Jason Lee by Any Other Name

"Clerks II" director Kevin Smith, left, and Jason Lee go way back. (Mario Anzuoni - Reuters)

"Hi, this is Jen Chaney with The Washington Post. I'm calling for Jason Lee."

"Yes?" says a familiar, scratchy voice on the other end of the phone.

"Is this Jason?"

Pause. Very long pause.

"Were we supposed to talk today?"

The reporter responds in the affirmative.

"What are we supposed to talk about?" Lee asks.

"Monster House" (see review on Page 30), the animated chiller in which you play a punk-rocker named Bones. "Clerks II," (see review on Page 30), the Kevin Smith sequel in which you make a cameo appearance. Oh, all kinds of things.

Lee thinks for a moment.

"I totally forgot about this. Is this a number where I can reach you? Can I call you back in a bit?"

It's tempting -- so tempting -- to deem this an Earl moment. As the star of last season's break-out TV comedy "My Name Is Earl," people must confuse Lee with his character -- a former degenerate seeking good karma by repaying his moral debts -- all the time. And forgetting about an interview seems like something Earl Hickey, or at least pre-karma-seeking Earl Hickey, would totally do.

But Lee, as he will eventually point out in this interview, is not Earl. Roughly 40 minutes later he calls back, apologizes (no one had reminded him the interview was today, he says) and tells me he's ready to discuss both movies, his TV show and oh, all kinds of things.