Just got back from Jersey a few hours ago. Got to spend about forty eight hours there. Nothing’s changed.

Found the building that’s going to be home to the Askew Institute. It’s pretty sweet, and it’s right on Broad St. (which means no more hard-to-follow directions to the Stash). If things procede as planned, we should be in our new digs within six months.

Mewes and I signed about six hundred ‘Clerks/Oni Double Feature’ comics while we were there, which leads into my next thought…

I read the thread on the other board (no – not the ‘Trix’ fiasco; the signed comics one), and I have some thoughts.

First off, people need to read a tad more closely: we’re not selling the ‘Clerks’ comic for ten bucks through the Stash. In fact, you can walk in and buy one for cover price, or call the order hotline, and ask for one (unsigned) for cover price as well (plus shipping and handling).

No folks – we’re selling the SIGNED comics for ten bones.

They’re signed by me (the writer) and Jay (just because he’s Jay).

As for Kurt Busiek (the writer) signing his books for free, I say “Bully for Kurt Busiek.”

I, too, will sign anything placed in front of me (just like Kurt).

Ask the folks who caught me at the Stash this weekend.

Ask the folks who approach me anywhere in public.

Ask the folks who have sent me stuff (pics, magazine articles, etc.) at the office (when they include a SASE).

Ask the thousand or so folks who showed up at Golden Apple last week.

Now, I urge you to flip through your Diamond Previews Catalogue (this month’s edition) to page 256. You’ll find a company called Dynamic Forces, who exclusively sell signed comics (ones that are coming out that month) at $15 to $20.

And while I won’t bet the farm on it, I think I recall seeing a few Busiek titles in their solicitations over the last few years. I could be wrong, but I think they’ve offered something of his at one point or another.

Am I bashing Dynamic Forces or Busiek? Heavens no. I’m just pointing out that it’s not all that uncommon. The onl thing uncommon about it is that we’re charging five bucks less than the average.

And still, some bitch.

To that bitching, I say “Don’t buy it, man.”

I don’t know what else to tell you on the subject…

Except that if you actually go to the Stash, we only charge seven apiece for the books (Walt’s idea being it’s extra incentive to visit the store; incentive if you live nearby, maybe, I say).

Alright – enough of that.

Touching on this building again…

It’s going to be sweet. The store up front, and the office in back – all under one roof, with lots and lots of space.

Especially wall-space (important to a framing freak like myself).

There may be more Mtv news in the coming weeks – stuff that’ll make some folks smile, and some folks shudder.

There was a great piece about the comics and the store in the NY Daily News today. If someone knows how to find this stuff, link it to the board, please.

Not much else to report. Things get reeeeeeeaaaaaaal intense on the ‘Dogma’ front this week, as we begin our countdown to the shoot (me and Mewes go into recording studio within the next two weeks, for you-know-what).

And speaking of recording news: Kim Loughran recorded a song last week, which I had the pleasure of hearing this weekend.

Being that it’s not my news to share, all I’ll say is this:and I thought *I* had all the talent in the family.

From Books to Film
Kevin Smith’s not just
a hot director & screenwriter
By ED TAHANEY
Daily News Staff Writer
Filmmaker Kevin Smith keeps a framed letter from an ex-girlfriend’s mother on his desk. It reads: “Kevin Smith will never be a famous writer because he lacks the drive, but I wish him well anyway.”
But unlike his signature character, Silent Bob, Smith is no slacker. The writer and director of the critically acclaimed 1997 hit “Chasing Amy” has proven critics, cynics and even an ex-girlfriend’s mom wrong.
The very busy Smith, who bounced back with “Chasing Amy” after critics blasted and audiences shunned his sophomore effort, “Mallrats,” has recently directed two commercials for Coca-Cola and a couple of shorts for MTV. He has also written several screenplays, including “Superman Lives” and “The Six Million Dollar Man,” and he’s working on a new “Fletch” script for producer Brian Grazer (“Liar Liar”).
The ultimate underground-director-gone-big-time also co-executive-produced the Oscar-nominated “Good Will Hunting” with regular production partner Scott Mosier and is in pre-production for “Dogma,” a religious comedy starring the red-hot Ben Affleck and Matt Damon along with George Carlin, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek and Chris Rock. And now, this young maverick is ready to tackle the world of comic books with the debut of “Clerks. (The Comic Book).”
Not a bad list of credits for a 27-year-old from Red Bank, N.J., a hip little town in the heart of Monmouth County.
“I’m just a writer who happens to direct,” says the film-school dropout.
Smith made his first film in 1994 while working the late shift at a Quick Stop in the tiny town of Leonardo, N.J. “Clerks” — a hilarious look at a day in the life of a convenience-store employee — achieved international success and won a trophy at the Sundance Film Festival.
His edgy films — pure suburban noir, peopled by artists, babes, geeks and slackers — are constructed like inside jokes, all interconnected and interwoven with self-references and “Star Wars” trivia.
True to the spirit of his movies, Smith enjoys the sleepy scene of Red Bank. The offices of this production company, View Askew, sit on Broad St., a few blocks from his comic-book store, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. Though his work would most logically take him to L.A., he prefers working on the East Coast.
“There’s a different kind of energy it takes to live in Los Angeles than New York,” he says between puffs on a menthol cigarette at a crowded diner. Although considerably thinner and more animated than his on-screen persona, Silent Bob, Smith places an order for scrambled egg whites and diet Coke, and adds, “I’m not a real social guy — I don’t drink or party.”
Instead, he prefers to concentrate on his first love, comics, and will pen a four-issue “Daredevil” story for the ailing Marvel Comics. A dream gig would be to write a “Batman” or “Green Lantern” project. Until then, owning his own comic-book store seemed like the obvious thing for the comics cultist to do (Smith sold his own collection to help finance the production of “Clerks,” and bought it back when the film became a hit.)
The store, open for more than a year, is filled with the latest comics, movie memorabilia, posters, games and action figures. Looking for a Slave Girl Princess Leia, an Anatomically Correct Jabba the Hutt or other hard-to-find collectibles? Smith the shop owner may be able to help hard-core collectors. He opines that the medium hasn’t gotten a fair shake: “It’s like you get treated like such an absolute b— for being a comic-book fan. People can’t process that if you still read comics beyond a certain age — they think there must be something wrong with you.”
And while comics continue to be an important subject in his movies, Smith takes it a step further this week with the debut of “Clerks. (The Comic Book).” Borrowing heavily from his films, the chatty comic book offers the continuing misadventures of super slackers Dante and Randal (the clerks from Smith’s first film) as well as cameos by Jay, the long-haired, blunt-toking, loud-mouthed two-bit dope dealer, and Silent Bob, the mostly quiet, Yoo-Hoo-sipping, chain-smoking sidekick Smith has portrayed in his three movies.
Smith’s dual careers also meet head-on in “Superman Lives,” the highly publicized screenplay he wrote for Warner Bros. Tim Burton, who’s revamping some of Smith’s work, is set to direct, with Nicolas Cage to star as the Man of Steel. Production is set to begin this summer.
In the meantime, there is “Dogma,” a tale about two fallen angels attempting to reenter Heaven. In the film, Jason Mewes and Smith (as Silent Bob once again) are prophets; Affleck and Damon play angels. Carlin recently signed on to play a cardinal, and Rock will take on the role of the little-known 13th Apostle.
“It’s basically about organized religion versus faith and spirituality,” Smith says. “The script was influenced by a lot of comics that do humor about religion, everyone from George Carlin to Sam Kinison to Bill Cosby . . . and comic books that deal with the supernatural, like Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman.’ ”
So, will the man who almost earned an NC-17 rating for “Clerks” offend many with “Dogma”?
“It’s pro-God, and I hope people won’t take it the wrong way,” he says sincerely. Emma Thompson was originally cast as God, but backed out to do another project. “It was too bad,” Smith says. With production starting next month in Pittsburgh, he’s still looking for a replacement. “Casting for God is no small feat.”