• Futurama, Matt Groening (of Simpsons fame)’s animated series on FOX, is apparently not going ahead with its fifth season. If you haven’t been watching the show (due to the confusing timeslot and constant pre-emptions by football and other programming), we urge you to start tuning in, especially those of you with that magical Neilsen box.

Several sites are banding together to start a petition to save the show. Please, even if you’re not a huge fan of the show, surf over to the Got Futurarma and Slashdot websites for more information on how you can sign the petition, urging FOX to keep Futurama on the air. So far, over 20,000 people have signed in under a day. The decision hasn’t been finalized yet, and movements like this have helped shows in the past, so it’s well worth your time.

If by any chance anyone at FOX is reading this, we hope you’ll reconsider this decision. For pete’s sake, air it in prime time instead of this awful 7:00 PM Sunday slot it’s been buried in, and give the show a chance to find a larger audience. The show’s never been funnier, and it would be a real shame to lose it. Don’t count on The Simpsons being around forever, Futurama has a TON of good years left!

You can find a direct easy link to sign the petition RIGHT HERE.

• Those Oscar nominations aren’t that exciting for some reason, are they? Perhaps it’s just a testament to the fact that not a lot of great cinema came out this year. Ah well. It’ll still be something to watch. It’s a shame that Sean Penn had to get a nod, though I’ve personally not seen the flick, it supposedly ain’t that great, yet for some reason the academy yet again falls for the actor playing the mentally hadicapped bait and voila, nomination. Crowe’s been very lucky with those folks in the past, is he gonna do it again? Ya never know. Again though, while his performance is good, is “A Beautiful Mind” really worthy of Best Picture? Man, would it be cool to see LOTR take home the honors, if not for the achievement alone, but chances are it’ll be a long shot. And Kidman’s got the Best Actress award in the bag, from the look of things – With Paltrow and Roberts over the past years, the mainsteam success story seems to be the fave. We’ll talk more about this as time goes on, of course, but for now, let’s get to today’s stories:

• The official press release for Drawing Flies appeared on the wire today, as issued by IndieDVD:

We’ve received review copies of the disc, and have been spinning it up this week. DVDCC has beaten us to the punch with a review of the disc, which you can check out HERE.

It’s great to finally have this title as part of the collection! Remember, you can get a copy signed by Malcolm Ingram from the Stash for under $20!

• According to this PRESS RELEASE from Diamond Comics, the 10-issue Green Arrow “Quiver” hardcover will ship on March 13th, for the very low price of $24.95! The book’s going to run a whopping 232 pages and is another must-have item for your collection.

Also, shipping THIS WEEK from Graphitti, a new Bluntman & Chronic T-shirt and poster, featuring the mock-up cover of the Image Bluntman & Chronic comic. Place your orders at your local comic shop or visit Graphitti Designs at http://www.graphittidesigns.com for more info!

• Entertainment website JoBlo has placed their “Golden Schmoes” ballot online , which more accurately seem to represent the more popular flicks with self-proclaimed film geeks and such. Jay & Bob (as well as Dogma) are currently in the running for a few of these, so you’ll certainly want to stop by and cast your vote. Here’s their categories: Best Comedy (Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back), Coolest Character (Jay & Silent Bob), and Best DVD of the Year: Dogma SE. Voting is only until February the 18th, so get those ballots in soon!
• Speaking of voting, in IMDB.com‘s Best of 2001 Poll section, they have a wrap-up poll. Up for nominations is George Carlin as “Best Wise Old Advisor” for J&SBSB, and of course, Jay & Silent Bob for “Best on Screen Pair or Couple”. You need to be a registered user of the IMDB to vote, but it’s free and easy. Let’s make sure Kevin and his final View Askewniverse film get the recognition they deserve!
• We may have mentioned this years ago, or it might be known to some of you already, but just in case, we’re mentioning it now anyway and adding it to the summaries: The infamous and never seen (not even by us) ill-fated Clerks TV show pilot is summarized, screenshots and all, right HERE. Enjoy.
• After almost 3 complete weeks at the Australian Box Office, J&SBSB has grossed #1,788,489 (inc. GST).

• The next round of bidding has commenced for a new group of rare and unique View Askew merchandise — Now is your chance to own a true piece of Askewniverse history. Check out the list of way cool stuff that might be yours:

• ‘Vulgar’ cast & crew shirt
• ‘Chasing Amy’ Vogue poster signed by Kevin, Scott, Mewes and Jason Lee
• Cheesehead prop from ‘Dogma’
• Joey’s SXSW Pass
• Mallrats poster signed by Kevin and Ben Affleck
• Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back premiere pass

All way cool stuff, to say the least. Happy bidding to you all, and good luck! Surf over to eJay for more information on all of these items, as well as to place your bids, of course.

• Here’s the official flyer from Dave’s Video announcing Kevin’s appearance early next month. Keep in mind this is a DVD signing for Jay & Bob, and you usually need to buy a copy at Dave’s to stand in line and get it signed. No idea what the policy is on other items, though likely Kev will sign the DVD and one other item only to keep the line moving. If you’re going, we suggest only bringing one extra item (which might not even get signed) for respect of everyone else waiting in the line.

• Billboard magazine ran this story on the upcoming Jay & Bob DVD release, which summarizes the film itself and delves a bit into the disc’s extra material. Sorry the scan’s tough to read, it’s the best we’ve got at the moment.
• Just discovered on the Blueyonder (UK Broadband) site are three heavily trimmed scenes from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: Jay & Bob in the Secret Stash with Brodie, the Carrie Fisher cameo (heavily cut including the sign that Carlin holds up totally rewritten) and Chris Rock and Jamie Kennedy in the booger scene (with swearing removed). The clips are located in their Entertainment section, under “More Features”. Watch for a TON of cut footage on the Jay & Bob DVD later this month, we’ve been going through a test pressing of the second disc of the DVD and it’s PACKED yet again.
• The Ultimate Picture Palace on Jeune Street in Oxford will screen all of Kevin’s films for the next couple of months, all in chronological order, except Mallrats, sadly. The shows are a mixture of late night and evening showings. Contact the theater for more information.

• Here’s the latest list of appearances, including some that you haven’t heard about before!

There’s a few more in the works, as well, so stay tuned here, we might be adding to this list soon! Also take note of that Dave’s Video signing, and be sure you get there EARLY, you don’t want to miss out. Watch our site and the countdowns calendar in your upper left for the latest events.

• Ande Parks is selling a very hot item on ebay right now – 3 original pages from Green Arrow, a complete scene featuring the archer and Aquaman (Pages 6, 7, and 8 of Green Arrow number 4, to be exact). This is an excellent collector’s item to be sure, and not for the faint of heart, as the price is currently at $465 and climbing! Good luck and happy bidding, folks. Check out the auction and pics of the pages HERE.
• The WiggyWorld website has recently added DVD reviews of Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma, as well as a poll on your favorite Kevin Smith film.
• Green Arrow #11 is now on shelves everywhere, in case you don’t already have one. This review, while not the most flattering, appears on Pop Culture Shock. While the author still dug the book, it certainly isn’t his fave of the series (then again, maybe he just has a bone to pick with Phil Hester!)
• In case anyone’s interested, a Bibliography of Kevin’s printed work was found online HERE. Not sure if this is complete or not, and it’ll of course be outdated soon, but it’s a nice summary and a testament to the mountain of stuff he’s worked on recently.
• Clerks: The Animated Series is on this poll in which you can pick your favorite summertime series! Check it out.

• Our advance copies of the Drawing Flies DVD arrived today, along with a test pressing of Jay & Bob Disc 2, so we’re starting to compile our reviews of these discs for your viewing pleasure. Watch this site next week for your first look at menus, screenshots, and lots more from these 2 highly anticipated releases! From a quick look, both discs look to be packed with material, so you’ll have plenty of stuff to check out in a couple of weeks at home. Stay tuned for more, and if you haven’t, be sure and get those preorders in now!