilogy below
During the panel, Smith told his fans that while writing the still in-development Hit Somebody miniseries, he got very deep into Canadian lore and history. He couldn’t use a lot of it in his hockey story but he let it influence Tusk. The Canadian mythology and setting helped flush out Smith’s original story idea, based on a podcast about a man who wanted someone to live with him and dress as a walrus. Tusk hits theaters in September.
Smith’s next film, Yoga Hosers, is a bit more mysterious at the moment. He talked like it was going to shoot next and maybe be be ready for release next year. And though the film was spawned by an odd story of theft among yoga enthusiasts, that seems to not be the focus at all. Smith said he was hoping to make Yoga Hosers his second PG-13 movie (the first being Jersey Girl) because it stars two 15-year-old girls as the main characters. In the film, they’ll battle people with superpowers. Or maybe have superpowers. It wasn’t exactly clear. But Smith said he would be “run out of the country” once we heard what the powers in the movie were.
Then there’s Moose Jaws. The only thing Smith said beyond the premise is that it featured a scene of the killer moose chowing down on a little girl. So it sounds like some kind of exploitation horror.
Finally, Smith mentioned he still hopes to make Clerks 3 in 2015. So with the True North Trilogy, his Krampus movie Anti-Klaus and Clerks 3, Smith is either going to be very busy for the next few years, or is just overly ambitious. Probably a bit of both.
Exclusive: Kevin Smith’s ‘Hit Somebody’ Will Film in Fall 2015, Smith Has Funding for 3 More Projects; Moose Jaws to Film After Clerks 3
Say what you will about Kevin Smith‘s Tusk, but ultimately it was the spark that gave new life to the filmmaker. Just like he did in the ’90s, Smith made Tusk kind of on a whim. He and his producer Scott Mosier came up with the idea, Smith wrote it and a few months later it was being shot. Unlike his ’90s debut, Smith did have funding this time so it wasn’t as down and dirty as Clerks. But the independent spirit was there. And Kevin Smith is now overflowing with movie ideas.
He’s got a few more days to shoot on Yoga Hosers, a Tusk spinoff about two 15-year-old girls fighting monsters. After that, he’ll finally make the long awaited Clerks III. He’s also got preliminary funding to make Moose Jaws, a horror comedy that is basically Jaws with a moose. That’ll likely happen after Clerks III.
For Smith fans, though, there’s one glaring omission that list: Hit Somebody. Over the past few years, Smith’s hockey epic morphed from one film, to two films, to a miniseries and then into oblivion as he got busy with so many other things. But /Film recently talked to the director and he revealed that the producers of Tusk have given him money not only to make Yoga Hosers, Clerks III and Moose Jaws but Hit Somebody as well. And they’ll shoot it in Canada during the Fall of 2015.
We talked to Smith about Tusk, which hits Blu-ray December 30, and this is just an excerpt from the longer interview. I asked Smith about the update on Hit Somebody and his answer was basically to explain how Tusk got him not only funding on that, but several other projects. I’ve bolded the Hit Somebody part, but the whole thing is interesting.
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Kevin Smith: The beautiful thing about Tusk is that it opened a lot of doors in a weird way. I guess it was just maybe like ‘Oh he’s working again’ or some people were really attracted to the material. The folks at this company Star Stream at one point were thinking or toying with the notion of funding Tusk, but Demarest kind of swooped in and did it. So Kim Ledford, who runs Star Stream, loved Tusk and she was like ‘What are you doing next?’ I wanna do whatever you’re involved in. You seem to be in this weird place and I wanna work with you.
And so we were talking about doing the Krampus movie with her and Star Stream. And so, you know, the Yoga Hosers thing came together in post on Tusk and again, it came together very quickly. And when I reached out to Demarest and said, ‘Hey, man, I wanna make this Yoga Hosers movie, do you wanna go?’ They were like ‘We won’t be ready by the end of the year. We’re gonna have to wait till middle of next year.’ But again, I had a window. So I was like well, ‘Do you mind if I go finance someplace else?’ And they’re like ‘Yeah, totally, go ahead.’ And so Star Stream, I reached out to them and said, ‘I know we’re about to do this Krampus thing, but there’s this movie that kind of came out of nowhere and I wrote it, but I think we can pull it off since it’s not that expensive’ and blah, blah, blah. And it’s about two 15 year old girls. And that was the magic right there, man. Because they were like ‘You’re making a movie for an audience that voraciously goes to the movies? Like that’s really good.’ So they jumped on board with Yoga Hosers and we put Krampus on the back burner.
Kim was like ‘Look, you talked about this True North Trilogy, these three movies in Canada. You gotta make those in succession. So Krampus you can make anytime, but like keep making this ’cause you’ve already kind of set the tone.’ I was like ‘All right.’ So they jumped into Yoga Hosers because of that. While working on Yoga Hosers, Clerks III came up and Kim was like ‘Let me read that script.’ And suddenly she was like ‘Oh my God, we’re making this movie. Why didn’t you tell me about it sooner?’ I was like ‘Ah, we were working on this other thing.’ So boom, Clerks III was suddenly happened. Moose Jaws has already been pre-approved and we got our money for Moose Jaws. So once again, like Tusk just keeps it going.
So we were having this conversation about fake Canada that I keep setting the movies in now for this True North Trilogy. And Kim, her former boss, he used to work tangentially in the world of the NHL (National Hockey League). Howard Baldwin I believe was her former boss. So, you know, she knows a lot about the world of hockey, particularly the WHA (World Hockey Association). And I was like ‘Oh my Lord, I have written this mini-series that we were planning to do with CBC up in Canada. That, you know, I’ve been sitting on for a while.’ I said, ‘You would love to read it, just because it’s set in the world that you know very well.’ And then when I was all over, she was like ‘Wow, we’re making this right now.’ And so we have two meetings and we met with our Canadian counterparts, ’cause we’re gonna shoot up a lot of it up North and then some of it in Michigan as well. But we were able to kind of pull the budget together. So in the fall of 2015, we head up to it looks like Northern Ontario and start shooting Hit Somebody.
And once again, that also spun from Tusk. So that’s why I’m like, man, I had two choices in the morning. Don’t make the movie or make a movie. And I sat down and said, ‘All right, enough people said Walrus Yes. Maybe I’ll start writing it and stuff.’ And because of that, everything else kind of happened. None of that stuff was gonna happen. A year ago, I was trying to get money for Clerks III and it wasn’t happening. That was me going like ‘I’m gonna have to finance this movie myself.’ Which again, like I’m always game to do. Like try to pull it together. I’m not like Smaug, I’m not sitting on a pile of ****ing gold, but, you know, I can call in some favors and pull together a low budget still at this point. But luckily I didn’t have to do it with Tusk and then I haven’t had to with the other ones. And that’s all because Tusk exists.
You know, so it’s weird. Like every time somebody’s like ‘**** this movie, it shouldn’t exist, I’m like ‘Well I could see your point. Like it is weird and stupid.’ But, man, it’s the gift that keeps on giving for me. And it’s not because the movie is like ‘Oh it’s one of the best films ever made.’ Not by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just it exists, period. And it shows kind of creativity and it also shows like, you know, a willingness to make something happen from nothing. And do it on a low budget. And kind of pull together casts, which I can still do. So that makes it easier for somebody to be like ‘Here. Here’s a check, go do something else.’ And suddenly it means like we’re gonna get to make Hit Somebody as well in the Fall. So that’s kind of… I love that little walrus movie. It’s so strange and it’s like I know according to the narrative, it should be like ‘This movie didn’t work theatrically.’ And for that, he was punished and he’ll never do something like this again. I should be discouraged from pursuing this kind of thing, but honestly, it made everything else possible, so I’m just like ‘Wow, man, like I’m delighted I made Tusk.’ I know not everybody agrees, but I am.
Now is Hit Somebody going to be a movie, two movies or a mini-series? Smith didn’t say. But we’ll keep you updated as we learn more.
Read more about the history of Hit Somebody in our archives. And keep checking back on /Film as we keep you updated on not only Hit Somebody, but Yoga Hosers, Moose Jaws and Clerks III. Plus, keep an eye out for the full Smith interview in the coming days.
YouTube Star Harley Morenstein Will Star In Kevin Smith's Feature Film "Moose Jaws"
The man known as the Sauce Boss will soon make a major mark on the big screen. Harley Morenstein, who rose to prominence as the ringleader of the Epic Meal Time YouTube channel, will have a leading role in Moose Jaws, an upcoming horror film from director Kevin Smith.
Morenstein recently announced his starring role in Moose Jaws through a Facebook post he authored on his personal account. “Couldn’t really mention this before, but since it’s now on IMDB I guess it’s public knowledge,” he wrote. “This is an extremely surreal experience and I’m so excited I have this opportunity. Shout out to all my friends on Facebook that shared the first EMT videos. That opened this door for me. Shout out to my EMT colleagues for keeping the ship sailing even when I’m not at the helm!”
Moose Jaws will be the third act of Smith’s “Canadian Horror Trilogy,” which began with 2014’s Tusk and will continue with 2015’s Yoga Hosers. Morenstein, who is Canadian, had a cameo in the first film and will have another in the second.
While Morenstein is only just now discussing Moose Jaws, he has been involved in the film for some time. In January 2015, Smith revealed he wrote the film’s lead specifically for Morenstein, who has collaborated with the director several times. Beyond the cameo appearances listed above, Morenstein also invited Smith to join him on Epic Meal Time, where the two men joined forces to concoct a “Burly Beaver Sandwich.”
Moose Jaws is slated for a 2016 release. The film’s plot, according to IMDB, is simple: “Like Jaws, but with a moose.” Honestly, what else do you need to know?
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Originally Posted by Kevin Smith via Facebook
After @tuskthemovie and next year's #YogaHosers, my True North Trilogy will end with #MooseJaws. I'm working on the MooseJaws script now and just had an idea that'd make something fun and stupid even more so for me. So the question on the floor is this: Should I mashup my movie-universes by bringing Jay and Silent Bob into #MooseJaws? As a thanks for your participation, I include this amazing picture that someone sent me of a far better movie mashup idea: Canadian Stormtroopers fighting Jaws.
Kev continues to exploit the Robert Rodriguez school of film making:
Keep the budget low, and fill the cast with family and friends.
I love Rodriguez, but Smith is doing it waaay better. I'd take Ralph Garman, Genesis Rodriguez, and Justin Long over Daryl Sabara, Lady Gaga, and Jessica Alba any day.
I thought he was quitting. He promised. He's like a cockroach that keeps coming back!
Please don't insult the cockroach that lives under my refrigerator. He never wanted to hurt anyone. Just wanted to snack on the cereal crumbs I dropped on the kitchen floor, that's all. He would never inflict a Kevin Smith movie on anyone.
I love Rodriguez, but Smith is doing it waaay better. I'd take Ralph Garman, Genesis Rodriguez, and Justin Long over Daryl Sabara, Lady Gaga, and Jessica Alba any day.
This past weekend brought the premiere of Kevin Smith‘s latest effort as writer and director, the absolutely insane Yoga Hosers, at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. If you want to know just how truly nutty this movie is, check out Peter Sciretta’s full review on the movie right here, or watch the clip that was released before the premiere.
Yours truly was curious enough to check out the movie that is like a PG-13 Disney Channel nightmare as only Kevin Smith can deliver, and before and after the film, Smith had a couple interesting things to say about how he’s approaching filmmaking now as well as what we can expect from Moose Jaws.
Before this screening of Yoga Hosers, Smith gave nearly a 15-minute introduction to the film, talking about its inception, working with his daughter Harley Quinn Smith, bringing Johnny Depp and his daughter Lily-Rose Depp on board and more. After talking about how Johnny Depp likes to answer Kevin’s calls in character as the goofy Guy Lapointe (who also appeared in Tusk), he talked about his approach to movies nowadays and how he isn’t aiming to please general audiences anymore. Towards the end of his little spiel, Smith said:
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“I used to want to make movies for audiences. But if you’ve seen Tusk, and after you’ve seen Yoga Hosers, you’ll see that I really don’t give a shit about the audience anymore.”
After posting about this online, many people have taken it as something incendiary towards the people who go to see his movies. However, his position is really one that a lot of filmmakers should have. Smith isn’t saying that he doesn’t want the audience to enjoy the movie or that he’s purposely making movies that they won’t like (though some would disagree with the latter), but he’s simply making the movies that he wants to make.
When it comes to Yoga Hosers, Smith said that the surprising thing about the film is that it’s supposed to be for kids. He mentioned making the kind of movie that he would have wanted to see when he was a 12-year old girl. And while the two lead characters would actually make for an entertaining movie that adolescent girls would enjoy, the more insane parts of the movie involving Satanists and Nazi bratwursts (no, I’m not joking about that) don’t seem to fit that mold. But if Smith is making the movies he wants, and someone is willing to pay for them, then good for him.
One of those movies that companies are still willing to pay for is Moose Jaws. It’s meant to be the third film in what Smith has dubbed the True North trilogy of films that take place in Canada. The director hopes to be in production in April on the film that he says will be a beat-for-beat remake of Jaws.
Smith has already revealed the film will have him dying at the hooves of the titular killer moose, but during the Q&A after Yoga Hosers, he gave away some details about the ending of the movie that will see the film veer away from Steven Spielberg’s classic. So don’t read any further if you’re worried about spoilers.
Are you ready for the Kevin Smith Moose Jaws spoilers? All right, here we go.
[Show spoiler]After reiterating the Jaws influence, Smith said that around the time he was working on the third act, he didn’t just want to copy Spielberg anymore. And instead he decided to use a bunch of other movies as inspiration. Apparently the ending of Moose Jaws is an amalgamation of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Return of the Jedi.
My bet is that the Wrath of Khan part is when Silent Bob is supposed to be killed by the moose, leaving Jay to deliver a dramatic scream. As for the Godzilla and Destroy All Monsters mentions, Smith said that Tusk will be returning in Moose Jaws and he’s actually going to fight the moose. Pretty insane, right?
I’m not sure why Smith was so forthcoming to reveal the ending to his movie, but he’s never been all that secretive about his projects before. Plus, it’s not as if he gave a lot of specific details, though bringing Tusk back does seem like something he would want to keep under wraps for all five people who would be excited about that prospect.
Anyway, kudos to Smith for simply making the kind of movies he wants. If his fans or other audiences like them, then that’s a bonus. But if he can make a living writing and directing the kind of movies he wants to see without any interference from a studio or second-guessing himself as to whether this is is something the audience will enjoy, then it sounds like he’s got it made.
Yoga Hosers and Moose Jaws don’t have release dates yet, but we’ll keep you posted.
I like his new way of movie making, but Red State and Tusk were disappointing. It could've been a lot crazier. I wish/hope he'll go full retard with Moose Jaws. A movie that really makes the audience go 'Dafuq did I just watch!?!'
you have to hand it to him....he'd actually doing what Georg Lucas always claimed he was going to do when he was done w/Star Wars.
if Lucas made this announcement, he'd be praised for his courage and what-not....but b/c it's Smith.....it's going to be taken as a big "f**k you" to audiences.
you have to hand it to him....he'd actually doing what Georg Lucas always claimed he was going to do when he was done w/Star Wars.
if Lucas made this announcement, he'd be praised for his courage and what-not....but b/c it's Smith.....it's going to be taken as a big "f**k you" to audiences.
The question that arises when the April start date comes up is whether or not Silent Bob will still appear in Clerks III. Kevin has stated that the death will be permanent.
Last edited by demonknight; 01-26-2016 at 06:32 PM.
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'Moose Jaws' - A Part of Kevin Smith's True North Trilogy
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