• Ho boy. Looks like the AFA doesn’t even CARE that Disney no longer owns a piece of Dogma. Actually, they just didn’t have a target anymore, so decided to strike at Disney anyway. Can you BELIEVE that??? This stuff is almost laughable. Anyway, we’ve got some scans of the new mailer that the American Family Association is sending out in the hopes that they can raise donation money to fight the evil that IS Dogma by attacking Disney, WHO NO LONGER HAVE ANY PART OF THE FILM! Nothing like using Disney as a recognizable name to try and fill up those donation buckets. This should be illegal.

WARNING: THESE SCANS CONTAIN SPOILERS!!! The letter basically bullets out some of the happenings in Dogma and, though it misconstues some of them a bit, it does give away some major plot points (especially number one). So if you’re the non spoiler type, stay away from this stuff and trust us: It’s just plain ridiculous.

Now if organizations like this only put this amount of money and effort into getting donations to save the hungry, or for AIDS and cancer research…Oh well, we guess a movie is just as much of a threat. Yeah, right.

• This update’s been long overdue: We’ve been taking care of some spring cleaning, catching a couple flicks, paying some bills, enjoying the nice weather, and I’ve been hitting the interview circuit a little bit…So, it’s been tough getting a chance just to sit down and sift through the mail, as well as finding the time to post a coherent update. Luckily, things continue to be slow around these parts, but we’ve definitely got some stuff we want to talk about, as well as that new Sunday poll topic (based on an idea by Rugmuncher). Here ya go:

• Jeneane Garofolo and Ben Stiller will be at the Barnes and Noble on the corner of 6’th Ave and 23’rd Street (New York City) on Monday, May 10’th at 7:30 PM signing their new book, “Feel This Book”. We figure that now, since Jeneane’s a part of the Askew lore (with her bit part in “Dogma”), you may wanna stop by and say hi.
• Amazon.Com actually RAISED the price of the Clerks DVD! Hope you got your order in early! We didn’t. D’oh. Anyway, the price is NOW up to $27.99 ($39.99 retail) and release date is back to good ‘ol June 29th.

• Guess one of our scoopers has got both Clerks AND Star Wars on the brain, huh?

• Friday!!! Funny how the days sort of seem to mash together when you’re not working though…At least I’ve been keeping busy with interviews and stuff. Sitting around for extended periods of time actually drives me crazy. Dogma: Rumor Control is finally updated with all the latest stories and news, but if you’ve been reading the main News Askew page, there’s really nothing new over there. Once things really start kicking in, though, you’ll probably just hafta surf each page for the latest (to reduce information redundancy).

Just a few bits and pieces today, really:

• Okay, so our sources say Disney plans to re-announce the release date of the Clerks DVD! Ironically, it’s…June 29th, the same date planned originally! That’s good! Now, take a look at the feature list:

No commentary? That’s bad. The DVD also comes with a free frogurt. That’s good! Wait a minute…

But seriously, this may just be an oversight in the features list…And we REALLY, REALLY hope that’s the case. Honestly, that commentary track is the BEST part of the laserdisc and, without that, I doubt I’d personally be buying a copy of that DVD knowing something was deliberately held back for no good reason.

Let’s hope this is all just paranoia, and celebrate the news of the release on the DVD. We’ll stay on the top of the disc and bring you the latest. So far, according to the reps, all we hear is that the disc “is not being altered from its original intended release”, which could go either way.

• We caught a post from Smalls over on the WebBoard…He noticed that Cannes has indeed posted a Dogma subpage! The page is cool in the fact it lists some familiar-looking pics and info, along with some new B&W pics (including a shot of Ben & Matt, seated, that’s actually the scene that these two reporters appear in for a brief time), a dialogue exract, and a plot synopsis. Check out Cannes’ Dogma page right HERE! And sorry, that’s as big as the pics get, unfortunately.

• The Synapse web site posted A Better Place’s DVD art, and Vincent confirms that, while not finalized, this graphic represents 95% of how the final version will appear. The cover is nice, and, appropriately, uses the famous one-sheet artwork in addtion to a quote and the obligatory DVD-related graphics. The disc is still expected late summer or early fall. By the way, check out their announcement of the Brain Damage Special Edition, as well. This film has always been a real favorite of mine, and a nie new DVD will sure beat the unrated bootleg I have of the film currently. Thanks, Synapse!

We’re sorry to yet again be the bearers of bad news, but various sources confirm that Kevin’s KSU appearance tomorrow has been cancelled. No further information or a reschedule date is available at this time. Hopefully this news comes to you soon enough for you to cancel any plans you may have made.

Thanks to John Leach and Tyler Lansdown for alerting us of this as soon as they knew.

• The nifty home video website My Video Store ran a nice piece on Dogma as well as the Clerks DVD controversy (which kindly included a few links back to us), and we thought you may want to check it out. You need to be a member to access the “Video Guru” section where the story is, but membership was free and only took a second. Here’s a tidbit from the story:

I also know that Dogma RC is a slight bit behind…Surprisngly since the big Dogma press onslaught a few weeks back, things have totally gotten quiet. The site WILL be updated more regularly as release approaches and Cannes news rolls in. ‘Til next time…

• Seems that Miramax/Disney/Buena Vista are at least SAYING they’re gonna do right with their upcoming Collectors Series of DVDs. According to a DVD File story today, they’re going to indeed, as we’d hoped, release Clerks, and even hint at a Chasing Amy release somewhere down the road!

Again, we like to think the Clerks stuff got re-thought of after our write-in campaign…But of course no one from Disney ever got in touch with us about it, so who knows? The Amy news is definitely new to us. You can read the full piece HERE, which also hints that From Dusk ‘Til Dawn will get the re-release it deserves (the laser has TONS of fantastic stuff that the earlier released DVD lacks). Stay tuned for more.