• Film fans and aspiring filmmakers ought to head to West Chester, PA this weekend, which will host its first film festival. The schedule
  is too extensive to list (see it at www.westchesterfilmfestival.com), but keep in mind that short films will be screened in two-hour blocks for $7 a
  ticket.

Two days of free workshops are on tap one of which features Rob “Ratface” Holtzman, View
Askew’s production designer extraordinaire from Chasing Amy and on. We’re sure he’d love to meet some fans, he’s always been most kind and generous with
his time when we’ve had the pleasure of his company.

• Another UK publication titled “Uncut” features a nice little sidebar with Kevin in their latest issue. As most of us here Stateside
  can’t get this book, we’ve got a nice little scan for ya. Click away.
• The Winnipeg Sun gives high marks to View Askew’s 2 October DVD releases, Clerks X and Jersey Girl, in this blurb:

• Here’s the upcoming November airdates for Jay & Bob on Comedy Central. It’s been confirmed that the late night showings HAVE been
  uncut and unedited, so choose carefully (the TV sanitized version of the flick isn’t near as entertaining or well-produced as ABC’s Mallrats cut,
  however).

• It’s always neat to see a different style of artwork take on the Askewniverse. Chad Blakely has posted a
  new painting that features a lot of familiar characters in a slightly Askewed style all their own.

• Sorry for the late notice on this (though we believe the show does rerun later at night or early tomorrow), but Jason Mewes is scheduled to appear as a guest tonight on G4TechTV’s “The Screensavers”. The show initially airs at 7 PM EST. Catch it if you can! More updates in a bit…

• A great little piece ran in the Calendar Section of the widely read and respected Los Angeles Times…It’s called “Director is Drawn to Comics Business” and summaries Kevin’s recent opening of Secret Stash West in Westwood, CA. The article confirms Mewes’ employment in the store and frequent visits from Kevin himself. Click the scan above to see it all.

• Those of you following the Miramax/Disney saga or intrigued by the man that’s helped make View Askew’s films all possible, Harvey Weinstein, will find an excellent read in this new piece, “How Harvey Weinstein Survived His Midlife Crisis (For Now)” from New York Metro. This is by far the most we’ve seen on the man, and a very interesting, informative, and well-written piece on one of the great supporters of independent filmmakers today. Recommended reading!

• The ‘Shoot’s got a TON of new material up that we think will be relevant to all News Askew readers — First up, check out that wonderful Halloween rendition of Jay and Bob on the front gateway page to the site. Nifty, eh?

Michael Dequina also treats us to a ton of new photos in his “A Night Out” column where he chronicles both the Stash Westwood opening ceremonies and that way cool Buena Vista DVD party from a few weeks back. Scroll on down for bunches of photos and new commentary.

• Popular View Askew composer JAMES L. VENABLE is performing at THE SUNSET ROOM on October 9th – that’s THIS SATURDAY at 8:30pm. For those of you in the L.A. area that would like to attend, go to www.screamingfan.com (”news” on the home page) and RSVP to get on the DISCOUNT list… only $7.00 cover gets you in for the whole night at this very cool club. Tell Jim we sent ya!
• Drew Struzan, who’s known for his original art that is the wonderful Mallrats poster (among many, many other amazingly photorealistic film posters) has a new book coming out, showcasing these works. He’ll be at LA Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention on December 12th. Sadly, it seems Drew can only sign copies of the book there, though perhaps you can catch him in a generous moment pre or post-signing and get a Mallrats poster signed or something. At any rate, the book’s bound to be full of coolness, and it’s a great chance to meet this legend.

• A new series from the Biography Channel, featuring today’s hottest film directors, titled “Action!”, will feature Kevin on tomorrow night’s program, premeiring at 11:30 PM ET/PT. Here’s the write-up:

Remember, that’s TOMORROW, TUESDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 5th, on the Biography Channel! Don’t miss it.

• So why’s this here at News Askew, you probably asked, after reading that headline? Well, as you may or may not know, Kevin recorded a commentary track for the new director’s cut of this excellent film with director Richard Kelly (whom Kevin is filming “Southland Tales” with sometime soon). This disc is currently available ONLY in Region 2 of the world (for UK DVD players), and thusly, we don’t have it stateside (and who knows if/when we ever will get it, at least with this commentary track, as no announcement has yet been made). One viewer checks in with a capsule review of the disc, which we thought might interest you.

Just to chime in with a few notes on the superb new UK Donnie Darko DVD. The Richard Kelly and Kevin Smith commentary is excellent, its a slow starter but once things get going they rarely stop, the guys actually have to stop talking when the final credit rolls as they run out of time.

Just as importantly though, as promised Kevin got through a whole load of questions from the guys and gals on the board, most of the good or just plain bizarre stuff was asked and this particular Q&A section of the commentary actually takes over about half of the film. Certainly one for you guys to import as this 2 disc DVD is very UK specific so I can’t imagine a US release any time soon.

Certainly sounds like it’s time to dial up the ‘ol import DVD website and place an order…Pick of a “Shaun of the Dead” while you’re at it!

• Pop Culture website “Forces Of Good” presents an extended installment called “Kingdom Askew”. The article takes a fan’s point of view at Kevin’s contributions and loyal legions, namely, the online fans (hey, that’s YOU!). Here’s a small snippet from the piece:

Read the entire thing, which uses several users and quotes from “TheBoard”, at Forces Of Good.

• More bits on the Star Wars TV show: Babylon 5creator J. Michael Straczynski has expressed interest in the showrunning gig. JoBlo also posted a small blurb regarding Kevin’s potential rumored involvement in the project.
• Boondoggle’s tune “Stalking Jason Lee” is airing on radio stations KRCC and KTCL in Colorado. Check out the lyrics at their official site. The track appears on their new album “Barfly”.
• UK fans: HMV is selling the Evening With Kevin Smith DVD at half price atA39.99 in its current sale. If you don’t have a region 1 player and didn’t pick up the signed disc from us, here’s a chance at a cheap Region 2 option.
• An astute fan checking out Jon Peters’ section at the wonderful IMDB site took notice that Kevin’s famous Superman story has become part of his biography . How about that?
• The Kevin storyline continues over at webcomic Hayt-N-Auggie with Kevin appearing (slightly offscreen) in the latest episodes (check previous and future comics as there’s always new episodes going up, the most current being on the front page).
• Score yet another positive review for Clerks X on DVD. This one comes to us from Texas A&M’s “The Battalion”:

If you didn’t order yet, DO IT NOW! This is an absolute must-have for any View Askew fan.

• The always amusing “Rewinders” cartoon in Video Store Magazine chalks up a Clerks reference from a very Randal-esque clerk in the latest edition. Check it out above.

• And while we’re throwing images in your face, how about a look at the design of the new skateboard design graphic by Billy Marks? Look familiar? Catch ya next update. Thanks for stopping on by.

• UnderGround Online has blown the lid off the joint with a HUGE page dubbed a “Super Feature”,
  and SUPER it sure is! At their page, you’ll find reviews of both the Clerks X and Jersey Girl DVDs, a new interview with Kevin, cast interviews from
  the Westwood signing, AND a ton of exclusive photos. There’s even a poll asking your favorite View Askew flick. WOW! There’s so much to read, that we
  have no idea idea how to even summarize it all. Here’s just a few select clips from a TON of new, fascinating material:

If we ever recommended surfing away to another page for a story, this one’s worth your valuable time. Don’t miss it.

• To help celebrate Daredevil’s 40th Anniversary, the webmaster of manwithoutfear.com spent the last month getting in touch with as many past and present Daredevil creators as he could. Why? To get them to answer one question: “What did it mean to you personally and professionally to work on Daredevil?”

You can read ALL the answers at the site.

• Godiva is sponsoring a charity auction that will buy you and seven of your closest friends dinner with Affleck prepared
  by a famous chef. Proceeds from the auction benefit The Ataxia Telangiectasia Children’s Project. Here’s details:

Click to visit ebay and view these auctions.