• We just wanted to catch everyone up on a few blog posts from Kevin, regarding the release this weekend — He’s busy on the Q&A circuit this weekend, and into next week, though he’ll be checking in as regularly as possible. Here’s what he had to say yesterday about Clerks II:

Why the fuck aren’t you watching “Clerks II” right now?

Today’s the day, folks.

Thanks, all, for putting up with me yakking about “Clerks II” for the last four months. I look forward to having a lot more stuff to talk about here on MySpace, now that this motherfucker’s goin’ all theatrical and shit. You guys have been really sweet in indulging a whore as he peddles his wares…

Even right now.

If you’ve got a few free hours, please go check out our flick this weekend. If the Holy fucking NY Times has something good to say about it,l maybe it’s worth a look.

Gimme yer money this weekend (well, really, give it to MGM and the Weinstein Co.), and I promise I’ll at least make you smile (if not cackle; with the flick, mind you, not at). And when it’s all over, and our l’il five million dollar film that could has earned our standard $25 to $30 million, I’ll get back to work and start writing the next flick.

So check out what time and where “Clerks II” is playing in your hood http://movies.yahoo.com/showtimes/changeloc?p=sho&date=20060721 , grab a friend, and get ready for the funny (’cause we bring it in a big motherfucking way).

I love you guys (and gals). Thanks for watching what I do – as without you, I wouldn’t have a job.

“Clerks II” – in theaters everywhere (in the U.S. and Canada), right now.

And ya gotta love this fan-made short that Kevin shouts out in the latest blog, too. Check out also this one-sheet sent to us from fans Tim and John. Kevin dug it so much he included it in his latest blog entry. Thanks for the laughs, everyone!

• More great Clerks II press today for ya, folks…Probably the last big round, including both some articles and select reviews. Dig in!

• Jeff and Brian wrapped up their extensive publicity for Clerks II (and seriously, AMAZING job guys) with a stop at XM satellite radio’s Opie & Anthony show on Friday. We’ve got the full edited clippage thanks to our pal Will just ahead. Here’s what Anthony himself had to say about the appearance:

And now, we’re happy to present both high and low bandwidth MP3 versions of Brian & Jeff on Opie & Anthony. ENJOY!!!

• The great Davis DVD runs some nice scoopage on the Clerks II DVD today culled from recent interviews and quotes. Check it out:

Hey, what can we say? Bring on that new, deleted footage! Clerks II will certainly be THE DVD to own this Christmas. We’ll keep ya posted.

You can also check out a short interview they conducted with Brian & Jeff.

Oh, and that tentative release date? DECEMBER 5, 2006! MARK IT!!!

• Kevin made a surprise appearance on Friday night’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno! It was a segment of the show where audience members ask Jay fake questions and Jay has staged answers. The last person to ask a question was “Kevin from New Jersey” and he asked Jay if he could show a clip of Jason Mewes and himself promoting Clerks II around Los Angeles. Before the video clip, though, Kevin and Jay traded insults about weight and big chins.

The entire bit ran for about four and a half minutes and it was very, very hilarious. If anyone caught it and can hook us up with a capture, let us know. We think there’s 3 AM reruns of the show next week as well, so we’ll try and catch it then. It was the episode with Tina Fey as a guest.

• Will “Train Wreck” continue? Ya never know! It’s not on the official site yet, but YouTube presents this six minute entry, brand new, into the world of Storyboarding. It’s called, simply, “The Boards”. Enjoy, and use some of THEIR bandwidth instead of ours, dammit.
• Davis DVD has a high-res scan of the J&SBSB Blu-Ray cover for ya. Check it out!
• Seems that David Arquette actually LOST footage of “The Tripper” (a flick featuring View Askew’s own Jason Mewes) somewhere at the San Diego con! To appease the crowd, Arquette acted out a few lines from the movie, which he co-wrote.
• Genius Products and The Weinstein Company will finally release Feast on October 17th, according to Davis DVD. One evening at a rural bar, a motley group of patrons struggles to survive a ravenous family of flying beasts bent on devouring every last one of them. Who will survive and who will be part of the feast? Directed by John Gulager and starring Navi Rawat, Krista Allen, Balthazar Getty, Judah Friedlander and JASON MEWES, this eagerly anticipated horror film’s notorious production was chronicled on the third season of Bravo’s Project Greenlight series. The disc arrives with an anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, “The Making of Feast” featurette, deleted scenes and theatrical trailers. Retail will be $28.99. In addition, Fangoria reports that ‘Feast’ will open in 100 of the nation’s top markets, and show at two theaters [per market] at midnight on Friday [September 22] and Saturday [the 23rd, with no further screenings scheduled].
• And uh, finally today…Uh…Okay. Thanks, Ah-nuld.

• Box Office Mojo currently estimates a FRIDAY box office total of $3,920,000 for last night, putting Clerks II on track for over a healthy $10 million weekend and #4 overall for the weekend. With a lower amount of screens, this is likely a better per-screen average than some of the flicks over it, as well.

Word of mouth on the film should be good, spreading business around and helping Clerks II to a healthy take tonight as well, with the usual expected Sunday dropoff. Get out there and see the flick again, bring some friends, and if you had a good time, let folks know! Let’s spread the good word about the greatness of Clerks II and help us to a strong opening weekend, and more bucks into next week, too!

We’re guessing this sets all kind of precedents for a sequel, outgrossing the entire box office take of its predecessor in a single day for one — And, of course, by the end of the weekend, the budget will have been doubly made back, at least. Niiice.

More news later on final totals for today, the weekend, and official numbers. More news as well, as e-mails that were log jammed due to our server getting slammed are coming in as well. See you again soon!

• A few seats are still available for the Clerks II shows at the UltraStar Mission Valley Theater, 7510 Hazard Road in San Diego today for the 3:30, 6:00, and 8:15 shows. ALL will will feature a live Q&A session with Kevin after the show. The Q&As were a great hit last night at the ArcLight!

You can buy tix here! They’ll also have tons of Clerks II merch on sale right in the theater. San Diego con attendees 0 Don’t miss your chance for a great day or night out today!

• Just a quick reminder folks — We’re sharing server bandwidth with the Clerks II website, which is just getting hammered today, due to the film’s release, Myspace promotions, and all the new Train Wreck movies. So, please bear with us as loading times are just going to be a bit slow today.

Also, let us remind you, updates have been going on SO frequently this week, in fact, easily a new record for the most news EVER for this site in the past two weeks, that some stories may drop right into the archives before you’ve even seen then. Please visit the archives area for July via the link in the left sidebar, or at the very bottom of the news page that you’re looking at today. And thanks for continuing to visit us as your official news source for Kevin Smith and View Askew every day.

• We’re still mixing reviews and articles together here — It’s been next to impossible to keep up with every bit of press, so we’re continuing to focus mostly on articles and only SELECT reviews. We urge you to visit the excellent Rotten Tomatoes website to read all of the latest Clerks II reviews (now up to 73% positive at presstime, one of the best we’ve ever seen at the site). Here ya go:

• A word for word translation of this morning’s Joel Siegel review segment on GMA, FYI: