• Well tomorrow’s the big day, Episode II hits the big screen! The best theater in town isn’t doing the midnight show, so we’re stuck checking it out tomorrow – If you haven’t already checked out the internet bootlegs, enjoy! The movie will likely do some good business, but can it touch the incredible two weeks of Spider-Man? And how much will Spidey hang onto this week? It’ll likely be one of the biggest moneymaking weekends in box office history, for sure.

We had a blast at WizardWorld this past weekend, though wow, was it ever a hectic day. So much to do, so little time! You’ll find our wrapup and some exclusive pics now online, new Auctions Askew items, and the usual bunch of interesting little NewsBites in today’s update. Oh, and by the way, Chris is looking for a “RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD” movie poster — If anyone’s got a line on one, drop him a line.

Let’s get started here…

• WizardWorld came to the east coast this year, with an incredibly impressive con and guest list — There was some much stuff scattered around, we couldn’t even begin to cover all the cool stuff there was to see there. We spent a good part of our day covering Kevin’s appearances on Saturday, and we’ve got our wrapup of the day online with some exclusive photos. Check it all out HERE. Here’s a list of a few of the ex-Askew artists that we chatted with during the day, and a guide to some of their other current and upcoming projects:

• That’s right, folks — The items just keep on coming, this week with more chances to bid on some absolutely COOL stuff – This week includes your chance to use a rare UNCUT sheet of Mallrats cards, the actual screen used doorknob from the Mooby boardroom (this week’s personal favorite) & a screen-used waiter’s shirt (both from Dogma), an actual blueprint used for a Jay & Bob set, and more cool signed stuff. We’re sure you’ll want to finish this update first, but after that, your next stop best be the exciting Auctions Askew! As with every week, best of luck, there’s some excellent stuff for ya to get your mitts on.

• Congratulations to Kevin! In the Cinescape Summer Movie Preview, he’s on the list of “The 100 Most Powerful people in Genre Entertainment 2002”. Kevin comes in at number 66, on page 94 of the book, above Stephen Sommers (Writer/Producer/Directorand force behind the Mummy and The Mummy Returns). Check out Kevin’s entry above!
• In an interview on Radio One yesterday, rapper Eminem was asked “What makes you laugh?”. His answer was “Jay & Silent Bob make me laugh”. You can read the interview online HERE, under “Eminem Answers your questions”.
• Kevin is thanked in the “thank you” section of rockin’ group Weezer’s new album “Maladroit.”
• Variety reports that Affleck & Damon have a new variety show coming to ABC this Fall – “Push, Nevada,” a drama the network compares to “Twin Peaks.” Developed by Affleck, it offers clues to a puzzle that viewers can solve to win money.
• Drop Dead Roses (starring Brian O’Halloran) will be screening at the UC davis film festival this weekend in California. According to this schedule, it’ll screen at 4 PM on Sunday. Check it out if you’re in the area, we hear it’s a fun little flick.
• Rumor has it that Jay Mewes will be working on a music video this weekend with the music group “Powder”, playing the role of a superhero! We have no solid confirmation on this but a solid source sent in the scoop — We’ll let you know if we can get a confirmation (or denial).

• Artist Brian Harley sent us a scan of this very well-done Brodie painting, and we thought we’d share the art with ya. He’s obviously a really talented dude, if anyone’s looking for an artist, you might wanna drop him a line!

• Finally today, a weird sighting – The Jay & Bob Logo is used on the cover of this Russian gossip rag. You’ll find it above.

• This could potentially be a BIG scoop, as FilmJerk has reported that the casting call has gone out for the daughter in “Jersey Girl”…Sure, that’s not big news in itself, however, it seems that we now know that the character will be six years old, named “Gertie” (E.T. reference perhaps?), and that Affleck’s character will be named “Ollie” (Green Arrow reference, perhaps?):

We have not confirmed this story at ALL, so take this whole report with a grain of salt, it may be a false rumor. We’ll report more as we learn more.

• As some of you may recall, Kevin offered a free signed Jay & Silent Bob mini-poster to folks who went and say Jay & Bob two nights in a row (Friday and Saturday) when it first hit theaters. Many of you sent in your ticket stubs, and have yet to hear back from Kevin on this matter. Well, at WizardWorld, Kevin spoke out on the poster delay and came up with an interesting question as well.

First off, the poster delay has been simply due to the sheer amount of autographs required to send them off (as he also planned to personalize them) — Kevin still hopes to get to the posters, if that’s what the fans want, but he also came up with a solution that might appease you even more – An EXCLUSIVE t-shirt, that only those who sent in tickets would receive. This shirt would be brand new, original, and shipped to you in your choice of size. It might say something to the effect of “I sent in my two ticket stubs, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” along with a picture of Kevin and the word “LIAR!” written near him. Now this may change, but you get the concept.

Now, since most of you who went two nights in a row read this website, we figured we’d ask — Which would you prefer? Please ONLY vote once, and ONLY if you are set to receive something. PLEASE. Let’s keep this accurate, to get a true result here. Results will not necessarily reflect the final decision, but it will help Kevin to see what you folks would at least prefer to have. Vote now, vote wisely.

• More appearances of Jay & Bob in web comics — Today, the strip “It’s Walky” features the duo, and a damn funny line to boot! Check out the fun right HERE. A mention of Jay & Bob ALSO appears in the “Week-End Warriors” at inktank.com.
• We don’t have the audio, but here’s a blurb sent in regarding Kevin’s appearance on KROQ radio today:

KROQ often posts interviews on their site (www.kroq.com), so it may be available there before long. Thanks to Theforce.net for the story!

• Mallrats and Clerks get mentions in this BBC UK article on Star Wars parodies in the movies.

We apologize for the late notice on this, but apparently DVD File made a BIG mistake, as the information the revealed in a recent update, telling folks that Kevin would appear at a Virgin Megastore signing in LA tomorrow is NOT true. We have received word that there is no such appearance on Kevin’s schedule. While the Stan Lee appearance may still happen tomorrow, if it does, Kevin will not be in attendance. Guess this was just a miscommunication somewhere along the line that got blown out of proportion. Sorry to carry the story even further, but DVD File is usually quite accurate with things.

• Kevin will be doing a phone-in call TODAY to the KROQ radio station in Los Angeles. He’ll be promoting his 5/31 “Evening with Kevin Smith” at the Writers Guild Theater.
• Kevin is quoted in this USA Today story on “Attack of the Clones” (Boba Fett in particular):

Episode II, of course, opens all over the place this Thursday.

• Finally, seems some folks are having fun with the Buddy Christ in some parody situations (this one, a reworking of the cover of videogame “Serious Sam”).

• Howdy folks, we’re back from WizardWorld East, had a blast, saw a lot of great people, and of course caught Kevin’s signing appearance and Q&A seesion (pics coming soon). The con was full of outstanding guests, it’s a shame it ended so early.

Anyway, here’s some of the major points from Kevin’s Q&A that we wanted to get online for you here ASAP:

• Kevin’s draft of Jersey Girl wound up being around PG or PG-13 material, according to Kevin (and those who have read it). The film, if it stays as it is (and it likely will), will be the “PG” Kevin’s always mentioned he’d had in him.
• Jersey Girl will likely end up filming in TORONTO over Philly (much to the crowd’s dismay), due to a $2 million cheaper budget if they take it up North. Filming starts this August.
• Kevin gave some minor details on Clerks: Sell Out, the animated CLerks film. The film will defintiely be R-rated but not as obscene as Jay & Bob Strike Back. The project is still in the planning stage but moving along.
• Fletch Won will follow the book very closely, but Kevin will NOT make the film unless Jason Lee is cast in the lead.
• Kevin (for certain) & Jay Mewes (unlikely) will not appear in Jersey Girl.
• Kevin will be catching an advance screening of Episode II tomorrow afternoon. Chances are he’ll comment on the flick sometime early this week.

There may be a few more tidbits we aren’t remembering at the moment, but a lot of the older stories about Superman, the Scream 3 set, and others were told to audience memebers who asked as well. Kevin talked for close to 2 and a half hours, then had to catch a plane back home. That’s about it for now, we’ll have more details from the show for you later, just wanted to get the big news online for ya!