January 5:
Red Bank, NJ hosts Vulgarthon ’98, a 12 hour, five movie marathon for Askew
fans. The movies screened included Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, A Better
Place and Drawing Flies. Fans were also treated to question and answer
sessions by some View Askew dignitaries including Brian O’Halloran, Jason Lee
and, of course, Kevin Smith.
January 11:
News Askew starts of the New Year well by recording its’ 50,000th hit.
January 12:
The stars of Good Will Hunting appear on the Oprah Winfrey show to promote their film. Ben Affleck,
Matt Damon and Robin Williams spend the entire hour with the talk show host.
January 14:
Kevin makes an appearance at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. The audience is treated with the usual
Q & A that Kevin always gives and are shown outtakes from Chasing Amy. They were also among the
very first to get a chance to see what Kevin’s MTV short spots would look like, as Kevin gave them a
sneak peek at two of the eight shorts.
January 19:
While the lone bid for an award from Chasing Amy fell short when Joey Lauren Adams failed to take
home the Best Supporting Female award, Ben and Matt managed to take home an award for the Best
Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting.
January 21:
The Oni Doiuble Feature hits newsstands across the country. The issue features the first ever comic
appearance of Jay and Silent Bob in a story written by Kevin, with artwork by Matt Wagner. The issue
sells extremely quickly and has since gone into a third printing.
February Issue:
The February issue of Spin magazine features two View Askew folk in its’ listing of the “Spin Indie 50.”
Ben is listed at # 17 while Kevin follows right behind at # 18.
February 7:
Kevin arrives in Pittsburgh to begin preparation for a late March start of filming on Dogma.
February 9:
Kevin’s Coke commercials start to see some significant air time.
February 17:
The “Jay & Silent Bob Video Stash” premiers on MTV. Featured on the hour-long special are seven of
the eight shorts that Kevin wrote and directed, the long awaited “Build Me Up Buttercup” of the
Mallrats soundtrack that Kevin directed and numerous scenes of Kevin and friends critiquing videos
from inside Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.
February 18:
Clerks: the Comic Book # 1 ships to comic stores and becomes an instant sellout. Written by Kevin
and drawn by Jim Mahfood, it deals with Dante and Randal’s search for Star Wars toys. It is now on
its’ 4th printing and was ranked the # 10 comic of the year by Wizard Magazine.
February 21:
Kevin and Jim make an appearance at the Golden Apple comic store in Los Angeles to promote the
release of Clerks # 1. All attendees are given a special bag to commemorate the event, and are of
course given the chance to have Kevin and Jim sign their copies of the comic.
March 5:
The View Askew Web Board is closed down due to repeated off-topic posting and flaming.
March 11:
The Web Board re-opens again.
Also today, News Askew celebrates another milestone. They had their 100,000th hit.
March 15:
Salma Hayek, Matt and Ben arrive in Pittsburgh to start rehearsing for Dogma.
March 17:
Ben and Matt answer a whole slew of questions while hanging out with Kevin and playing SEGA Hockey.
March 18:
The entire cast of Dogma, minus just George Carlin, rehearses for the quickly approaching start of
filming.
March 19:
Kevin again brings some guests into the Web Board to answer questions, this time it’s Chris Rock and
Linda Fiorentino.
March 21:
At the Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles, Chasing Amy takes home 2 of the 3 awards it is
nominated for. Winning was Kevin for Best Screenplay and Jason Lee for Best Supporting Actor. Joey
Lauren Adams again lost out for Best Supporting Actress. Kevin’s acceptance speech caused a bit of
stir among some.
March 23:
While Chasing Amy was shut out of the Academy Award nominations, Good Will Hunting was up for 9
awards. They took home 2 out of the 9, winning for Best Supporting Actor -Robin Williams, and Best
Original Screenplay -Ben and Matt. After the “Golden Boys” acceptance speech, the web Board
erupted with criticism because they forgot to mention Kevin. Eventually Ben wrote a letter that went on
the board apologizing for leaving him out.
March 27:
The first day of filming in Pittsburgh for Dogma.
March 30:
A very nice article appears in the Life Section of USA Today about Kevin and View Askew. The
article is written by a woman that Kevin describes as “the lovely Jennifer Schwalbach.”
March 31:
Kevin and crew film the “Mexican Restaurant scenes” for Dogma.
April 1:
Janeane Garafalo stops by the set and makes a small cameo as “Liz” in the “Abortion Clinic” shoot.
April 9:
Kevin, Ben, Matt and a whole bunch of extras spend the evening shooting on a bus. Kevin later says he
had to yell directions back to everyone because the camera blocked the path to the back of the bus.
April 13:
Kevin finally answers the question “whatever happened to Randal from Clerks?” Jeff Anderson (Randal)
stops in to make a cameo appearance in the “Gun Shop” scene, effectively ending the so-called “feud”
between the director and actor.
April 15:
Chris Rock begins his stint as “Rufus the 13th apostle” just as George Carlin wraps his scenes playing
“Cardinal Glick.”
Also today, an amazing article detailing the life and times of Kevin Smith appears in the local Pittsburgh
magazine, InPittsburgh. Written by Stephen Seagle, Kevin makes the cover of the magazine with a cool
painting of him as Silent Bob and the headline “Silent Bob Speaks!”
April 16:
Kevin and crew begin a 3 day long shoot on the “Train” set that was built specifically for Dogma.
Warner Brothers announces that the “Superman Lives” project has been indefinitely put on hold, after
much concern about the skyrocketing budget and lack of a strong script. This announcement came after
director Tim Burton told the studio he wanted to change the script submitted by Kevin. When Kevin
heard the news he posted a simple message on the Web Board saying “I calls it karma Mr. Burton.”
Ironically, Warner Brothers decided to pull the plug just weeks after it had been announced that
Pittsburgh (home of Bearclaw/Dogma) would substitute for Metropolis in the film.
April 17:
Rumors of Casey Affleck (Ben’s little brother) being dead surface on the board and cause some
concern for Ben when he finds out. After Kevin read it on the board he told Ben, who immediately
called the set of “200 Cigarettes” where Casey was filming and revealed it to not be true.
April 18:
Everyone except Kevin and Jason spends part of the day getting their pictures taken in costume for the
Miramax crew. The photos are to be used later for the poster and the promotion of the film.
April 21:
Some familiar extras appear in the “Airport” scenes including Brad and Chris from News Askew and
Gwyneth Paltrow (hiding in the background). Also, the name of the airline used for the film supposedly
has some decidedly “Askew-like” sounding name.
April 22 -24:
Filming of the “Mooby Boardroom” scene takes place.
April 24:
Residents of Pittsburgh get the lucky chance to see Ben being lifted into the sky by a crane as they film
Bartleby (with wings) descending to the earth from the church.
April 26:
Kevin makes an appearance at the Pittsburgh Comic Con to answer some questions and sign some
autographs. Also in attendance were Jim Mahfood, Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti and the folks from
the Secret Stash. During the Q & A Kevin states that he and Robert Rodriguez may team up
somewhere down the road for a “real superhero movie.” Then, Kevin stays for well over 4 hours and
signs a ton of autographs for fans who waited in line.
April 30:
News Askew celebrates its’ 1 year birthday.
May 1:
Matt Damon wraps up his work on Dogma.
May 3:
Kevin fuels the “God controversy” even more with a post describing the actress (sort of) who will be
playing the part. Kevin describes how Linda Fiorentino told Kevin that she understood why Kevin
picked this actress to play God, because “God is who you love.”
May 4 – 8:
Kevin and crew film the “Finale” scenes in New Kensington, PA.
May 8:
Ben wraps his time on the Dogma set, and leaves Kevin a picture of himself in his “wings” as a gift.
May 9:
Filming of Dogma continues as Kevin and crew film the “Golgothan.”
May 10:
Filming commences at the “Fast Food Restaurant.”
May 11 – 12:
Alan Rickman wraps as filming continues with the “Four Star Restaurant” shoot and the “Campfire”
shoot.
May 13:
Station X announces that it will be the official special effects company for Dogma.
May 14:
Shooting continues at the infamous “Church.”
May 18:
News Askew records another milestone with its’ 200,000th hit.
May 19:
Kevin and Jason Mewes record a certain tune that will be used for the flick. (Hey, hey, hey!!!)
Also today, Jason Lee wraps up as filming continues at the “Dormont Caf‚.”
May 20 – 25:
Kevin and crew film a long sequence at the “Strip Club” in McKee’s Port, PA.
May 28:
Salma Hayek and Alanis Morrisette wrap up. Kevin confirms that Alanis is in the flick but won’t answer
what part she is playing.
May 30:
Chris Rock wraps up after filming the “Fall of Rufus” shoot.
June 2:
Dogma wraps up all filming in Pittsburgh.
June 4:
Kevin and crew wrap up Dogma completely as they film the last (which ironically is the first) scene on
the boardwalk in Asbury Park, NJ.
June 5:
Kevin makes an appearance at Ohio State University and treats the audience to the first ever, public
look at Dogma. Kevin shows about 4 minutes of rough footage, along with his usual great Q & A.
June 5- 9:
Clerks is one of the films honored at the “Dockers Film Festival,” in San Francisco, CA. Kevin makes it
out to CA to accept and award and do a Q & A session. Jeff Anderson (Randal Graves) also stopped
by and sat in on the Q & A.
June 13:
The “Independent Film Channel” runs a 24 hour “Clerks Marathon” which includes various versions of
the flick including the cut ending that previously was only seen on the laserdisc.
June 16:
Editing starts on Dogma.
June 22 – 28:
Kevin takes a trip to Spain where he is treated to a screening of Mallrats and given an award. Kevin
posts upon his return that in Spain, Mallrats was a huge hit and the response to his visit was
overwhelmingly good.
June 28:
News Askew achieves its’ highest rank, # 2, on the “Global Internet Top 100.”
July 1:
“Jay and Silent Bob # 1” hits newsstands across the country and becomes the 3rd View Askew comic
success in 1998. Initial orders from Diamond Distributors place the book at #70 for the month, with an
initial printing by Oni Press of 60,000 books. It is currently in its’ 2nd printing.
Also, Ben hits the Web Board and answers a bunch of questions for the eager Board watchers.
July 2:
Controversy again hits the Web Board when “Mr. Showbiz” prints an interview with Ben about the
controversy that may surround the release of Dogma. Ben arrives on the Web Board to say that Mr.
Showbiz article misrepresented what he said and the two feud for several days.
July 18:
The new “registration” Web Board goes into effect, making posters register to have the privilege. This is
designed to eliminate a lot of the crap posts that have become far to common on the Board.
In addition, Kevin christens the new board by announcing that there will be a Mallrats: Special Addition
coming out sometime in the future. Ironically, Kevin says that it will be on DVD, a medium Kevin is not
particularly fond of. It is later announced that it will also be released on Laser Disc. Current plans are
for the Mallrats:SE to be released sometime in March or April of 1999.
July 19:
Kevin posts an update saying that he and Mosier are about 1 « hours into editing the first cut of
Dogma.
August 1:
News Askew records it’s 300,000th hit.
August 2:
Happy Birthday Kevin!!! Kevin turns 28 today.
August 5:
Kevin and Mosier continue to edit the first cut of Dogma, which clocks in now at 3 hours and 17
minutes.
August 13:
Kevin appears at the San Diego Comic Con and during one panel shows the audience a scene from
Dogma, the “Dinner Footage” with Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) and Jay and Silent Bob.
Also at the Comic Con, Graphitti Designs introduces the Jay and Silent Bob figures, based on designs
from Matt Wagner and the Oni Double Feature. 1,000 “Politically Correct” numbered variant figures
are offered at the Con and are packaged with two different variant covered editions of Jay and Silent
Bob # 1. The figures are later listed as the #6 Best Figures of 1998 by Wizard Magazine.
August 15:
Happy birthday Ben!!! Ben Affleck turns 26 today.
August 19:
The Dark Horizons movie website prints a big article about the supposed “Death of Jay” at the end of
Dogma. An unidentified source claims that he heard the character Jay will die at the end of Dogma,
which causes some debate on the Web Board and other internet sites. Kevin later tells Brad and Chris
of News Askew that the “reports of Jay’s death are greatly exagerrated.”
August 24:
Kevin makes a huge personal announcement to fans on the Web Board, sharing with us the good news
that he is A) in love with Jenn Swahlbach (USA Today. remember?) B) getting married, and C) going
to be a father.
August 25:
Chasing Amy finally is available for sell-through price.
And, the Daredevil “cyber-comic” (DD #0 to be precise) premiers at the Marvel web site.
August 29:
Mallrats (the PG-13 version) premiers on ABC and includes several scenes that were cut from the
theatrical release of the flick. It also includes an incredibly poor voice over for the Jay part, and
some.interesting substitutions for what was really said in some of the scenes.
September 1:
Kevin and Mosier finish the first cut of Dogma, which clocks in at just under 3 « hours.
September 9:
Daredevil #1 (the Marvel Knights version) hits the stands today, and sells out instantly despite Marvel
printing an extra 10,000 copies. Written by Kevin and drawn and inked by Joe Quesada and Jimmy
Palmiotti, the issue goes beyond all expectations for it.
Also, Kevin and Mosier begin editing Dogma down for a goal of about 2 « hours, so it can be shown
to Miramax.
September 16:
Kevin spends the day in New York City filming the Nike Commercials, which star Jason Mewes.
September 18:
Kevin’s long awaited appearance on “Space Ghost” finally airs, with Kevin and several other directors
trying to be the director of Space Ghost’s movie.
September 21:
Kevin makes an appearance on John Pierson’s “Split Screen,” which airs on the Independent Film
Channel and Bravo.
September 24:
Kevin announces that while there will be no comic “adaption” of Dogma, he will be writing a
Bartleby/Loki one-shot that should come out about the time the movie premiers. The one-shot will detail
the Angels fall from Heaven.
September 27:
Kevin tells Brad and Chris of News Askew that the “Fletch 3” project is officially dead.
September 30:
News Askew has its’ 400,000th hit.
October 2 -3:
Several of the principles from Mallrats including Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes and Kevin
Smith, get together at the Stash to record some interviews about the flick for the Mallrats: Special
Edition.
October 7:
Editing continues on Dogma as Kevin announces that film has been trimmed to about 2 hours and 45
minutes.
Daredevil #2 hits the stands sporting 2 covers, one by the Quesada/Palmiotti team, and one by J. Scott
Campbell (Gen 13 & Danger Girl) and Jimmy Palmiotti.
October 17:
Kevin, Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti appear at the “Words and Pictures Museum” in Boston,
Massachusetts where they sign autographs and talk about Daredevil and Marvel Knights.
October 21:
After a long delay due to various outside forces, Jay and Silent Bob #2 finally hits the stands and is
another overwhelming success for Kevin and the Oni crew. The issue features two ver funny non-askew
cameos and sports a Mike Allrod. uh, Allred cover.
October 25:
Mike Allred announces on his web site that he would be teaming up with Kevin to do draw a Bluntman
& Chronic story for the Oni Double Feature. This story is planned for sometime in the spring or summer
of 1999.
November 3:
Alanis Morrisette’s new album, “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie” debuts at number 1 on the
Billboard Music Charts.
November 4:
Daredevil #3 hits stands. It is the #12 most ordered comic according to the “Diamond Top 100.”
November 12:
Kevin does a Q & A appearance at the University of New Hampshire.
November 13:
Kevin and Mosier announce that they have reached their goal in terms of editing Dogma. This version,
clocking in at 2 hours and 31 minutes, will be shown to a test audience to determine what other changes
may need to be made.
Also, Kevin announces that he has been asked to be a juror for the upcoming Sundance Film
Festival.
November 17:
The “Star Wars: Episode 1” trailer premiers at theatres across the country. The wide release happens 3
days later (Nov. 20th), although Kevin posts that he was given a special screening by Fox while visiting
the coast on business.
November 22:
News Askew records its 500,000th hit.
November 23:
Kevin announces that 5 different companies are courting him to make “Clerks: The Animated Series” for
them. The series should premier next winter if all goes according to plan.
November 24:
The View Askew offices begin their move to new digs.
November 25:
Kevin begins his own move, this time to his first actual house, which he gloats has an indoor pool.
December Issue:
A nice article about Kevin appears in “Playboy,” including a very interesting story about Kim Loughran.
December 9:
Daredevil #4 arrives in stores.
December 15:
Fans in Philadelphia, PA are treated to a sneak preview of Dogma. The overall consensus (96%) loved
the flick, with the biggest complaint being that it ran a little bit long. Kevin, who is very happy with the
screening results, says that he and Mosier will go back and trim some of the extraneous dialogue and try
to cut the flick down to a more manageable 2 hours and 15 minutes or so.
December 23:
The “Clerks (Holiday Special” comic hits newsstands, featuring a beautiful cover by Art Adams and
interior work by Jim Mahfood. The story includes the return of Caitlin Bree, Willam (the Mallrats
version) and the first ever comic appearance of Vincent.
Also today, the Jay & Silent Bob (regular editions) are finally made available at local comic stores.
December Wizard 1998 Wrap-Up:
In the Wizard Magazine “End of the Year Wrap-up” (January 1999 cover date), View Askew and
Kevin receive a whole bunch of kudos, including:
1. Kevin finishes the year as the #3 “Hot Writer” (He jumps to #2 in the February issue).
2. The Jay & Silent Bob figures are named the 6th “Best Figures” of 1998.
3. Clerks #1 is listed as the 10th “Best Comic” of 1998.
4. Kevin is announced as the “Guest-of-Honor” at the 1999 WizardCon in Chicago.
There are all kinds of good things that are coming up in 1999 which should make the coming year even
better than 1998. Here’s a list of some of the things to look forward to:
Movies:
1. Obviously, the release of Dogma is the #1 priority at View Askew right now. The flick should
premier at Cannes in May, with a wide release sometime in the late summer/early fall. Although
it may play at some other festivals, none have been announced yet.
2. The premiere of Star Wars: Episode One. (not askew but hey. it’s Star Wars!)
Comics:
1. Bluntman & Chronic story in the Oni Double Feature, with art by Mike Allred (Madman).
2. A Loki/Bartleby one-shot to accompany the release of Dogma.
3. A possible series based on characters from Dogma. (As reported in Wizard #90)
4. Jay & Silent Bob #4
5. Daredevil #5-8, and Kevin’s return to the book at the end of the year
6. A possible run by Kevin on Green Arrow.
Events:
1. Kevin’s appearance as the “Guest-of-Honor” at the Wizard World Comic Con, July 17-19th.
2. A “Grand Opening” get together to celebrate the new digs for the Stash and the View Askew
offices.
3. Another Vulgarthon (Dogmathon?)
4. Some more appearances by Kevin and crew around the country
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