John August Releases The Nines Audio Commentary Online
When Clerks 2 was getting ready for release, Kevin Smith had a great idea to release an audio commentary track for the film a couple weeks after the film had hit theaters. The idea was to encourage people to go back and pay for the movie again, and to listen to the film commentary on their iPod. I don't remember exactly what happened, but if I remember correctly, the theater owners complained about people may be laughing at parts during the movie that shouldn't have laughs and that would be distracting to others in the theater. It was a great idea though, although I can see that complaint, especially considering how funny some of Smith's commentary tracks can get.
John August has taken that idea and run with it. Not only has he announced he's releasing the commentary track for The Nines on MP3, but he's already posted it. I guess it's easier to get something like this through on a smaller limited release. Also, I'm sure August's track is probably more informative than funny, and would not result in such distractions mentioned above. And The Nines is the perfect film for this experiment because it offers a complex mystery which people may want to explore a second time with a guide.
"In the age of iPods, there's really no reason why audio commentary has to be relegated to DVD. That's why Ryan Reynolds and I recorded one last week for The Nines which is now yours to download."
You can download the commentary track now at JohnAugust.com.