• CDNow reports that Columbia’s upcoming two-DVD set of the Concert for New York City will indeed include the full short film that Kevin created in New York City! Previously seen only on VH-1, this will be your chance to add this item to your View Askew collection, and benefit a worthy cause as well:

The short, as you recall, aired with BLEEPs over colorful words. Those bleeps will remain intact, as it was always Kevin’s intention for them to be there in the final product. And frankly, it makes it even funnier.

• We missed this post a couple days back, and it’s certainly significant, as Kevin runs down what’s up next for him, and gives a reminder about that excellent Heroes Auction coming up next month. Check it out:

• Just in time for Vulgarthon, Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash is now open with an all new look! Things have been remodeled, rearranged, and some new Jay & Bob props – Including the famous Bluntmobile that we saw on the Bluntcave set – are now available for your viewing pleasure! The mobile features two Jay & Bob mannequins in the seats, each holding their respective Bluntsabers. Also spotted are the sign from the Diamond Exchange, and more. Stop by the Stash now or at Vulgarthon for your first look at these props since they were on the California set!

• Universal Records wants to give you a DVD Player, the Kevin Smith Library, the official soundtrack for Jay and Silent Bob, and Afroman’s The Good Times! Enter HERE, though check out this strange tidbit from the fine print of the contest’s rules:

Huh.

• UK Jay & Bob news: Here’s the second and 3rd week gross results for the film:

The film’s DVD is pre-ordering quite well in the UK, currently at the #3 spot for region 1 orders.

• Ben Affleck’s new flick, Changing Lanes, (with Sam Jackson) now has its official trailer online HERE. Be sure and check it out.
• Alanis Morissette’s new single — featuring some of her most vitriolic lyrics since “You Oughta Know” — has aired in Germany and is being made available on the website of her European record label. “Hands Clean” debuted Christmas Eve at www.jumpradio.de and is currently online in streaming format at WEA Records Germany. Thanks to Canoe’s Jam! Showbiz for the story.

• It’s been a while since we checked in with one of these, so we thought now might be a good time. As you can see, though, there’s still so much stuff happening even when Kevin ISN’T directly on a project that we still need to update the site almost daily. Keep in mind that we’ll stick with this process, as long as there’s stuff to report, we’ll be here almost every day. So don’t forget to check in.

Lord of the Rings…Was it GREAT? Good flick, sure, better than most this year, but it certainly wasn’t the jaw-dropping spectacle some folks had billed it up to be. Chances are that folks who absolutely LOVED it were fans of the books, or at least READ them. Having not read the series, only “The Hobbit”, the film was good from an outside point of view, but that feeling of confusion having not read the text did come up from time to time. Still, there’s no reason not to be there opening day for The Two Towers next year. Consider that money spent.

The new year is quickly approaching, and boy, was it ever a speedy yet eventful 2001. Seems like just yesterday, folks were worried about Y2K and what it would do to our computerized society. This year, there’s a lot more on folks’ minds, and many of us look at things a lot differently, and appreciate everything that we’ve got even more. Thanks again to everyone for sticking with us, your faithful readership and scoopage, and for being the coolest folks out on the web. Much appreciated, all of you.

That being said, let’s get on with today’s news, and look forward to a fun 2002. We’ll see a lot of you in a week or so at Vulgarthon 2K2.

• Will it finally happen? According to the Diamond Shipping list on their Website, the Bluntman & Chronic Trade Paperback is finally supposed to ship on January 4, 2001! Check out the info HERE. Having not heard a peep elsewhere, we’re skeptical, but wanted to let you know anyway.
• The Lord of the Rings, retold through the eyes of Kevin Smith? What might that be like? Check out some rewritten text HERE, with the cast:

• Chasing Amy made it toreelbuff.com‘s Top 100 of the 1990s list, sandwiched between Braveheart and Pi, coming in at, of all things, #37.
• Mallrats finally saw an Australian DVD release on December 24th. The disc only includes subtitles and a trailer as the special features. Makes us folks in the Region 1 DVD area feel even more fortunate, doesn’t it?
• And finally today, check out The Digital Bits for a chance to win an Almost Famous “Untitled” DVD signed by Jason Lee! Good luck!

• This political cartoon, “Where’s Osama?”, has been going around at the WWWBoard so we thought you might want to take a look at it here. The question is, though, “Where’s Jay & Silent Bob?”.
• DC’s website ran a conceptual pic and this description on this way cool Green Arrow statue coming to stores early next year:

GREEN ARROW Statue

Green Arrow is back, both in his new hugely popular monthly series…and now as a new hand-painted, cold-cast porcelain statue! The GREEN ARROW Statue, designed by Matt Wagner and sculpted by Tim Bruckner, features the Emerald Archer, bow in hand, arrow nocked, and ready to take on any evildoer. Set on an urban rooftop, the statue stands approximately 11.25” tall x 7” wide x 5.63” deep. Packaged in a 4-color box. Final product may differ from image shown.

Sculpted by Tim Bruckner; based on designs by Matt Wagner.

$195.00 – In stores January 9, 2002.

• The Advocate’s year-end issue listed JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK on their “10 Best Films of the Year” list at #8 — “Kevin Smith’s straight buffoons make for great gay comedy. Offended? Oh, relax.”
• Hey female fans! Check out the “What Kevin Smith FEMALE Are You?” quiz located HERE. Answer some questions and find out which female from the Askewniverse best matches your personality. There’s also a male test coming soon. Have fun!
• A big Kevin Smith fan (who named his son Brodie) has opened a comic shop all his own. The name? “Brodie’s Comics and Cards”. Reportedly he did consider calling it “Brodie’s Secret Stash”, but feared getting sued. You can check out the place on the web HERE.

• And finally, speaking of big fans, this one created his own custom Christmas cards featuring the Buddy Christ. Check them out above. Happy Holidays!

• Merry Christmas, everyone! Hopefully Santa brought you all something that you wanted, and that you’re having a great day. Happy Holidays to you and yours from everyone here at News Askew and View Askew.

Things have been very busy personally over the past few days, though news has also been slow due to the holidays, hence the silence around here these past few days. We do have the big 8 million hits landmark on the rise, and a lot of plans for 2002, so things aren’t going to be dull around here for much longer. With Vulgarthon, some new DVD releases, and the new flick starting to film this Spring, 2002 is sure to be another landmark year at View Askew. But more on that later, go open some presents and eat some turkey! We’ll see ya back here later on and catch up on some small nwesbites from the past couple of days.

Take care, Merry Christmas, and we’ll see you back here soon.

• Jeff Anderson himself checked in with a clarification of a few reports we’ve been receiving about his upcoming flick, “Now You Know”, and that rumored appearance on the Tonight Show. This should answer all your questions, for now. We’ll give Jeff the floor here:

• According to their website ,The Mid-Ohio-Con, which takes place on November 30th and December 1st, 2002, Kevin will be in attendance. So, if you’re in that area, you might want to mark up that shiny new 2002 calendar of yours.
• On the Reelbuff.com site, CLERKS has been declared the 45th best American film of the 90s.
• Good Will Hunting airs in the UK tonight on BBC2: Sat 22 Dec, 21:25 – 23:25 120 mins.
• Wolfpac mentions Jason Mewes in a song called “Pink in the middle.” There are only 300 copies of the free CD out right now, so it’s tough to come by – The exact line is “Talkin shit and bang your bitch like my name was Jason Mewes, [clip from ‘Clerks’] I’ll fuck anything that moves!”
• An article on the charisma of comic book creators mentions Kevin:

Read the whole thing HERE.

• Finally, here’s an interesting twist – “A District Court judge has ordered a Connecticut teen facing misdemeanor alcohol and drug charges to listen to and write a report on the song “Because I Get High” by rapper Afroman.” Check out the full story HERE.