• As part of a Clerks II tie-in promotion next week, the Opie & Anthony radio/satellite program will be giving away $1,000 a day! No more details on how to win yet, but it sounds great — Be a fan, promote the film, AND take home cash! Yeah! More details as we learn them.
• From today’s Jeannette Wells gossip column over at MSNBC:

• Kevin is stalked by “The Devil’s Panties”…Well, an online comic of that very name anyway, in two recent episodes of the strip. Check them out HERE and HERE.
• You can check out a promo mailed ad for the Mewes co-starred “Bottoms Up” HERE. The DVD streets on September 12th.
• And finally today, here’s a bizarre one – An internet dating service that cites Kevin as one of the “Top 10 Well Known Geeks”.

• The UK’s awesome Ediburgh International Film Festival has just announced that Clerks II will be on the slate — Kevin’s even going to take the trip over the pond to appear for some Q&A after one of the showings! You’ll find a capsule review along with showdates HERE on the fest’s Clerks II page (you can see the movie on Friday, August 18th or Sunday, August 20th).

Then, Empire Online reports that Kevin will again appear at this year’s BAFTA ceremony where he will appear to promote the official UK premiere of Clerks II next month.

So there you have it, UK’ers. Be a little jealous of us for getting Clerks II in just 9 days, but rest assured, Kevin will make that rare UK appearance next month. Reserve your seats now!

• We’re continuing to bring you the most accurate and complete guide to where you can find Kevin and the rest of the crew promoting Clerks II over the next couple of weeks. Kevin himself has posted his entire schedule, every detail of press (it’s amazing how much this guy puts into promoting the flick, incredibly admirable). See below for those details. Here’s a few of our own details on what’s just come across the desk today, which we’ll be adding up on the big board you see atop the news page today:

• Last minute one again: Entertainment Tonight reports that they’ll have their own coverage of the Clerks II premiere TONIGHT. ET says:

  “Jay and Silent Bob are back! ‘Clerks II,’ filmmaker KEVIN SMITH’s sequel to the 1994 cult indie smash, checks into theaters July 21, and ET hit the L.A. premiere last night!

  The silly sequel from the director of ‘Mallrats’ and ‘Dogma’ picks up ten years after the original flick. This time around, New Jersey mini-mart clerks and best pals Dante (BRIAN O’HALLORAN) and Randal (JEFF ANDERSON) are trading quips and slacking off at their new jobs — slinging burgers at fictional fast-food joint Mooby’s.

  Joining in the raunchy fun is ROSARIO DAWSON (‘Sin City’) as the guys’ sexy manager at Mooby’s.

  And of course, Jay (JASON MEWES) and Silent Bob (Smith) are back to mix it up.

  Smith was even able to coax good friend BEN AFFLECK, who has appeared in the director’s ‘Mallrats,’ ‘Chasing Amy,’ ‘Dogma’ and ‘Jersey Girl,’ to do a cameo in ‘Clerks II.’

  “I said, ‘It’s weird. It’s going to be the first time in 10 years that you’re not involved in a flick I make,’” Smith says about the conversation he had with buddy Ben. “And he said, ‘That is weird. All right, I want to be involved, but I don’t want any dialogue. I just want to be a background person.’”

  Comedienne WANDA SYKES, JENNIFER SCHWALBACH SMITH and TREVOR FEHRMAN round out the cast.

  For all the action at the L.A. premiere, watch tonight’s ET!”

  Catch it if you can!

• CASINO CINEMASpike: Kevin will appear on Spike TV’s “Casino Cinema” program on Tuesday, July 18th. They’re showing the film Caddyshack, though Kevin will appear at act breaks for the film to pimp (and show clippage) from Clerks II. Tune in, folks. Should be a good one.

• Right outta the books, here’s that mind-boggling press schedule of Kevin’s, starting with today and rolling all the way up to release day. We’ll keep you posted on any additions or changes to this slate as soon as we hear about them:

With a list like that, we’re amazed the guy finds time to check in on the Internet with updates. But he continues to do so, and we thank him for it. Keep it here at News Askew and Kev’s blogs for all the latest — We’re putting in all the overtime that’s necessary to keep you up to date on all the Clerks II excitement!

• What’s THIS??? A Clerks Quiz??? Coool! Yes, that’s right, MSNBC has posted a 23 question quiz where you can test your knowledge of Clerks and The Askewniverse in general. We particularly enjoyed this one, actually, took it in a speedy time trial, and even got fooled by a couple of the trick questions! Read all the answers, and see if you can get a perfect score. We came darn close, but speed kills. Take your time, and good luck. And nice job by Chris Bahn at MSNBC for creating a fun, thought-provoking exercise. Enjoy!
• Here’s one we haven’t heard of yet — Seems Jay’s got a role in a horror flick called “The Tripper”. Newsarama reports that you can catch a preview of the film, stills, and Q&A with some of the cast and crew on Thursday, July 20th from 5-6 at the massive San Diego Comicon. No word confirming if Jay will be on hand for the actual Q&A. If anyone attends, let us know what you see! The Tripper follows a group of hippies as they head to a weekend-long concert for some fun, only to be stalked by a deranged killer with an unnatural obsession with Ronald Reagan.
• Chewbacca songsters “Supernova” are continuing their lawsuit against CBS and the “new” Supernova on their Rock Star reality show. It’ll be interesting to see how this one turns out.

• This is a very exciting time for us, when a new film’s about to hit the screen – And, as you’ve seen from the site and all of our coverage, there’s a LOT of press going on for Clerks II. But perhaps even cooler is the fact that Kevin is literally touring the country with the film, personally watching audiences watch the film, doing the live Q&A thing afterwards, and, in many cases, this is happening BEFORE the official July 21st release. A Pleasantville, NY showing has just been added for July 19th (Jacob Burns), now bringing our known screenings up to the following list:

If anyone hears of any more open to the public screenings, let us know. And remember, regardless of when you see the film, early or not, be sure and get out there on opening weekend, bring some pals with you, spread the word, and plan for a great time at the movies. This one’s a true crowd pleaser.

• Rosario Dawson will be promoting Clerks II on Late Night With Conan O’Brien on the 18th (11:35PM Central). East or west coasters, that’ll put it at the morning of the 19th for us. She will also be appearing on the Regis & Kelly show on July 19th. Check out massive appearance grid at the top of the page for this and many other promotional appearances set for the next couple of weeks!
• Scene Stealers does it again, this time with some fantastic video coverage of their time with Brian & Jeff during the Kansas City stop late last month. Check out the video of PART ONE at their site, and watch for part two to arrive on Monday. Official reviews of Clerks II will also come from these guys later next week. If you’re tired of just listening or reading these things, now’s your chance to see a live sit down with everyone’s favorite clerks. Nice job to Scene Stealers on their oustanding coverage of Brian and Jeff’s tour.
• It seems that blogger Tom Young at The Detroit News likes the idea of a Kevin Smith-scripted Aquaman 2, as Entourage fictionally proposed last weekend.

• BREAKING NEWS JUST IN: Kevin will appear on tonight’s episode of “Entertainment Tonight” and Jason will be on “The Insider”. Sorry for the late notice, but word JUST came in regarding these appearances. Check your local listings for channels and airtimes. And if anyone nabs a capture of them, let us know! More news later.

• Last night, Kevin logged one of the most visible appearances during the Clerks II promotional tour, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. As always, audiences were rolling with laughter as he told the tale of the anal fissure, then a nice segue into Clerks II promotion, where the now famous Jay scene that you’ve seen in most trailers and ads is shown to the audience. The clip runs nine minutes in length, and we’ve got it available on our new News Askew YouTube channel. Enjoy!

• So are you as stoked as we are to see G4’s “Icons” episode on Kevin this weekend? The crew behind the program have been following Kevin everywhere the past few months (we spotted them at Vulgarthon East chatting up web genius Ming Chen), and have put together an AMAZING program from what we’re hearing. All new interviews with all the stars. Footage you’ve never seen before. A look at the dude who makes it all possible — Kevin Smith, profiled this weekend on G4 Icons.

Here’s a promo of what to expect on the show this weekend. Click and enjoy!

Don’t have G4? Make a friend who does! Catch it this weekend. And yes, catch CLERKS II in theaters on July 21st, just 11 days from now. You are gonna LOVE this film.