- Part TWO of Tech TV’s interview with Kevin is now available in streaming format at their web site. The interview made its debut late last week on “The Screensavers”. Part one
aired earlier in April, and is also available at that very same page. This seems strange, because it seems like Part 2 is totally with another interviewer
AND pre-Jersey Girl, so we’re not sure what’s going on quite there. If anyone’s seeing something different, or we’re doing something wrong, let us know.
Regardless, part 2 was interesting, if not a bit strange, as it was very tech-focused and obviously not something Kevin had a lot to say about. If the
REAL part 2 of the interview with Patrick shows up, we’ll let ya know.
Author Archive
View Askew / Graphitti @ Wiz Philly!
- As you probably know, a busy schedule is preventing Kevin from making it to WizardWorld Philly later this month, but we’ve got some good
news for ya anyway — View Askew and Graphitti Designs WILL be present with their famously busy booth, full of all the latest and greatest (as well as the
classic) Stash merchandise for your immediate purchase. Get pre-signed Kevin stuff, some of our just-released swag, and who knows what other surprises?
In past years, the likes of Walt, Bryan, Amy, Malcolm, and even O’Halloran have appeared at the booth — And heck, these two webmasters will probably
even be back there for some clerkin’ duty over the weekend. So stop by and say hi! You can find a full list of exhibitors HERE.
A Report From Anchorage…
- Kevin made what we believe is his northenmost appearance to date last night, in Anchorage, ALASKA. Kevin put on another marathon Q&A, this time running
5 and a half hours before he basically was too tired to continue. Kevin’s gotta be the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band of the public speaking
world. Anyway, here’s a report from a fan who was there, as we imagine those of you here in the main 48 weren’t taking the hike up for that one:
Hey guys just got back home from Kevin’s Q&A at UAA. It was great. It lasted about five and half hours, Kevin stayed until he pretty much fell asleep
while answering a question. A few highlights-
while answering a question. A few highlights-
– Kevin talked about his views on decriminalization of Marijuana (something that is on the November ballot in Alaska). Said it might as well be legal
since it really isn’t all that bad. Then he told a great story about the last time he got high. The moral of the story, don’t shit while you are
stoned.
– Mentioned something about shooting a film later this year, or should I say a movie since he was talking about HD. Said he is looking at shooting a movie
later this year on HD, no details other than that, but it could be something new.
– Some great audience members. The guy in a crazy zombie costume. The religious lady who didn’t really know who Kevin was. She didn’t know he
worte/directed anything, and didn’t know about any of his movies besides Dogma, of which she said she has to fast forward through the vulgar parts. Some
dude who doesn’t trust eBay because he got burned on a Fear Factory poster. The guy who mooned everybody and rambled on about his cable access show. The
annoying girl in a red dress whos boyfriend was sitting with another girl. And last but not least the guy who kept interupting Kevin.
So, looks like the hints are beginning on the next project, which might NOT be Green Hornet, but something smaller? We’re intrigued. More answers as we
uncover them (or, more than likely, Kevin continues to drop hints). Stay tuned.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Smithsonian magazine recently featured Red Bank, NJ as one of the top places to visit in the USA. Kevin features prominently in the
piece, which you can read by clicking the 2 scans above. You can also check out a blurb and a couple photos at the Smithsonian site. - Affleck’s speaking out on raising the
ridiculously low minimum wage here in the U.S. - Askew vet Joey Lauren Adams was spotted in North Little Rock, Arkansas this past weekend, mostly on Saturday, for the 100-Year Celebration of Arkansas.
- And finally today, here’s a capsule review of Stephen Silver’s new art book, which comes with a foreward from Kevin Smith. Silver’s created animated
versions of many of your favorite View Askew characters, so you’ve seen a TON of his work. Paul has the review:
Stephen Silver’s first self-published hardcover collection, the 160-page “The Art of Silver”, featuring a foreword by Kevin Smith is now available to buy
signed by Stephen with an original sketch for only $40 (www.silvertoons.com).
In case the name Stephen Silver doesn’t ring a bell you may know him from his work as a character designer on such cartoons as “Kim Possible”, “Danny
Phantom”… oh, and a short-lived ABC show you may have heard of called “Clerks: The Cartoon”!
He’s also Kevin’s “go-to guy” when it comes to illustrating our favorite View Askew characters. Amongst other things Stephen has designed the extremely
popular InAction figures, last years comic convention t-shirts, and my personal favorite piece of View Askew merchandise ever – the excellent Jay & Silent
Bob book-ends.
In this impressive book Stephen has managed to put together a visually stunning and inspirational collection of various sketches and conceptual art
spanning his career to date. And just to prove it is possible to actually read an art book Stephen has annotated the book throughout with helpful tips and
techniques for the aspiring artists out there.
Also as well as the aforementioned foreword by our very own Kevin Smith (who positively gushes about Stephen’s skill) there are also contributions from
Jack Davis and Tom Richmond (both of Mad Magazine fame), and an introduction by Stephen himself. For the View Askew fans there are several examples of
InAction figure concept roughs, t-shirt designs and development sketches for the Clerks cartoon.
I only received my copy of this book earlier today yet I’ve already read it cover-to-cover twice and I’ve constantly been thumbing through just admiring
the diverse and impressive content. In fact as the legendary Mort Zucker (again of Mad Magazine fame) says on the back cover “His versatility and
draftmanship make this book enjoyable and an inspiration…” and I couldn’t agree more!
As I mentioned earlier the book is now available direct from Stephen via his website – www.silvertoons.com – where you can also view sample pages. And if
you want to meet Stephen in person he will have a booth at this years San Diego Comic-Con.
Sounds like something worth picking up, for sure! We’ll see you again soon. Thanks for dropping by!
Special Feature: More View Askew Variety Articles!
- Here’s two more never before web-ified articles from last month’s View Askew Variety Special Edition for your enjoyment.
The first article covers View Askew’s history, with a very nifty little box office bar chart, interesting stuff. The article talks a bit about all the projects, but spends time on “Jersey Girl” and “Green Hornet” in particular. Of interest, Kevin confirms that Miramax will have “more say during production than they ever have”, as Green Hornet is their “tentpole”. Very interesting reading.
The second focuses on the film of the moment, “Jersey Girl”, which of course was hitting theaters right at the time this issue was published. Not too much new to report there, but it’s a well-written piece with a lot of quotes from the always insightful Scott Mosier, producer extraordinaire.
More soon!
Kevin’s “Encyclopedia of NJ” Entry!
- Wanna read Kevin’s entry in the Encyclopedia of New Jersey (as we reported last update)? Here ya go! The entry was done by Marilyn
Campbell:
Smith, Kevin (b. Aug. 2, 1970) Filmmaker.
Kevin Smith’s first feature film, Clerks (1994), was shot after closing time at the convenience store where he worked in Leonardo. After winning prizes at
the Cannes and Sundance film festivals, this low-budget, black-and-white, cheerfully vulgar independent film was picked up for distribution by Miramax.
Since then, writer/director Smith and his production company, View Askew (based in Red Bank), have released Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997) Dogma
(1999), Jersey Girl (2004), and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). This last film’s title characters, played by Smith’s boyhood buddy Jason Mewes and
Smith himself, have appeared as minor characters in all of Smith’s other films. New Jersey’s suburban convenience stores, malls, highways, and amusement
arcades are also perennial settings in Smith’s films; in the controversial Dogma, God relaxes by playing Skeeball on the boardwalk in Asbury Park. Besides
films, Smith’s other major interest is comic books. The main characters in Chasing Amy are comic book writer/artists; Smith himself has written for the
Batman and Spider-Man series, among others, and he owns a comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, in Red Bank.
View Askew NewsBites™
- TV Guide Online’s “Flickchick” dedicated her weekly Q&A to “Green Hornet”. Here’s what she had to say when asked about the film:
Question: I’ve heard from time to time about a Green Hornet movie starring George Clooney as the Green Hornet and Jet Li as Kato. Is there any truth to
these rumors? — Don
these rumors? — Don
Flickchick: Unlike many projects that have been kicking around as long as this one (since the mid-1990s), Miramax’s The Green Hornet still has real life in
it, and writer-director and long-time serious comic-book geek Kevin Smith has just signed on. Smith owns a comic-book store called Jay and Silent Bob’s
Secret Stash in his native Red Bank, N.J., and has written Daredevil and Green Arrow stories for DC Comics — he revitalized the Green Arrow, an older
character who’d fallen into a sorry state of neglect — and also worked on the doomed Superman Lives before it finally died a painful death. The Green
Hornet even has a tentative opening date: August 2005. What it doesn’t have is the square-jawed George Clooney and Jet Li. Clooney dropped out in ‘97 and
Li hung in a while longer, but eventually moved on. Over the years, rumors have attached a wide range of actors to the role of newspaper editor by
day/costumed crime-fighter by night Britt Reid — notably Mark Wahlberg and Hugh Jackman — but Smith has been talking to Jake Gyllenhaal, who was briefly
considered to replace Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 2 when Maguire and the studio were wrangling over start dates. The Green Hornet was created some 70 years
ago as a pulp-radio hero by producer George W. Trendle and writer Fran Striker (who was a man, in case you were wondering). They also created the Lone
Ranger and slyly connected the man of the West and the then modern-day hero by making the Ranger — whose real name is John Reid — Britt Reid’s great uncle.
The Green Hornet show aired from 1939 to ‘52, and the character made the transition to comic books in 1940 under the now forgotten Helnit Publications
banner. There were two Green Hornet movie serials in the ’40s, but it’s the ’60s television show starring Van Williams as Reid and Bruce Lee as his
chauffeur and sidekick, Kato, that’s primarily responsible for whatever name recognition the characters have today.
Kevin & Jake’s photos also appear at the site which you can check out HERE.
- And finally today, fan Pete thought his dog reminded him of the infamous “Bear Who Drive Car”, so he gave the little guy a shirt. Funny
stuff. Catch ya next time!
Commentary…
- So how ya doin’, folks? Good? Thanks for stopping in today. We’re sort of basking in the aftermath of all the undercover work that we
did earlier this year to get the new look up and running for ya’ll. Seems like we’ve got the majority of the bugs worked out right now. We were forced
to go back to the old method of displaying images due to some issues with the Macintosh web browser users out there. Once we have a universal solution,
we’ll hopefully be able to present a more convenient way to view images. But until then, at least it’s working for all now.
We urge you to take part in the community at the website, including the talkbacks and the News Askew forums. They’re both great places to meet fellow fans,
discuss the Askewniverse and anything else that’s on your mind. A lot of account were opened, so we assume many of you just prefer to lurk and read, and
that’s fine as well. We love to see the participation. Later this month, we hope to re-open News Askew chat, which will feature live, in person chats
through your web browser or IRC client. We’ll be scheduling set events in the chatroom to allow you immediate interaction with us and some of the celebs
of the View Askew world. Watch for that soon, and lots more as well, as we continue to expand the new News Askew.
Also today, I (Brad) want to thank everyone who sent me Vegas information over the past few weeks. My trip’s just one week away and I’m stoked, ready to
leave NOW! All the info you sent on bars, clubs, gambling, food, and the like has been very useful and is very much appreciated. If anyone’s gonna be in
town or lives and works in town (especially those of you who like to buy beer), let me know! And now, today’s update…
Special Feature: 2 View Askew Variety Articles!
- We continue our special feature on the View Askew issue of Variety today, with two more scanned articles from the magazine, available online here for the first time. First off, “The News on Mewes” catches up with Jay and asks him about what he’s been up to recently.
Next, we’ve got a really nice little clipping where Kevin gives a few sentences on each of his films so far, with some personal feelings on where the company was before and after each film. A very concise, well-spoken piece which covers Kevin’s film history quite nicely. Mandatory reading.
We’ll have more View Askew Variety for you soon!
View Askew NewsBites™
- Wanna know everything about New Jersey in one book? The New Jersey Encyclopedia is the place! The entries
page of the website lists a “Smith, Kevin” so we can only assume than the man himself scores an entry. If anyone’s got it, pass it on! Read more about
the new book HERE. - Jersey Girl scores a small mention in this New York Times article, “Bringing Up Baby, but Not Giving Up Movies”,
which focuses on films that some mothers have been seen taking infants into theaters lately:
Ms. Torgeson said lighter movies like “Jersey Girl” tend to draw more moms and babies than darker, more serious films like “Osama.” But many parents will come no matter what is being shown, happy for the chance to get out of the house with their little ones.
- And finally today, could a fellow Askew vet be giving Affleck a run for the money at
the poker tables? Check out who finished 13th in the qualifying series round. Verrry interesting. By the way, Ben, let’s play some cards in Vegas next
week!