Archive for April, 2002

Help Save Top Shelf Comics!

April 3rd @ 6:20 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Brad & Chris

  • We know this isn’t directly View Askew related, but we received this note today and wanted to do our part to help out. Top Shelf comics are in danger of ceasing operations completely unless they pull in some BIG numbers this month, due to their main distributor going Chapter 11 on them. They CAN be saved though, and you can do your part to help out. Here’s the open letter we received from Top Shelf explaining the situation today:
Dear Comics Fans,

We have just been informed this week that our book trade distributor has filed for bankrupcy (Chapter 11). They will continue to operate and hopefully recover – and we will support this all we can (as our industry needs them, and they are good people) – but unfortunately, this has happened at a time when they owed us an enormous sum of money (over $80,000.00 minus returns). And to make matters worse, the most recent check they cut us, for almost $20,000.00, bounced this week, in turn causing the last 30 checks we wrote to printers, conventions, cartoonists – practically every aspect of the business – to bounce (or be held) in turn.

To put it bluntly, even with all the hard work we’ve put in over the years, if we don’t raise $20,000 this month, it could realistically force us to suspend publishing operations for the foreseeable future. It’s hard to believe but a big domino has fallen right on top of us at the worst time possible. So, that leaves us no choice but to be honest and ask for your help.

If 400-500 of you can find it in your hearts to each spend around fifty bucks on our core list of books below, this would literally pull us through – We mean that. We’ve got such a strong future schedule, and so many cool things to announce soon (including two more Alan Moore projects and two Film & TV projects), that I’d hate to think that we’d have to pull the plug right before we just were about to arrive. In any event, if you can find it in your hearts to help us out, we will be eternally grateful. We’ll be manning the phones personally on this “drive,” and we’ll also be sure to keep you informed — hopefully letting all of you know in three-to-four weeks that everything’s okay (with your help, that is…).

On behalf of Brett Warnock and myself.

Truly, your friend thru comics,
Chris Staros
Top Shelf Productions

The folks at Top Shelf are good people and have an excellent product. A lot of great deals are to be had right now as well as the result of the sale drive — Orders over $100 get an extra $25 of books free, and shipping is FREE for all orders in the United States. Surf to HTTP://WWW.TOPSHELFCOMIX.COM to place your order and check out all the great books they’ve got available. Jimmy Palmiotti (who you know from the Daredevil run he did with Kevin) has personally asked that folks help out, even with a small order. We’ve also just received notice that if you order THE SOAP LADY, Renee French has offered if you email her (cornelia@world.std.com) your address to send you an original sketch. Artbomb is offering a direct shopping cart to Top Shelf (they get 100% of the profits) and a free t-shirt with ANY Top Shelf order!

Check out Top Shelf’s line of products, and help get them through this! It would be a real shame to see them go, and a big loss to the comics world.

Filed in: News

View Askew NewsBites™

April 3rd @ 6:19 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Kyle, Eleanor, Matt Booker, Doug Wojtczak, Ed Cook, Topcat & Nick McFarlane

  • In the April 8, 2002 issue of Time Magazine, there’s an article on Miramax: “Has Harvey Lost His Way? How a wandering mogul took MIRAMAX off course and plans to get it back on track.” Kevin is quoted:
“Miramax is like the overnight sensation that for a little while bought into their press and moved away from the things that helped define them,” says Kevin Smith, whose career as a cult filmmaker began after Miramax released his $27,000 indie Clerks in 1994. “They overextended and overreached, and now it seems like they’re reining it all back in… This is the company that made Pulp Fiction, that put out The Piano and The Crying Game–why on earth would they make something like Kate & Leopold or She’s All That?”

The article is available HERE.

  • With all the talk about George Carlin lately, we received an amusing e-mail from someone who’s obtained the Backstage Riders that Carlin uses at appearances – This stuff is always fascinating, as it gives you a glimpse of all the stuff that folks ask for before concerts and the like. Click the thumbs above for details.
  • Just an FYI for those of you that don’t own the Clerks or Chasing Amy DVD’s. They’ve been released at a much cheaper price, and can be found for $12.99 a lot of places. Be on the lookout! Dogma’s also getting a budget release in the UK next week. Details for preordering it can be found HERE.
  • This Clerks homage was unearthed in an old web comic’s archives.
  • A new interview with Jason Lee appears over at Countingdown — It’s there to cover “Big Trouble”, but also touches on skating, Mumford, a bit about Dreamcatcher, and more. See ya next time.

Filed in: News

New Auctions Askew Items Up For Bidding!

April 2nd @ 4:43 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Ming

CLICK HERE TO PLACE YOUR BIDS!!

  • Yes folks, you wanted it — You got it! More rare and one of a kind View Askew stuff for YOU to bid on! Check out the big Dogma items this week, including Bethany’s bloodied shirt and a screen-used Mooby doll (proabably one of the first ever made!). There’s also another signed poster and some other rare stuff — Get those bids in, cuz when they’re gone, you’re gonna wish they were yours.

Filed in: News

View Askew NewsBites™

April 2nd @ 4:42 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Jason Adelsberger, NYYThurman, Don, Jason Camps, Fattmik, Jim, Noah, Rob, Shawn Garrett, Luke & Matthew

  • More from Carlin! He appeared on the Imus in the morning radio program and chatted about “Jersey Girl” for quite a while. He revealed that his role will be a SERIOUS role, with some of his regular humor but a lot more on the serious side. He mentioned that he wanted to prove he was capable of serious acting as well as humor. Should be excellent to see!
  • View Askew actually picked up a few of those Bikkie awards we mentioned in an earlier update, including Best Comedy and Best Onscreen Duo, and Most Memorable Line! Check out all the results HERE.
  • Corona’s very detailed and addictive Coming Attractions website ran some gag stories to celebrate April 1st yesterday, one of which was for a fake film called “Dude, Where’s My Wife?” that they had Kevin writing, as well as a “2001” Remake that would star Jason Mewes.
  • “Big Trouble” (featuring Askew regular Jason Lee as part of a big ensemble cast) is finally nearing theatrical release, and we’ve got a couple reports from folks who caught a test screening of the film. Two very good reviews, too, so this sounds like one you’ll want to check out! Watch for some minor spoilers ahead:
I saw a sneek preview of Big Trouble last night. Good, funny movie. It takes a while to start, but that’s because they’ve got 20 characters all mixed together in the plot. Jason Lee was great. Not that his was a difficult role to play, but it was just fun. He’s in it a lot more than I thought he would be. And he starts the whole thing off too. He kinda sets the tone for how strange the plot is. If you get the chance, I’d go see it.
Saw a preview screening of Jason Lee’s long-delayed ‘Big Trouble’ from Barry Sonnenfeld. All in all, it was a pretty damn funny movie. Lee plays a homeless guy named Puggy who looks a lot like Jesus and has an obsession with Fritos — that’s a running gag throughout the movie. His part is actually pretty big in the film and he plays a pivotal role. Janeane Garafalo also has a decent part in it playing smart cop to Patrick Warburton’s dumb one. It’s definitely worth checking out and Lee is pretty good in it. I guess I can see why they delayed the film a little while, as there’s a climax that includes a plane, a nuclear bomb and some funny mockery of airport security.
  • For April Fool’s day, the staff of the Daily Pennsylvania (student run newspaper of the University of Pennsylvania) ran some fake articles, one of which happened to be related to Kevin Smith coming to teach a film class there. It’s a fun article, and one you’ll enjoy reading over.
  • Following up on the previously viewed VHS copies of Jay & Bob at Blockbuster Video: Some stores have previewed copies of the film already, others will put them out at the end of the month. The previewed copies are going for around $9.99. If you don’t own a DVD player yet, you might want to pick one up.
  • And finally today, it seems to happen every damn year…

Filed in: News

View Askew NewsBites™

April 1st @ 3:41 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Douglas Fir, Decaffeinated Jedi, Rick Welch, Bruce Young, Aidan Keil, Nick Spacek, Steve, Laker Jim, Fender45, Kirk Gilmore, Richard Roth & Allen

  • We’re not sure which website this comes from, but here’s some more details on that Stan Lee DVD that we mentioned in the last update:

Tying in with the theatrical release of Spider-Man, on 05/07 Goldhil Video will be releasing Stan Lee’s Mutants, Monsters And Marvels for $24.95. This 2 part 95-minute documentary (the first of which is hosted by Kevin Smith) looks at the life and professional career of the man who brought a plethora of super heroes into our lives. The documentary will be presented in full frame with DD 2.0 audio. The bonus material will include a behind-the-scenes featurette, rare Stan Lee home movies, bonus interviews, an “inspirational” poem read by Lee, and segments from the never released Fantastic Four movie.
  • The DVD Easter Eggs website www.dvdeastereggs.com has opened a new “25 Top Eggs” section. 4 out of the 25 are View Askew films: Dogma: Special Edition actually takes #1, Mallrats comes in at Number 10, and J&SBSB is number 14. A Better Place is also in the top 25, coming in at #20. The egg on Mallrats also comes up in this recent Tech TV article.
  • A band in Virgina has the name RST Video – Must be some fans of the flicks for sure there.
  • The latest issue of Alternative Press, with the band Puddle of Mudd on the cover, features a three page interview with Jason Lee starting on page 28. The only major bit of info pertains to Fletch Won:
“You see, director/buddy Kevin Smith – who gave Lee his first major role seven years ago as the smart-assed mall michief maker Brodie Bruce in Mallrats – has his hands on what’s tentatively titled Fletch Won, a prequel to the Chevy Chase films about the titular bumbling reporter with a inclination for bad disguises. And Lee has his eye on those diguises. ‘I’m reday to go, but we’re waiting for some things to take shape to see if Miramax is willing to put me in as Fletch. We’ve gotta see if they think I can carry a film.’ says Lee.
  • You’ll find some cool Bluntman and Chronic skins that are available for EA’s awesome new superhero RPG, “Freedom Force” HERE and HERE.
  • The unofficial Fletch Won Homepage has a new home: www.fletchwon.net.
  • Jason Lee appears in this months SKATEBOARDER magazine — He was rated #24 on “Best Skateboarder on Wax” for STILLWATER, he was rated #8 for “Best Decks With Celebrities on it” (for his BLIND Claudia Schiffer board), and most importantly, The Jason Lee Blind 1990 board with a picture of a familiar Dr. Seuss character closing his eyes is one of the Most Treasured Skateboards ever made! It ranges from $400-$650.
  • In the recent issue of Total Film magazine, they review region 1 dvds and have given the J&SBSB film 3 stars and the DVD itself 4 stars. The Clerks Collectors edition is also called a “Classic Disc” that no collection is complete without.
  • Renee Humphey’s film Hard Luck premieres in Los Angeles April 5th at the Laemmle’s Fairfax Cinemas. Hard Luck stars Kirk Harris (My Sweet Killer), Renee Humphrey, Matthew Faber (Welcome to the Dollhouse), Joanne Baron (Perfume) and Academy Award Nominee Karen Black.

Filed in: News