• A very cool profile of the West Coast Stash ran the other night on KCAL Channel 9’s show ON THE TOWN. You can check out a RealVideo verion of the spot right HERE! Thanks again to SilverLurker for the quick encoding.
• America Online announced that it will simulcast the season premiere of the all new PROJECT GREENLIGHT this Monday (March 15) at 9 pm EST. The first two seasons of this show have been some of the most compelling televison ever and hopes are high that this season will continue the streak.
• What to see CLERKS in all it’s true hi-def glory? Check it out on Showtime HD on March 24 at 10 pm EST.
• And on a final note, we missed letting you all know about Joey Lauren Adams’ guest spot on the CBS drama WITHOUT A TRACE last Thursday night. We’re sure it’ll run again, so set those Tivo units up now!

• We’d like to join in with the congrats going out to Ming and Debbie, who welcomed their daughter Lily Judith into the world earlier this week. Congratulations to you both, and welcome to the world of parenthood.

• We do believe that our RSS Feed, which gets headlines delivered to your computer as they happen, is now fully bug-free and compliant with all RSS readers out there, including the tricky Mozilla Firefox browser. Feel free to give it a spin, and if you’ve got any issues, let us know. RSS headlines are all over the net now, and a great way to get the latest news without having to surf all over the place. Be sure to give our RSS feed a try today. The link that your client needs can be found over in our left sidebar.

• Kevin wrapped up filming for the “Evening Harder” DVD with jam-packed, sold-out Q&A session in
  London, England on Monday night. Fans in attendance got to rock the mic and watch Kevin field 4 hours worth of
  questions, all of which will be trimmed and combined with the Canada show to create a brand new DVD filled with hours
  of hilarious anecdotes. Now that filming’s done, we should start hearing word on the editing process and hopefully
  soon have some hints of a release date for the project.

If you’ve got a fun story to share from the show, feel free to send it in for us. You can also read a lot of the
chatter going on about the event at The Board.

No major news to report from the Q&A, as we figure Kevin’s saving the big stuff for Vulgarthon later this month. We’ll
be there covering that with up to the minute reports, so it’ll be an exciting day to sit in front of News Askew at a PC
if you can’t make the show.

For a more personal approach to the show, check out Sam Baron’s site and the film
“Jerks”, which chronicles his journey to the UK Q&A session, mostly featuring the massive line
waiting to get in (look at all those fans!). It’s around a 6 meg download in Windows Media format.

Got something to add? Talk Back and let us know what you thought of the show! Comment links are just under the headline
of this story.

• Man are we ever jealous! Hanging with the genius of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright! Kevin’s still doing the UK thing, as you can see from this recent post:

So you want to hear the Phil Jupitus show? You got it! We’ve posted a local copy of the show (with thanks to
SilverLurker for the speedy encoding). Download it HERE, in MP3 format!

Kevin also finally adds:

Tonsilitis HURTS. Feel better, Kev.

• Kev’s over the big pond doing the UK thing this week, as you know, and some of the more well-known
  publications over there have been covering that little Q&A session that took place earlier this week.
  Empire Online reveals some interesting new bits, including some
  details on Kevin’s “Southland Tales” character, Clerks 2 hints, and even a new role for Mewes:

• We’ve just got word that the Lake Country Film Festival will show both “My Big Fat Independent Movie” as well as the excellent View Askew Produced “Reel Paradise” (a rare chance to catch this one early). Now, the catch is that Kevin takes the stage in Crystal Lake just a few miles away the night RP premieres. BUT…If you didn’t get tix or just prefer to see the flick, it’s an option. Here’s the scoop:

• World famous DVD website The Digital Bits honors Clerks X with a mention in several categories in their
  “6th Annual
  Digital Bits Bitsy Awards”. Clerks is named for such
  accomplishments as Best Special Edition and Best Documentary.
• A Dallas FM talk station (Live 105.3) Has started a contest called “Pugs & Kelly’s Project Green
  Light Casting Couch” , To win said contest, the people must call in and read from a script. The three scripts chosen
  are “Bottle Rocket”, “Chasing Amy” and “Clerks”. The contest can be seen and read about on their website.
• Here’s a few more chances to catch the Mewes “phone-in” in “My Big Fat Independent Movie”. Cinequest added another screening for the film. It will show on March 12th at 11:59 PM at the Camera 12 in San Jose.
  Click HERE to get tickets. The film is also screening through the San Diego Film Foundation.

• Alright, let’s first get this out of the way: There are somehow a HANDFUL of seats left for Vulgarthon
  at the end of this month. Let’s again go down the reasons why you NEED to be there. The premiere of a four and a half
  hour documentary on the making of Jay & Bob. Two taped Q&A sessions, one for Jeff Anderson’s NOW YOU KNOW, and of
  course, the CHASING AMY 10th ANNIVERSARY REUINION (our personal fave VA film, and reason enough to attend this shindig).
  You’ll also catch the EXTENDED CUT of Jersey Girl, you can’t see that anywhere else (or perhaps ever again, Kevin has
  yet to confirm it’s DVD release). Plus, the west coast premiere of the rarely-seen classic BIG HELIUM DOG. Ok? Why
  are you NOT going? Q&A after every flick with the stars, bigger special guests than EVER before at a VA event, and,
  well, let’s just say if you don’t get tickets, you’re going to kick yourself. A lot. It’ll hurt.

So, before we go further on with some event-specific info we’ve learned, CLICK HERE AND GET YOUR TICKETS! Got them?
Okay, good. Let’s proceed.

• LODGING: Lots of folks seem to be following this POST
  which offers a discount for the Best Western. This hotel offers a close vicinity to the dome, so if you wanna walk
  or carpool, it’s a good bet. Chances are there’ll be VA fans a’plenty partying it up in the bar area on Saturday and
  Sunday. If that’s happening, we’ll likely stop by.

  If you’re looking for another option, and have a car to get to the show, we were able to secure a very affordable rate
  of $70 per night via Priceline. Bid on a 3 star hotel in the Burbank region and you’ll get one of 4 hotels that are
  within about 10 minutes of driving distance to the dome. There’s tons of hotels out there, but if you want to stay in
  a decent place cheap, those are some good options. Regular rates at the nicer hotels are $150 per night and up.

• FOOD: Traditionally past Vulgarthons have allowed a 1-2 hour dinner break. We’re not sure how that
  will work this year, but are told there’s a lot of great food served right AT the Arclight, so no need to worry about
  transporation to the food. With that in mind, expect an hour or an hour and a half for the meal break, as there’s a lot
  to fit into the day.
• PARKING: ArcLight is directly adjacent to a seven-level parking garage. Self-park entrances are off
  Ivar to the west, DeLongpre to the south and off Sunset, just east of the Cinerama Dome. ArcLight offers validation
  with purchase of a movie ticket – effective October 20, 2004, your first four hours are $1 with purchase of a regular
  cinema ticket, and only $2.50 with purchase of a film festival or other special event ticket. Parking is validated for
  1 hour free with purchase in the café bar or gift shop, with a maximum of 4 hours total validation. Regular rates
  apply after validation period with a maximum total charge of $6.00 per visit. So, $6 ain’t too bad for parking in LA.
• SEATING: Last we heard, still first-come, first-served. Get in line early to get the best seats. The
  line should be fun as well. We’ve never had a problem with seats being taken when you take a break, so we don’t expect
  any problems this time. Remember: These are your fellow fans. Be kind and courteous. As always, we remind you not to
  leave empty seats around you, especially singles, as we’re going to need to fill them in anyway once the dome sells out.
• LINING UP & DOORS: We expect folks may show up EARLY, maybe as early as 5 or 6 AM on Monday. Heck,
  some may even spend Easter in line. Who knows. Come when you’re ready to come, especially if you have a desire for
  extra special seats. However, EVERY seat in the Arclight dome rocks, so we suggest you rest up and be ready for the
  day ahead. The event is scheduled to run til midnight, which means you’ll PROBABLY get out around 3 AM. These things
  ALWAYS burn late. But you LOVE that, right?
• AUTOGRAPHS: No autograph or photo taking sessions with Kevin or any of the celebs has been announced.
  It may become a catch-as-catch-can affair, but we remind you, the event is about the show and the Q&As, and is not set up
  as a meet and greet, photo & signing type of thing. If Kevin had to stop and sign for 850 people, the event would turn
  from one day into two days. So if you go in expecting the biggest and best show ever, but not expecting autographs out
  the wazoo, you’ll be happy. We suggest catching Kevin at one of his many Comicon appearances this year if you want to
  get your stuff signed and chat it up with the man.

If anyone’s attending and coming into town for the weekend, let us know what you’re doing, or if you live there, let
us know what WE can do! Staying in an unfamiliar city on Easter Sunday makes us question what might or might not be
open, plus, if a bunch of fans are getting together in one place, why not make the most out of it? Feel free to email
us or check out the Vulgarthon area at the News Askew forums if you want to chat it up. We’d love to meet up with
some of you while we’re in town. We’ll be there Saturday afternoon through the end of the ‘Thon. Look forward to
seeing many of you at the big show! We’ll be the guys with the camera and laptop running web updates all day long
(pretty tough to miss that!). Stop and say hi.

• We reported a couple weeks ago that Kevin’s films and “Evening With” program would be featured on Encore later this
  month. Well, the news just got even cooler. Kevin will HOST the festivities that evening, then, the following
  evening, Jersey Girl will premiere on the channel. The fun starts on March 25th. Full press release? Yeah, we’ve
  got that.

KEVIN (”SILENT BOB”) SMITH TALKS!

HE’S THE HOST OF ENCORE’S

SPECIAL EVENING DEDICATED TO HIM & HIS FILMS

Plus Television Premieres of Two Documentaries

Clerks, Chasing Amy and Television Premieres of An Evening With Kevin Smith and Encore’s The Directors

Followed Next Night With Television Premiere of Jersey Girl on STARZ!

Englewood, Colo., March 7, 2005 – On Friday, March 25th, Indie Film favorite Kevin Smith hosts a night dedicated entirely to him that kicks off at 7:00 p.m. (et/pt) with Encore’s critically acclaimed award-winning original series The Directors followed by Chasing Amy (8:00 p.m.), Clerks (10:00 p.m.) and the exclusive television premiere of An Evening With Kevin Smith (11:35 p.m.) in which he engages in Q&A sessions at various college campuses around the country, spinning humorous Hollywood tales. The next night, STARZ! Saturday Night Premiere presents the television premiere of Smith’s latest film Jersey Girl (9:00 p.m.).

Friday, March 25th

The Directors (7:00 p.m.) This latest episode features clips from Smith’s films Clerks, Dogma, Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, and Mallrats. The segment includes extensive exclusive chats with Smith, plus interviews with Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Alanis Morissette, producer Scott Mosier, and Smith’s wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith.

Chasing Amy (8:00 p.m.) A cartoonist (Ben Affleck) falls for a fellow artist, a vivacious lesbian author (Joey Lauren Adams). The film co-stars Jason Lee and Kevin Smith.

Clerks (10:00 p.m.) Smith’s first film looks at a day in the life of clerks at two adjoining stores. The film introduced the world to the dynamic duo of “Jay and Silent Bob” (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) and co-stars Brian O’Halloran.

An Evening With Kevin Smith (11:35 p.m.) In this exclusive television premiere, Kevin Smith spins humorous tales to college audiences across the country.

Saturday, March 26th on STARZ! Saturday Night Premier

Jersey Girl (9:00 p.m.) The television premiere of Smith’s latest film stars Ben Affleck as a hotshot publicist who loses his wife in childbirth and must quit his job and move back home to New Jersey to raise his little daughter. The film co-stars Liv Tyler, George Carlin, Jason Biggs, and Jennifer Lopez.

Growing up in New Jersey and spending eight years in Catholic school are the two most important things that have influenced Kevin Smith’s body of work. “All of my films thus far have been about growing up in Jersey to some degree,” says Smith. “Going to Catholic school as a kid definitely inspired Dogma and some of my other films.” Smith’s teachers in parochial school inspired him to write and act. “I’ve always enjoyed performing on stage. That’s really what directing is ultimately – writing and performing, because you need to know about acting in order to direct.”

During a brief college stint, Smith began to write, hoping to one day work for “Saturday Night Live,” never giving filmmaking a second thought. Eventually, he ended up working at a video and convenience store – as a clerk. It was during this time that he saw the Richard Linklater film Slacker, which influenced him to try his hand at filmmaking. Smith knew he needed to learn as much as he could about filmmaking before venturing onto a film set of his own. He came across an ad in the Village Voice newspaper for a film school in Vancouver offering an eight month course. He left after four months to save the rest of his tuition to put towards his first movie Clerks. Smith directed the film while still working at the convenience store.

Miramax released the film in 1994, introducing the world to the odd couple of Jay and Silent Bob. Clerks became a bonafide hit, winning the Award of Youth and the Mercedes-Benz Award at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival.

Although Clerks cost Smith just $27,000 to make, he was given $6 million for his next film Mallrats (1994). The film, referred to as a smart Porky’s, did not fare well with the press or with filmgoers. He came back in 1997 with the off-beat romantic comedy Chasing Amy. The film cost $250,000 and brought in $12 million at the box-office. The film won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor as well as numerous other awards.

Next came the controversial Dogma (1999), boycotted by the Catholic League for the film’s examination of two fallen angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon), including an appearance by singer Alanis Morissette as God. Smith returned to pure comedy in 2001 with Jay and Silent Bob Strike Out. In 2004, Smith directed the romantic comedy Jersey Girl starring Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler and Jennifer Lopez.

A few years ago, Smith opened up his own comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, in Red Bank, New Jersey, and he has won numerous awards for writing comic books.

Coming up for Smith is The Passion of the Clerks, a sequel to his first film starring the original cast, and Fletch Won, a prequel to the popular Chevy Chase films about a bumbling journalist. He’s also set to write and produce The Green Hornet.