• Well folks, you’ve asked, pleaded, and begged, and now, it’s finally a reality. Chasing Amy is on DVD shelves everywhere here in the US (it’s a week or two late in Canada due to a shipment problem from the distributor, sorry folks). We took a few hours and sat down with this disc last night, checked out the menus, watched the movie from start to finish, and checked out all the extras. Wanna know what we thought? Read our EXCLUSIVE REVIEW of the disc here, one of the first (if not THE first) reviews of the release on the web!

Thanks again to Criterion for supplying us with the test pressing of the disc. Though it arrived just a day before the disc’s release, it’s the thought that counts, and it seems that the other big DVD sites got nothing at all, so we’re very appreciative.

• Tonight, at 8 PM, CBS will reveal the AFI’s choices for the “100 Funniest Movies of All Time”. We all know that Clerks was in the running, but did it make it? And if so, where did it rank? Visitors to the AFI’s website, where you can cast your own votes, REALLY like Clerks. In fact, as for this morning, it was #1 amongst the public vote, though strangely at presstime is sitting at #34. Sooo, we’re not really sure if the public vote is ongoing that it’s swaying THAT much, but one thing’s for sure — There’s a LOT of Clerks fans out there. Here’s hoping we’ll see the flick on the list tonight. It’d be quite an honor for sure.

• Just something quick for today…Got some new eJay auction items and a few NewsBites, but the real reason we’re writing this commentary is to say thanks to Susan at Criterion for shipping us a copy of the Chasing Amy test pressing. We’ll be spinning it up tonight for review, and be back tomorrow with a full review of the content, the transfer, and more. Our actual copies of the disc should be arriving in a day or two from Reel, so we’ll have a review of everything but the packaging itself. Thanks for the disc, Criterion!

• Here’s the list of new/rare items posted for your bids at eJay, the View Askew auction site. The newest list includes another Mallrats book, Bethany’s purse from Dogma (complete with contents), a way cool Clerks cartoon staff shirt (with one of our personal favorite quotes from an unaired Clerks episode), and, our favorite of the bunch, the Idiosyncratic Routine prop book that Joey Lauren Adams scribbled on repeatedly in her signing scene at Chasing Amy’s end. We predict that one will go for big bucks. There’s more, too, so good luck, bid wisely…Bidding on this group closes on June 19th.

And before you ask, no, the girl’s not available on the auction block.

• Campus Vibe has posted its video interview with Kevin Smith, as well as opened up a lot of featured Kevin Smith features. Surf over and check it out!
• The soon to be deceased (sadly) Reel.Com posted more information and pics on Jason Lee’s Stillwater flick today. Surf over to Reel.com (while it’s still there) for the story.
• Just in case we forgot to mention it earlier, Dogma is now out for rental in a video store near you in the UK. Look for it!

• Here’s a sad but poignant piece of art for today. Click for a larger version. Speaks for itself.
• Finally today, a very happy birthday to that Dogma scene-stealer himself, Jason Mewes.

• [NOTE: NOW FIXED FOR NETSCAPE USERS!!!!] Alright, all of you fans out there who were upset to hear that ABC cancelled the Clerks cartoon, have we got the game for you! Thanks to our good friend and graphics guru Dave Blumenstein we are proud to present a News Askew EXCLUSIVE feature, “Poke an ABC Executive in The Eye”! That’s right, your very own chance to use your mouse to express your true feelings for the cancellation of Clerks and all the other injustices over the past couple of years. We’re sure you’ll dig this one.

You’ll need a browser that’s got the Shockwave Flash applet installed, so surf on over and nab it if you’re having troubles. Oh, and after you’re all poked out, don’t forget to press the QUIT button for an extra surprise. Happy poking, and enjoy, from Nakedfella productions and your friends at News Askew!

Well, seems there’s a lot to talk about today. Where to start, where to start…

First of all, yeah, it really is official that ABC will not be showing the last 4 episodes of Clerks. We’re not organizing any sort of letter-writing or e-mail campaign because we don’t really expect anyone to listen. We’re glad they at least showed a couple episodes, but can’t help but assume they were planning to ditch the show before airing all six anyway. If you DO want to contact ABC, the mailing address and e-mail addresses are in the talkback areas, as many folks HAVE been writing and sharing their contact information. However, if you DO write, please don’t swear and yell, just nicely state your loyalty to the show and to the sponsors, and express your dismay over the cancellation. Swearing and name-calling just won’t get you anywhere at all.

As far as the cancellation goes, we’re not running any more articles on it. Quite a few websites ran their own small stories on this yesterday, but we figured we had it pretty well covered. In fact, we believe we had the story first, thanks to our fine scoopers. Bad news, but at least you got to hear it from us first. Funny though, ABC and other TV Guide sites still have the show scheduled for next week. Entertainment Weekly even lists in in their “What To Watch” section. Go figure.

Speaking of ABC, never got word from Buena Vista on the Chasing Amy DVD, so we bit the bullet and pre-ordered today. We’ll have a look at the disc as soon as we can for ya, but doubt it’ll be by this Tuesday, when the disc hits shelves. We’re receiving reports that the disc’s on rental shelves already in some areas, so it’s a reality: Chasing Amy exists on DVD. Wow.

So, why’s everyone bashing “Gone In 60 Seconds” so much? Sure, it’s got hokey dialogue, but what did you expect from a Bruckheimer production? The flick’s got a great cast and moves along at a decent pace…It’s not the balls-to-the-wall actioner that Jerry usually produces, but that’s been known from the start. It’s not a bad time at the movies at all and, as a whole, it was a better experience that “MI:2”, which really drug it’s feet until the end (Though MI:2’s cycle sequence far outshines GISS’s final chase, hands down). Plus, Vinny Jones’ (of “Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels” fame) entrance was classic.

Today we’ve got a smattering of stuff to talk about…A few rumors have been floating around the net that we at least want to mention due to the amount of e-mails we’ve received, though we don’t believe them for a second. Got some multimedia for ya in the way of the “Coyote Ugly” trailer and some pics from Jason Lee’s next big flick. Lots of activity’s been going on over at the View Askew site, so we’ve got a summary of that for ya, too. Got lots of mail on the quick Dogma clips that appeared in MTV’s 1999 movie montage during their movie awards. Glad they remembered. Alright, let’s ride:

• We’ve been getting a TON of mail regarding Kevin’s rumored directing gig for Scream 4 — We suppose now that Wes Craven has turned down the duty for the flick, with Jay & Bob’s appearance in #3, rumors started going crazy. We gotta admit, it’d be kinda fun to see what Kevin would do if he had the chance to WRITE a Scream flick, but highly doubt the guy will even consider directing one. Plus, he’s got the final Jersey flick on his plate next, as well as a possible Clerks cartoon feature, and we’re sure that Miramax wants to have Scream 4 underway a lot sooner than it would be possible for Kev to work on.

Also, more rumors are resurfacing on Kevin’s involvement with the MAGE movie. The latest on this project, and all of the other rumored movie projects, can be found in the OTHER PROJECTS section of our summaries section. In a nutshell, though, Kevin was too busy to take on the scripting duties, but he’s happy that the flick’s looking to get made.

• Kevin checked in on the Clerks cancellation to try and calm the masses, in response to the huge amount of hostile posts regarding the show’s cancellation:

We tend to agree. The show aired, millions saw it: Mission Accomplished. We were happy to read through all the talkback posts and see how many of you enjoyed the show. Still, we’ve gotta remember, View Askew fans make up a speck of the population and, while we’ve obviously got the taste and sense of humor to dig Kev’s stuff, lots of folks just don’t get it. We’re sure that we’re not alone when we say that we can’t wait to see what comes next.

Jason Mewes and Brian O’Halloran have been hanging around the board lately, as well as Chris Bailey and Dave Mandel from the cartoon, so if you’ve got a question or just want to see what the guys are talking about, it’s as good a time as ever to surf over and register.

• Continuing with the flurry of web board activity, Bryan Johnson stepped in from the shadows to report on an item that’s been highly requested by folks for over the past 2 years now. Very soon, you’ll be able to own a hat just like Banky’s in Chasing Amy! Here’s Bryan: