• Not only is the world going 7/7/07 crazy today, but we are too, celebrating exactly TEN YEARS of News Askew on the web — Wow, that’s a LONG TIME. Ten years. In porting over the redesign and news database for the new site you’re now viewing, we had the chance to look back on our travels and experiences since we started posting on the web back in 1997. What a long, fun ride it’s been. We’re very happy to continue to provide your almost daily dose of View Askew news, and thankful for those of you that have been with us, whether it’s for 10 years, 1 year, or 1 week. It’s readers and scoopers like yourselves that keep this site alive, and have made it the success that it is. Today’s new site represents a fresh beginning for the next ten years, and presents the most advanced base for News Askew that we’ve ever had.

Let’s learn more about the new site, including what’s done, what’s NOT done, what’s on the horizon, and more. We’ve also got your weekend edition of News Askew, so let’s not forget about that (the show must go on, after all, despite our lack of sleep squashing site bugs). And of course, let’s again say THANK YOU to each and every one of you for keeping the site alive, and of course to Mr. Kevin Smith, who pays the bills and keeps this site coming your way.

• So, here we are! News Askew X. The site you’re now viewing represents almost a half a year of preparation, layout, and database design. And we’re still not done. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you use a modern browser, the latest version of Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari. We’re still finding heaps of Internet Explorer 6 bugs, so if you’re under that browser, please upgrade or be patient with us as we work to figure them all out. Also, enable Javascript if you know how. That will ensure that some of the extra features will function as we intended.

You may notice an options console in the upper-right corner. This currently functions under all browsers except for IE (a fix is coming for that). With it, you can switch News Askew from a fluid, widescreen design to a more static, slimmer design. You can also change the main color scheme to your liking. These features may stick around, or we may force a color on you down the line. For now, the choice is yours. We have some design left to do as far as graphics go, so things are going to evolve from this point, especially in the site header.

We’re still in the process of categorizing the almost 7,000 stories here at News Askew. When we’re done, you’ll be able to use a new extended live search to interactively pull up stories by month, year, or even catgegory. For now, the general archives page will get you where you need to be.

Image handling is much nicer at the new site. If you’re using a fairly new browser, say goodbye to those images that show up in new windows. Try clicking this thumbnail image below and see how the new image expansion feature looks. Niiiice.

We’re pleased to say that our polls archive is 80% re-established, and live polling has now returned to the site. Be sure to cast your vote on the current poll question, and submit your own ideas for future News Askew polls. Yes, we’ll be asking at some point what you think of the new site, but want to get the major bug fixes before we start getting some feedback.

That’s about all we want to say about the new design, for now. As we put the finishing touches on features, we’ll let you know here at the front page. Commenting on stories is encouraged and live, though you’ll have to re-register yourself. Reserve that user name that you’ve been looking for now. As always, we have the rights to refuse any user name or comment post. So behave yourselves. Poke around a bit, try a search, and see what you think. We realize it’s a big change. We know you’re going to grow to love it, if you don’t already. Welcome to News Askew X, the new News Askew!

• Kevin’s “Live Free or Die Hard” exchange with film critic Ty Burr made the New York Post’s famous Page Six column again this week:

• Just three weeks to go until the world famous San Diego Comic-Con, who have now posted the official schedule. This is probably the biggest and best comics and entertainment event of the year. Kevin is once again a featured guest this year, and without a major film release to get in the way, we’re betting he’ll be there EARLY and willing to do the Q&A thing as long as he can have the room.

This year, you can catch Kevin doing the Q&A panel from 6:15 to 7:45 PM in Hall H, on Friday, July 27th. No word yet on if Kevin will be holding a signing, though we’re guessing that the famous View Askew swag booth will be on the floor, full of bargains on some of the fantastic stuff sold exlusively through Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.

As always, we URGE you to get to the con early, as Kevin’s appearances always fill to capacity. If they’re handing out tickets, get in line and get one, to ensure you’ll get a seat in the room.

• Leo Quinones interviews Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier tonight, live on 97.1 KLSX Free FM. You can listen and watch it as it happens via their website. Click the banner above to head over to the site. Ten random winners who visit Leo’s myspace page, add Leo as a friend, and message back “ASKEW ME” will have a chance at winning some prizes from the show (the guys are hoping to get signed scripts to offer up to fans). Also, if you login and ask a question in the chat room tonight that’s used on-air, you’ll ALSO win a script. Nice eh?

Tune in tonight, from 7 PM to 9 PM PST (10 PM to midnight EST). Exclusively on 97.1 and online!

• Malcolm Ingram’s award-winning documentary “Small Town, Gay Bar”, produced by View Askew, will be available on a packed DVD August 7th, 2007. You can bet that we’ll have a fantastic pre-order price on SIGNED copies of this film through the Stash, so stay tuned for those details as soon as we can get ‘em. Those of you lucky enough to see the film at a Vulgarthon or another film festival over the past year or two can attest to what a good job that Malc did to capture this walk of life. Read Kevin’s reveal over at the board.

By the way, sneak into Kev’s post and you’ll also notice that he’s made a MAJOR casting for “Zack & Miri” — Judging by the secrecy, we’re betting this may be for the “Zack” role, too — As we’re still figuring Rosario for “Miri”. We can’t wait to find out who’s coming into the family.

• Yep, it’s never a View Askew production unless something weird happens — Kevin has openly denied a couple’s claim that “Zack and Miri Make A Porno” is based on them.

• The voice of Kevin appears on a new DVD with a behind the scenes look at the new Superman animated movie. The disc, distributed by Diamond this week, came inside select comics. In it, Kevin appears in a brief voiceover at the end saying, “Like we really needed him to bust up a mechanical spider, LAME.” If anyone has a capture or an extra disc, let us know!

• According to IMDB.com, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are going to co-write another film, their first since “Good Will Hunting”. We’ve heard this before, from time to time, so we’ll wait for concrete news before reporting further.

• And while we’re talking Affleck, Kevin has high praise for the dude’s directorial debut, “Gone Baby Gone”. You can now view the theatrical trailer exclusively over at Yahoo Movies.

• USA Today gives Kevin’s turn in “Live Free or Die Hard” the edge in this silly little story comparing elements of that film to “Transformers”.

• Jason Lee answers a few new questions for “Disney Adventures” magazine, about “Underdog”, of course, and we’ve got the scan for ya. Click and enjoy, using that snazzy new image expansion feature of ours.

• Everyone remember Afroman and that addictive tune “Because I Got High” that appeared in “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”? AP is now reporting that the artist is working on a new film titled “Waiting To Inhale”.

• Well, there ya have it — Another year in the books, and you’re still here. And so are we. And we thank you for that. 2005 brought some interesting twists, turns, and announcements from View Askew, and even surprised us as much as you, fair readers.

2005 was a year that View Askew didn’t release any Kevin Smith flicks. With seven films under his belt now and just over 10 years in the biz, a year without a film doesn’t happen too often. Of course, 2006 will bring us a sequel, the first true View Askew sequel. Yes, back in 2004, Kevin surprised fans with an unexpected announcement — Clerks, the film that started it all, was going to have a sequel. And in 2005, that annoucnement became a reality. Crews in California AND New Jersey went to work behind and in front of the cameras. Before the year was out, perhaps in record time for any View Askew flick, a cut of Clerks 2 was assembled and screened for test audiences. Clerks 2 was also the first film officially greenlit into production by the newly formed Weinstein Company. More on that in a moment.

2005 also marked the largest fan event in View Askew history — Vulgarthon 2005. For the first time, a ‘thon was held on the west coast, allowing a new crop of fans to experience a film festival, Askew style. Rare flicks like Big Helium Dog hit the screen, along with the highlight of the show — An extended cut of Jersey Girl, never seen anywhere else, and possibly never again, at least until the hopeful extended DVD release (possibly for the film’s 10th anniversary). Chasing Amy’s cast reuinted at the event for an enjoyable Q&A session, which will be cut together for the Amy 10th Anniversary DVD (expected in 2007). The night capped off with Malcolm Ingram and Jen Schwalbach’s Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back documentary, never seen before, anywhere. The event easily sold out the huge, beautiful Arclight Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles.

Kevin made quite a few live appearances in 2005 as well, including the historic, record-breaking Return to Red Bank Q&A, which we covered here at News Askew. This amazing sold out affair ran for an astounding 7 hour Q&A session (has anyone called Guiness on that one yet?).

View Askew may have been absent theatrically in 2005 (aisde from the “Reel Paradise” documentary that was produced and ran a small festival circuit), but the small screen tells a different story. Kevin’s brilliant run of appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno continued, along with amusing guest turns on the excellent Veronica Mars, and an extended, multi-episode arc on Canadian series Degrassi: The Next Generation (along with Jason Mewes). And who would have ever dreamed that our beloved Jason Lee would get the notice he deserved and headline his own sitcom in 2005? At this point last year, we’d never have guessed.

It wouldn’t be a year in Askew without some DVDs to stock your shelves as well, and this year was no exception — The highlight had to be the Mallrats 10th Anniverary disc, which featured a new Q&A (filmed at yet another Arclight event in Los Angeles in ‘05), and the most extended cut of Mallrats that you ever could see. Kevin and Scott spent hours with old footage to put together the definitive extended cut, another DVD milestone for us. Later in the year, the first three Degrassi episodes were collected and released, full of commentary, behind the scenes footage, and deleted segments.

In the cyberwold, View Askew’s forums continued to grow in popularity. Kevin’s posts there grew into a site of their own: “My Boring-Ass Life” became Kevin’s own blog site now housed at silentbobspeaks.com, after a brief run at News Askew when we started collecting his daily musings, realizing that they were too good to be missed. The diary site continues to exist, though goes on hiatus as necessary when Kevin’s got a busy schedule. Clerks2.com debuted with another first for us: A video diary of the film’s production, being assembled into weekly tidbits by brillaint filmmakers Zak Knutson and Joey Figueroa. And of course, we continued to provide you the latest up to the minute coverage of everything from the major to the minor right here at NewsAskew.com.

And hey, let’s not forget radio. Kevin came into his own in 2005 with several long form appearances on Los Angeles radio programs. He’s yet to ink any long-term deals for a regular radio stint, but stated on several occasions that he enjoys being the “second banana” and co-hosting when his schedule allows. We’re expecting to see more of the same next year.

Quality product continued to pour out of the Stash this year, with the promise of new inaction figures that top the already brilliant models out there, our first bobbleheads, and of course, a new book by Kevin titled “Silent Bob Speaks”, collecting his brilliant run with Arena magazine, available in the US for the first time anywhere. The critically-acclaimed book sold in record numbers, forcing immediate extra printings.

Finally for 2005, it happened early in the year, but it wouldn’t be a wrapup without mentioning the changing of the guard, per se, at Miramax. Founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein parted ways with their company, and Disney, to form The Weinstein Co, whose films will begin to proliferate in 2006. Kevin, Scott, and View Askew Productions have followed Bob and Harvey, and will continue to work and produce films under View Askew for release through the new company. Clerks 2 will kick it off next year.

And while some partnerships ended, others began. Headliners Ben Affleck and Matt Damon both tied the knot in 2005, and Affleck just welcomed his first child, Violent, into the world.

What’s to come? We’re of course expecting 2006 to be the year of Clerks 2. With a late summer release currently planned, a possible unrated version released to a small, targeted crop of screens, it’s the chance for another View Askew milestone — A mainstream, unrated film with a chance to make a decent splash if the right demographic is targeted. With the Weinstein Company just getting underway, we think it’s a great chance to do something different and make headlines. If an R-rated film’s in there somewhere (though definite major trims would be necessary), we still expect a smaller release, similar to the first Clerks well over 10 years ago.

With Clerks 2 being the big news of 2006, it certainly won’t be the only news. Malcolm Ingram’s acclaimed View Askew-prodcued documentary “Small Town, Gay Bar” will celebrate its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year (they’re shooting for Cannes with Clerks 2). Another VA alumn, Joey Lauren Adams, will premiere her own writing/directing debut effort at that same event.

“An Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder” is in final editing phases, just pushed back to 2006 to better coincide with the theatrical debut of Clerks 2. The DVD set will again feature Kevin’s famous Q&A routines, this time from locations abroad. Early scenes that we’ve caught have been hilarious. There’s also been some rumblings of a rumored return of the Clerks Animated series to home video in 2006. With a small budget, and all the major players back on the table from the new flick, we’re thinking this is highly likely.

Kevin’s return to the world of comics will surely bring more to come in the new year — Spidey/Black Cat will finish its miniseries with some major surprises, and Daredevil/Bullseye: Target should also finish its own run. We’ve got some great new toys on the way as well – Those Chasing Amy inaction figures we’ve all been craving, possibly with their own diner playset, are due in June of 2006.

Let’s not forget “Catch and Release” — Kevin’s first lead role in a non View Askew production will hit theaters in 2006. Early trailers have his character spouting a heap of funny lines and expressions. Our guess is that he’ll be stealing quite a few scenes in that one.

And while Kevin, Scott, and the rest of the crew wrap up Clerks 2 in the editing room, we’re betting that talk of the next project won’t be far off. Don’t be surprised to hear an annoucement of the next View Askew production in 2006 from Kevin and Scott. Ranger Danger and the Danger Rangers looks like a strong bet, no roles have been cast, though Kevin has always said that there will be a major role for Jason Mewes in that picture.

While these are all things we know, the best part of this site is perhaps the UNKNOWN. 2006 is sure to bring more surprises and unexpected twists that make this job, and being a View Askew fan, an honor and a privilege. Halfway through the year, we’re going to take a look back at this news entry, and see what’s transpired that we DIDN’T expect. We’re guessing that there’s a lot of headlines we’ll be writing that we’d never even dreamed.

We’d like to take this time to thank you all for your support in 2005. You’re the best bunch of fans in the world: kind, cool, helpful, passionate, and dedicated. This site remains a part of the web largely from your support. As long as there are fans, News Askew is proud to be your daily source for everything that’s happening in this little corner of the entertainment biz that we all love. Happy New Year to you, and thanks for being a part of another thrilling year. We hope you’re looking forward to 2006 as much as we are. We promise, you’re gonna love it.

• TV shows from two View Askew alums made it to Time Magazine’s top 10 shows of 2005. Both Chris Rock’s Everybody Hates Chris and Jason Lee’s My Name is Earl tied for number 10. TV critic James Poniewozik writes, “Why a tie? Because I don’t have 11 slots and can’t make a damn decision.” Check out the complete list at Time Magazine.
• Some cool View Askew happenings on UK TV this January: Channel 4 here will be showing “The 50 Greatest Comedy Films” on Sunday 1st January (starting at 9:00pm or 11:20pm for those in Wales watching on S4C) – Clerks has definitely made the list and Kevin is on the show, as he’s appearing in trailers for the program. Often on the program, interviewees also talk about other entries in addition to their own, so Kevin may pop up throughout the three-hour show.

• Our resourceful scoopers caught a rerun of Kevin’s “Law & Order” episode yesterday, and were kind enough to do a nice video capture of Kevin’s work in the episode. So, if you’ve never caught it, we’re now happy to present the clip for your enjoyment, and add it to our own archives here, forever and ever.
• We’ve now got an official “My Name Is Earl” premiere date for you UK’ers – January 6th on Channel 4. Be sure and tune in for the comedy that’s being acclaimed as one of the best on television.
• More from the world of Lee: Jason’s “Stereo Sound Agency” takes over the Sirius satellite airwaves with their own new channel TOMORROW, December 30th. Check your Sirius listings for channel and program info.

• And last, but not least, one of our favorite newsbites in quite some time — The brewers of Newport Storm Beer are apparently big film buffs, as they often use film quotes inside their beer bottle caps (using the word beer in place of another). Scooper Bob Adams apparently drank enough to find this gem of a cap! Good on ya Bob, and good on YOU, Newport Storm brewmeisters! See ya next time.

• Seems some of you got the new Trivial Pursuit “Pop Culture Volume 2” TV game under the tree this year, and spotted an obvious homage to View Askew. When you win a round, there’s a series of congratulatory phrases from the world of pop culture that play. One of those phrases is the infamous “Snootchie Bootchies!” Gotta love it.
• Since we’re not into the soap opera thing, we’ll pass this scoop on as it came in, since it’s unconfirmed. Apparently, Kevin was name dropped on today’s episode of NBC’s long-running “Days of Our Lives”:

And there you have it.

• We realize it’s been a bit lighter than usual around here, though things promise to kick back into gear in the New Year. A lot of the world’s just taking a little break with the holidays, especially with the extended vacations due to the big days falling over weekends this year. Watch for our year in review story, coming later this week, and lots more.