• You’ve seen the rumors circling the tabloids for weeks, even months, predicting this, but now, it seems some more reputable sources are confirming that Ben & Jen’s wedding that was rumored for this weekend is not only cancelled, but the couple has split up, at least temporarily. People Magazine broke the story, with Yahoo News and the New York Daily News already following suit (with about 30 more pieces of press to come, we’re sure, no need to pass them on to us). Anyway, it does seem that a wedding was scheduled, as Kevin confirmed yesterday that he had been fitted for a tux and was to participate in the event. When questioned about attending yesterday, all Kevin had to say was “Alas…”, very telling in a not-so telling way.

At any rate, it’s not normally the policy of this site to get into personal relationship stories, however with the attention this story is bound to get, and the metions that Jersey Girl will get as a result of it, we felt it newsworthy. We wish both Ben and Jen well, and hope that they may at least finally get some peace from the press machine for a while. More news later.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Here’s what Kevin said about these articles earlier today. Apparently, this may be yet another instance of the press getting way out of control with rumors about these two:

• Kevin has made a few announcements regarding plans for Stash Bash 2. Keep in mind all of this stuff is likely to happen but isn’t exactly set in stone yet. First off, the event will be pushed back ONE WEEK to Octber 5, 2003. No additional entries are being accepted due to the date change, though. Hopefully those that are chosen can still make it on that date.
  Approximately 10,000 essays were received, and of those, around 300 will be chosen. These 300 will NOT be permitted to bring a guest. So, it’ll be you and you alone. The plan is to allow just 30 people into the store per hour, to keep it as a small, intimate affair, and ensure plenty of space and time to chat with all the guests in attendance. A 10-hour day is planned, and we imagine those that are chosen will be informed of their chosen “hour”. Sounds like a great way to run things, similar to the group system used for the first Stash Bash, however on a much smaller, more conversation-friendly scale.
  We expect all of this stuff will be made “official” soon enough, until then, we wanted to give you the heads-up. Once folks start to get their invitations, we’ll start talking more seriously about gatherings the evening before the event and during the day. Naturally, with a Sunday event, we assume a lot of folks might be looking for a place to party and crash on Saturday night. Stay tuned.

• Ya gotta love it when Kevin hits the boards to answer questions, especially when said questions actually manage to get some new information out of the guy. He was in a particularly informative mood today, with some hints of many things to come. Here’s a summary:

• All the features from the original Clerks DVD will hopefully be included on the 10th anniversary Clerks DVD. The set will street in October/November 2004.
• Kevin on another yet unnamed project: “A pretty fun/silly one that oughta make a lot of folks happy – most of all me.”
• The only View Askew production yet to see a DVD release, “Big Helium Dog”, apparently has something happening with it.
• Kevin hopes to visit the UK for a live Q&A session in the next two months.
• The official Jersey Girl theatrical poster will be out “hopefully by Christmas”.
• Phil Benson and Laura Greenlee, who Kevin has worked with on past films, will work with Kevin on Fletch Won. A producer to fill the shoes of the vacationing Scott Mosier has yet to be announced.
• IF Kevin and View Askew attend the Wizardworld Dallas Comicon, there’s apparently an exlcusive inaction figure that will be available that we “wouldn’t believe”…

We’ll keep you posted as we fill in more of the blanks. Until then, there’s some stuff to think about.

• Chris Bailey (of “Clerks: The Cartoon” fame) is scheduled to appear at California State University at Northridge (CSUN), ADC 300, Purple Crit Room, on September 16th @ 3:00pm. The event is being sponsored by the CSUN art dept, and the flyer highlights the fact that Chris is currently directing the computer animation for the “Garfield” film.
  There was no mention of tickets or this being a student-only affair, so we’re sure Chris would love to see some Clerks fans in attendance. No info at their site yet, but the info comes to us from a student who promises to feed us more info as he learns more. Here’s a map of the campus in case you need to find your way around. Enjoy. And tell Chris you love his nifty News Askew logo that you see at the top of this ‘ol page.
• Today’s Film Threat quote comes from Chasing Amy: “That chick could be a bigger disease carrier than the monkey in Outbreak.”
• Clerks will be up on the big screen as a midnight movie at Ohio University’s Athena on October 3rd and 4th.

• Well, the deadline’s past, and now all there is for those that entered to attend Stash Bash 2 is the waiting. We’ve currently got no idea how many are being let in, or what the process is going to be, but we’ll certainly let you know if we hear any hints of what’s going down. Ming and the gang hope to have perused all the entries by the 17th, at which point the winners will be announced. Until then, enjoy a few newsbites today, and have yourselves a wonderful weekend.
  And on a final note, grab a bunch of your friends and go see CABIN FEVER this weekend! Support R-rated old school horror flicks! See it with a nice big audience, and you’ll have a blast. The film is just a lot of fun, and we’re hoping for it to take in a lot of cash this weekend, ensuring that Lions Gate and other studios might support more like it. See it!

• Clerks’ “Veronica”, Marilyn Ghigliotti, now has an official site up, www.marilynghigliotti.com. Surf over for her latest head shots, projects, and appearance information. For anyone in the area of Lake Arrowhead in California, Marilyn will be appearing at the Lake Arrowhead Film Festival which happens on September 26th and 27th. We’re sure she’d love to meet and chat with fans, and sign any of your Clerks stuff. And by the way, thanks for the link, Marilyn!
• This article from UK magazine GAMEStm discusses the appearance of Sega Hockey in Mallrats and Chasing Amy. Click the pic to check out the piece.
• And finally today, it looks like Mallrats has joined the ranks of John Hughes movies, according to this latest re-release ad from Universal DVDs. Have a good one!

• If you haven’t written your essays yet on why YOU wanna attend Stash Bash 2…Well, you’ve only got a FEW HOURS LEFT! The deadline for entries is 12:01 AM tonight. Winners will be notified by the 17th, and the event is scheduled for the 28th. In case you missed out on this announcement, visit the Stash Bash 2 page for more information. Good luck to all who entered — We’ll see you on the inside.

• Confirmed! The New Jersey edition of “Roadside Attractions” will be airing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday, September 26th (yep, just two days before Stash Bash 2). Kevin will be there live to introduce the segment, which features a section in which many readers will appear when Kev visits Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. It’s possible that some clips from “Clerks” will be shown in some capacity as well. Tune it in on Friday night, the 26th!

• Chris Ryall’s “One Hand Clapping” column at the ‘Shoot has added some new shots of Kevin on stage.
• Poor Affleck and Lopez are yet again the subjects of ridicule, this time on “Page 2” over at the ESPN.COM site. But hey, at least Jersey Girl gets some plugs.

• Apparently, Kevin stated during Friday’s Mallrats Q&A that the reason the MPAA cited for giving “Jersey Girl” an R rating was the use of the word “masturbation”. This is currently under appeal for a PG-13.
• Dennis Miller Live reruns the Ben Affleck interview tonight on HBO Comedy. You may recall that Kevin calls in under disguise during the episode. Check your local listings for airtime.
• Mallrats will be shown on the big screen at GKC University Cinemas in Normal, Illinois on October 10th and 11th, as part of their “rerun”series.
• Eion Bailey from “A Better Place” was recently featured as a choice on the IMDB poll asking which young actor that readers would like to play “Batman” in the next film. Bailey was rumored a candidate on a short list of 4 or 5 possibilities.
• And finally today, in humorous news — Someone over at eBay is selling Kevin Smith’s butt. Don’t believe us? See for yourselves. Happy bidding. We’ll catch ya next time!