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View Askew NewsBites™

February 19th @ 5:30 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Michael Groetken, Michael LaBarr, Twig

  • Ethan Suplee is cited as one of “TV’s Top Everymen” in this USA Today article. Kevin’s name also comes up.
  • Zak & Joey’s brilliant “Train Wreck” work gets a nice shout-out from supersite IGN this week. In particular, the “360 Shot” episode.
  • And last, but certainly not least today: Get ready for a new item for discussion at Kevin’s live shows — Ben Affleck is appearing in UK ads for Lynx deodorant/fragrance. Watch the clicker add up HERE. Later! Click.

Kevin Working On New Script!

February 17th @ 7:36 am | No Comments » | Scooped by Robert Sanchez

  • Those ever-vigilant dudes at the IESB were on the case for Kevin’s recent appearance at Wondercon (yes, Clerks 2 footage WAS shown!). They sure know how to get to the point with the tough, direct questions, and Kevin was surprisingly honest with his answers. There’s some stuff in this video clip that you already know, probably — Like the fact that Clerks 2 had some minor edits and screens again for a select audience sometime soon — But the BIG news is that he’s in the process of scripting a new, NON-ASKEWNIVERSE comedy flick! No further details than that, but exciting to know that we’ve got something new and original in the works, and that it’ll be his second foray outside of our fun little world. We’ll be watching and waiting for that announcement.

Check out their excellent report, along with multi-format video, right HERE.

Wondercon: What We Learned!

February 17th @ 7:35 am | No Comments » | Scooped by Jay Cryer, ORFilms

  • Slashfilm has an outstanding review/report on Kevin’s appearance at Wondercon. However, we DO warn you — There’s a detailed description of the Clerks 2 scene showed at the con there, and a few other spoilers for the flick, in general. Nothing major, but it’ll definitely have you coming in “less” clean. So what else did we learn at Wondercon this year? Here’s a summary:
  • Kevin revealed that there are no long-term radio deals with ALICE, though future appearances are still possible.
  • Kevin officially no longer has anything to do with the Fletch or Green Hornet projects.
  • Walt Flanagan will appear, in some form, in Clerks 2.
  • The Clerks: Sell Out animated film is still on the bubble, and will hopefully start production in 2007.
  • He may restart the Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target series from scratch, since the Daredevil universe has changed a bit since 2003. That won’t be until 2007, though.
  • He’s considering creating a comic book that details events that take place between Clerks and Clerks 2. It won’t be ready for the Clerks 2 release, sadly, and may not happen at all. Just an idea.

Thanks to Jay for his excellent reporting on that one!

View Askew NewsBites™

February 17th @ 7:35 am | No Comments » | Scooped by Tanya, Belinda, Michael Groetken, Brent Jensen, John

  • Kevin’s scripting of “Superman Returns” gets mentioned in the timeline in the latest issue of Premiere Magazine. His photo is in there along with the fact that Tim Burton and Nic Cage were also attached to the project at that time.
  • Clerks is tracking at a poll asking your favorite all-time Indie film over at Hollywood Video. The one that started it all is at #4 at presstime — Your votes could raise it up! Get yours counted!
  • “My Name Is Earl”’s karma concept gets a mention in a new USA Today article on Hinduism. And hey, did you know a country music star auditioned for the lead role on that show? Interesting…
  • Finally today — With the popularity of online blogging software LiveJournal, there’s now a site where you can “fight” one term or person verus another, to see who’s got the most mentions. At presstime, In the battle of “Silent Bob” vs. “Jay”, Jay wins 1498 to 988… BUT “Kevin Smith” whoops up on “Jason Mewes”, 27393 to 1042. Fun stuff. Thanks for dropping by today!

Kevin Signed Photo/Printer Charity Auction!

February 16th @ 6:45 am | No Comments » | Scooped by Brad & Chris

  • Buy a one-of-a-kind and get a great prize. A poster-sized autographed photo taken at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, autographed by Kevin personally, is one of the many items up for bids in HP’s charity auction supporting Habitat for Humanity’s Katrina and Rita rebuilding efforts. You’ll win the unique photo, along with a beautiful HP portable printer (also signed by Kevin). HP will donate a matching 100% of your winning bid to the cause as well.

At presstime, the photo and printer are still quite affordable. With less than a day left to bid, you don’t have much time, so hurry over, and help benefit a worthy cause.

Inactions: An Update!

February 16th @ 6:45 am | No Comments » | Scooped by Silent Boba Fett

  • Okay, so we all know that the long-awaited Chasing Amy inaction figures are due to hit sometime later this year, if all goes well, hopefully with the first playset (The Marina Diner). However, in the latest Toyfare magazine, Bob Chapman of Graphitti Designs broke BIG news on what’s coming next: Two waves of Clerks 2 inaction figures to promote the new film! Here’s the dish:
Look for Kevin Smith’s go-to guys at Graphitti Designs to continue their View Askew line of animated style characters with the newest film. “Right now, we’re focusing on the five primary characters in the movie: Randal, Dante, Jay, Silent Bob, and Elias, a new character that works where Randal and Dante are working.” said Graphitti’s Bob Chapman of the first wave, due to hit sometime after the movie. “The goal would be to do a second set of figures that maybe coincide with the release of the DVD.”

Knowing Bob, we may see some prototypes sooner than later! We’ll keep our eyes and ears open for ya.

View Askew NewsBites™

February 16th @ 6:44 am | No Comments » | Scooped by Tango, Tom O'Brien, Justin McGill, Mallory Sullivan, Allan Sears

  • In a new Zap2It article, Kevin reveals his preference to appear in, rather than direct, television, again citing a possible appearance on “My Name Is Earl” at some point. Some fun new quotes inside. Here’s an excerpt:
Although he’s a film guy, television seems to be Smith’s not-so-secret weakness. As fans know, the erstwhile Silent Bob is such devotee of “Degrassi: The Next Generation” that he contact the producers about possibly directing an episode. Told that his absence of Canadian citizenship would keep him from going behind the camera, he gladly agreed to a multi-episode acting gig playing himself. A similar sense of appreciation led Smith to a cameo on “Veronica Mars.”

“I am always kind of blown away when I see somebody that I know on TV,” he explains. “I saw Jason Mewes on that show on IFC, ‘Film Freak’ or something like that… I was flipping through the channels and I was like, ‘I f***ing know that guy! I went to school with him.’ My wife was like, ‘You also directed him in several pictures. And he lives downstairs in our house.’”

  • Catch Jason Lee as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno — Wednesday, March 1st! Expect some Earl references and perhaps a chicken pox joke or three. Mark your calendars!
  • The famous View Askew Pixel Pound is now safely in its new home at PixelPound.com, on a new server with loads of space for all those pictures you’ve got from all your View Askew events. Get on over there and check out their newest software with improved features, along with that amazing, ever-growing image database. The biggest source of View Askew photos on the web is the View Askew Pixel Pound!
  • You saw that possible flying car image in our newsbites recently, now check out THIS story — Seems Randal’s dream is becoming even closer of a reality, according to a program being run by some MIT scientists.
  • The always informative IMDB presents more insight on the re-titling of Ben Affleck’s upcoming George Reeves biopic:
Ben Affleck’s forthcoming film on the death of TV Superman actor George Reeves has been renamed, following legal threats by the producer of the Superman movies. Affleck plays late actor Reeves in the Truth, Justice And The American Way, which has now been changed to Hollywoodland. Distributors Focus Features were forced to give up the original title after Warner Bros – who produces the Superman film franchise, including the upcoming Superman Returns – threatened to sue, as “Truth, Justice And The American Way” is Superman’s slogan. Reeves, who played the Man Of Steel in the 1951 feature film Superman And The Mole-Men and the 1950s TV series Adventures Of Superman, died of a gunshot wound in June 1959. While the cause of his death was ruled suicide, friends and family suspected he may have been murdered. Hollywoodland, directed by Allen Coulter, also stars Adrien Brody, Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins, and hits US cinemas screens this year.
  • A while back we reported on the newly formed Weinstein Co’s intention to release Clerks 2 on high definition DVD. Before that, however, it looks like they’ll begin issuing their first standard-releases with “Derailed”, eventually followed by a long-awaited Kill Bill Special Edition, which the Weinsteins own the rights to release. Nice! Thanks to The Digital Bits for the scoopage.
  • Jason Lee fans, take note: We’re getting reports that novelty store Spencer Gifts has started carrying “My Name Is Earl” tees, both of which feature Lee’s unmistakable mug. They’re selling fast.
  • And on a final fun note today — Cable movie channel Starz Edge had a fun playlist tonight — Clerks, followed by NAVY SEALS! We kid you not. There’s got to be a programmer at the network with a good sense of humor. Catch ya next time…More news on the way!

Vulgarthon Tickets Now Available!!!

February 15th @ 7:07 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Brad & Chris

  • Okay, so do we need to say ANYTHING?? At all??? It’s not often a Red Bank Vulgarthon happens. In fact, by our count, this will only be the 4rd EVER. We can’t stress enough how important it is you buy tickets NOW and save the date of May 31st, 2006, as we’re holding the event at the Clearview Cinemas yet again (and why not?) — This means seating is LIMITED! Expect a much more intimate affair than LA, if only due to the lesser number of attendees.

Special guests, Q&A fun, and the chance to see Small Town, Gay Bar and the amazing Jersey Girl extended cut for the first time EVER on the east coast. Oh, and how about the Tea Party doc, screened only ONCE before for Vulgarthon West? Oh, and then there’s the matter of that…ahem…MYSTERY film…Need we say more?? You WANT TO BE THERE!

Click the graphic, grab the credit card, and book away. Remember, you gotta be a member of the Web Board at View Askew to attend. If you’re not, REGISTER and qualify yourself.

Don’t delay…And don’t blame us if you miss out when this sells out FAST!

All New Train Wreck Online!

February 14th @ 3:20 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Brad & Chris


“The 360 Shot (Part 1)”
  • Kevin is back from his triumphant appearance at last weekend’s WonderCon with an all-new behind the scenes clip form Clerks 2. In this clip you will see how much time and effort goes into a single 360 degree shot in a pivotal scene from the film. Click HERE and enjoy!

View Askew NewsBites™

February 11th @ 11:49 am | No Comments » | Scooped by Justin McGill, Ian Muttoo, Shawn England, Bruce Sorge, ThinkerX, Ryan Maxwell, David Demeulenaere, Joltman, hornybonobo, Dion Dudoussat, Eric Fortune

  • Did you miss Kevin’s appearance Friday on the Alice Morning Show? Never fear, our old friend Will Wilkins from Radio Askew was nice enough to post the show in it’s entirety right HERE! And speaking of Radio Askew, make sure you get over there and check out this week’s all new podcast.
  • The first full-length on-screen reunion of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck since DOGMA is quickly taking shape. They will team up as two Philadelphia lawyers fighting to keep one man off of death row. Yahoo has all the details:
Affleck, Damon Together Again
By Josh Grossberg Wed Feb 8, 6:49 PM ET

After all these years together, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are finally making it legal.

The Oscar-winning Boston buddies will reunite onscreen in an untitled drama inspired by two real-life attorneys, who fight a 15-year battle to free an innocent man on death row, Daily Variety reports.

Save a couple of cameos in Kevin Smith’s Dogma and Jersey Girls, the twosome hasn’t headlined a movie together since 1997’s Good Will Hunting, for which they shared the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Affleck will play Michael Banks and Damon, J. Gordon Cooney, two lawyers at a Philadelphia firm who work pro bono on the appeal of John Thompson, who claims he was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The attorneys manages to win nine stays of execution over the next decade and a half and eventually overturn the conviction and have Thompson cleared of all charges.

The film, which will be distributed by Disney’s Touchstone Pictures division, is being produced by Affleck and Damon’s Live Planet shingle. Chris Murphey has been tapped to write the script. As part of the movie deal, the companies acquired the life-story rights to the attorneys and Thompson for an unspecified sum.

Live Planet is the multimedia outfit that hatched Damon and Affleck’s now-scotched reality series Project Greenlight. It’s also developing for Miramax Gone Baby Gone, the story of two Beantown private detectives investigating a girl’s kidnapping. The film is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane and is expected to mark Affleck’s feature directing debut.

That project is scheduled to start shooting this summer in Boston. No word when Affleck and Damon will roll cameras on the death row story.

Besides Gone, Affleck has three more movies in the pipeline: playing an assassin in Joe Carnahan’s Las Vegas crime comedy Smoking Aces, going up, up and away as original Superman actor George Reeves in the mystery Hollywoodland, and appearing in Smith’s highly anticipated sequel Clerks II.

Damon, who’s currently in theaters in Syrnana, has been in the Dominican Republic shooting Robert De Niro’s CIA film The Good Shepherd, costarring De Niro and Angelina Jolie. This December he stars with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson in Martin Scorsese’s crime drama The Departed. He’s also signed on to reprise his role as Jason Bourne for The Bourne Ultimatum and is likely to be in the cast of Ocean’s 13, if the sequel gets off the drawing board.

With news of their legal drama circulating, Damon and Affleck can finally put aside the rumors spread by OK! magazine that the actors were ready to take over the roles immortalized by Paul Newman and Robert Redford in 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

“There’s no truth, never was,” Affleck’s rep, Ken Sunshine, tells E! Online. “Never any thought about Butch Cassidy, never any meetings about it. It’s just not true.”

  • In other Affleck movie news, It looks like his upcoming George Reeves biopic “Truth, Justice and the American Way” has undergone a name change. Now entitled “Hollywoodland”, the film follows the rise and the untimely, some say suspicious, fall of television’s first Superman.

  • Finally today, we think we finally have solid proof of Randal’s flying car thanks to this LINK from the Radiohead site ateaseweb.com!