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USA Today has featured Seth Rogen, Kevin Smith and others associated with Zack and Miri Make a Porno in a long article. Guess a movie with that title draws a lot of mainstream attention.

For his part, Rogen commented on working with Smith, citing the influence the writer/director has had on his comedic career:

"In a lot of ways, our comedy comes from Kevin. I have often, and [Judd Apatow] has also, talked about how Clerks was one of the first movies showing guys talking how we talk. It seems very simple, but it was a revelation in many ways for guys who wanted to write comedy."

In Zack and Miri Make a Porno, lines must be practiced before clothes can come off.

The idea of Kevin Smith directing a movie called Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a perfect fit for most movie fans.

Below, Smith answers a question from ComingSoon.net about how he casted the comedy:

At what point did you decide you wanted to have [Seth Rogen] and [Elizabeth Banks] star in it?
I started writing the script with Seth in mind. It was written for Seth. I saw him in "40-Year-Old Virgin" on DVD, 'cause I didn't see it in theaters, 'cause we were making "Clerks II" at the time, and when I finally caught up with it on DVD, I was like, "This dude is genius!"

I like that movie a lot, and Carell's wonderful, but Rogen was the true star to me, and I was like, "This dude needs to be a leading man." So I started writing it and handed him the draft two weeks before "Knocked Up" opened, at which point I was like, "This dude is a leading man, like this guy's on billboards all over town." I was a little afraid we were not going to get him at that point.

When you add to that the fact that he can generate his own material, he certainly doesn't need anyone writing for him, but mercifully, he liked the script and jumped on it.

Early photos, quotes and trailers make it look like Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a can't-miss comedy.

In an excerpt from a Kevin Smith interview with MoviesOnline, the director dishes on the upcoming movie:

How did you get the concept for Zack & Miri Make a Porno?
The concept has been swimming around in my head since we finished Chasing Amy because I wanted to do this – not this exact movie but a movie about amateurs making porn with Ben Affleck, Jason Lee and Joey Adams. But we never got around to doing it.

Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen are set to make us laugh in Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

We did Dogma first and then life just took us in different directions. Since late 96, early 97, it’s been kind of germinating and germinating and I never wanted to do a movie about the porn industry because Paul Thomas Anderson did a great job with Boogie Nights and why bother trying to do better than that. I was always really interested in the DIY porn, the people who were just like “I’m going to shoot myself having sex and throw it up on the internet either for money or just to be an exhibitionist.”

That I always found kind of interesting and then I just wanted to kind of meld it with a subject that’s always been interesting to me which is the difference between fucking and making love and that’s how it kind of came together.

As numerous critics are fearful of what direction Seth Rogen and Stephen Chow will take The Green Hornet in, Kevin Smith is telling everyone to relax.

The writer/director, who just finished working with Rogen on Zack and Miri Make a Porno, recently said the project will satisfy fans of The Green Hornet comic book; he thinks the film will be an action comedy.

“It’s not… Superhero Movie. You know, the parody film," Smith said. "It’s certainly not that by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s more along the lines, from what he’s talked about it, of Pineapple Express. There are lots of jokes and there’s lots of action.”

Porn + Comedy = Hilarity!

Such is the concept behind Zack and Miri Make a Porno, this fall's surefire comedic hit. Director Kevin Smith recently chatted with MoviesOnline about the project...

How did you get the concept for Zack & Miri Make a Porno?
The concept has been swimming around in my head since we finished Chasing Amy because I wanted to do this – not this exact movie but a movie about amateurs making porn with Ben Affleck, Jason Lee and Joey Adams. But we never got around to doing it. We did Dogma first and then life just took us in different directions. Since late 96, early 97, it’s been kind of germinating and germinating and I never wanted to do a movie about the porn industry because Paul Thomas Anderson did a great job with Boogie Nights and why bother trying to do better than that.

I was always really interested in the DIY porn, the people who were just like “I’m going to shoot myself having sex and throw it up on the internet either for money or just to be an exhibitionist.” That I always found kind of interesting and then I just wanted to kind of meld it with a subject that’s always been interesting to me which is the difference between fucking and making love and that’s how it kind of came together.

Can you talk about your two leads who are essential to this movie?
That role was written for Seth Rogen. Seth Rogen was born to do many things and to play that role was definitely one of them. He was genius. I fell in love with him when I saw him in 40 Year Old Virgin on DVD. I was like “This dude has kind of a supporting role in this flick. I’m going to write this dude a lead role and he’s going to love me forever. And I’m going to turn him into a leading man.” I gave him the script two weeks before Knocked Up opened and I started seeing his face on billboards everywhere. I was like “Fuck! Judd Apatow beat me to the punch.

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During a recent stop on his press tour for Zack and Miri Make a Porno, director Kevin Smith spoke on future projects.

Some may be surprised to hear about the role he has in mind down the line for Seth Rogen.

"First, I'm going to do a 180 turn and do a horror movie called Red State," Smith said. "It's going to be a total horror-political-psychological movie without a funny line in it. Then I'm going to do the science fiction super-hero movie. It's going to be an original super-hero that I've created. It's stewing right now. I want to do it, though, and, God willing, it will star Seth Rogen."

At this week's Toronto Film Festival, Variety caught up with Kevin Smith.

In the following clip, Smith dishes on the submission of Zack and Miri Make a Porno to the MPAA. Check it out:

Brace yourself, everyone: in Zack and Miri Make a Porno, nudity will abound.

But it won't be the kind that makes us so excited to see Jennifer's Body.

In a new interview with MTV, director Kevin Smith promises full frontal nudity... of the male variety.

MTV: When we spoke to you about Zack and Miri Make a Porno last year, both you and Rogen teased a shot of full-frontal nudity. So do we get to see the jewels on display?
Smith: Yeah! You get one definitive ba-- shot then you get a bonus ba-- shot in the movie later on. It's all of [Jason] Mewes. You get to see every inch of Mewes in this movie.

MTV: Is any sex in the movie that's actually erotic?
Smith: There's one scene in the movie that sex is played straightforward, but it's the one scene where there's the least flesh on display. And that is a very passionately charged, sweet scene, so that one they never focused on. [The actors are] fully clad during it. We play it mostly on their faces.

Kevin Smith has a great job.

Aside from writing and director popular comedies, the movie maven gets to screen upcoming films before they're released. Already, he's heaped praise upon Watchmen.

Now, it appears as though the director of Zack and Miri Make a Porno has seen a preview of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie, and has only good things to say about it.

Sounds like Kevin Smith loves Chris Pine.

Here's a snippet of Smith's interview on the Kevin and Bean radio show last week:

Smith: I saw a movie last night that I cannot talk about.
Host: Was it good?
Smith: It was phenomenal.

Host: Any stars, any break out stars, and do they trek?
Smith: The stars absolutely trek in this film. It is fantastic. Anybody who was worried doesn’t need to be worried–about this film I cannot talk about…It was in very capable hands. The director did a phenomenal job...Top notch cast and the guy that plays the lead is an instant star. That dude is going to be so famous. He is so wonderful. He picked up a role that I would say is pretty challenging for someone to step into the shoes of, because it is a role that has been played before many times by the same guy.

With Zack and Miri Make a Porno due out in theaters on October 31st, we decided to feature Kevin Smith as our first director for Reel Movie Stars.

Kevin Smith got his start as a writer and director with his critical darling, Clerks, which took the Sundance Film Festival by storm in 1994.  Since then, Smith has written and directed Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, and Clerks II.

As an actor, you probably know Smith best as Silent Bob in his various View Askewniverse movies.  However, did you know Smith has also acted in several non-Smith productions including Daredevil, Catch and Release, and Live Free or Die Hard?

Ready for some more fun Kevin Smith trivia facts you may not know?

• Cast his wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith as Missy in Jay and Silent Bob Stike Back and Emma in Clerks II
• Named his daughter Harley Quinn after Joker's sidekick from the Comic Book
• Cast his daughter Harley to play a baby Silent Bob in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
• Harley Quinn's godfather in Jason Lee
  
• Owns a comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey
• Made a cameo alongside Jason Mewes in the music video for Because I Got High by Afroman
• Has two dogs named Mulder and Scully

Now that you're all Kevin Smith experts, we'll leave you with some fun pictures of this lovable guy.