• A hearty congratulations to the super cool Bryan Johnson, as the new head honcho of Stash West. Kev says:

• We’ll have them at the Stash signed by release time, but Amazon’s already announced 2 new script books that we haven’t heard about yet, coming from Graphitti.

The Clerks II Screenplay (due August 25, 2006)

and…

“In-Convenience: The View Askewniverse From Clerks To Clerks II (Unbound)” (due February 25, 2007), which collects every script Kevin’s ever written along with new photos. Sounds great! We’ll let ya know when we have them available for you.

• And attention, Degrassi fans: This weekend in Toronto at the Paradise Comics TORONTO COMICON there’s a Degrassi graphic novel launch panel. The panel takes paces from 1-2 PM on Saturday, and features starts from teh show, prizes, and more. There will be book signings with the cast as well! 11 to noon, and 3 to 4:30. Appearing at the booth will be: Stacey Farber (Ellie), Ryan Cooley (J.T.), Miriam McDonald (Emma), Stefan Brogren (Snake from Degrassi Jr. High and DNG), and J. Torres. Check promotion info out HERE, or visit the con’s website http://torontocomicon.com/.

• By far our most popular scoop today, news broke this morning of our beloved Jason Lee taking on a new film role — The voice of the animated title character of the forthing film, “Underdog”, of all things! CNN/Hollywood Reporter has the story:

Speed of lightning, roar of Jason Lee

‘My Name is Earl’ actor to give voice to ‘Underdog’

LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) — Have no fear, the voice of Underdog is here.

“My Name Is Earl” star Jason Lee is lending his voice to the title character of “Underdog,” a live-action Disney adaptation of the classic 1960s cartoon.

“Underdog” followed the adventures of a humble dog named Shoeshine Boy who became the superheroic Underdog, who spoke in rhyme. In the movie, he is adopted by a 12-year-old boy and uses his superpower to protect his love, Polly Purebred, and the citizens of Capitol City from the evil Simon Barsinister. Peter Dinklage has been cast as Barsinister.

Frederik Du Chau (”Racing Stripes”) is directing. Spyglass Entertainment is producing for Walt Disney Pictures.

During his “Earl” hiatus, Lee will direct a short film that he wrote. The silent love story stars Giovanni Ribisi and Beth Riesgraf. Lee is also working on photography projects for such publications as Anthem and Flaunt.

Lee voiced the character of Syndrome in “The Incredibles.” In the summer, he will appear in Sony’s motion-capture feature “Monster House,” and he has a cameo in Kevin Smith’s “Clerks II.”

Many other sites picked up the scoop today, including Yahoo Movies and Aint It Cool News.

“Fuck You, Rich Little!”

• Watch Jeff Anderson spout off a few amazingly accurate impressions as he and Trevor introduce this new segment of Train Wreck, the Clerks II video blog. This one was filmed on the last day at Mooby’s — Could we actually be approaching the New Jersey editions of the series? Find out what’s stuck to Jeff’s hat, too! Thanks again to Zak and Joey for keepin’ the hits comin’! View the vids at Kev’s Mypsace or the official Clerks II site.

• Kevin starts what looks to be another multi-part blog series at Myspace and Boring-Ass-Life, titled “Super Pal”, which looks to be focusing on his wife Jen, and their anniversary (today, incidentally, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY YOU TWO!). Here’s a passage from the entry:

You can read part one (and the forthcoming part two, etc…) at Boring-Ass and MySpace! Get goin’!

• You gotta love when MAJOR magazines are talking about Clerks II in a very positive way, with quite a few months until release. Let’s keep the positive press coming all the way though August, folks. Let’s take a rundown at the scans from the latest appearances:Premiere Magazine’s “Summer Preview” issue gives the film some kind ink with new quotes from Kevin including an interesting bit of info on the dressing rooms at the Mooby’s set.

Next up, here’s a wonderful scan of that excellent Clerks II writeup in Entertainment Weekly’s Summer Preview. Some great new quotes from Kevin, as well as Jeff Anderson on the topic of hats.

Rolling Stone magazine has a blurb about Clerks II in their “Under the Radar” section of upcoming movies. And they’re stoked to see it. Thanks, guys! Click the red thumbnail above to view it.

Finally, no scan yet (anyone?), but the latest issue of Stuff features a column called, “Things you need to be up to in 3, 6, 9 months”. Clerks II is mentioned in the ‘3′ month column, with a photo of Brian O’Halloran and Marilyn Ghigliotti from the original Clerks.

• A website called ESL Notes features detailed documents of popular movies that consist of plot summaries, characters, and oddly, “an extensive glossary of vocabulary and various cultural references that even advanced ESL learners would often not understand”. You can view this type of document for “Clerks” HERE. Not sure what to do with it, really, but it’s a fascinatingly detailed work.
• You can actually find the video report and photos on that Easter Bunny brawl (an annual News Askew occurrence) that we ran around Easter-time now at the Channel 2 News website.

• If you’re anything like us, you dig showing off the latest View Askew merch at home, at work, on the road, etc. So, the latest batch of Clerks 2 swag should make you happy. We’ve got stuff that’s practical pretty much anywhere you go, lets the world know you’re a fan, and also puts you way ahead of the curve, showing you love for a flick that hasn’t even hit theaters yet. Here’s a rundown of the good stuff you can now order from our very own Secret Stash:

With prices like this, you can afford to stock up for you and your friends! Think Vulgarthon, think stocking stuffers (never hurts to start early)! All available now for immediate order and shipment, or in person at the Stash East and West!

• After taking two years off from the con, it looks like Kevin will be returning to the famous Wizard World Philadelphia convention, which is taking place the weekend AFTER Vulgarthon, June 2nd to the 4th. Kevin hasn’t officially announced his participation to us yet, but the con webpage lists him as a just-added guest, along with other big names Joe Quesada, Jim Lee, and Smallville hottie Erica Durance. Kevin normally does the Q&A on Saturday, with a signing early that day or on Sunday. As we learn more, we’ll let ya know. This is a great reason to extend your Vulgarthon trip into the weekend, and a chance to watch Kevin work his magic on the convention floor (and almost certainly show Clerks 2 footage). See you there!

“A Joke On Bobby Hill”

• Mike, the Set P.A., is the subject of the latest Train Wreck video, now available at Clerks 2. As you’ve seen, on set practical jokes are big with this crew, and an endless source of amusement to help pass the time on those long shooting days. This time, an important tin of contracts and other information gets “misplaced”, and Mike’s feeling the pressure as he searches the set. Watch the fun unspool over at the official Clerks 2 website, and look for more installments of this series soon.

• The widely read Entertainment Weekly features Clerks II as number 10 in their “10 Movies We Can’t Wait To See” feature this week. They say:

RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18

WHY WE CAN’T WAIT: After Jersey Girl, we want to see Kevin Smith get back to his roots: verbal wit, slacker angst, dense pop cultural allusions, and hilarious raunch.

THE PREMISE: Now in their 30s, Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are still working dead-end service jobs. But maturity and adult responsibility loom, as Dante is about to move out of state to be with his fiancée.

SOURCE: Smith’s career-launching 1994 film

THE BACKSTORY: Having seen his last movie overshadowed by the tabloid frenzy surrounding stars Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, Smith says: ”I thought, ‘The next movie I want to make, no famous people in it, just actors I love and people I want to work with.”’ However, Weinstein Co. co-chief Harvey Weinstein insisted that Smith hire at least one boldface name, so Rosario Dawson has a prominent role as the boys’ boss, a manager at a fast-food joint.

BURNING QUESTION: Is making a sequel to his signature film a sellout move for Smith or, conversely, a cultish in-joke that won’t be appreciated beyond his fan base?

COME FOR: Smith and his ragtag crew of Jersey smartalecks

STAY FOR: The Hollywood ringers Smith has rounded up, including Dawson and (in a cameo) Smith regular Affleck

• Kevin’s revealed that attendees of the Red Bank Vulgarthon will receive snazzy Mooby Restaurant Funployee name tags to identify themselves during the show. Very, very cool!

• Check out the hat on Emma in this screen shot from a Degrassi webisode.
• Congrats to Dogma/Jay & Bob FX guy Vincent Guastini on the recent kudos over at Aint It Cool for the work on his new flick, Snoop Dogg’s Hood of Horror.