• DVD Review has a ballot on their site for the 5th Annual DVD Awards. The “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” DVD is one of the nominees in the “Viewer’s Choice” category. Let’s help Jay & Bob win! You can cast your votes at their website ballot.

• Here’s a scan of that recent Jason Lee appearance in “Jane” magazine — Just a few more candid questions with the guy. We mentioned the piece but this is the first we’ve had a scan. Click above for a nice, readable version of the page.
• Scifi.com also has a piece with Lee where he discusses his role in the upcoming “Dreamcatcher” (watch for some minor spoilers though):

• Check out a fan-made Dogma trailer (created mostly from DVD extra scene material) online HERE.
• DVD File reports that Affleck’s “Sum of All Fears” hits DVD this Fall, October 29th to be exact:

• Speaking of Affleck, seems some Jewish gentlemen had a problem with Affleck’s “Changing Lanes” during a recent flight for some reason. Check out the story HERE.
• Matt Damon will play himself on an episode of “The Bernie Mack Show” next season (FOX). Damon is finishing up his 3 days on the set of the show today.
• And finally today, Neo Monster Island features a small Jay & Bob quote/reference today. Catch ya next time, folks.

• We’d like to thank all of you who are participating and cooperating with the rules of the Jersey Girl walk-on role contest. Hits have picked up slightly due to the contest but this was expected. We have recorded only a few offensive visitors, and don’t worry, so long as you are not EXCESSIVELY hitting the site, we aren’t going to tag you. A few reloads here and there will not hurt your chances, we’re just watching for the worst offenders. Remember, read the official rules of the contest and good luck to all of you. We’ll likely have a winner by week’s end. Thanks for your continued support!

• Dark Horizons and Yahoo Movies both report today that Jason Lee will appear in a small role in “Jersey Girl”. While Jay & Silent Bob may not be returning, it sure will be great to see another familiar face in the mix. Lee revealed in San Diego last week that he’s got a one day shoot on the film, but likely won’t even know the nature of his character or have the script until he arrives on set. If his role turns out to be something spoiler-ish, we likely won’t be sharing all of the details here (gotta leave SOME surprises, ya know). Thanks to all who mailed in about this, the scoopers are too numerous to even begin to list.

• Marilyn Ghigliotti dropped us a line with some really cool news — She’ll be participating in a Charity Celebrity Softball Game this Sunday, August 11th. Tickets will be $10 and can be purchased at the game. Find out all the information at the Showbiz World Series website. Marilyn would love for View Askew fans to come by and enjoy the game.
• A fan listing/registry for Kevin has been started up HERE. You may wanna check it out. That’s it for today, folks.

• There’s been a lot of speculation out there as we approach our 10 MILLIONTH visit here at News Askew — What are we going to do to celebrate that milestone? Well, thanks to Kevin Smith, we’re happy to report that we’ve got quite a spiffy little prize for the fan that hits that lucky number — How’s this for a prize?

A featured walk-on role in “Jersey Girl”!

Yep. You read it right.

Now, here’s the one catch — Transportation and lodging WILL be up to you, as this prize is being offered directly from Mr. Kevin Smith himself, and not affiliated with Miramax or related companies. So, if you are the winner, YOU are responsible for getting to the set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (or surrounding area) when the time comes. We’ll do the best we can to get you as much notice as possible on the date, etc. in case you need to make travel arrangements.

For this contest, we’re going to need to list some official rules and disclaimers, as this is a BIG PRIZE. We waited to unveil this contest until now because we’d like the devoted News Askew readers to have a crack at it. So, we suggest that you keep this one amongst yourselves, and play fairly. If this contest does well, you can expect more of the same to come along in the future. So, in other words, let’s all work together, and we’ll have a lot more prize-type stuff to give away in the future. Check out the rules, read them ALL:

• OFFICIAL RULES:
• How to Win: See that counter at the top of the page? The person who hits 10 MILLION is the prize winner. If you are the lucky visitor, send us a screenshot (see below) and you are the GRAND PRIZE WINNER.
• Counter Manipulation: Yes, we ARE tracking this. Running up the counter is UNACCEPTABLE! This consists of an individual sitting in front of their PC and continuously pressing the REFRESH/RELOAD button on the front page of News Askew. From this point on, this information will be logged. If we look back in the logs, and see that you have been driving up the counter with the refresh button, you WILL be disqualified. If this rule is not followed, we reserve the right to end this contest immediately. This procedure starts NOW.

  ONE consecutive hit is allowed on either end of the 10 million mark. In other words, if you have the hit just before or just after 10 million, as well as the winning entry, that is still a valid entry. No more than two consecutivehits are allowed from the winning entry at that point.

• Prize Awarding: The winner of the walk-on role will be the individual that successfully hits number TEN MILLION (10,000,000) at News Askew.com. A screenshot is REQUIRED to claim your prize. So, if you don’t know how to take a screenshot, it’s a good time to learn. All computers offer screenshot methods, we know for a fact a screenshot on a PC is as easy as hitting the “PRINT SCREEN” key and then pasting into a Microsoft Word document or otherwise. Get some practice.

  There is ONE (1) “Grand Prize Winner” for this contest. No further prizes are offered at this time. If you do not accept the prize for any reason, News Askew reserves the right to fall back on a “runner-up” and offer the prize to them. In other words, if you come close, take a screenshot anyway, you might still be the winner.

• Screenshots & Disqualification: We have methods in place to detect genuine screenshots. If you attempt to send in a forged screnshot, you will be disqualified from this and any future News Askew or View Askew contest offerings. In other words, don’t be stupid — If you don’t win, just accept it.

  DISCLAIMERS:

  News Askew and View Askew shall have the right, at their sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the sweepstakes at any time without notice. Please note that by submitting a screenshot that you are also submitting your name as an entrant to this contest. You will be agreeing to abide by the official rules and regulations as stated here. You further agree that all information can and will be published on the close of the contest, including the name you provided. Addresses, phone numbers, and emails will not be published without the further consent of the entrants.

  There are also no guarantees with this prize, as the producers of “Jersey Girl” reserve the right to make changes to or relinquish this offering at any time during production. In other words, no promises! If you are filmed for the movie, your part may or make not make the final cut (though, as we know, the last contest winner did earn his very own “Deleted Scene” chapter on the Jay and Bob disc, quite a feat in itself).

These rules will be viewable by clicking the special graphic at the top of News Askew at any time in case you need to refresh your memory. If you have any questions regarding this contest, ask them here in the TALKBACK AREA, we will address them as quickly as possible.

Good luck to all of you. Thanks to Kevin Smith for this excellent prize and thanks to you, the fans, for helping News Askew reach our 10 million mark. Best of luck to you all!

• A Philadelphia Inquirer article today discusses the popularity of Philadelphia for film shoots lately. With M. Night Shyamalan shooting all his stuff in the area, and “Jersey Girl” starting up soon, the city’s got a lot of Hollywood type activity going on. The piece reveals that JG may need up to 3,000 extras (could be YOU!) and discusses why Philly got chosen over Toronto. Here’s a few tidbits:

• A feature film can have 45 speaking roles and more than a thousand extras. Unbreakable used 6,000 extras; Jersey Girl’s people have indicated they may need 3,000.
• Jersey Girl’s $35 million budget is deceptive because nearly half goes to pay Lopez and Affleck. But the film will spend up to $15 million on hotels, cars, food, building materials, fuel, phones and other requisites.
• Kevin Smith, the director of Jersey Girl, faced a similar dilemma. “Miramax was pushing ‘Toronto, Toronto, Toronto, where you can get 50 cents on the U.S. dollar,’ ” he said. “What pushed Philadelphia over the top for us was the proximity to New Jersey, the experienced crew base, and the film office, which sweetened the deal with incentives like helping us outfit a soundstage.”

Read it all right HERE!

• We’ve received a couple small reports from San Diego — Daredevil movie footage featuring Kevin’s cameo screened during the X-Men/DD panel on Saturday when Affleck showed up. AICN also has a spoiler-laden report on DD and “Dreamcatcher” if you’d care to check that one out as well. Hope everyone had fun at the con!
• An astute viewer points out that, in Roger Ebert’s review of the new Martin Lawrence concert film, he points out that the film proves it’s impossible to get an NC-17 rating for language alone. Not true, Mr. Ebert! Don’t forget, the MPAA demanded verbal cuts to both Clerks and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, initially slapping them with NC-17’s.
• Hey, at least it’s getting some press — Vulgar is currently ranked #3 on Metacritics worst 200 movies list. We could name heaps worse, personally, we guess it’s just become an easy flick for them to beat on. You’ll all get the chance to finally see the film in your homes next month with the home video release — We’ll have an early review of the jam-packed disc soon!
• Jason Lee news — The official website for his “Stealing Harvard” is now online. He can also be seen giving his opinion on actor Bill Murray on an E! special called “The Top 25 Funniest People in the Entertainment Industry”.
• USA Today reports:

• This website ran a poll asking folks who’d they like to see appear in the TV remake of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in February of 2003. Those who answered the survey gave diverse answers, however a good chunk of people wanted to see Kevin Smith portray the part of Eddie, made famous by Meat Loaf in the film. Ben Affleck got numerous votes from fans to play Brad Majors, made famous by Barry Bostwick. Mewes got some votes to play Rocky Horror or Riff Raff.Matt Damon got quite a few votes to play either Rocky Horror, Dr. Frank N Furter or Brad Majors. Alan Rickman got votes from fans to be The Criminologist. Check the entire list out at their website.

• Newsarama has posted a new FAQ about the Smith/Fabry Daredevil/Bullseye mini. In it, Kevin once again takes on a bunch of Q&A type stuff about the upcoming series and a whole lot more. Here’s a snippet or two:

Again, read the entire thread (along with reader responses) at Newsarama.

• Sadly, Kevin’s column does NOT appear in the new August issue of Arena. Here’s hoping that this excellent column will return next month, we’re assuming it’s just due to the fact that he’s been so busy prepping Jersey Girl.
• DVDFile has a review of the new Comic Book Confidential DVD release (which hit streets on July 23rd) — The documentary is over 10 years old, but the disc does feature a brand new 3-minute introduction by Kevin.
• Yet again, “Full Frontal” was compared to J&SBSB, this time in the Los Angeles New Times:

Read the full article HERE.

• The trailer for “Stealing Harvard” (previously titled “Stealing Stanford”), the new Jason Lee/Tom Green team-up is now online. The film hits theaters on September 13th from Revolution Studios.
• Speaking of Lee, a new Jason Lee fansite, “Jason Lee Online”, has opened. Click here to give it a visit.
• In a segment called “J. To The Lo-ve” featured on CNN Headline News this week, they mentioned Affleck and Lopez’ current relationship and that their next project would be Jersey Girl. Reports are indicating that Affleck did indeed request to work with Lopez on the film after they got along so well during “Gigli”.
• In the southern Chicago suburbs, a “lighthearted” rock band known as the “Snoogans” might be something that Askew fans want to check out — Email brainstrm2@prodigy.net for more info.

• Here’s an interesting find — Apparently, during the deleted scenes segments on “The Fast and The Furious” DVD, a scene where Brian (the undercover cop) is walking down the sidewalk into Dominic’s garage looked familiar to some readers. Why? Well, it’s the same building that appeared as Holden McNeil’s studio in J&SBSB! See photos above.

• ADV FIlms, who specialize in Anime-type parodies, have yet again parodied a View Askew film in one of their splash screens. This time, they’ve got an Anime-take on the Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back movie poster. Check it out above or at the link! Nice work, guys.
• Want to catch Jason Mewes in person, as well as check out his new flick, R.S.V.P.? Here’s information on some chances to see it and meet the cast, on both coasts, no less:

“R.S.V.P.” TO MAKE WEST COAST PREMIERE

“R.S.V.P.” is set to make its official West Coast Debut at the Third Annual Malibu Int’l Film Festival August 16th ‹ 22nd. Screenings are as follows:

Saturday August 17th — Jay will hopefully be in attendance along with other cast and crew.

10:00 p.m.

The New Malibu Theater
3822 Cross Creek Rd.
Malibu, CA 90265
Box Office (310)-452-1180.
Ticket Master – 213-480-3232

* Filmmakers and Cast will be appearing at this showing to introduce the film and participate in Q&A after the show. This screening will also be judged for the Audience Award so come on out and support us indie filmmakers.

and

Thursday August 22nd

10:15 p.m.

The New Malibu Theater
3822 Cross Creek Rd.
Malibu, CA 90265
(310)-452-1180.

For more information visit www.malibufilmfestival.org or www.rsvpthemovie.com

“R.S.V.P.” cast members expected to appear are: Jason Mewes (Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back), Nora Zehetner, Lucas Babin, Daniel Joseph and Reno Wilson, along with writer/director Mark Anthony Galluzzo. Other possible appearances include Zehetner and Babin as guest models for Lilly Lawrence¹s charity fashion show on August 16th, 2002 at the Malibu Castle, in conjunction with the Malibu Film Festival¹s opening ceremonies at 8:00 p.m..

Past honorees of the Malibu Film Festival include: James Cameron, John Frankenheimer, Roger Corman, Seymour Cassell, Charles Bronson, Arthur Hiller, Barry Spikings, Shirley Maclaine, Lloyd Bridges, and Nick Nolte.

——————————————————————————–

“R.S.V.P.” HEADS EAST

Quirky Hitchcockian Comedy Preps for New England Premiere at Rhode Island Int¹l Film Festival.

“R.S.V.P.” is set to make its official East Coast Debut at the Sixth Annual Rhode Island International Film Festival in Providence, RI August 7th ‹ 12nd. Screening details are as follows:

Closing Night Film:

Sunday August 11th – 5:00 p.m.

Columbus Theatre
270 Broadway
Providence RI, 02903
401.861.4445

More info at: www.film-festival.org

* Filmmakers M.A.Galluzzo will be appearing to introduce the film and participate in Q&A after the show. This screening will also be judged for the Audience Award so come on out and support us indie filmmakers.

** Also after R.S.V.P. the festival will be concluding with a ‘Grease’ sing-along and costume party. Which could make for one really bizarre double bill.

• And finally today, for those of you heading to the San Diego con this weekend (sounds like a true BLAST, makes it tough to be here on the east coast) — A cousin of mine is going to be out there promoting his new comic, “Eshu”. He’s a talented guy who did all the pencils and inks on this new book — You can check out the issues at the Wakefire Comics www.wakefire.com but if you see Matt Sullivan (that’s him) or his co-authors around, stop and say hi, and tell them you read about them on News Askew! Best of luck to Matt and the gang on their new project. Have a great weekend, folks.

• News Askew would like to take this time to wish Kevin Smith a very happy birthday today! Hopefully today’s become a day off from the preparations for “Jersey Girl”, and that you’re taking some time to relax with family and friends. Here’s to another year in the books, and many more to come. We’ll be back later with more news.