• This is a very exciting time for us, when a new film’s about to hit the screen – And, as you’ve seen from the site and all of our coverage, there’s a LOT of press going on for Clerks II. But perhaps even cooler is the fact that Kevin is literally touring the country with the film, personally watching audiences watch the film, doing the live Q&A thing afterwards, and, in many cases, this is happening BEFORE the official July 21st release. A Pleasantville, NY showing has just been added for July 19th (Jacob Burns), now bringing our known screenings up to the following list:

If anyone hears of any more open to the public screenings, let us know. And remember, regardless of when you see the film, early or not, be sure and get out there on opening weekend, bring some pals with you, spread the word, and plan for a great time at the movies. This one’s a true crowd pleaser.

• Rosario Dawson will be promoting Clerks II on Late Night With Conan O’Brien on the 18th (11:35PM Central). East or west coasters, that’ll put it at the morning of the 19th for us. She will also be appearing on the Regis & Kelly show on July 19th. Check out massive appearance grid at the top of the page for this and many other promotional appearances set for the next couple of weeks!
• Scene Stealers does it again, this time with some fantastic video coverage of their time with Brian & Jeff during the Kansas City stop late last month. Check out the video of PART ONE at their site, and watch for part two to arrive on Monday. Official reviews of Clerks II will also come from these guys later next week. If you’re tired of just listening or reading these things, now’s your chance to see a live sit down with everyone’s favorite clerks. Nice job to Scene Stealers on their oustanding coverage of Brian and Jeff’s tour.
• It seems that blogger Tom Young at The Detroit News likes the idea of a Kevin Smith-scripted Aquaman 2, as Entourage fictionally proposed last weekend.

• BREAKING NEWS JUST IN: Kevin will appear on tonight’s episode of “Entertainment Tonight” and Jason will be on “The Insider”. Sorry for the late notice, but word JUST came in regarding these appearances. Check your local listings for channels and airtimes. And if anyone nabs a capture of them, let us know! More news later.

• Last night, Kevin logged one of the most visible appearances during the Clerks II promotional tour, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. As always, audiences were rolling with laughter as he told the tale of the anal fissure, then a nice segue into Clerks II promotion, where the now famous Jay scene that you’ve seen in most trailers and ads is shown to the audience. The clip runs nine minutes in length, and we’ve got it available on our new News Askew YouTube channel. Enjoy!

• So are you as stoked as we are to see G4’s “Icons” episode on Kevin this weekend? The crew behind the program have been following Kevin everywhere the past few months (we spotted them at Vulgarthon East chatting up web genius Ming Chen), and have put together an AMAZING program from what we’re hearing. All new interviews with all the stars. Footage you’ve never seen before. A look at the dude who makes it all possible — Kevin Smith, profiled this weekend on G4 Icons.

Here’s a promo of what to expect on the show this weekend. Click and enjoy!

Don’t have G4? Make a friend who does! Catch it this weekend. And yes, catch CLERKS II in theaters on July 21st, just 11 days from now. You are gonna LOVE this film.

• TONS of you wrote us to note the small mention/jab at Kevin on last night’s episode of the hit HBO series Entourage. Kevin says:

The mention involved an fictional Aquaman sequel being directed by Michael Bay and writen by Kevin. Could this open up the doors for a possible Kevin appearance on the show? The program’s more entertaining than ever, a big hit, and we believe Kevin watches. Aint It Cool mentioned the reference as well. Hey, you never know…

• We’re happy to CONFIRM a July 18th screening of Clerks II in Montreal, open to the public — And yes, because you are a loyal News Askew reader, here’s the info on how to get your ticket for a mere nine Canadian dollars:

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the film if you manage to catch it early — Good luck, and enjoy the show!

• Did you miss Richard Kelly’s big appearance at the Stash last week, signing copies of his “Southland Tales” book? Kevin was on hand to introduce the crowds to the genius behind “Donnie Darko” and his new upcoming flick in which Kevin co-stars. The skills of Albert Ortega and his camera were again on hand to document the event in photos, and we’re pleased to have all the high resolution versions for you right here. Check out shots above of Kelly, Kevin, and some lucky fans who were in attendance. And watch for more exciting events coming to Stash West and Stash East very soon — The coolest figures from the world of comics and entertainment love to stop in at the Stash!

• Dan Lybarger interviews O’Halloran and Anderson in an EXTENSIVE piece full of tons of Q&A — Probably the longest interview with these guys we’ve seen in print, EVER. So it’s nice and in-depth. There’s too much great stuff in here to even pick up prime clippage, so here’s just a random passage or two:

You must, by all means, check out the entire interview HERE!

• New video clippage! Check out this article AND video of Kevin’s appearance, in person, on “Atlanta & Company”. We found we had to use Internet Explorer to get the video to play. And play quite well it did! Watch Kevin quip with the interviewer and chat up Clerks II as he tours the country promoting its greatness.
• Word has it that the opening day Clerks II Q&A sessions at the Arclight will be taped for the Clerks II DVD release. Come armed with some good questions about the film, folks!

• This one’s an older interview (as Kevin mentions the old August release date), but you can visit YouTube for an audio version of a radio appearance that Kevin did with “The Rise Guys” to chat up Clerks II. The 8 minute interview is audio only, just with a still shot which we suppose allowed it to be uploaded to YouTube, which typically serves up video. The guys in the studio are fans, which makes for a fine piece. Enjoy.