• Here’s the two newest clips from Kevin’s video blog over at Clerks2.com. The first one is a glimpse inside the official kickoff party at Kevin’s house (titled $11,500). Meet the lucky, rich dude who made his way to Kevin’s house for the BBQ (which turned out to be this very party, Suh-weet!). Watch Kev deal some cards on the brand new Hold’em McNeil table. Next time we’re in town, we GOTTA get in one of those poker games.

The second is an interivew with the film’s director of photgraphy Dave Klein and his crew. Man, it’s great to see Dave back in action for a View Askew flick. We’re looking forward to the look that he’s got planned for this one. Did you know it takes FOUR FULL DAYS to prep all the camera equipment for a film shoot? Now ya do. Watch and learn lots, lots more.

As always, check them out by clicking the images above. With both the pop-up and new window quicktime formats, these are easier to watch than ever, and stream really, really fast. Unless you’re still on dialup. Bloody savage.

• On Tuesday night’s “My Name is Earl,” Jason Lee talks about number 203 on his list – stole various snacks and drinks from a local QUICK STOP. We gotta figure either the writers or Lee himself worked in that fine little reference to the Askewniverse. Love that show.
• JoBlo scores their first of two mentions on News Askew today, first with this editorial, titled “C’mon Hollywood, Take It Easy On Silent Bob!”. This article addresses not so much Hollywood, but all the folks that seem to find it fun to bash on the web. Check out the editorial HERE.
• Comics2Film reports that Kevin will appear in interviews included in 2 segments of the upcoming Batman Special Edition DVD. Kevin has always been a fan of the Bat, and cites Burton’s first flick as one of the best comic book films EVER. So, it’s cool to see that the discmakers decided to include Kevin in the process of making the SE.
• Dennis Przywara’s “Starwoids” documentary – about U.S. Star Wars fans and the 6-week line for Phantom Menace opending-day tickets – receives its UK DVD debut on October 31st. This feature length documentary, which has been endorsed by and includes a bonus interview with confessed “Star Wars dork” Kevin Smith, has been completely repackaged for the UK market. The 5000 limited edition slipcase version also includes a booklet containing Kevin’s essay “Married To The Force” (under licence from Alison & Busby, UK publishers of “A Galaxy Not So Far Away.) Starwoids is released day and date in the UK with Fox’s “Revenge Of The Sith” DVD and will be avilable from all major high street and online retailers. Thanks to Rebelscum.
• The Project Greenlight flick “Feast” (which Kevin saw a VERY early cut of when he appeared on the program) is starting to play festivals to positive reviews. JoBlo has some nice remarks in their review. Horror supersite Bloody Disgusting reports you can see it early at a film festival:

• If you’ve yet to check out VH-1’s weekly, “Best Week Ever”, it’s a fun way to catch up on the week’s events in pop culture, and they rerun it enough that you’ll find it if you seek it out most days. Kevin scores a mention in their online blog for his tirade on the Aint It Cool talkbackers, complete with a link to the View Askew web board.
• And finally today, another shout-out shows up in audio, this time by a band called Dangerdoom, which is linked to the popular Adult Swim series that airs on Cartoon Network. A lyric excerpt from the track “Space Ho’s”:

Uh…genius. See ya next time!

• Here’s one that’s been rumbling around the rumor mill for a while now, so naturally we’re pleased to have full details to offer up. Yes indeedy, Kevin Smith will be appearing LIVE in Indianapolis on February 2nd! The Indianapolis Symphony is a huge place, so a wide variety of tickets and price ranges are available. If you’re anywhere near that part of the country, and ESPECIALLY if you’ve never seen Kevin do the Q&A thing LIVE, you can’t afford to miss it. Sure, you’ve seen the DVDs, but the Live experience is something completely different. New stories but, most of all, those unscripted moments that you’ll see once, and never see duplicated again. Makes us wish we could sit in on all of these things.

So sure, we bet you want details, right? Well heeere ya go:

As always, we remind you, these things sell out fast. We recommend early purchase, especially if you want some of those prime floor seats. Don’t say we didn’t warn ya. As this is a relatively less-travelled area of the US for Kevin, we’re expecting a big turnout. Let’s pack the place with fans!

• 2005 WIZARD WORLD BOSTON KEVIN SMITH INACTION FIGURES are available now in an incredibly limited supply. We tell you this every time, we hope you’re listening. Previously available only to those who attended the Boston Wizard World, there are just a few cases left of these EXCLUSIVE Kevin Smith figures, signed by the man himself. When they’re gone, they’re gone. For good. So buy one, buy many, but, most importantly, BUY NOW. You won’t see them again.
• Will and Scott are at it again, with another edition of their free online podcast, “Radio Askew”. In this week’s 53 minute episode, the duo feature fan interviews from the Mallrats signing, audio from Kevin’s “Veronica Mars” stint, the latest Askew happenings, and also branch into some general pop culture items on top films 10 and 20 years ago, as well as the current release “Waiting”. As always, it’s available via podcast subscription or direct MP3 download at the Radio Askew website.
• Here’s the official write-up for the next must-have DVD from the View Askew series, “Jay & Silent Bob Do Degrassi”

Snoogans! What are Jay and Silent Bob doing in Canada? Rewind…What are they doing at DEGRASSI! One major perk to being a diretor is that you can live out your fantasies. Kevin Smith’s fantasy? To be featured in a three episode arc of Degrassi: The Next Generation! Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes (Clerks…nuff said) head north to film their next movie in which their alter egos are forced to go back to high school, called “Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh?” And what better high schoool to shoot at that Degrassi Community School? But drama ensues even before the cameras begin to roll! The Director’s Cut edition is a MUST WATCH for any fan of Kevin Smith! Bursting with extas: Kevin Smith Exclusive Interview, Commentary by Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes and more, Five Minutes of never before seen footage, Bloopers, Extended/Deleted Scenes, and much, much more!

We’ll have a review available as soon as possible (haven’t gotten our hands on an advanced copy just yet). You can get a copy everywhere starting November 8th. You know we’ll have some nice signed ones for ya via the Stash, too!

• Famous critic Roger Ebert cites Clerks briefly in his review of similar new release “Waiting…” :

Ebert gives the film 1 and a half stars.

• And finally today, here’s some upcoming chances to catch Kevin on the tube…Set those Tivos for some reruns, especially if you missed them the first time ’round:

See ya again soon! Thanks for dropping by today.

• Fresh of the presses, folks, we have two date changes that are now official regarding Kevin’s appearances in Canada. Both Calgary and Edmonton have been moved from November to February, but your tickets are still good there:

Okay, so the bad news is you gotta wait a bit longer…But the GOOD news is, just IMAGINE how much of Clerks 2 might be cut together to tease you all with by then? Our suggestion? BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW. This will likely be history in the making, as we’re betting audiences will be among the first to see footage from Clerks 2, maybe THE first, as well as spend hours and hours of laughter as Kevin entertains. Kevin doesn’t get to Canada any ‘ol day, and who knows when he’ll be back. Get tickets now!

• We’re very pleased to bring you one of our favorite items in the View Askew collection, in a new model — The View Askew Ultimate DVD Collector’s Case! Designed by Paul Champage (www.designpaulchampage.com) The Ultimate View Askew Collection DVD Collector’s case is designed to store the 4 DVD’s which were previously scattered about on your DVD shelf.

This box will fit the following DVD’s to perfection:

These Collector’s Cases are made silver anodized aluminum and brushed silver ABS and are sturdy!

This case features a full-color design and is laser engraved in full color using the latest digital laser color imaging system.

Please note, there are NO MOVIES INCLUDED. Just the case. The case is NOT cardboard, it’s incredibly durable and will make the perfect companion to the first Jersey Trilogy Colletor’s Box. Get your orders in today!

• Well folks, it appears that the first HUGE scoops of Clerks 2 has arrived on just the second day of shooting — Given Kevin’s reveal of this beautiful Mooby’s shot, it seems that the Clerks 2 set, or part of it at least, has been built on location, meaning that astute scoopers should be nabbing shots to post to the web. Alright, sure, we know where this is, but we’re not talking! Here’s Kevin to introduce the VERY FIRST shot from the set of Clerks 2:

Since it’s inevitable that someone would snap a pic and send it into one of the many movie-gossip websites out there on the web, I figured I might as well do the honors myself.

Do me a favor: draw no conjectures and jump to no conclusions. This is just one image. It doesn’t tell the story.

So without further ado, here’s the first-ever pic from the world of “Clerks 2”…

Will this be a scene? More than a scene? The backbone of the film? Speculate away, folks. Remember, they built a Mooby’s for Dogma that amounted to just a scene or two of time, same deal with Jay & Bob Strike Back. Does someone in the cast work there? Are they just visiting? The possibilities are endless. We’ll leave that to your imagination. Click the mini pic for a Mooby-sized version.

• You’ve got until 11:59:59 EST TONIGHT (Tuesday) to get your entries in to win a copy of “Degrassi Generations”, the beautiful new Degrassi book from Simon & Schuster. After that, we’ll be selecting 5 entries who will get a brand new copy shipped to their door. The book features a new introduction by Kevin Smith and all the Degrassi information you need, for fans both old and new.

To enter, follow the directions on the contest page. Or click the banner at the top of our screen. All you need is the answer to one simple Degrassi query! Simple as that.

Good luck!

• There are days that we’re just giddy to post headlines, and reading that one above you, this is certainly an exciting pleasure. We are happy to announce that today, October 10th, 2005, Clerks 2 has officially started principle photography. The insanity of pre-production is OVER! A lot has changed in the web world since Jersey Girl, so we’re going to expect/assume quite a bit about the shoot both at the Video Blog site, and in Kevin’s online blog, “My Boring-Ass Life”. For starters, Kevin already has given a quick report on Day One:

Since they’re back on the west coast for this one, with us being back east, we sadly won’t be able to give you full in-depth set coverage, though we’re hoping to make a set visit at some point during production, and also assume we’ll have some good exclusive stuff from the cast, crew, and our friends who are closer to the production. Stay tuned for a lot more Clerks 2 coverage now that things have kicked into high gear, and here’s to a speedy recovery for Jen. Feel better.

• It’s not too late! You’ve still got time to win an absolutely FREE copy of “Degrasssi Generations: The Official 411”, and all you gotta to to get in on the drawing is to send us the Canadian premiere date of Kevin’s first Degrassi episode. Easy, right? We thought so. We’re giving away 5 copies of the newly released book, which features a brand new introduction from Kevin himself.

Our review copies came in this week, and read as the coolest Degrassi FAQ ever, with pages and pages of information and full color photos. A beautifully put together book and a great prize, courtesty News Askew and Simon & Schuster.

Click here or the banner at the top of the front page for full details. Good luck!