• An excellent piece on Kevin, Clerks X, and the upcoming Clerks sequel appears at CNN
  today. They’ve conducted a new interview with the man, so we’re got a few new quotes in this piece along with some fresh info. Here’s a few choice passages
  fer ya:

Don’t miss the entire article at CNN!

• View Askew sure does make the rounds in the press these days, with the sequel news and the DVDs flying off shelves, it’s hard to keep up
  with all of this stuff. Nothing but praise comes across the newsdesk today, with more from across the web:

• Box Office Prophets give mad praise to both the products in their report
  today:
  For anyone who has ever seen yet another magazine cover with Jennifer Lopez on it and thought: “DIE!”: Jersey Girl (2004)

  Mostly as a result of the incredible press attention on the relationship with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, Jersey Girl was buried under the weight of the relationship. As a result of their on-screen relationship in the film, neither critics nor audiences could get past the Ben-J. Lo aspect of the film, which is a real shame, particularly considering that it’s actually a pretty good movie. I’ll not attempt to make a case for greatness, few could, but the simple fact that something happening off-screen overshadowed what was happening on-screen, good or bad, is a shame. Jersey Girl is not a perfect movie, but Kevin Smith’s writing, as always, is interesting and the acting performances are pretty outstanding. Yes, even Ben Affleck. As with most View Askew-related releases, the DVD features on this disc are excellent, particularly considering the film’s lukewarm reception. On the disc, you’ll find an audio commentary with writer/director Kevin Smith and Affleck, as well as another one with Smith, producer Scott Mosier, and special guest Jason Mewes. Kevin Smith’s commentary tracks are always first-rate, so the presence of two makes this a worthy buy. Expect extreme candor on his feelings about the film. In addition, you’ll find interviews with cast and crew; Smith’s “Roadside Attractions” segments from the Tonight Show and featurettes. Jersey Girl isn’t the best movie of the year, but it’s certainly underrated.

  For people wondering if there’s ever a time when it’s okay to buy a DVD “special edition” after there’s already been a “special edition”: Clerks (3-Disc Anniversary Edition) (1994)

  Good things about Jersey Girl aside, if you’re only going to buy one View Askew DVD this week, this 10th Anniversary edition of Clerks is the way to go. It’s extremely rare that a “more special edition” of a previously released “special edition” will get my approval, but this is certainly it. Clerks: 10th Anniversary Edition is the DVD Pick of the Week, running away.

  Clerks itself is certainly familiar to many people ten years after originally being released, but as with most of writer/director Kevin Smith’s work, the DVD is an outstanding addition to the legacy of the film. From the original release of Clerks, which included deleted scenes, and a commentary track (featuring a drunk Jason Mewes passing out at the beginning and waking up near the end of the film), Smith’s movies have gotten progressively better treatment on DVD (the medium they end up making most of their money in). Smith, a writer who mostly uses his own personal experiences (and thoughts) as a way of publicly having no inner monologue, went from bored convenience store clerk to $27,000-in-debt filmmaker to, believe it or not, international stardom with the release of the film. Clerks is not particularly impressive technically (a $27,000 budget and no experience will do that for you), but it’s notable, as with most of Smith’s films, for dialogue. There really would be no other way to follow the boring day in the life of two clerks unless they were impressively verbal and willing to express their opinions. Having that gift has become Smith’s meal-ticket, and the subject matter is so close to his heart that he’ll explore it again in a sequel, The Passion of the Clerks, out next year.

  The 10th Anniversary set features literally three different versions of the film, all with separate features. Disc one is basically a re-print of the original DVD release (with original 1995 commentary track referenced above), while disc two features the original cut of the film with an all-new audio commentary featuring Smith, Mewes, producer Scott Mosier, and stars Jeff Anderson and Brian O’Halloran. Also included on discs two and three are deleted scenes; trailers; Jay and Silent Bob’s MTV commercials; outtakes; photo gallery; articles and reviews; the screenplay (via DVD-ROM); a 10th Anniversary Q&A; original Kevin Smith journals; Clerks auditions; and featurettes. It’s an absolutely outstanding set and the DVD Pick of the Week.

• The Augusta Free Press reviews Jersey Girl (the film) and says some very nice stuff.
• And…Straight B’s across the board from Digitally Obsessed on the Jersey Girl DVD,
  who enjoyed the film as well as the release’s multitude of extras.

• The clip from today’s “Extra” (filmed last nite at the new Stash, including an interview with Kev) is online, courtesy of
  NonsenseGraphics. The clip is in AVI format, so most media players should be able to bring it down (of
  course, until you all bring their server down first!).
• Reports are flooding in that the Clerks X DVD set is selling like crazy and is in short supply across the country! Thanks to everyone
  for picking up the disc and making it a BIG seller.
• The Arizona Daily Star gives a small blurb to the Clerks X DVD today.
• Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio will be showing free View Askew films in their student untion every week, starting
  September 15th, Wedensdays at 9:30 PM. It’s going chronologically from “Clerks” to “Jersey Girl” for six weeks:

If it’s like other campuses, we imagine you could just show up and watch the flicks for free, student or no. They’ll likely just project off DVD.

• Comments Kevin made on yesterday’s Kevin & Bean program seem to indicate he’s still very
  much off the table as the director of “Green Hornet”.
• Alright, that’ll finally do it for today. Whew, if this keeps up it’ll be time for the no-doze soon! Thanks for stopping by today,
  folks. Until next time…

• Askewniverse fans across the globe rejoiced today as the long-awaited Clerks X and Jersey Girl DVDs hit store shelves everywhere in the
  US. Importers have started shipping their copies as well, so those of you with all-region players should be happily watching them with us soon, as well.
  Jersey Girl marks the arrival of Kevin’s sixth film in 10 years to the DVD format. It’s full of features, and worth a purchase, especially since a special
  edition release of said film is currently up in the air. Clerks X is our largest DVD release yet. It celebrates the 10th anniversary of the film that
  started it all, and contains our favorite DVD extras of all time – Including the amazing “Snowball Effect” documentary.

You can read our Jersey Girl DVD review and Clerks X DVD reviews if you missed their prior postings. In short, you need these
DVDs. No doubt about it.

Fans near Westwood, Califoria are particularly ecstatic today, as they’re now enjoying the release party of the DVDs with a signing by Kevin in the freshly
open Secret Stash West. The release party runs today from 5 to 10 PM PST, and should be in full gear by the time you read this. We’re sure to have tons
of photos and reports from that scene in our next update (you lucky bums!) but in the meantime, let’s see how the Clerks X / JG buzz is hopping around the
web today:

• The widely-read DVDTalk posted an outstanding, positive review of Clerks X. Here’s a
  sample of the good stuff they had to say:
  If you never thought you’d see the day when Clerks earned four stars for video and audio quality, think again. While it’s true that the film’s grainy black and white transfer can’t compete with major studio releases, let me again direct your attention to the film’s low budget. The decision to shoot in black and white was purely financial (as Kevin Smith has verified on many occasions), and the equipment wasn’t top quality, either. Even with these limitations (and considering the production team was still learning the ropes), Clerks isn’t an ugly-looking movie. The excessive grain is as much a part of the film as Jay and Silent Bob, and this new DVD release keeps every imperfection to a strict minimum. Blacks are solid, contrast is surprisingly good, and there’s not much dirt to speak of either. In short, this anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen transfer is about as good as Clerks will ever look on DVD, and anyone who stays away from this film based on said imperfections should go fornicate themselves.

  Likewise, the film’s audio quality was never really anything to write home about, but this DVD really makes lemonade out of lemons. This brand new 5.1 mix won’t really test the limits of your home theater system, but it really makes for a satisfying presentation of the film itself. In short, most of the action is anchored squarely in the front channel, but the frequent uses of music in the film really open up the soundstage nicely. While it’s unfortunate that the film’s original mono mix hasn’t been included (unless you speak French), this won’t likely upset most Clerks enthusiasts. The dialogue is more easily heard and the music has more punch, and that’s never a problem in my book. Also, it’s worth noting that optional English and Spanish subtitles have also been provided, as well as an Enhanced Playback Track that will be covered shortly.

• The Detriot Free Press weighs in on both releases (more so on Clerks) with a mixed
  review, generally positive, if not a bit jaded.
• “Redlands Daily Facts” runs a new article/interview with Kevin on his
  love for home video/DVD and today’s new releases. Here’s a couple select clips:
  When director Kevin Smith calls himself “a glorified straight-to-video filmmaker who gets a large theatrical window,’ he’s not being totally disingenuous.

  Smith knows he’s improved as a director in the 10 years between his first release, the rough-edged, cheeky “Clerks,’ and his most-recent film, the kinder and gentler romantic comedy “Jersey Girl.’ But he also knows his strengths and likes.

  “I’m a better storyteller now in that I don’t solely rely on dialogue anymore,’ says Smith from his home in Los Angeles, adding that the look of the film depends primarily on who’s shooting it. “I’m all for pretty- looking pictures, but since ‘Clerks’ was my first movie … and got favorable critical notices as a movie that looked like hell but still worked, I’m kinda still in that mind-set…’

• “Mickey News”, the official Walt Disney news site, runs a nice press release for
  Clerks X today. Neat little site they got there.
• High marks for the Jersey Girl DVD come in from JoBlo.com today. All of the extras are praised, and the disc is
  highly recommended as the 6th Kevin Smith movie in your DVD collection.
• The Detriot News gives Clerks X an “A”, stating “Few films deserve this much adulation. This one does.”
• In honor of the Clerks X release today, web comic Hayt-n-Auggie ran a tribute to the film.

We’ll see you again soon with news surrounding the DVD release party and more…

• Hot Dog magazine contains a new feature on Kevin. It includes a full page shot of the man and a full page introduction to the article,
  followed by 3 pages of his comments on such topics as the Mallrats stink-palm, how his life has changed, the response to Jersey Girl, and the end of the
  Askewniverse. It’s a must-read 10 year retrospective that’s comprised totally of all new quotes. We’ve got the complete scans for you just above, click
  away and enjoy! Thanks to Ross in the UK for getting these over to us.

• FPS, the magazine of animation, has taken an in-depth look at the Clerks Animated Series on DVD. The 3-page article covers the controversy that transpired
  as shows began to air, and goes on to give high praise to the extensive 2-disc set. A sample:

Read the complete. Clerks: TAS article at the FPS site.

• Blockbuser UK reports a September 27th DVD release for Jersey Girl in that part of the world.

Sites such as Amazon uk have the title listed as a certificate ‘12′ (can only be purchased by those over 12). Even the boxart in the image here
displays the certificate but it seems more likely the dvd will be a ‘15′ certificate. A quick look at the BBFC website shows that one of the commentary
tracks has been given a ‘15′ certificate. Unlike the USA, all DVD extras in the UK have to be rated and in many cases, due to extra content, DVD releases
have a higher certificate than the theatrical presentation of a film.

There are no listings for ‘Clerks X’ at the BBFC, or region 2 only DVD sites so it seems the UK will yet again not have access to a domestic DVD version of
Clerks and will again have to import. To date ,Clerks has never been released in the UK on DVD. Many UK sites such as www.cd-wow.com and www.playusa.com
have the DVD available at £15.99, though potential buyers have to remember that thier equipment will have to be able to play region 1 NTSC DVDs

• Currently at Blockbuster Video, Kevin is the feature of their trivia on the video loop running in stores. The question asks what items he
  had to sell to make Clerks. It gives the answer (which you should know!) then plays a commercial for Jersey Girl.
• Ohio’s Beacon Journal gives high marks to Jersey Girl and it’s DVD (in stores tomorrow!):

• Yep, it’s still making the news rounds, and while there’s not a lot of new info, we just figured we’d let ya see how the big Clerks sequel
  news is sweeping the nation:

• Esquire Magazine’s October 2004 issue is the Photo issue. Under the Hideously Invasive Photographs of Famous People, they say: “We gave cameras to five
  celebrities and assigned them to shoot themselves and the things that make them happy, horny, angry, amused…”. Kevin was one of those selected to shoot,
  and he treats us to a few words and photos of those he holds dearest. Click the page and enjoy.

• Here’s a site we don’t believe we’ve ran before, but one we enjoy — THE TRACER TIMELINE is a complete
  timeline of the Clerks animated series, incorporating such things as birth years, significant events, and more. Check it out!
• Video Store Magazine has an article running on next week’s release of Clerks
  X and Jersey Girl to DVD. Nothing really new here, looks like info gathered up from other interviews.
• Kevin chats with TV Guide Online about Ben & Jen, Green Hornet, and must-own DVDs in
  this short interview.

• And speaking of TV Guide, here’s a scan of a Jersey Girl DVD blurb that ran featuring Kevin in the print TV Guide magazine this week.
• AICN has a report on the Buena Vista event containing a few tidbits that we don’t recall
  reading anywhere else:

• We imagine these stories may continue for days and more and more web outlets and press sources are picking up on the Clerks sequel news.
  Here’s today’s selections: