• We’re back from the Pittsburgh ComiCon. Nice place. Pretty big production. Unfortunately, our program was wrong, it said Kevin‘s panel was running from 1-2 PM…Instead it started just after we arrived at 11 AM. Kevin did the Q&A thing until around 1 PM, answering some good questions, about Dogma, comics, and the other flicks, as well as the usual ridiculous silly stuff. A long line had already formed during the Q&A, but when the entire audience from the panel joined, they had to close the line off. Kevin remained until almost 6:00 PM signing autographs.

We had the opportunity to chat with Joe Nozemack of Oni Press Comics, who was kind enough to hook us up with copies of all of their other books…Great bunch of guys, be sure and support them, in their non-VA stuff as well as the Kevin books that we know you’re already buying multiple copies of…

By the way, did you know that Clerks is going into it’s 3RD PRINTING??? It’s true! You heard it here first.

Finally, we got a look at Matt Wagner’s Jay & Silent Bob Figures (along with Walt’s dog). These suckers stand a full 8-inches tall and kick major ass! You’re gonna be dying to own the entire set of these guys come September…Oh and even better, we should be getting some photo scans of the guys later on this week, so don’t go too far!

• Hi there…Just wanted to let you all know that we’ll most likely not be back with any NEW updates until Monday, due to being just wiped out from the long week and gone all day Sunday at the Pittsburgh ComiCon. We figure we left you with enough new stuff to hold you over, including the Bearclaw diary, plus there really isn’t TOO much new stuff to report right now. Thanks for all of your kind comments on the diary so far, by the way, it’s nice to hear that it’s a good read. We’ll let you know how the Con goes when next we meet…

• Variety reports that Salma Hayek is going to play a small role in a “not yet titled” science fiction flick directed by Robert Rodriguez (who Kevin, coincidentally, once thought should direct “Dogma”) and written by Scream scribe Kevin Williamson. The film is being released by Dimension Films on Christmas Day. Sounds cool, but the question is, what does this mean for “Dogma”? An earlier release? A later release? It’s always possible, we suppose, that Miramax will get both flicks out there in December, but it seems unlikely. We’ll follow this story closely and see what develops.

• Remember how long it took to get that Vulgarthon Wrap-Up online? So do we. We put all our remaining energies this week into getting this sucker online by the weekend…Hope you like it! If you’re familiar with our usual diary format, you’ll see it’s the same sort of stuff. The story covers our day from start to finish, with all the little details we could muster. You can read the diary by clicking here, or surfing over to Dogma: Rumor Control.

• Ah, it’s always a nice feeling to have a News Askew update online on a Friday evening, with the entire weekend ahead of you…And we’ve got a lot of new stuff for you today that we think you’re going to enjoy. First of all, we hope you’re enjoying the major speed improvements on the front page of the site. We received tons of mail commenting on how much faster the site’s been loading, especially for those of you with slower connections. Sorry it took so long to get the problem solved. We’re working feverishly to update the rest of the site with the new code, which basically means ALL pages (The drinking games, archives, and sub-stories) will load JUST as fast! So far, the archives and drinking games have been completed, so now is a better time than ever to dig through the old stuff and see what you’ve missed. Please note though, that these pages ARE still fairly large, and will take some time to download on a modem connection. Hope they’re faster for you, anyway…

In addition to today’s regular news update, we’ve added tons of new material to Dogma: Rumor Control. A new section features ALL of Kevin’s Dogma-related posts since his arrival in Pittsburgh, and then there’s our detailed “Bearclaw Diary” (see next story), plus the usual on-set and in-the-news updates you’ve been seeing.

We hope you enjoy the improvements and the new additions. If there’s enough to talk about, we’ll be back tomorrow with more news…Sunday we head into Pittsburgh again for the ComicCon!!! Anyone else gonna be there? See you again soon…

• Chasing Amy earned quite a few mentions in this review of the new Robert Downey/Heather Graham (hubba hubba) flick “Two Girls and a Guy”. Here’s a quote:

You can read the full review HERE.

• You can now place your vote for “Best Onscreen Duo” over at MTV Online!Be sure and stop by and give Matt & Ben your vote…They’ve got stiff competition with Leo & Kate, so every vote counts! Let your voice be heard.
• The April 25, 1998 TV Guide Crossword puzzle has the following clue for ’22 Down’: Matt of “Good Will Hunting”. You know you’ve hit it big when you grace the TV Guide Crossword! We’ll let you figure out the answer. If you can’t, stop reading this page. Now.
• Entertainment Tonight ran a small piece on the “Sliding Doors” premiere, which profiled Gwyneth and Ben…It took place the evening after we met both of them on the set (yes, details WILL be in our diary!). Ben, referring to Gwyneth’s British accent in the film, quipped that if there were more Americans able to do that, we could keep the British out of the business. Always the jokester…

(Click Picture For Larger Version)

• Finally today, here’s a new pic of Ben in Armageddon courtesy of Dark Horizons. Rumor has it that this will be the film that makes him an international star and a household name. We think it’ll be the biggest flick of the summer…Even if all the chips are being laid down for a big green lizard.

• Our set diary is coming…we promise. It just takes time to get big pieces like that put together…Lots of newsbites lately, and today’s no exception. There’s just been a lot of little stuff going on lately, it seems, nothing bigger than Dogma to earn its own headline.

Oh, and we’re heard the comments about the site’s slowness in the past, and we’re finally answering back. The front page you just loaded has been re-coded using a new format. If you could PLEASE write us if the page loaded any faster, slower, or looks worse than the last time you saw it, we’d certainly appreciate it. If comments are generally good, and the site is loading faster for ya, we’ll work on getting this new format on the archived pages, and all future pages as well. Let us know!

• We know this is like beating a dead horse, and that this was certainly unintentional and blown over, but it’s a nifty little piece from Peter David’s “…But I Digress” column for the current issue of Comics Buyers Guide.

• There’s a small poll going on at Entertainment Weekly Online about independent films. It asks what debut independent film is your favorite and Clerks is nominated. You can cast your vote HERE.
• Finally today, Conan O’Brien got did a Matt Damon “SAT Analogy” the other night…Matt Damon is to: Acting First, Writing Second as Keanu Reeves is to: Socks first, Shoes second. Funny stuff.

• The famous In Pittsburgh article is online, and features a nice retrospective on Kevin and crew, as well as some of YOUR quotes (remember the ones we asked you to mail in?). It’s got an interesting, different angle on the entire Askew phenomenon, and definitely worth the read. Check it out right HERE.