• Check out a brief new interview with Kevin called “Kevin Smith Answers Back” at the Project Greenlight website HERE.
• We’re not sure of the plans for the Clerks 10th Anniversary DVD right now, but fans have started a petition online in the hopes that both the original version of the film AND the new director’s cut can be included. This will of course raise the price of the set, and, given that most of us already own the standard cut on another disc, it’s a topic of heated discussion. No decisions have been finalized on the new Clerks DVD just yet, but if you want to support the original AND extended cuts of the film both in the set, you might want to sign the petition.
• And speaking of Clerks DVDs, this one makes you happy to NOT be part of Region 4 of the world, as the Clerks R4 DVD gets a justifiably bad review. Looks like the disc has an awful transfer and not a single extra. Ouch.

• News from the HUGE SXSW film convention: The film tote bags that will be given out during the festival have Bluntman and Chronic on them. Bluntman is holding a camera on his shoulder while Chronic is holding a boom mic. It says “Film is Blunt” and then has Kev’s signature.

• In related festival news, here’s a photo snapped at Showest of Jason Lee’s “A Guy Thing” theatrical poster.

• The new Oscar campaign for MONSTERS, INC. has been featuring short testimonials from animators (Frank Thomas, Joe Grant) and animation experts (Leonard Malton, Charles Solomon). In today’s ad, there’s actually a blurb from Kevin:

You can check out scans of that ad above!

• A rare chance to catch Clerks on the big screen in the WAY northern United States: The flick is currently playing at the Beartooth theater pub in Anchorage Alaska, nightly at 11 o’clock. All shows there are only 3 bucks.
• According to the newest street date listing, Target stores WILL begin carrying the J&SBSB DVD starting Tuesday, March 12th. Just wanted to follow up on that with you folks, since we announced last month the store had rejected the disc due to content. Sounds like someone changed their mind!
• Last night on the VH-1 Sebastion Bach hosted show “Forever Wild”, he visisted Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash to review the original “Kiss” comic from Marvel. If we hear of a rerun, we’ll let ya know.
• A 10-question Kevin Smith Quiz that we don’t recall mentioning before (though it seems a bit dated) has been discovered at the JoBlo website.
• Another Troma-related Kevin spotting: On the DVD entitled “Best of Tromadance Film Festival Volume 1”, there’s a section called “Stars of Tromadance” in the Special Features section of the disc. Stills of celebs like James Woods and Charlie Sheen posing with Troma mascot The Toxic Avenger are there, along with one of Kevin and Toxie.

• That’s right, folks, eJay week 5 is here! 5 more exclusive items that you can own and cherish. Again, this stuff is WAY rare, most of it is even one of a kind. Some cool stuff this week, all brought to us by new model Jennifer Farley. You’ll find an Affleck-singed Mallrats poster, an original Clerks script (from the set), a rare Lithograph, a binder from Dogma’s boardroom scene…Heck, they’ve even got Linda Fiorentino’s SHOES! You heard us right. As always, happy bidding all, and best of luck.

• We’ve had a lot of inquiries about this one, so we went straight to the source to find out the latest, and we think those of you that pre-ordered the Jay & Bob DVD, signed by Kevin, will be pleased to hear:

There ya go, folks! If you ordered early, you should have your disc very soon, if not already. Kevin’s signing away on the west coast and having them shipped back to Jersey for packaging and shipment, hence the slight delay. We’ll keep you posted.

• The Jay & Bob DVD is doing quite well in sales and at the rental stores. This comes from The Hollywood Reporter:

• Thanks to everyone for sending in your suggestions and addtions to the DVD Easter Egg page. There’s now some new ways to access the “Drawing Flies” stuff, and we simply forgot to include the Jay & Bob egg (it’s now there).

• Here’s a few more photos from Kevin’s signing appearance at Dave’s. Check them out right above.
• The entire script to “The Flying Car” has been transcribed and posted in a View Askew WWWBoard post HERE.
• On last night’s Conan O’Brien show, there was a sketch that predicted what a “Late Shift 2” movie would be like, given the current rumors over Ted Koppel being replaced by David Letterman. Anyway, long story short, in the credits of the sketch, they credited Kevin Smith as portraying “A Michael Eisner-like ABC Executive”. A small stab at the Clerks cartoon fiasco, perhaps?
• For Canadians watching StarTV, they’ll be airing E’s Behind the Scenes of “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back” on Thursday, March 7th at 9:30AM, and re-running it on Friday, March 8th at 1:30AM.
• A new addition to Files Askew today: Replacement startup screens for Windows systems. There’s 3 themes: “Hooper X”, “Chasing Amy”, and “Jay And Silet Bob / Bluntman & Chronic”. Get them all at Files Askew, but as always, be careful messing with those screens, and don’t try it unless you know what you’re doing. Thanks to Richard Burns.

• Here’s a scan of an interview that Kevin did with one of the staff writers from the UCSD (University of California, San Diego) Guardian. It’s dated February 28, 2002, so it’s pretty recent. Click above to read it.
• Finally today, there’s a Dogma “Invisible” this week on Filmwise.com as part of their ongoing game. Surf over and see if you can spot it.

• Hey folks, it’s been a while since we checked in with one of these, so we figured, what the heck? As expected, now that the big DVD release date and the Flying Car has aired, it’s a bit quiet now. Of course, Kevin’s a busy guy, so we’ll still have almost daily updates but, like today, they may be light at times.

There’s still long and short term plans for the site, and we’re certainly going to take advantage of some of the quiet update time to work on that other stuff. Look for the new Jay & Bob drinking game, Drawing Flies DVD review, and some fixes and improvements over in our Forums in the short term. Other long term plans include catching up with other DVD reviews, an easier to use chat area (with some scheduled live celebrity chats), contests, and more. We’ve got a lot of ideas to work on, time is really the biggest factor with what does and does not get done. We’re fully dedicated to keeping the site fun and interesting though, so look for more surprises and additions in the coming months, before Jersey Girl starts to film and we get busier again.

In other news, some good flicks starting to hit theaters soon as we approach summer – “Panic Room” certainly looks intriguing, and then there’s of course “Star Wars” and “Spider-Man” this summer. By the way, in case you haven’t heard, a NEW Episode II trailer will air at 9:00 PM this Sunday on FOX TV. It’ll be here before the internet, theaters or anything. Be sure to tune in or set your VCR. And speaking of TV, there’s been some good stuff this year – New shows like Alias and 24 have been quite compelling, and if you’re not watching Angel on the WB, you’re missing a fantastic story arc this year. Old faves like The Simpsons, ER and Law & Order have also been strong, and HBO’s got a new season Six Feet Under back on the schedule, worth a look.

Finally, a very strange request I was hoping you could help me with — I recently bought some doorknobs on ebay, figuring I could get the rest I needed locally — Turns out they’re quite hard to come by (at least at a fair price). Anyway, if you’re wandering into a Home Depot or Lowes, or know someone with connections, I’m trying to locate some Kwikset Ultramax doorknobs in the WINDHAM egg-shaped satin nickel finish. You can find a pic of them HERE. If you’ve got a line on any (at a better price than 40 dollars a pop like that site has) drop me a line. The local Home Depot and Lowes have them on display, but claim they can’t get any in stock. Maybe they’re more available in other parts of the country or to contractors.

Sorry for the diversion. And now, just a few quick bits of News Askew for ya today:

• Getting the most out of your View Askew DVDs? Check out our new EASTER EGGS section on the DVD page to make sure that you haven’t left a stone unturned. We’re even debuting some Drawing Flies Easter Eggs (thanks to Dogulas Fir for the help with the Flies stuff). We’ll continue adding to the lists if any others are uncovered.

• Here’s a review of the J&SBSB DVD that will appear in the upcoming issue of STUN Magazine. There’s also a piece that the author put together regarding the recasting of Lord Of The Rings. Check out the scans above.
• Unfortunately, Jay & Bob didn’t fare well at the High Times “Stony” awards, but we hear from attendees that Jay’s onscreen appearances and “Because I Got High” were very well-received by the crowd there. One scooper’s review of the day can be found HERE.
• And finally, speaking of Mewes, apparently he’s the scheduled to be the guest of honor at Notre Dame’s annual battle of the bands (known as “NAZZ”). More details as we find ‘em.

• You can find some photos taken from Kevin’s DVD signing appearace at Dave’s Video last weekend HERE. As always, the turnout was huge!
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is currently the top seller on UK DVD personal import site play.com, which is a sign that the disc is just as popular overseas as it is here. Chasing Amy and Dogma are also on their chart, as numbers 34 and 36 respectively.
• And finally today, for the curious, here’s how that Bartelby figure we showcased yesterday was created, straight from the source:

Sure sounds like a ton of work, but the end result was great! See yesterday’s news for the photos.

• The Buddy Christ participates in Operation Enduring Freedom! Check out this mailing and photos that came into the View Askew site today:

Hello,

My name is Alf (last name and rank witheld, yet still a proud member of the U.S. Air Force). I’m a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. I was recently deployed overseas, flying missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom(OEF). Last year before I left, I visited your website and saw that I could get a Buddy Christ(BC). Long story short, I took BC with me to my deployment location, and BC flew with me and my crew on all of our missions, including ones for OEF (including on Day 1 of the war). I can’t tell you where we flew into, but just know that BC has been into some pretty interesting fields.

I’ve attached a few pictures I took of BC on the “dashboard” of my C-130. I wish I would have taken more photos where you could either see we were airborne or the unique terrain of certain countries. But I do like the shots of BC amongst the clouds (where he belongs).

Well that’s about it. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Thank you so much for making BC available. It brought much needed comic relief in very crucial times. He also became the mascot of my crew, which brought us closer so that we were able to work together efficiently. Every other crew was so jealous.

Keep the laughs coming. God bless the U.S.A. Go Air Force.

Sincerely
Alf (last name and rank witheld)

• IGN has posted a new “10 Questions” segment with Malcolm Ingram and another mention of the Drawing Flies disc in their weekened shopping guide.
• Jay & Silent Bob DVD Reviews: Maxim Online has posted capsule reviews of both the Jay & Bob disc and the Drawing Flies disc. Also, you can find a very extensive review of Jay & Bob at DVD Verdict. And finally, Wil Wheaton (of Star Trek: TNG fame among other flicks), whose website has become quite popular recently, gave the DVD and Kevin a lot of praise.
• Speaking of that DVD, a new Easter Egg of sorts has been uncovered: Put disc two in, go to the first page of James L. Venable’s filmography, you’ll notice his birthdate is May 19th, 1967 – if you enter 19 on your remote control (you may or may not need to press enter after entering the 1 and the 9 depending on your player) you’ll get to see a short clip of a very young Jim and his keyboard! Nifty.

• Another cool creation from the gal behind those Jay & Bob plush dolls – A custom made Bartleby action figure! Check out photos above and HERE. He’s way cool.
• At the official Troma Films website, you will find a RealMedia clip of Lloyd Kaufman (president of Troma Studios) having the pleasure of meeting Kevin.
• On the romp.com website, the home of “Booty Call”, there is a new episode featuring Jay and Silent Bob in the background. They don’t do anything but they’re there. Check out Episode 31.

• A very fun, nifty site to promote the Jay & Bob DVD has gone live from Buena Vista. The site features a fun little animated cartoon that creates some scenes from the film, a PDF printable copy of the Jay & Bob Doorhanger, and more. Check it out right HERE.

Here’s some other news on the DVD:

• Certain outlets aren’t carrying the DVD for some strange reason. Reports are coming in that the disc isn’t being shipped to ANY Target stores due to “objectionable content” (though they have no problem stocking a ton of other violent and R-rated flicks). The disc is also selling out or in short supply all over the place. If you want one, you better get them while they last!
• Not all the reviews on the disc are positive, which is a surprise to us. The LA Times didn’t have a lot of good things to say about the flick, but seemed to like “Drawing Flies” OK. Reel Buff has a review which doesn’t praise the DVD as much as the previous View Askew discs, but likes the flick itself.
• More positive reviews on the disc appeared today in the excellent e-mail and webzine Zentertainment and the Arizona State University daily campus newspaper.

• We’ve got an update for you on Kevin’s upcoming appearance at the University of Kentucky. The site that previously held the information on this has been down for weeks, so here’s an update for potential visitors.

Tickets went on sale this morning at 10:00 AM through Ticketmaster, for $10 a piece (before the stupid Ticketmaster surcharge fees). If you buy your tickets in person at the University of Kentucky Student Center Ticketmaster Outlet, however, there aren’t any additional fees. They seem to be going fast, so if you’re thinking of buying, get ‘em soon.

Kevin will be appearing in Memorial Coliseum on the University of Kentucky campus (aka “the hall in the middle of the UK logo”), which is rather easy to find.