• The Clerks II theatrical poster shoot was held last Wednesday. Sadly, due to this, there won’t be any one-sheets produced in time to sell at Vulgarthon later this month. We’ll keep you posted on what the poster will look like, as well as when you can get your own signed copy. Stay tuned.
• New filmmaker Joe Francis, who got his start promoting himself on Myspace, cites “Clerks” as an inspiration to start making movies in this article from his hometown newspaper. Congrats and good luck to him!

• As mentioned in his Myspace blog, Kevin recently gave viewers of the “Train Wreck” series the chance to send questions into him, to which he’d respond to in video format. Today, fulfilling that promise, IGN has posted PART ONE of Kevin Smith’s Video Mailbag

Many formats are available, downloadable and streaming. In this edition, watch Kevin field questions on selling out, Train Wreck shorts coming to DVD, and more. The clip runs 10 minutes total. We’ll let you know when there’s more Q&A available, as well. Stay tuned.

• Those of you who attended Vulgarthon last year remember a ‘Thon only special on the Brodie Bruce Cold Cast Statue.

This year, as a special thank you to Vulgarthon 2006 attendees, we’ve decided to offer another Cold Cast Statue special. For those of you attending Vulgarthon 2006, the Jay and Silent Bob Cold Cast Statues will be sold as SET for only $50. This is a huge $130.00 savings off the regular price.

If you’re interested, visit this thread at The Board and let Ming know. Just want to make sure there’s enough in stock at the store. These are quality items, folks, and that price cannot be beat. Another great treat for those who come! See you all there in less than TWO weeks!

• Kevin recently interviewed for the Canada’s only prime time television talk show, “The Hour”. This brand new interview will air across Canada on CBC Newsworld, this Monday, 5/22 and Tuesday, 5/23. The interview will run at: 8:00 p.m. EST, 11:00 p.m. EST, and 1:00 a.m. EST. Don’t fret, non-Canucks: The entire unedited interview will also be available online on The Hour’s website.
• Here’s something WAY in advance to mark your calendar for: The Michigan Theater, as part of the “Sundance Institute Art House Project”, will show Clerks in November on the big screen from an original print. The dates: November 2nd at 7:15, and November 5th at 8 PM. Full details on the entire series full of excellent flicks can be found HERE.
• Dogma takes the number 5 spot in this AOL list of the 10 most controversial relgious films of all time:

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Christ’s last descendant (an abortion clinic worker) must prevent two rogue angels from ending humanity.

WHO GOT MAD: The Catholic League publicly dissed Miramax and Disney. Director Kevin Smith claimed he received 300,000 pieces of hatemail.

OUTCOME: Miramax sold the low-budget film to Lions Gate; it grossed a solid $30.6 million.

• Here’s the story that’s had all the fans a-buzzin’ lately: A post from Kevin recently revealed that Clerks II indeed WILL go out into theaters without a single cut. Having screened with the MPAA, this means one of two things: An unrated version of Clerks II, or an “R” rated version. There’s no in-between. Considerng Kevin’s expectation to go out unrated, his post, which follows, seems to indicate that a different outcome is in store — Did Clerks II actually earn that “R” rating? Having seen the film, we can say it’s actually quite possible, when comparing it to some of the other flicks that have passed the test lately. Defintiely on the FRINGE, but here’s hoping. Check out the post:

An R-rating would ensure that no theater would turn the film down. Some chains still have a no-unrated policy, which would limit the release structure. With talk of only 1,000 or so screens, the film could still find a home unrated, but “R” would make the choices unlimited. We’ll keep you posted.

• Big news today! Finally, the mysterious new domain at www.quickstopentertainment.com has a purpose! It’s our new entertainment supersite! Yes, this site will replace MoviePoopShoot and be titled, appropriately, “Quick Stop Entertainment”. Expect a new design, new content, and a bunch of surprises…But as always, a state-of-the-art one stop shop for anything entertainment related on the web. We want to make QSE your favorite, possibly only web joint to hit to find out everything about, movies, tv, comics, music, magazines, and tons more. We’re stoked for you to see it. And Kevin’s especially excited for the site’s debut. Check out a personal message from Kevin with more details on this exciting new part of the View Askew family of websites. And we’ll of course let you know when the site’s grand opening will be taking place. Stick around.

• Is View Askew breaking new ground yet again? JoBlo is reporting that Kevin has actually recorded an audio commentary track for Clerks II ALREADY — The idea? Download the free commentary to your ipod or similar MP3 player, then listen to the track as you watch Clerks II in the theater! Yes, In-Theater Director’s Audio Commentary. True genius, and an idea that we hope does get realized. And hey, think of all the multiple tickets it’ll sell when we go watch the flick once without, then head back in to watch it through with the commentary running. Gotta love it! We’ll be keeping an eye on this story and let you know if we hear further confirmation.

“Fire Walk With Me” “Clerkin Off: The Extended Cut”

• This one was considered major spoiler territory until the Clerks II theatrical trailer hit a few weeks back, now the contents of the latest Clerks 2 “Train Wreck”, “Fire, Walk With Me” (a “Twin Peaks” reference for those not in the know) are pretty much common knowledge. Still, we warn you that there’s a minor spoiler from the film’s opening in this clip — But it’s worth watching to see what went into setting up this one up — A nice reveal of the Ratface cameo — And of course, the great Scott Mosier filling us in and working hard on the set. We also had the pleasure of visiitng this set as well — Watch for our own report very, very soon!

And as if one new video wasn’t enough, yet another treat on the “Train Wreck” page today — Some extended clippage of “Clerkin’ Off”, the first day on the New Jersey set! Get ready to get into that east-coast mindset, people, we’ve got a feeling there’s more Jersey love to come as Zak and Joey continue their brilliant short film series. Enjoy, exclusively at clerks2.com.

• More Clerks II press to kick off today’s edition of the ‘bites — This time around, a magazine called “Giant” has a one-page writeup on the film, citing that some fans worry about the sequel taking away from the original. We say, never fear. You won’t be disappointed.
• Clerks 2 gets a quick mention in this Entertainment Weekly piece on some flicks making their debut at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
• Attention UK’ers: Dogma will be on E4 this coming Monday (22nd May) at 10pm. Enjoy!
• Remember that Clerks rolling roadshow coming into Quick Stop in Red Bank in August? Well, it may have gotten ever cooler – Cinematical is now reporting that a hockey game will take place prior to the event — Perhaps on the roof, maybe? Ya never know…
• A faithful Askewer looks set to direct another film. Chris Rock, who co-wrote and was set to star in the comedy I Think I Love My Wife, has stepped-up to take on the directorial reigns left open by the departing Charles Stone, while both Kerry Washington (Ray) and Gina Torres have joined the cast.

The Fox Searchlight film, which starts filming in New York this month, is a remake of the 1972 Eric Rohmer comedy Chloe in the Afternoon. In it, Rock plays Richard Cooper, a happily married man with a young daughter, whose former flame (Washington) reenters the picture causing him to question his marriage.

Rock co-wrote the script with Louis C.K. and this will be his second film as director after 2003’s Head of State with Bernie Mac.

• Between Myspace, the blog, and the board, Kevin’s got posts popping up a lot of spots on the internet lately, so we’re happy to keep you up to date on any interesting tidbits that you may have missed. Today, Kevin stopped by the View Askew Board for some quick Q&A. You can find the threads fairly easily over there, though we’ve compiled some parts that we thought may interest some of you. Here ya go:

• The film after Clerks II is ” a comedy, but one that’s not set in the Askewniverse, and maybe not set in Jersey. Writing it now.” It is “Less ‘Rats’, more ‘Clerks II’ type of comedy.”.
• Still no news on if the “Evening 2” DVD release will be bumped up to coincide with the new Clerks II theatrical release.
• No official guests have yet been announced for Vulgarthon East later this month. Mosier may have to miss the event due to Clerks II test screenings.