• The Mallrats Australian DVD is currently the #1 seller at EzyDVD. Check that out HERE.
• Can’t win ‘em all – This comics critic puts Green Arrow on his Worst of 2001 list. E! Online voters said “Because I Got High” was the “Song We Could Have Most Done Without.”
• This DVD Talk thread seems to be taking suggestions for questions for an upcoming interview they’re doing with Kevin about the Jay & Bob DVD.
• Acording to this Yahoo article, the West End production of “Private Lives,” starring Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan, will hit Broadway soon at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
• More bad news for Germany: Jay & Bob’s release date has now been shifted to April 11, 2002. This news comes according to the official distributor’s website.
• And finally today, some upcoming Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back screenings, especially for those of you that didn’t get to catch it again at the ‘thon:

• Florida State (Jen Smith’s alma mater) is playing J&SBSB this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (Jan. 10, 11, 12) at their Student Life Building. Admission’s free for students and it shows at 7:30 and 10:00 PM.
• Michigan State University shows the film at the Campus Center Cinema this weekend. It’sfree for students with an ID and $2 for the general public. Showtimes HERE.

• We’re back from Vulgarthon and are happy to report that, yet again, the gang put together a fantastic show. The program consisted of “Vulgar”, “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”, “Now You Know”, and “Big Helium Dog”. This was the first ‘thon for 3 of the 4, BHD being an encore from last year. Jeff Anderson’s “Now You Know” had never screened before an audience before, and this was “Vulgar”’s first public screening in the United States. Kevin also treated the audience to over an hour of deleted material from Jay & Bob, summarized below. All the film’s directors were in attendance to introduce and Q&A their flicks afterwards and, aside from some awful weather for those of us coming in from the west, things coasted along quite smoothly, almost as if these guys have done this a couple of times before…

The event’s going to have more web coverage than ever this year, with AICN’s Mysteiro in attendance to cover things for their site, Ming snapping photos of the entire event, and, of course, double the amount of attendees who’ll certainly have stories to tell of the shows and everything else. Our summary of day one will be online soon, which will only be a brief rundown of the day’s films, news, and a few surprises. Due to the bad weather, we weren’t around very long on Sunday night and had to even cut out a bit early on Monday, so be sure to inform us of anything we might have missed!

• One of the first things that everyone does when they hit Red Bank is stop by at the Stash – The first thing we noticed when we stopped in early Monday morning was that the Bluntman & Chronic book was on the shelves in plentiful supply! The book runs $14.95, and is well worth the cash. Kev’s story and Oeming’s art are top-notch – We had no problem shelling out the 15 bucks for ours.

The long-awaited “Blutman & Chronic” one-shot is now available at the Stash, and likely in stores everywhere soon, if not already! Be sure and ask your local comic shop when they expect their shipments in, as they’re likely to go fast (as with all of Kevin’s books). The new Stash, by the way, looks way cool, with some new props (including the full size Bluntmobile, seen below). Be sure and make a trip into Red Bank sometime to check it out, there’s a ton of fun stuff to see (and of course a bunch of View Askew swag as well, so bring those credit cards – plug plug).

Thanks to all of you who alerted us to this after the fact, we had an incredible amount of scoops waiting for us when we got back (more news soon).

• A big Vulgarthon announcement from Kevin confirmed that, now that the 10-issue “Quiver” story is over, his run on the book will now extend through issue #15. The next two books are standalone stories, and #13 through #15 will feature a new supervillian of Kevin’s own creation! In the past, Kevin’s been taking over existing characters, so it’ll be interesting to see this new one he comes up with (and to see what comes of the villian after this arc is over). We’ll have more news on this exciting development soon.

• One of the highlights of this year’s Vulgarthon featured Kevin narrating the way through over an hour of deleted and extended material from “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back” (which will appear on the DVD), and some hilarious outtakes assembled into a Gag Reel. Here’s a rundown of some of the extra stuff, seen for the first time anywhere:

• DELETED SCENES
• An extended scene with the 2 youths outside of the Quick Stop, helping Jay & Silent Bob get busted.
• An extended version of the Brodie’s Secret Stash scene with more dialogue and Brodie’s interaction with Brian Lynch.
• As with the Dogma DVD, Kevin demonstrates what happens when Affleck is given the chance to ad-lib.
• A series of gags regarding sex with donkeys, starting with a website that Holden shows to Jay & Silent Bob at Potzers, Inc. The website’s URL was actually registered, thus, the gag and all subsequent references to it had to go.
• An extended bit following Sean William Scott’s booting from the van and a CGI-created sheep.
• An alternate, filthier take on the Scooby Doo sequence where it’s revealed that Scoob shares a feature with Walt Flanagan’s dog.
• A hilarious extended scene where Jay & Silent Bob board the bus from Jersey to California, featuring the “Kid in the Helmet”, immortalized in the Clerks cartoon series.
• Two quick gags where Dante and Randal reference the cancelled ABC Clerks cartoon.
• A short scene of the girls beginning to change into their leather suits in the van.
• A scene featuring Jen using her famous “Shine” expression (revealed by Kevin in his New York Times comic last year).
• Several scenes featuring a VERY close relationship between Chrissy (Ali Larter) and Missy (Jennifer Schwalbach Smith).
• Marshall Willenholly’s introduction scene (in a bathroom stall with some colorful reading material).
• More of Sissy with the Pizza man (Joe Quesada).
• Adam Corolla’s deleted scene (as an FBI agent who mocks Willenholly on an incoming phone call).
• A shot of Sissy dumping the diamonds from their hideout’s balcony onto Justice’s head (Kev says: “A pretty shot, but why would she dump the diamonds?”)
• Futher dialogue between Hooper and Banky outside of the Bluntman & Chronic premiere.
• An appearance of Scott Mosier’s famous Chasing Amy character outside the Bluntman & Chronic premiere.OUTTAKES
• Mewes takes a few stabs at his second chant, outside the second convenience store.
• Will Ferrell ad-libs regarding the lack of a police jet as he dials his cellular phone, in several takes. Kevin admitted this scene was his presonal favorite of the cut stuff, since he was such a fan of Will’s work.
• Affleck & Damon crack up repeatedly at the “I don’t like the sound of them apples, Will” line.
• An over 5 minute long scene Kevin crafted in the editing room featuring newscaster John Stewart and wildlife marshall Will Ferrel ad-libbing and discussing the C.L.I.T.
• Jason Lee mocks Jay’s way of speaking (as Brodie).
• Judd Nelson’s different line reads on what he and his deputies plan to do when they get back to the stationhouse.

There were TONS more scenes and outtakes, but keeping in mind this is all from memory, that’s a great deal of them. You’ll all have your chance to see this stuff when the Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back DVD comes out at the end of February!

• Well, the time has come again, and we’re about to make the trek into Red Bank, NJ for what promises to be another big historical View Askew event – Vulgarthon 2002! There’s some nasty weather on the way here in the northeast, a rain/snow mix, so hopefully the drive in will be a safe one for all of you (including us). Red Bank’s just calling for rain at this point, but it wouldn’t be surprising if things freeze a bit or we see a few flakes out there. Early reports indicate that all is well in Red Bank, and folks have already started arriving for the event.

Confirmed flicks for tomorrow are Vulgar and Big Helium Dog, we also assume Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back will screen (though we’re unsure if it’ll be the final version or something more rare). We’re also assuming there’ll be some videotaped greetings from celebs not in attendance for us to check out, probably the New York short and perhaps the new “Flying Cars” short featuring Dante & Randal (first time anywhere!). With rumors of Jeff Anderson in attendance, and O’Halloran’s excellent track record of appearing at these events, chances are we may even see a small “Clerks” reunion, so don’t rule out that one showing again either. All in all, should be another great program this year.

Check with us here at News Askew for the latest from the scene, as we’ll be checking in with updates and a lot more over the next two days. And now, a final news update before we hit the treacherous highways on our way east…

• This article from Hive4Media summarizes what we’ll see on the Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back DVD next month. Here’s an excerpt:

• Scott Kramer’s “Chasing Kevin” again makes internet waves, appearing on the front page of MSN.com recently, with this synopsis:

You can view the film (if you have yet to see it) at IFILM by clicking HERE.

• In the February issue of Alternative Press magazine, the 2001 A.P. Reader’s Poll Awards list “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” as BEST MOVIE, and “Dogma” as BEST DVD. Kudos to all!
• Well, this seems to be an interesting way to get a plug from us here. Take note.
• Anyone around here a professional translator? Here’s an interesting Jay & Bob page that was discovered on the web.
• A bit off topic, but a new online magazine covering the Jersey Music Scene has opened at www.chorusandverse.com. Feel free to send them any news relating to View Askew & music.
• And finally, a very happy birthday to Joey Lauren Adams, who turns 31 today.

• Sorry for the false alarm yesterday, folks, looks like our initial info was correct – Bluntman & Chronic has again been delayed. When the Diamond shipping notice was finalized, the book was nowhere to be found. Sadly, that’s all the info we’ve got for ya at this point. We’re waiting for the book as much as the rest of you, and hope to have a concrete release date soon. We’re sure they’ll have it out in time to read before you watch the film again on DVD. Stay tuned.

• We’re very happy to have this first look for you of the final artwork for the Drawing Flies DVD and VHS, including the fronts, backs, sides, and the full text (the Harry Knowles quote, for example). You can now also check out the full list of extras included on the disc. Street date for the disc and VHS is still set for February 26, 2002 (the same day Jay & Silent Bob hit DVD and VHS).