Kevin Smith (r.) will talk about MALLRATS, and hopefully its upcoming sequel, at free twentieth anniversary screening Tuesday night in Williamsburg
Who: Kevin Smith, DJ Steve Reynolds
What: Nitehawk Cinema and BuzzFeed Throwback Theater present free outdoor screening of Mallrats (Kevin Smith, 1995)
Where: 50 Kent Ave. between North 11th & North 12th Sts.
When: Tuesday, August 4, free with advance RSVP, doors open at 5:00, music at 7:00, film at sunset
Why: Writer, director, and costar Kevin Smith will be in Williamsburg on Tuesday night for a Q&A prior to a free twentieth anniversary screening of his 1995 cult fave, Mallrats, in which he plays Silent Bob to Jason Mewes’s Jay. Also in the cast are Ben Affleck, Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Priscilla Barnes, Michael Rooker, Joey Lauren Adams, Ethan Suplee, Claire Forlani, and, as himself, comic book legend Stan Lee. Mallrats deals with difficult breakups, game shows, Magic Eye pictures, pre-Paul Blart mall security guards, the Easter Bunny, sex, and general loitering. Advance RSVP is required but doesn’t guarantee entry to the event, which also includes a set by DJ Steve “Party Like It’s 1999” Reynolds and such food trucks as OddFellows Ice Cream, Luzzo’s Pizza, Best Buds Burritos, and Landhaus. Smith recently confirmed that he is in the process of making a Mallrats sequel, so this is a great opportunity to hear him discuss the underrated original as well as what’s coming next for these crazy characters.
Director Julien Temple, who has made two outstanding documentaries about the Sex Pistols (The Great Rock and Roll Swindle and The Filth and the Fury), turns his camera on Joe Strummer of the British punk group the Clash in The Future Is Unwritten. Temple collects remarkable home movies of Strummer, from his early days as young John Mellor, a career diplomat’s son, through his time as the leader of one of the most famous and controversial bands in the world and his death at the age of fifty from a congenital heart defect. Strummer’s friends and family gather around a campfire in Brooklyn’s Empire St.-Fulton Ferry Park and talk about Strummer’s life and career, sharing keen insight in a format that the musician loved; his campfire get-togethers came to be known as Strummerville, a place for people to assemble and discuss life, art, and anything else that came to mind. Temple adds lots of footage of the Clash in action, as well as clips from Strummer’s earlier band, the 101ers, made up of squatters fighting the power, and his last band, the Mescaleros. Temple also brings some of Strummer’s drawings to life, animating them in humorous ways. Strummer essentially narrates the film himself, as Temple includes audio excerpts from Strummer’s “Last Call” radio show and interviews he gave over the years. Temple, a close friend of Strummer’s, paints a fascinating portrait of the complex man, featuring stories from the likes of Bono, Johnny Depp, Flea, Mele Mel, Courtney Love Cobain, Martin Scorsese, Steve Jones, John Cusack, Matt Dillon, Steve Buscemi, Damien Hirst, Roland Gift, Don Letts, Mick Jones, and many others. And there’s lots of music as well, of course, including several versions of “White Riot.” The Future Is Unwritten is screening August 1 at 3:30 in the “I Was There: The Music Docs of Julien Temple” sidebar of Lincoln Center’s annual “Sound + Vision” series, which also includes The Filth and the Fury, The Clash: New Year’s Day ’77, Dave Davies: Kinkdom Come, Ray Davies: Imaginary Man, Glastonbury, Never Mind the Baubles: Christmas with the Sex Pistols, and The Liberty of Norton Folgate, with Temple on hand for various introductions and Q&As.
