• It’s early…REALLY early here in Central Pennsylvania as we gather up the supplies and head for the
  Dulles airport — Yep, it’s Vulgarthon West time, and we’re on our way to Dulles airport to begin the journey. We’ve
  got a cool weekend planned, meeting up with friends old and new, seeing some new spots in the greater LA area, and we’ll
  probably even manage to get some cheesy tourist type stuff in there as well (we can never resist). We’ll be documenting
  this one from start to finish (those of you unfamiliar with our trip reports can visit our
  ON LOCATION section), so next week, expect a HUGE wrapup.

We’re also going to be announcing a new feature to this year’s event…ASSUMING that all goes well technically and
our equipment hookups are cooperating, we’ll be coming to you live from the Vulgarthon on Monday with updates AS THEY
HAPPEN. So watch News Askew all day on Monday for breaking news, exclusive photos, and lots more. Again, this will
happen only if technology agrees with us, and our internet hookup works at the Arclight. If all goes well, it should be
an exciting day for those of you not able to attend the big show.

Until then, wish us well on the flight, and we’ll speak to you again soon. We’ll be monitoring e-mails and keeping
the site up to date as much as possible, though it’s naturally a bit tougher on the road.

For those of you attending Vulgarthon on Monday: Check the site first! We’ll try and let you know how to spot us if
you’d like to come up and say hello. Either look for the dudes in the front snapping photos and lugging around a
laptop all day, or just ask around. We’d love to meet you all. Even for just a handshake or a hello. And hey,
if anyone catches wind of a big fan get-together happening over the weekend, drop an email our way. See you all
in just a few short days…

• It’s early…REALLY early here in Central Pennsylvania as we gather up the supplies and head for the
  Dulles airport — Yep, it’s Vulgarthon West time, and we’re on our way to Dulles airport to begin the journey. We’ve
  got a cool weekend planned, meeting up with friends old and new, seeing some new spots in the greater LA area, and we’ll
  probably even manage to get some cheesy tourist type stuff in there as well (we can never resist). We’ll be documenting
  this one from start to finish (those of you unfamiliar with our trip reports can visit our
  ON LOCATION section), so next week, expect a HUGE wrapup.

We’re also going to be announcing a new feature to this year’s event…ASSUMING that all goes well technically and
our equipment hookups are cooperating, we’ll be coming to you live from the Vulgarthon on Monday with updates AS THEY
HAPPEN. So watch News Askew all day on Monday for breaking news, exclusive photos, and lots more. Again, this will
happen only if technology agrees with us, and our internet hookup works at the Arclight. If all goes well, it should be
an exciting day for those of you not able to attend the big show.

Until then, wish us well on the flight, and we’ll speak to you again soon. We’ll be monitoring e-mails and keeping
the site up to date as much as possible, though it’s naturally a bit tougher on the road.

For those of you attending Vulgarthon on Monday: Check the site first! We’ll try and let you know how to spot us if
you’d like to come up and say hello. Either look for the dudes in the front snapping photos and lugging around a
laptop all day, or just ask around. We’d love to meet you all. Even for just a handshake or a hello. And hey,
if anyone catches wind of a big fan get-together happening over the weekend, drop an email our way. See you all
in just a few short days…

• If you haven’t been keeping up with Kevin’s diaries, you really should. While Kevin claims they are his “boring” life, they’re chock FULL of tidbits of upcoming proejcts and news mixed in with his day to day life. Here’s just a taste of some of the interesting stuff to come up this week:

• Kevin will be doing a book signing for “Silent Bob Speaks” at the Red Bank Stash after the big Q&A session a week from today.
• Kevin might be writing a Newsweek piece on “Revenge of the Sith”.
• A new re-cut of Mallrats will be included with all the other goodies on the Mallrats 10th Anniversary DVD. It will be a two-disc set. Street date should be around mid-September.
• Kevin called Zach Braff and it looks like they’re a step closer to bringing him on board the future Fletch project.
• “The Passion of the Clerks” will hold the honor of being the first film put into production at New Co., the temporary moniker of Miramax v.2
• An exclusive, brand new cut of Jersey Girl is being assembled NOW. This means it’ll even be different from the early test screenings. Never before seen until Vulgarthon. Kevin says: “It’s about 2 hours and 25 minutes long, and based on the patchwork nature of it, we’ll be projecting a BetaCam copy onto the Dome screen that day. It won’t be as lush to look at as a film print, but it’ll get the job done.”
• “Tea Party” will close out the Vulgarthon and now runs around 2 hours. A longer version may eventually hit DVD.
• Kevin intereviewed Rodriguez and Miller about Sin City for NPR radio.

We’ve got the full page of entires here at News Askew, and will be organizing it in a digest form as the entries continue to come in from Kevin. Stay tuned.

• The Vulgarthon Tip Sheet that’s been assembled lovingly by board members, Kevin, and us, has had its
  final update prior to the event.

Seating: We ask everyone to pick a seat they’ll be happy with all day long. Please don’t sour other fans by moving to
a different seat later in the day. Pick a spot you’ll be happy camping in, and stick to it. Also, keep in mind we
sold the place out, so there won’t be empty seats around you. Pack it in there, or risk being forced to do the “Stand
up and shift” trick down the line to fill in empties.

Schedule: No finalized schedule is up yet, so we have no idea what the Q&A order will be or the film order. With the
Noy You Know and Chasing Amy Q&A’s taping though, we’re guessing those flicks will happen smack in the middle of the
event, once everyone and everything has been settled. That’s just a guess, though.

Since it’s the first thing of the day, and it’ll set the tone and schedule for the REST of the day, we ask you to PLEASE
note Kevin and Jay’s request: No photos or autographs at the door. Kev and Jay will greet you and bracelet you up,
after that, be on your way to finding a seat. You’ll have an entire day for photos and autograph requests, remember.

Looks like the weather for Los Angeles will cooperate for the most part for us — Sunny all weekend with just a chance
of some showers on Monday (but since we’ll be indoors all day, as long as those showers hold off til 9 or 10 AM). Much
better than the rain and 40 degree temps back east here. See you in sunny California!

• Don’t forget…Tonight is a HUGE night on Encore for Kevin Smith fans! We’ve got “The Directors”, “Chasing Amy”, “Clerks”, and the US broadcast preem of “An Evening with Kevin Smith”…All tonight on ONE CHANNEL! Here’s what the Hollywood Reporter had to say about Kevin’s episode of “Directors”:

The director of “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy” plays interviews in this docu with apparent uber-honesty, pushing his pet theory that “any chimp can direct.”

At the same time, Kevin Smith muses that there must be a God, otherwise how could his film career have taken off the way it has? This engaging report should appeal to fans of Smith’s work and inspire beginning filmmakers on a budget.

On the other hand, Smith’s disarming frankness might unsettle people who believe filmmaking is high art.

Some nifty clips from Smith’s films are welcome reminders of his craft, which ranges from disaffected youthful angst in “Clerks” to the wacky slapstick of “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”

It’s not every filmmaker who can bounce back after churning out a second movie like “Mallrats,” which bombed at the boxoffice. The docu covers his misses as well as his hits and delves into the controversy of “Dogma,” a film about fallen angels that was boycotted by the Catholic League.

There’s plenty of praise and admiration expressed by some of his favorite actors, including Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams and Jason Lee, and producer Scott Mosier. Also heard from are George Carlin and Alanis Morissette, who appeared in “Dogma.”

Starz premieres Jersey Girl tomorrow, though many of us will be watching a freshly-cut, never before seen version of the film on Monday.

• Lots of emails coming in on the IMDB’s trivia question today:

And as we all know, the answer is View Askew’s beloved Jason Lee.

• Documentarian JM Kenny would like to send out props to all of the wonderful folks who came to the
  shows in Toronto and London. Kevin was on fire and the audience responded in kind. JM tells us that the Evening 2
  footage he shot is looking great, especially since it was shot in HD. His words:

We’ll keep you informed of the progress with Evening 2. We’re sure it’ll be even more hilarious than the first.

• Kevin gets a mention in this interview with DC’s
  Bob Schreck:

• The beautiful and talented Aimee Mann’s official site has posted a pre-order for her new concept
  album, “The Forgotten Arm.” The CD is about a boxer in the early 1970s who gets sent to Vietnam and has to leave his
  girlfriend.” It contains the tune “That’s How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart” from ‘Jersey Girl.’
• And finally today, okay okay…We know you’re tired of the Easter Bunny attack stories (though isn’t
  it disconcerting how many happen across the country?) but check out the bunny’s name in this
  story. Oh, the irony.

• Yes, they DO exist! The biggest and most detailed set yet of inaction figures arrived today at the
  News Askew offices (with major thanks to Ming for getting them out to us so quickly). Here’s a photo of the complete
  collection as they’re currently gracing Brad’s game room/office. NOTE: The variants are missing from here as they’re
  still in the packages…couldn’t quite muster up the courage to rip those open just yet.

Take note of how great the C.L.I.T. stands work and look when placed in the proper order (or spell the word of your
choice if you like)…If only lightsaber Chronic came with a stand too, he’s a tricky one to keep upright. This set
has the most detail yet, though the sheer magnitude rule still stays with Affleck and the Gologothan from the Dogma
set. If you preordered a set, expect them any day now, and if you haven’t, get them while you can. These things
don’t grow on trees, ya know.

Gotta make more shelf space soon, as the package promises the Chasing Amy wave is on the way…next!

• A huge thanks to Albert Ortega of WireImage, who supplied us with a bunch of Q&A and candid photos
  from last weekend’s Wizard World convention. Click all the pics above for some fantastic new shots of Kevin and Jay
  taken throughout the day’s events.

• The IMDB site for Project Greenlight’s “Feast” is getting more traffic now that the enthralling show is
  airing on Bravo. Astute readers have noticed a particular casting of interest…None other than Jay Mewes in the role
  of “Edgy Cat”. Let’s hope Mewes gets some screentime in future Greenlight episodes, as well. We’ll be watching. You
  should be, too.
• And on a final whimsical note today, seems that independent contractors got blamed for that
  American Idol “fiasco” this week. So
  there ya have it. The logic lives on…

• Kevin’s starting a
  new feature at the WWWBoard where he’s keeping an electronic diary open to the
  public, giving us an idea of what the day to day of a famous Hollywood director is like. Think of it as a very
  open, honest, public blog letting you look into Kevin’s private life. You might be surprised what you read. Here’s a
  few random tidbits:

There’s lots more, that’s just a taste…You can monitor the entire thread, which we expect will have another entry
tomorrow evening, at The Board. We’re also
setting up a new section of News Askew to archive this stuff, as we think it may prove as quite an interesting study
to look back on in the future. So, keep a watch on this thread and News Askew for more.