• Just as a reminder to those who might have missed this news or just plain forgot, 11:59:59 on July 31st is the deadline for contest entries in our “Squirtgun: Fade To Bright” contest, where we’re giving away 10 prize packs courtesty of the band and News Askew, featuring the new album, a Kevin Smith-signed copy of the Mallrats soundtrack, and lots more. The band was kind enough to send us a few copies of the new album to check out, and it’s really good stuff. If you’re into punk music, and dug their “Social” track off the Mallrats disc, this one won’t disappoint. So hey, if you don’t win, get yourself a copy of the CD at your local record store. Remember, you can only enter once, multiple entries mean we throw them ALL out. Good luck!

VIEW THE SQUIRTGUN “FADE TO BRIGHT” CONTEST INFO HERE!

• On the gossip side of things, nationally famous New York gossip column “Page Six” picked up on a story Kev’s been telling at his gigs lately and summarized it thusly today in their online edition:

The story runs HERE along with a pic of Kevin and Jen.

• And to cap off our San Diego coverage, here’s a final 2 shots of Kev at the Q&A podium.
• The Onion takes some major stabs at Ben/Jen and Gigli today, and even mentions Jersey Girl at the end of this parody . It’s brutal, but you gotta admit, that comment card is damn funny.
• Check out Chad Blakely’s comic “Stalking Kevin Smith” in its entirety at his Pathetic Aesthetic Comics website. The site features scans of the book’s pages, info on how to get a copy, a photo of the author with Kev, along with Kev’s signature and thoughts on the front of his copy of the book. Check out pages 4 and 16, even out own little spot on the web made it into the book! Give it a read, we think you’ll enjoy it.
• And finally today, not to end on a sour note, but this is what we hate about movie critics. This AP critic didn’t like “Gigli”, and now is already predicting Jersey Girl will be a bad film as well. Film critics, take note, this is NOT the way to show any sort of objectivity:

It’s acceptable for someone to not like Gigli or Affleck and Lopez, sure, but to already seem to have decided on Jersey Girl without even seeing a frame? Read the full review HERE.

• Upon perusing the latest edition of the View Askew WWWBoard, some of you noticed that Kevin has started to drop hints about his next film project. First off, and this is quite exciting, it seems that production might start sooner than we thought, maybe even within the next 6 months (that’s BEFORE Jersey Girl premieres, folks!). With no word of Jason Lee signing on for the Fletch role, we’ve ruled that out. Also, while we feel the Clerks cartoon movie WILL get made, it’s not the project we believe Kevin’s been hinting about.
  Yep, from what it sounds like, Kevin’s next project will be some sort of space or science fiction fantasy type film that he’s been dropping some very slight hints about recently. Even more surprising today was the news that producer Scott Mosier, who’s worked with Kevin from the very beginning, will be taking a six month hiatus/vacation soon, and thus will NOT be working with Kevin on this next project. More evidence that the next film is starting up sooner than we though, but we are certain that Mosier will be missed. Kevin has acknowledged this himself.
  So, want a couple more tidbits from today? Sure, as a reward for reading this far, here’s 2 more big items for ya:

• Kevin’s thinking about a way to hold a free Jersey Girl screening, in lieu of a Vulgarthon, somewhere around January 2004, which would celebrate 10 years in the movie business for View Askew Productions.
• Next up for the inaction figures line – The Dogma series (see below), then “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”, then “Chasing Amy”, then “Clerks: The Animated Series”.

If that’s not enough to keep ya excited for the week, we dunno what is! And yes, there’s still more in the update below, so read on…

• Set your VCRs and Tivos or cancel your plans…This Friday, August 1st, Kevin will appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to introduce the piece he recently taped at the San Diego ComicCon. We’ve heard great things.
  Also, the question on many of your minds — When will the New Jersey/Red Bank segment of Roadside Attractions air? No date has yet to be set, but due to Jay’s upcoming vacation, Kevin is guessing somewhere around mid to late September (though it’s still very much up in the air). As soon as an air date for that one is set, you’ll read it here.

• We’ve got the first carded photos of black and white Jay & Silent Bob, who will be the exlusive inaction figures available at WizardWorld Chicago, from August 8th through the 10th. As always, find your friends now, as this is another limited run, and when they’re gone, they’re GONE!
• Clerks will be shown in theatres in San Jose, CA at the Camera Cinemas camera one on August 2nd, at midnight. The Campbell, CA Camera Cinema camera 7 will screen the movie a day earlie, August 1st, also at midnight. Log on to www.cameracinemas.com and visit the Midnight Movie section for more info.

• Attention Jason Lee fans! You’ll love this brand new article from a German skate/art magazine called “Lodown”. It’s an interview with Lee about the rebirth of his skateboad company “Stereo” and lots more. We’ve also got an ad from Swedish clothing company “We” that features Lee, and 3 old jason lee skateboard stickers from back in the day, which appeared in issue 36 of Lodown.
• And in more Lee news, the voice of Jason Lee is attached to appear as a character in Pixar’s next, “The Incredibles” , which opens in theaters November 2004. It’s a Pixar flick directed by Brad Bird, who brought us the fantastic “Iron Giant”, so expect great, great things.
• Guess there’s a website for everyone’s taste. A site for “Bear enthusiasts” (gay men who are into big, burly men) reviews the Evening with Kevin Smith. Looks like they even provide a special “bear factor”. Hey, to each his own!

• Don’t forget, folks, the Daredevil DVD hits shelves this Tuesday, July 29th. Now you can watch Kevin’s cameo over and over (oh, and of course the rest of the flick as well). Scott Kramer was kind enough to hook us up with an advance copy, though it’s not a View Askew produced disc, we’ve still got a mini-review of the product and a list of what you can expect to see on there. All in all, the production’s quite slick, with an excellent transfer. Definitely one to show off your fancy-shmancy new home theater system with. Check out the Daredevil DVD mini-review HERE, and get your copy this Tuesday!

• Ming’s got a nice little gallery of photos up at the View Askew site that combines his work and some of figures.com to present a very detailed look at the upcoming Dogma Inaction Figures. No concrete release date is set for these, except we DO know that they won’t hit streets at least for a month or so after the Mallrats wave comes at us in October 2003. From what we’re seeing so far, the Dogma wave is our favorite yet, with some hilarious detail and memorable poses that true fans of the film can enjoy. We can’t wait to see what they’ve got in store for us next. How about a special edition Dixie-cup Brodie? Please?

• More items are now or soon to be available at the Stash for your enjoyment. First off, now available is “Green Arrow: Sounds of Violence”, which collects volumes 11-15 of the series, where Kevin introduced a brand new villain to the DC world (who kicked off his evil streak by killing off the hero of local News Askew town Harrisburg, PA, no less). This hardcover is once again beautifully bound and also features Matt Wagner’s incredible painted covers, a new Hester intro, and more. A must-have at $19.95.
  Also, a couple items we’ve been talking about are now officially ready for your pre-orders. First off, the limited edition cold-cast Brodie statue, sculpted by Clete Shields. If you’re collecting these, or want to get started, this is a great way to start. These babies are limited to a run of 500. Be one of the select group to own one. Ships in October, $95.00.
  Finally, something that better be under our Christmas trees and yours this year (or at least stuffed into a stocking), the 2004 View Askew almanac calendar. Packed with pics from the flicks, fun facts, and important dates in View Askew history, this fancily named calendar has it all – including all twelve months! $18.00 and due to ship in September.
  Get it all at THE STASH!

• Today’s update at JoBlo.com features a story that summarizes Kevin’s 1 & 1/2 hour Q&A session in San Diego this past weekend. The most recent stories and news items are summarized there, so if you haven’t seen Kevin live in a while, you’re likely to find something new there. For those of you that attended Kevin’s Q&A in Philly, it sounds like a lot of the same questions were asked, and thus, many similar answers. Check out the summary though, as there’s certainly a joke or perhaps a bit of news that you may have missed.

• View Askew vet Mike Allred seems to have provided Kevin with an appearance in this week’s X-Statix #11 from Marvel. New team recruit ‘El Guapo’ is hanging out at the X-Statix mansion, and while he’s talking to team financier Spike Freeman, a certain director sits at a table in the foreground. Check out the scan right here.

• Aint It Cool runs a small, mixed review of Jersey Girl today. It’s short, but contains some minor spoilers, including a commentary on the film’s ending, so we’d recommend those of you that like going in cold avoid it. For those who spit in the face of that notion, read away HERE.
  Latest rumors have indicated that some interesting changes have been made to the beginning of the film since we’ve seen it in the Sherman Oaks test screening, as well as additional scenes featuring Jason Biggs appearing later on. We’re still debating on posting our review of the film so early in the process, but may do it in a non-spoiler way (as best we can) for posterity’s sake. Again, chances are the film will please one type of View Askew fan and turn off some others, but stands to be the biggest success in View Askew so far (our prediction). Stay tuned.