• Former View Askew employee Bill Woods has a new company called “Kaiju” that presents a very Japanese-looking, power-rangeresuqe, Pokemon-like world of creatures, battles, and mayhem. If you’ve been to a comic book show recently, chances are you saw or ran into one of the Kaiju characters. Being that the guy’s an old friend of ours, and always considered a part of the team, we wanted to give the site and the business a plug — You can read up on the concept there, check out tons of merchandise, and more. Visit the Kaiju website HERE. And tell Bill that News Askew sent ya!

• The new book entitled “STAN LEE AND THE RISE AND FALL OF THE AMERICAN COMIC BOOK” by Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon feautres at least a few mentions of Kevin from glancing at its index. The book is basically a biography of Stan from his childhood to present day and concentrates on his contributions to taking comics where they are today. The book’s published by the Chicago Review Press. ISBN is 1556525060 and list price is $24.95.
• The High Times film “Pot Luck” (which features current man of the moment Jason Mewes) is finally getting released theatrically on October 17th, but very limited. Expect a video release to be forthcoming soon. Find the theatrical cities HERE.
• Here’s yet another classic from the Dragon Con costume photo website.
• The full version of the trailer from upcoming Matt Damon/Greg Kinnear comedy “Stuck on You” is now available online at the Quicktime site.

• Sumbissions for this year’s festival are currently coming in from around the world. Genres will include narrative features and shorts, documentaries, animations, and experimental films. Their “Jersey Fresh” segment will feature the best of local filmmaking. The festival is organzied and run by the Freedom Film Society, a non-profit group founded to promote and support independent film and other media arts.
  This year, the festival has moved from our Vulgarthon-familiar digs the Clearview cinemas, into the larger Count Basie Theatre on 99 Monmouth Street, as well as sections of Asbury Park. It takes place from October 3rd to the 5th, a beautiful time of the year to visit Red Bank. The Count Basie is a beautiful, historic theater and seats 1400.

Kevin filmed a quick little commercial for this year’s festival, which we thought you’d all enjoy watching. Click the still photo of Kevin to check it out in Quicktime (MOV) format.
Visit the Red Bank International Film Festival website for all the information you could possibly need on the event.And get yourself some tickets!

• The New Jersey reporter has informed us that fans will have another chance to catch the great Brian O’Halloran LIVE as he apperars in the drama “The Good Daughter”, starting in October, at the New Jersey Repertory Company. Here’s the full article:

We highly recommend everyone in the area grab a ticket and watch Brian work! With that long of a run, you have no excuse not to make it out to the show. Brian’s a great guy and we’re betting that he’ll be very accessible before or after the show if you’d like to say hello.

• We got a bunch of Lee news today, and since Lee’s such a great dude, we thought we’d share some of this stuff with you:

• The Toronto Film Festival screens the film “I Love Your Work” at the following times:
  Fri. Sept 5, 6:30pm, Bader (450)
  Sat. Sept 6, 12:00pm, Elgin (1358)
  [Press/Industry Screening:] Fri. Sept 5, 9:15 am, Varsity 1 (204)
  Cyan Pictures is now looking for a distributor. Lee has a supporting role in the film, which is about a star who stalks his fan.
• There’s at least 3 pictures of The Lee in the October ‘03 issue of Transworld Skateboarding Magazine (not to be confused with Skateboarder Magazine). This includes a small one of Lee and Chris Pastras at the DC Video premiere. Plus, a full page picture of Lee (at the DC premiere also) in an ad to subscribe to the magazine… “Jason Lee, skater/part-time thespian”.
• And here’s an item that Lee fans might love to have as a fun conversation starts — A “Fletch Won” shirt (fan made) featuring LEE as Fletch! The image looks familiar, we may have run it here before.
• From 411vm: “In 1991 the 80s skate boom had burst, the United States economy was in recession, and President Bush declared war on Iraq. Skateboarding was at a crossroads then, with fresh styles, new companies, and young pros pushing past the old brands and tired heroes. With the rest of the country languishing in a funk of war and recession, skateboarders were celebrating the transformation of their own little world. That transformation was documented in a video filmed and directed by a young photographer named Spike Jonze. Featuring Mark Gonzales, Jason Lee, Guy Mariano, and the rest of the Blind team, Video Days captured the unique talents of a seminal group of skaters at a critical time in the history of modern skateboarding. In its Summer 2003 issue, ON Video presents the story behind the Blind video, looking back at the project that defined street skating for an entire generation. Also in this issue, Ed Templeton takes his art and skating skills to Paris, the Bootleg team rolls through Europe, Kenny Reed checks in from Hungary and Vietnam, Tom Green and the Birdhouse team go to Hooters, and the ONtage declares an all-out Popwar with Chad Muska ON The Side.”
• Palm Pictures is releasing a DVD entitled “The Work Of Director Spike Jonze”, which will include a 52 page booklet, seventeen music videos, commentaries, a few short films with Mark “The Gonz” Gonzales, and three documentaries (on the fictional Richard Koufay, rodeo riders, and Fatlip from the Pharcyde). We haven’t seen any mention if among those seventeen videos will be Sonic Youth’s “100%” featuring The Lee skateboarding, but it’s a safe bet to assume so. Best Buy says it’s release date is Oct. 28.
• As it stands Lee’s still going to be in the film about the West Memphis 3, which is scheduled to start filming in the Fall.
• Don’t forget that the Dreamcatcher DVD comes out on September 30th! VHS too, so rent it, or buy it. Lee’s really got a fun, but sadly small, part in the film. The DVD will include extras such as Alternate Endings and deleted scenes, which piques our interest. Let’s hope they put on that hilarous behind-the-scenes clip where Jason Lee tells us his character’s name. Still funny to this day.

• A small Clerks sighting happens in the last frame of a recent edition of the Cinerama web cartoon.
• And finally today, definitely one of the more involved costumes spotted at DragonCon 2003 this year. Catch ya next time, folks!

• Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash and View Askew Productions present the invitation-only event of the year! You’ve heard the tales of our last “Stash Bash” and you wished you could have been lucky enough to attend! Well get out your writing pencils and pack your bags because it’s time for STASH BASH 2: WELCOME BACK JAY!!

This is a party that has been 4 years in the making. In honor of Jay’s release from rehab and his newfound clean way of life, we’ve decided to throw a party the only way we know how. Alcohol and drug-free! Celebrate with us as we open the doors to the Stash to invited guests only on Sunday, September 28, 2003. Mingle with the people behind the View Askew-niverse and set your eyes on exclusive footage from Kevin Smith’s next film, “Jersey Girl.” An entire day of fun is guaranteed for all!

Admission to this event will be FREE. However there is a catch! All potential invitees must write a 50 word essay on why they feel they should be able to attend! Yes – we’re making you work this time!

All entries MUST be 50-words or less. When you’ve finished your literary masterpiece, you can submit it in one of two ways:

E-mail that essay (in plain text) to stashbash@viewaskew.com. Please be sure to include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.

Snail mail it to:

Stash Bash 2
View Askew Productions
PO Box 400
Red Bank, NJ 07701

DEADLINE for entries is 12:01am Eastern Standard Time September 12th!! ALL entries MUST BE RECEIVED by then.

Invitees will be notified by September 17th via e-mail.

Again please be sure to include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.

Visit the Official Stash Bash 2 Website and keep checking here at News Askew for all the latest on this event. We look forward to meeting each and every one of the lucky attendees on the 28th. Good luck, and we’ll see some of you there.

• Last Tuesday, we announced that Mallrats will screen in Los Angeles at the NuArt, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd (at the 405 Fwy), in West L.A. (310-478-6379) this coming Friday, September 5th, at MIDNIGHT. Kevin hasn’t seen the flick in a while, so he’s decided to attend the event, hopefully have the chance to do an intro and even a Q&A session afterwards for you night owls. So, if you’re in the area, call the NuArt, and see if you can get yourself some advanced tickets, because this event is now sure to sell out FAST! Tickets are a mere $9.25 per person and on sale now at the box office. The theater only seats 450, and we expect this will now sell out very, very quickly. Some folks are even getting together for a pre-party before the event. Don’t miss a rare chance to catch Kev doing the Q&A thing live after a View Askew classic. And a word to the wise: Take a nap before you show up for the event.

Check back with us tomorrow for an announcement and some exciting details regarding an event here on the east coast.

• Clerks: The Animated Series is back in rotation on Comedy Central. Check your local listings for dates and times to catch these classic episodes.
• Kevin’s Elijah/Sean Lord of the Rings comicon photo gets Farked this weekend, with some interesting takes (the Weekend at Bernie’s shot being a personal fave).
• Possible good news for UK fans: The BBFC website indicates that the British censors have begun classifying the extra features of the Mallrats special edition DVD, indicating that it will finally be released on DVD in the UK very soon.
• Australian magazine ‘Who Weekly’ announced in their entertainment section that Columbia Tristar have cancelled the planned October 23rd Australian Cinema release of Gigli. Instead, the film will go direct to video in early 2004 under the alternate title “Tough Love”.
• In a competition at blackstar.co.uk, one question for the £100 trivia quiz prize is about Kevin’s creation of Jay and Silent Bob. You must be a site member (and we assume, a UK resident) to win the cash.
• Kevin gets a mention amongst very good company in this Guardian UK article comparing Orson Welles to today’s directors.
• A video interview with Kevin discussing J&SBSB is up at Channel4’s site.
• Clothing giant American Eagle’s new marketing campaign is “Reissues”, ranging from the ’60s to the 90’s. In their Style section, they give the details about what inspired each of their reissues, and under ’90s, the #1 inspiration is “Clerks “Inaction Figures” reissue — Kevin Smith’s Clerks”. Under the Entertainment section below that, it includes this mention: “Bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam skyrocketed out of obscurity and into the mainstream while auteurs like Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino secured their places in cinema history with gritty classics like Clerks and Reservoir Dogs.” See for yourself right HERE.

• We’ve received a lot of inquiries and information regarding the piece from E! Online’s Andy Jones (which we ran as a newsbite on Tuesday) regarding “Superman”. Here’s that blurb again to refresh your memory:

Apparently, there weren’t just a number of mistakes in that piece, but also other pieces Jones has written about Kev as well. Check out these examples…

So, there’s the evidence. First off, you can see that this guy, as far back as 2001, admitted that he wanted to start a “holy war” with Kevin for some reason. Not only that, but doesn’t the clear misrepresentation of the facts scream “poor journalism”? FACT: Kevin was the screenwriter only (for two drafts) of “Superman Lives”. He was never attached to direct, nor did he ever express interest in doing so (quite the opposite, in fact, in numerous interviews). FACT: Tim Burton was the attached director before that version of the project fell apart back in ‘98. Tim Burton was responsible for hiring Nic Cage, not Kevin. FACT: “Jersey Girl” is not an autobiographical film, and Kevin has never said that. He HAS said that it was inspired by his experiences in becoming a father, but that hardly makes it autobiographical. Just as his working in a convenience store didn’t make “Clerks” autobiographical, nor has he ever dated a lesbian, nor has he ever fought a rubber poop monster…Well, you get the idea. Next thing you know, Jones will be calling “Mallrats” autobiographical if Kevin admits that he’s been to a mall.
Look, folks, we’re all for freedom of the press — It’s that freedom that allows us to editorialize just like this. However, it’s a shame that said freedom covers a “journalist” who can’t get his facts straight before he hurls mistake-laden purple prose out into cyberspace, and bashes a film without having SEEN it, based on a previously stated agenda.
If you agree, drop Andy Jones a non-profanity-laden, intelligently expressed line about his actions. Maybe if enough people contact him, he’ll show a bit more diligence in his writing (andyj@eonline.com). Or drop his editors a line and let them know the guy’s not really a credit to his profession.