• Kevin will unfortunately be missing the Austin Film Festival appearance. Some last minute business came up that could not be rescheduled, so we’re sorry to report, he’s going to have to miss it. We’re sure he’ll make it up to ya’ll soon.
• No extra information as of yet — But what we DO know is that Clerks II will hit Australian DVD shelves on January 3rd. More info as it comes in.
• The Achievements list for the hot upcoming Xbox 360 game “Gears of War” has been released. It looks like somebody at Epic Games is a Clerks fan as they have an Achievement titled “My Love For You Is Like A Truck” with the following description: “Defeat a Berserker on Hardcore difficulty”. Gotta love fun fan references in video games. The complete list of Achievements can be found HERE. We’ll see you on Xbox Live!
• And finally today, guys, enjoy us in a collective sigh of sadness – Claire Forlani is engaged. She was recently proposed to by Dougray Scott (currently appearing on “Desperate Housewives”). The press release cites “Mallrats” as one of her best known films. Happy weekend, all!

• Back on September 23rd, we announced that Kevin would be appearing on a new type of reality series for newly created channel MTVu. In the show, Kevin will mentor a group of UCLA students who produce a series for the channel. MTVu is syndicated through many colleges and universities, and can also be accessed online and via mobile phones. Kevin now reveals that they’ve started filming his first segments, for air next week:

If you’re near a college campus or have access to it, you can watch next week on the actual MTVu channel. Otherwise, check out the MTVu website or get yourself an AMP’d Mobile Phone. We’ll remind you when episodes are available, of course!

• Can you smell the excitement in the air? View Askew’s biggest DVD day EVER is coming next month, with Evening 2: Evening Harder, Clerks II, and Now You Know all hitting on the same day. We haven’t screened Evening 2 yet, so we’re as excited as the rest of you to see it. IGN’s taken some of the pain of waiting away, with a bagful of NEW VIDEOS and previews for the disc. You can get to the first of three pages at this link.

You can watch NINE CLIPS IN ALL, including a trailer, Kevin chatting on Canada’s love of hockey, clips from the Q&A portions, and more. And man, are they ever FUNNY. Watch Kevin go international with clips from Canada and the UK. They’re censored but you can still make out the jokes. This could very well top Evening One as one of the best party DVDs ever. Try it sometime — Evening With is one of the most crowd entertaining DVDs that we’ve ever seen. And don’t worry, the released version will be totally uncut and uncensored.

• The Stash on MySpace reveals details on BOTH commentaries on the Clerks II DVD:

Commentaries are always a highlight of any View Askew DVD release. You can bet we’ll spin up this disc and listen to the fun unfold right away. We’re guessing the first track is new, and that the second track MIGHT be the one that was recorded and intended for release with the theatrical version (the infamous mp3 player version). Hurry up, November!

• Those watching the newly released DVD of Feast will be surprised to see Jason Mewes’ character name has been changed from “Edgy Cat” as previously reported to, simply, himself (Jason Mewes). The film doesn’t do too bad with its budget, certainly showing limitations, but also throwing some really nasty violence and even a few laughs your way. Check it out.
• And hey, speaking of Mewes, It appears that he is the Honorary Festival Director of the 2006 International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival, October 27-29. He will be announcing one of his favorite films, plus other duties. Check it all out at the festival’s official site. He’s scheduled to be there Saturday night only right now. The festival takes place in Tempe, Arizona.
• Hey, we may as well make it a Mewes trifecta to kick off NewsBites today — He’s also seen in the trailer for a new flick called “Jack’s Law”. You’ll see him in the second half of the trailer. Looks like a small role. The low budget film stars genre favorite Danny Trejo.
• Myspace band page Mon Frere reveals Mallrats as their inspiration in a top five they ran recently:

• We’re told Wanda Sykes’ new special has already hit DVD — So look for it if you missed it or don’t have HBO. You can also her her voice in the animated animal flick “Over The Hedge”, out on DVD this week.

• We’re still working on confirming this, but sources say that Kevin will do his famous live Q&A at the University of Akron’s EJ Thomas Hall in Ohio this March. March 2, 2007 to be exact. Their website’s got tickets for sale already at the bargain price of $4.00 for students and $8.00 for everyone else.

At these prices, we’re betting this one is gonna sell out fast, especially with the word out. If you’re in the Akron area and want a night of fun in March 2007, you can’t go wrong. Plan for a trip in and get your tickets reserved today! We’ll have more details on this appearance as we can dig them up.

• The master of the audio download, Will Wilkins, hooks us up again — This time with audio from Kevin’s recent Opie & Anthony call-in. Stream away and enjoy:

• An article at CRACKED.COM features the five most absurd deleted scenes of all time. The #1 scene is from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, (along with a YouTube clip of this famous moment at their site):

Quite an honor, indeed. Thanks, “Cracked”.

• Looks like the IMDB’s gone ahead and set up the page for Kevin’s forthcoming, and yet untitled, horror film project. No info yet, though the user who set it up is predicting a 2008 release date, with Kevin and Jason both “rumored” cast members. Consider it all speculation, folks — But the horror project is one we’re certainly interested in, so here’s hoping some new info will slip soon, via this site, Kevin’s postings, or a Q&A session. Those of you attending the live DVD screenings next month — Ask!
• For those of you looking for Mewes’ character in the new Scarface game: Jay’s character looks like an Italian gangster. He pops up while doing a Downtown mission at Fidel’s Records. Apparently his character has stolen some tapes, and as Tony you must chase him down and kick the crap out of him in order to ge them back.
• Fans of the hilarious Wanda Sykes and her cameo in Clerks II can catch her new special “Sick and Tired” on HBO, Wed 2:50 AM EST and Sat 12:30 AM (very LATE Fri NIGHT).
• Among the other talents of Clerks’ Marilyn Ghigliotti – Budoir photography?!? Yessir! You can catch a segment on Skye Blu photography on Inside Edition tomorrow (Tuesday), focusing on boudoir photography and its new found popularity sweeping the nation. Skye Blu Photography was chosen as the sole photographer for the piece and have IE follow for 4 days as they showcase two brides’ experience with boudoir. Marilyn did the shoot for one of the brides.

• As you know, Kevin will be making a rare appearance in HAWAII later this month — And if we ever wished we were getting to cover an event, this sure would be it! Sure would be nice to escape this early cold snap we’re feeling here in the Northeast. At any rate, we’re sure hoping that Kevin’s fans in Hawaii (and those of you that love to travel) will be there for all the fun at the Louis Vuitton Hawaii Film Festival. Here’s the information on Kev-centric events:

The theater itself has 1400 seats, and we wanna PACK the place! So get those tix reserved, and GET THERE! As long as we’ve been running News Askew, almost 10 years now, this is the first appearance we can ever recall for Hawaii — And we have no idea when he’ll be back. If you’re on the island, or have the means to get there, we think this is something you just shouldn’t miss.

• Just a few more details on that Austin appearance for “Catch and Release” that we announced earlier this week.

Kevin is participating in a Q&A PANEL at the Austin Film Festival earlier the same day, 10/20, at the Driskill Hotel Ballroom. The time is 1:45 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and the title is “Writing the R-rated Comedy.” Sounds like a fun one.

The screening of Catch & Release is still scheduled for the 20th as well, at 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre followed by a Q&A with Susannah Grant (the director) and Kevin.

Of course, always check here for any updates in case of time or scheduling changes.

• Word has it that the big BC (that’s Buddy Christ) will appear in bobblehead form in the upcoming TLC documentary/reality series “The Monastery”, about five ordinary men living in a Benedictine monastery for forty days. One of the participants brings the figure with him to keep in his room. He points it out to the camera in the first episode and mentions it by name, and it often appears with him in his “video diary” moments where he talks to the camera. Watch for it on TLC.
• Check out a new interview with Jason Lee over at the Onion’s AV Club. The interview is very Earl-centric, but we still think you might dig it. Here’s a snippet:

• Salma Hayek produces and co-stars in the hit ABC sitcom “Ugly Betty”, now airing as part of their new fall season. The show’s getting high ratings and quite a bit of critical praise. Thursdays on ABC.