A new interview with Kevin appears on Aint It Cool News that’s so darned long we haven’t even read it all just yet. It’s just been posted, and looks to cover a TON of material. Surf over to AICN and give it a read, we’re sure there’s gotta be SOME new revelations there. We just wanted to let you folks know as soon as it was posted.

Of the immediate first bits of big news we see in the interview is that Kev’s currently writing an outline for the Clerks animated movie, which will be made if the show clicks with viewers when it starts at the end of this month. So there’s a reason to get all your friends & family to check it out right there! Also, he mentions the series will certainly hit DVD and tape. We’re sure there’s LOTS more going on in the interview, so be sure and read it from start to finish over at the site. Perhaps we’ll summarize some highlights tomorrow, or feel free to use the talkbacks section here if you’d like to chat about it (though we’re sure Harry’s TB section will also be buzzing)…

• A new interview, mostly regarding the entire Superman fiasco (It won’t die!!!) appears at the very cool Fandom.Com website. Those of you that have seen Kevin speak have likely heard a lot of this story, but this is by FAR the most in print over the entire incident. Check out the article HERE.
• Mallrats beauty Claire Forlani is the subject of three page spread of her wearing various fashions in the latest Glamour (Any Seinfeld Fans Out There? “Glamour?!?!?”) magazine. Run out and buy a copy or sneak a peek at your girlfriend’s copy, fellas.
• Dogma has been doing well on the rental and sales charts, as we mentioned earlier this week. Some new stats: It’s the number five renter in the USA (earing $5.2 million in 5 days), and the highest ranked newcomer on the chart. In Canada, the flick is the number two renter.
• The stock market drama-thriller “Boiler Room”, which features a couple cameo scenes from Ben Affleck, is slated to hit video shelves on July 18th.
• Couple of Askew website related plugs to throw out there today: The Unofficial Online Jason Lee Fanclub Site and a site called “The Bob” that’s a Kev fan site. They borrow a lot of News Askew news and stuff but always plug us well.

• Finally today, a couple pics from the latest Movieline of a few Askew couples – Jason & Carmen Lee, & Chris and Malaak Compton-Rock.

Hey folks, some very cool breaking news for ya today, so we’re checking in with a rare Saturday update.

Kevin tells us that he’ll be doing not one but TWO online chats later this month, to talk to the fans and promote the Clerks Cartoon Series, premiering May 31st on ABC. This is the first time we can remember that Kev’s actually done a live, online chat. So it’s a pretty big deal.

The first chat happens on May 30th at 8 PM EST on cnn.com. We’re not sure how long they’ve got scheduled, but chats usually last for an hour.

The second chat is on May 31st, the day of the show’s premiere, at TV Guide Online. This one starts at 8:30 PM and goes until 9:30 PM EST, right when the show premieres here on the east coast.

We’ll have more details (hopefully) on how to access the chats, what software you’ll need, and more, as these dates draw closer. Until then, clear those calendars, and get those typing fingers ready with your questions for Kev!

• FOLLOWUPS FROM YESTERDAY: Most would agree that the Spawn’s reference to “LeFors” was more a “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” homage than a Mallrats homage. We agree. Kevin’s character in Mallrats has been thought to have been a B&S reference as well, so if anything, the mention in Spawn was once removed from ‘Rats. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, by the way, hits DVD shelves this tuesday. Coincidence?
• Also, the Harvard website has a much better article on Ben & Matt’s rally apperance last week. You can read it HERE.
• DirecTV will begin airing Dogma on its Direct Ticket pay per view system on June 23rd. The flick’s just been mastered from the pan & scan version only (alas, no Dolby Digital letterboxed copy will be offered). It will premiere, as most new PPVs, as an all day ticket, which means you can order it once and watch it on all the channels that air it.
• We may have stopped updating the Dogma: Rumor Control site (we began working on the new page you’re viewing now right after the film’s release, and something had to give) but the official Dogma website is still going strong. They’ve just added a bunch of new behind the scenes pics from the flick, with commentary written once again by Kevin himself. Be sure and stop by the site to take a look.
• Humor website Delta Source has printed an amusing article that speculates on what it would have been like had Kevin Smith been asked to take over writing duties on the next Star Wars flick:

• Finally today, happy birthday to George Carlin, 63 years and still going strong.

• Dogma’s DVD release, even WITHOUT being a special edition, is doing quite well as far as sales go. Reel.com has the disc listed as its #1 seller for the week, and DVD Insider reports that Dogma was the second highest all around selling DVD for last week. Not bad at all! Wonder how well October’s SE will do?
• The net is buzzing with rumors on the upcoming “Preacher” film. Today, IGN Movies runs this piece on the project, and Dark Horizons mentions Kevin as an executive producer on the flick. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
• Jason Lee gets a small blurb in this month’s issue of Stuff Magazine, asking him a few questions regarding things that he regards as “cool”:

• More View Askew references, this time in one of the industry’s best selling books — Spawn (Issue #95). On the 9th page of the comic book two of the characters are conversing and the convo goes like this, and might just be a reference to a slightly-differently spelled security guard from Mallrats…

The second reference is on page 21, where a cigarette is drawn hitting the ground and one of the guys says “I said, KNOCK IT OFF!”, which is a vague (but seemingly apparent) reference to Jay scolding Silent Bob when he’s attempting the Jedi Mind Trick on a cigarette towards the start of ‘Rats.

• It’s been confirmed: Jason Mewes IS scheduled to appear at DragonCon this year! Those of you that are going may want to bring your Jay action figures or your Jay & Silent Bob books for a chance at an autograph. The con starts on June 29 and runs until July 2.
• This salon.com article on eroticism in film compares and contrasts “Chasing Amy” and “Basic Instict.”
• The Mr. Showbiz site ran a report on Affleck & Damon’s appearance at a Harvard rally last weekend, in support of higher wages for the school’s custodial staff. You may have to check back in yesterday’s news for it, but it’s there.
• Finally today, don’t forget, Kevin’s 30 minute appearance on the Sundance Channel‘s “Conversations in World Cinema” premieres night at 9 pm EST! It’s a good (albeit short) show, and we realize that a lot of you may not get the channel, so find a friend and have ‘em tape it! Check back in our archives (or use our new search feature) for our review of the show.

We apologize for the 12 or so hours that News Askew was down starting last night. The GOOD news is that this was in noway related to the new code or the new site. The Dogma Movie website, which shares a server box with us, had its log files grow to enormous proportions, which threw the entire web server into a lockup. This shouldn’t happen again.

However, if there ever are technical problems that keep us from getting the news to you, we ALWAYS surf over to the View Askew WWWBoard and post a report. We post the latest information there regarding any downtime, along with estimates on when we’ll be back.

Oh, and one more thing…GO FLYERS!!! Though if any more of our players get injured, they may hafta start recruting people off the street to play against the Devils…

Just a few quick notes today before we get this update started. First of all, when you post a TalkBack, do NOT press the submit button more than once. We know a lot of you get impatient (heck, we’re guilty of it as well), but a talkback post will take a good 10 to 15 seconds (maybe more at peak hours), due to the massive database calls that need to be made when you send one online. If you continue to push submit, not only do you end up double or triple posting the same message, you also start the clock over for your post (so, you’re actually making your wait LONGER by doing this). We’re sorry it takes so long, but we’re doing the best we can here.

Hopes are high tonight as the Philadelphia Flyers try to knock the Pittsburgh Penguins out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The game’s in Pittsburgh, which is actually a good omen for us since Philly was successful in their last 2 games out there.

Please: For the love of GOD, all of you, STOP sending information on the Star Wars website poll. We saw it. We posted about it last Friday. We appreciate the e-mail, but now, you can stop. We got about 8 more mails on this today (in addtion to the 25 or so we’ve gotten since posting the story last week). So please use the new search feature on this site or just read the recent news closely before sending in big stuff like that in the future. It makes our job a lot easier. Thanks.

Today we’ve got some bad news regarding the Amy DVD (and we really ARE sorry too, not only did we really want to own this one but, even worse, now we’re sure we’ll get e-mails every day asking about the disc again). In addition to that, there’s a new file and some newsbites for you to take a look at. Hey, at least it’s our second update in a row this week! Let’s go:

• A new Dogma theme has arrived, from the creator of the original Dogma theme! You can snag it at out new and improved Files Askew page.
• A new fansite for Drawing Flies (read the summaries!) & Tail Lights Fade director Malcolm Ingram has surfaced. Check it out. And Malc, if you’re reading this, we need your new e-mail address!
• Jason Lee is mentioned in E!”s column the Awful Truth, complete with photo.
• Here’s an odd one. A Hunter Thompson fan site, The Great Thompson Hunt (www.gonzo.org) has a review of the Chasing Dogma trade. Ummm…Okaaaay.
• And finally, we’ve been getting SO many e-mails on this week after week that we decided we’d just mention it in the hopes they might stop. The WCW’s Monday Nitro (a wrestling program for the uninitiated) has featured a commentator who continues th use the phrase “Snootchie Boochies” every week, usually when a beautiful woman appears on the screen.

Hey all. Wow, it’s a new week and we’re still kinda in shell shock over having the new site online. After spending an incredible amount of our spare time on it, and keeping it mostly a secret, it’s almost hard to believe that everything is done and online. It’s a great feeling, though, seeing the site work and all of you using the talkback areas and stuff. Thanks for sticking with us. We’re starting to fall back into our old routine again, and it’s nice to see ya here.

Well, we’re in the middle of a heatwave now here in Pennsylvania, but it’s a nice change from the unseasonably cold spring we’d had just a couple weeks ago. Still, Spring’s the best season and it seems like this year went from winter right into summer. And the heat doesn’t make all the yard and landscaping work outside any more fun, that’s for sure.

We’ve got a couple good stories for ya today, including the latest on Dr. Kevin Smith’s commencement speech (yep, you heard that right, DOCTOR SMITH)…And an interesting mailing regarding the Clerks Cartoon series. Let’s have a looksee: