• The folks over at DVDActive seem to have nabbed the first glimpse at the cover for the forthcoming Clerks II DVD. They also list specs for the disc, the first we’ve seen — Not sure if this is official, but here goes:

Sounds great to us — We’re expecting they’ll pack it all onto one disc. We don’t expect the sheer amount of deleted scenes we’ve seen in the past, though the documentary sounds fantastic (and we assume will be built from Train Wreck footage). We’ll keep you posted, and of course have a first look right here as soon as a test disc comes our way. Until then, see below’s newsbites for a scan that holds even more clues.

• The extensive short film contest “Movies Askew”, hosted for the past hear by View Askew Productions, held a gala event awarding the top prizes last night, September 6th, at Cinespace in Hollywood, California. Kevin, Jennifer, director Richard Kelly, and many contest finalists, stars, and other personalities were on hand to celebrate the culmination of our first-ever private, fan-created film festival.

In photos above, courtesy Movidude74, the grand prize goes to “Up Syndrome” (see the photo of Kevin and the winner above). An unplanned special recognition was awarded in absentia to “Perils in Nude Modeling” presented by Richard Kelly. And, in the final photo, the director of “Chingaso the Clown” accepts the Audience Award. Congratulates to all the winners, finalists and thanks to all who took the time to participate in this fantastic event. Will we do it again? Stay tuned and find out details.

The grand prize winner took home an amazing package of Panasonic goodies, including the spectacular AG-DVX100A camera.

• Much thanks to the overwhelming amount of fans who sent us their Clerks II ticket stub for a chance to win the newly released “The Tick vs. Season One” on DVD, from Buena Vista Home Video. We have five lucky randomly selected winners from all the entries received straight ahead. If you see your name here, and you don’t hear from us first, hit us with your shipping info, and we’ll get your prizes out to ya.

See that? Checking out View Askew flicks in the theater is the gift that keeps on giving. Sorry we couldn’t give ya all a prize. Thanks to all who enetered, and thanks again to Buena Vista for offering up the fun prizes. If you dig the fast, dry humor of Clerks: The Animated Series, you’ll certainly love The Tick as well.

• Two new scans from Home Retailing Magazine to kick off newsbites today. First up, a shot of Jay with pal Andy Milonakis at his FYE DVD signing. More telling, however, is a NEW scan on the Clerks II DVD with quotes and info from Kevin. In it, learn of the Clerks II deleted scenes slated for the disc, the documentary, and more.
• Catch the great, personable Brian O’Halloran at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville this Friday night. He will be doing a Q&A after a 9:30 screening of Clerks. It should start around 10:30. Sounds like something you can’t miss if you’re in the area.
• Clerks II has received a coveted “15” rating in the UK without any cuts.
• Ben Affleck is the main subject of this Hollywoodland article from MSN movies. His turn as George Reeves has been highly praised by fans and critics who’ve seen the flick.
• TMZ checks in with some interesting Jason Lee news today:

• We love bringing you these scans from the excellent Total Film magazine in the UK, especially since so many of us can’t find this cool publication over here in the States. So, take a look at their latest offerings — First off, a full four-page article/interview with the cast titled “Eternal Sunshine of the Filthy Mind”.

And then, don’t miss that glowing FIVE STAR REVIEW here, including their patented, always funny “projected interest curve”. Their final verdict? “Everything you could want from a sequel and much, much more, Clerks II reminds us why we love Kevin Smith”.

• We’re stoked to see that the always enjoyable “Kids In Mind” review of Clerks II has now been posted. These reviews cover pretty much every aspect of material in a film that could be objectionable to parents with children, and wow, do they ever go into crazy detail (which is a lot of fun for fans like us). For example, did you know the film had 139 F-word (and derivative) utterances? The film scores an easy 10 in both the sex and profanity categories, but sadly only a 4 in violence. We’re sure Kevin can take care of upping that number in the next project, though. Enjoy!
• The Australian press continues to come in — for a small place they sure do soak up the press pretty well, we’re happy to see! Check out video of Kevin being interviewed by Robbie Buck in the streets of Sydney, courtesy JTV.
• Clerks II is doing quite well in this IMDB pool asking users their favorite flick of the summer – Get your vote in, and help us score even higher! The flick sits at #5 at presstime.
• It seems that “Dogma” will be the first View Askew flick available for download via iTunes. It’s part of Lion’s Gate’s crop of initial offerings according to this article. Pricing is expected to be from $9.99 to $14.99.
• Entertainment Weekly names Jason Mewes as a runner-up for their “Best Comeback” of the summer.
• Clerks II opened at #6 nationally in Australia last weekend, with a take of $420,285 on 124 screens.
• Anyone know that the hilarious Jay Chandrasekhar of the “Broken Lizard” trouble (of Super Troopers, Club Dread and Beerfest fame) started as a grip for “Chasing Amy” and played a producer in VA’s “Big Helium Dog”? We never did.

• And last, but not least, we remain very excited for the upcoming release of “Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder”. Here’s the latest US marketing scan, confirming the November 7th release date and the features of this 2-disc set. A must-own. See ya next time!

• The tour’s over, but press continues to trickle in from Australia today – Let’s take a look at the stories and interviews we have on this beautiful Sunday afternoon:

• You can now listen to the podcast interview of Kevin on with Tony Martin’s ‘Get This’ show as it aired on Triple M radio Australia. Just look for the episode called ‘Smithcast’ at this location. A Whole 40 minutes or so of interview joy.
• Not to be outdone, Triple J radio has their own interview with Kevin, also available in complete audio format HERE.
• Australian website YourMovies runs a next text-based interview with Kevin as well.

• Kevin’s bio page at the IMDB (Internet Movie Database) has recently been updated with some spelling/grammar mistakes fixed, and some extra info included. If you’re a member of the IMDb and you spot any mistakes or omissions, don’t forget to fix them. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and press the “update” button. Make Kev’s page on the IMDb even better!
• Harry Potter fansite “The Leaky Cauldron” recently posted a link to a new interview with Alan Rickman, who mentions that “Dogma” is the film that most younger fans ask him about:

• Affleck is interviewed by the BBC for this brief but interesting article titled “Affleck bemoans pitfalls of fame”. His “Hollywoodland” turn is celebrating excellent buzz and hits theaters next week.
• And finally today – Ah, the joys and weirdness of YouTube. Check out the latest find, “Chasing Halo Amy”. See ya next time!

• The very reliable VideoETA has hit us today with a surprise — Confirmation of a slightly earlier Clerks II video/DVD release than planned – November 28, 2006! We don’t have details on the specs for the disc yet, so there’s no telling if this will be a movie-only version with the spectacular special edition to follow, or yet another in the long line of jam-packed View Askew SE DVDs. Kevin’s been known to have the SE’s ready day and date, so chances are we’ll catch a commentary track, some Train Wrecks, and lots more when the final specs on this one arrive. We’ll let you know more as we hear it, until then, mark the calendar. We’re expecting big signing events at the Stashes, signed copies available to order, and lots more this Fall.

• Many folks were looking for the Clerks II comic “Tales From The Clerks” collection that was originally slated for this summer – Kevin now reveals that the final touches are still being put on the book and that no official release date has yet been announced. However, he ALSO confirms this will contain EVERY View Askew comic ever released (which is freaking FANTASTIC) plus be the only place to catch the new comic which bridges some lost time in the world of “Clerks”. This is a must-buy, folks, for every fan, so we’ll be on top of it and certainly let you know when we have a new confirmed date. This is certainly one to watch for.