• It’s been a tough year at Cannes, with many films that were expected to make the festival already getting passed over. Too many flicks, not enough spots. It’ll still be a few days before we know if Clerks II made the cut this year, but in the meantime, Kevin’s got some good news: “Southland Tales”, in which he plays a role, is a lock for the festival. Kevin reports:

indieWIRE has the full lineup of flicks.

On the situation, Kevin elaborates:

We’ll keep you posted.

• Yes, we know it’s not even in THEATERS yet, but in the fast-moving business of Hollywood these days, folks line up to claim their rights to films all the way up to the final frontier – Network television broadcast rights. Spike TV seems to like the idea of owning those rights for Clerks II, as they’ve picked up the film along with a bunch of other Weinstein Company flicks as part of a package deal. Thanks to Variety and Superhero Hype.

• Malcolm Ingram’s celebrated, acclaimed flick “Small Town, Gay Bar” will screen as part of Alabama’s “Birmingham Shout” Film Festival on opening night, April 28th, at 8:00 PM. Malcolm will be on hand, along with some of the subjects of the film, for a Q&A following the screening, followed by a big after party. Opening night tickets are expected to sell out, and fast, and can be ordered here. Oh, you’ll also get into the opening night reception starting at 6:30 for food, drink, and general merriment. Celebrate gay + lesbian films with the inaugural Birmingham Shout at WorkPlay in Birmingham’s Southside, showcasing the best features, documentaries and short films exploring gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender themes.

The View Askew production “Small Town, Gay Bar” was a hit at Sundance, and will also screen as part of next month’s Vulgarthon in Red Bank, New Jersey.

• The video podcast “DL.TV” featured nice mentions of the Clerks 2 video blog in a recent episode. During their March 1st episode, Patrick Norton, (formerly of “The Screensavers” on Tech TV), declares that he is a huge Kevin Smith fan and subscribed to the train wreck podcast. There’s also a screen shot of the Clerks 2 website on the LCD behind him. The podcast can be seen on itunes or downloaded from their web site. Look for episode 39.

• And finally today, this shot was taken in Denton, Texas last weekend – Do we smell law suit? Have a good weekend, folks!

• Did you read the incredible “Me & My Shadow” story from Kevin via one of his blogs? Did you like it? We thought so. If you did, why not show some blog love and toss up a vote, letting the world know that you liked the story Kevin took so much time and detail to tell. Be sure and login to Kevin’s Myspace page, read the blog, and send some comments and virtual “kudos” his way. It’ll get the story more exposure over at Myspace, and spread the tale even further through the community. Thanks again to Kevin for sharing this tale with the world.

• The amazing “Me And My Shadow” story concludes with Part 9 today, now available at Silent Bob Speaks and the Myspace blog. This ends the take that has brought more detail and understanding to the Smith/Mewes relationship than any of us ever knew. A small passage from this touching conclusion:

To tie-in with the final installment, Kevin’s also posted a private, personal video from Mewes that convinced him he was finally on the road to recovery (referenced in the text above). Due to the size of this video, our site and the other family sites are all running a bit slow — So please bear with us on that one.

If you missed the series, or any installments, we highly recommend you take the time to check out every word. It’s been a brave, honest, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, touching tale of the relationship that truly makes up the core of what so many of you love about the View Askew flicks. And worlds better than any of those “True Hollywood Stories” you’ll see on TV. We thank Kevin for taking the time to put such detail and thought into Jay’s story, and congratulate Jay on his continued success.

“Piss Ice”

• What happens when Jason Mewes steps in to guest-direct a scene in Clerks 2? You’re about to find out, dear readers. Watch as our own Mewes dictates his bidding to a crowd inside the Mooby’s shop — Part of Zak & Joey’s brilliant ongoing “Train Wreck” online documentary series, available exclusively at Clerks2.com. Yes, you’ll even get to see the ACTUAL SCENE ITSELF! Who gives you more free online entertainment than us every day, eh? Stop over and check out the latest fun-filled installment.

• Via the Myspace blog, here’s a very nice photo of the new Clerks trade paperback, titled “Tales From The Clerks”, due in stores this August. The book collects all the View Askew comics in one tidy volume, along with a BRAND NEW story titled “Where’s The Beef?!?” which fills in the gaps between the Quick Stop & Mooby’s for Dante & Randal. Expect the book out in early August to tie into the Clerks 2 theatrical release.
• The quippy webmaster over at “I Watch Stuff” has some NICE stuff to say about the Clerks 2 trailer.
• Pop culture news site Zap2It reports that the extras on the “My Name Is Earl” Season one DVD box set will certainly be NOT family-friendly, due to behind-the-scenes antics and that “Earl meets Family Guy” episode we reported on previously. From Ethan Suplee:

• Talk about a cool pastor! A reader sent us a sermon where his Episcopal priest made a reference to Rufus, the 13th apostle. Nice!
• The Easter Bunny sequence in Mallrats gets a small mention on this blog website.
• And finally today, here we thought that an Easter had come and gone WITHOUT any mall-rated Easter Bunny altercations. We were wrong! We bring you news from Naples, Florida of yet another fight that took place with a mall bunny just this year. Heck, even The Smoking Gun picked it up. This year, the bunny fought BACK!

• YouTube’s got the official Clerks II theatrical trailer now available online! Remember, folks, this one’s got a couple spoilers from the film, definitely more than you’ve seen in previous trailers, with about 80% new footage and dialogue. You can peep it right HERE.

There’s also a brand new clip created exclusively for YouTube, hosted by Kevin Smith himself, now available. In this clip, you’ll see an exclusive edition of the “Train Wreck” series (and those of you who ALWAYS ask Kevin to do that Showgirls move at the live shows, PREPARE YOURSELVES…) — This one revolves around “Scene 56”, a scene filmed at night that contains spoilers to great to discuss here (never fear, as Train Wreck bleeps the spoiler stuff, as well). Enjoy!

Your comments on the trailer, especially as compared to the online version, are most welcome and appreciated. Talk Back!