- We’ve fallen behind mentioning episodes, but Will and Scott continue their weekly webcast/podcast “Radio Askew”, where they dish on the latest pop culture with a major View Askew focus. They’ve been branching out to outside topics a bit in recent weeks, but there’s been a bunch of View Askew stuff at the forefront, including the second half of the Brian Lynch interview, a look back to the Vulgarthon “Chasing Kevin” screening, chat about Lee’s recent SNL appearance, and lots more. Episode #12 is newly available, and all previous episodes remain archived for your listening pleasure. All you need is a device that plays MP3s to listen. Yes, your computer is one of them. So get going! Radio Askew, the web’s only weekly Askew podcast.
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View Askew NewsBites™
- Hollywood Stock Exchange reveals what looks to be a new supporting role for our pal Affleck:
Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Alicia Keys and Ben Affleck star in the crime drama Smokin’ Aces. Piven plays a Las Vegas magician who decides to testify against the mob. Before going into hiding, he decides to go to town in the casinos for one last hurrah only to draw the attention of mob assassins. The Universal film is written and directed by Joe Carnahan (Narc).
- Just a reminder: What we believe is the first View Askew release for the Sony PSP, Clerks, is now available! Take Clerks on the road with ya. Catch up and be ready for all the in-jokes when the sequel hits theaters! Plus imagine all the heads you’ll turn when you play Randal’s famous video order scene in public.
APP: “Kevin Smith fans crash the Stash”
- Man, we LOVE the coverage that the Asbury Park Press gives to View Askew events — Yet again another wonderfully written and assembled article that we’re running in full format covers the big Degrassi signing at the Stash that was held on Sunday:
Kevin Smith fans crash the Stash
Fans line up to get star’s autograph
BY ALEX BIESE AND DAN KAPLAN, STAFF WRITERS
RED BANK — Joe McLane began waiting in line at 5:15 a.m Sunday for a chance to meet one of Monmouth County’s biggest celebrities who doesn’t play the guitar.
The Hazlet resident was the first of an estimated 500 people who lined up to meet filmmaker and Highlands native Kevin Smith. He was in Red Bank Sunday to sign copies of a new DVD featuring appearances by him and comedic sidekick and actor Jason Mewes in three episodes of the critically acclaimed Canadian dramatic teen series “Degrassi: The Next Generation.”
Judging from the line that extended from Smith’s Broad Street store — Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash — and wrapped north around Mechanic Street, rocker Bruce Springsteen may have some competition for the Shore’s biggest draw. By 4:30 p.m., the line still was going strong.
“I think that Kevin Smith is a genius,” said Angela Kemper, 20, who drove five hours from the Boston suburb of Weymouth, Mass., to attend the autograph signing. “It’s kind of pathetic, but he’s my idol. I started writing because of him.”
Even Smith couldn’t explain his and his movies’ popularity.
“I don’t know what it is, man,” Smith said. “Since it’s all based locally, I guess that’s a big factor when you’re here, because you get a lot of Monmouth County folks showing up. But I don’t know, I guess it connects with them on some level, thank God.”
Not everyone was there to see Smith, though. He was joined at a table in the back of the store by Mewes and “Degrassi” stars Jake Epstein and Stacey Farber, both 18 of Toronto. The cable series, based at a high school, deals with important teen issues, such as pregnancy and AIDS, and has generated a loyal fan base in America.
“It’s different than other shows,” Mallory Szymczak, 16, of Toms River said. “It deals with real issues.”
Mewes and Smith’s DVD titled “Jay and Silent Bob Do Degrassi: The Next Generation” is a recording of their three-episode guest appearance on the show.
Smith admitted he was taken aback by having “Degrassi” fans in his comic book store.
“There’s mostly 16-year-old girls in the store,” said Smith, who is used to seeing young male adults at his appearances. “That’s not normal at all.”
Smith, whose last Red Bank autograph signing session lasted until 5 a.m. following an appearance at the Count Basie Theatre last April, said it is a thrill getting to meet the fans.
“It’s always nice,” Smith said. “It’s always a pleasure, but it’s kind of nerve-racking because we’re like, “God, I hope we get to everybody.’ But still it feels fantastic.”
Despite his massive popularity, Smith said he has never encountered a negative kind of fanaticism, thanks at least in part to the large amount of time he spends with fans.
“I don’t really have crazy fans,” Smith said. “I think a lot of that has to do with accessibility. We do things like this all the time, always hanging out on our Web site, posting and stuff like that.”
Smith has been in the area filming the sequel to his low-budget — it cost $28,000 to make — but wildly popular 1994 cult classic independent film “Clerks.” The sequel tentatively is being called “The Passion of the Clerks.”
Katie Martinez, 15, of Holmdel, who was in Red Bank with friends waiting in line for more than four hours, said Smith’s movies “are so funny. They’re the movies you never get sick of.”
Elliot Berard left his Rhode Island home with his friends around midnight, and arrived in Red Bank just before 6 a.m.
“This is the first time that I’ve ever been to a signing, and we just figured the line was going to be wicked long, so we left around midnight, wound up getting lost a couple of times, arrived here, and we ended up beating the crowd by a lot more than I thought we would,” Berard said.
Chuck Ruggiero of Middletown summed up the appeal of Smith’s films: “They’re just really funny. I don’t want to say they’re an escape necessarily, but it’s just a good time. All his movies are really good.”
If you want some pretty moving pictures to go with the words above, eTalk Daily (basically Canada’s version of The Insider or Access Hollywood) ran a short video last night on the mayhem at the DVD signing. Check it!
Jay & Silent Bob Return To Degrassi in 6 Days!
- We’ve got airdates and details marking Jay & Silent Bob’s trimphant return to the world of Degrassi on CTV (no Noggin airdates have been posted yet, sorry). The two-part episode in which Kevin and Jay return to reprise their real-life roles (and alter-egos, we presume) is November 28th. The second part airs a week later on December 5th. The episodes are titled “The Lexicon of Love”. Capsule summaries for both episodes follow, courtesy the brilliant tv.com:
I: The premiere of Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh is here and two students find out how fun hanging out can be. Meanwhile Emma, on a date with Peter, discovers something dreadful.
II: Kevin Smith returns only to help two students who are questioning everything–including their sexuality. Meanwhile Emma can no longer keep her secret.
We’ll of course as always have some nice screencaps and more info on the episodes after they air, in case you’re curious. And if you wanna wait, we’ll of course warn of spoilers and get you those U.S. airdates as soon as possible. The episodes are #11 and #12 for season 5 of the show, so they fall somewhere right in the middle.
Post-Turkey Day Treat: Three New Vids!
- Happy post-Thanksgiving, everyone! That turkey digest ok for ya? Hope so.
Kevin took a few moments to film a brand new introduction video today (which we suggest you watch first) as well as bring us TWO more of the brilliant “Train Wreck” shorts available at clerks2.com. By the way, has anyone noticed the cool new iPod Video version of all the mini-flicks so far? You lucky kids with your new iPod videos (or those soon under the tree) won’t have an excuse not to have anything on there. And our stuff’s FREE, unlike that evil iTunes store that sucks you in and has you spending oodles of cash when you see all the cool stuff THEY’VE got on board.
But we digress. After Kevin’s intro, delve into “She’s A Lady” to see the first appearance of Rosario Dawson in the series. In this clip, she chats it up with Kevin, revealing her View Askew fandom (cool!) and her feelings on coming into a shoot as the new kid on the block. You’ll also catch a few glimpses of some of the shooting at Mooby’s, mostly behind-the-scenes type stuff. For more on Rosario and “Rent”, check out this excellent New York Times article.
Technology geeks like us will really dig the final entry today, “Production Sound”. In this one, Whit Norris, Production sound mixer, gives an excellent explanation and demonstration of how he records and stores all of those wonderful sounds that you’ll hear when you peep Clerks 2 for the first time. Boom op Doug Cameron also makes an appearance. Watch it all the way through to learn what all those lights and bells on a movie set mean, too.
Enjoy your Black Friday weekend, and we’ll see you again soon. More big news is on the way!
View Askew NewsBites™
- You saw a bunch of our photos from the Degrassi DVD release event at the Stash yesterday. How about sharing your own? The View Askew Pixel Pound is taking all submissions. Show your joy to the world!
- Aint It Cool gives some more traffic to the Clerks 2 site with a recent mention of the latest video diary posting (with that hilarious replay moment we so love).
- Buddy Christ spotting! On a recent opening segment of MSNBC’s “Countdown” program, a graphic of BC kicked off a story about the price of gas for attendees of a local church.
Commentary…
- Well folks, we’re back again for another pre-holiday week of View Askew goodness. And we’re WAY thankful for this holiday week, as it should allow some catching up for some major pieces we’re writing for the website. We’ve got a lot of Clerks 2 news for you from the rumor mill, which we’re going to clear before we reveal. If you want to remain relatively spoiler-free, though, trust us — The waiting is all for your own good. And we think you’ll love the report no matter what. We also realize we owe you a review of the Jay & Bob Do Degrassi DVD. It’s coming, we swear. Just been a busy week. We know you understand. Plus, by now, we’re hoping you’ve all bought your own copies to spin around in your DVD players over and over again. Jay & Silent Bob back on TV. What’s better than that?
With the Clerks 2 production winding down, we’re sure things will kick into gear here shortly. We already know there’s some big news on the horizon, and we’re guessing that Kevin’s going to have a LOT to say when diary updates and postings at the board resume. Also, from what we hear, a bunch of videos are on the way to the Clerks 2 site…There’s just a backlog of footage that had to be edited. Lots more is on the way.
As for us? Let’s just catch up the inbox with a few quick newsbites, shall we? Let’s go…
Degrassi Event At Stash East TODAY!
- It’s been a hectic week, details on that sometime early next week. Capping today off, we’ve got a MAJOR event at Stash East, the original, in Red Bank, New Jersey. Starting at 1 PM, Kevin and Jay, along with a couple of Degrassi cast members, will be signing the new Jay & Silent Bob Do Degrassi DVD. Fans are already lining the street. We’re expecting a fun, smooth event today, and hope to see all of you in beautiful downtown Red Bank. We’ll have full coverage, photos, and a story on that and the week’s other exciting events in the coming days, once we’re back to home base in PA. Hope to see you there!
View Askew & Degrassi Take Over Red Bank!
- Fans swarmed the streets of the quiet town of Red Bank, New Jersey today, as over 500 people appeared for the View Askew / Degrassi DVD signing event. The line grew and grew, until chaos rushed in when the doors were open to fans, who proceeded to meet and greet Degrassi kids Stacey Farber and Jake Epstein, as well as the titular characters from the “Jay & Silent Bob Do Degrassi” DVD, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes. We were on hand to watch the madness, and have photos to prove it! Yes, some overwhelmed attendees even got a little teary-eyed at the event. Producer Jim Jackman, a very good dude, can also be seen in a couple photos behind the table. Really great guy to chat it up with.
View Askew would like to thank every attendee today for their patience, as well as for taking the time out of their weekend to be a part of the release party. It was a happy union of fans of View Askew, fans of Degrassi, and fans of both. We hope you had an enjoyable day, and look forward to seeing more east coast events in the future. Jersey represent!
View Askew NewsBites™
- In a new interview with Dark Horizons, Rosario Dawson talks up her new film “Rent”, but ALSO briefly mentions her role in Clerks 2, which is something we don’t think has been revealed before. Minor spoiler regarding that role ahead:
“I just finished working on The Passion of the Clerks, which is Kevin Smith’s sequel to Clerks that he did 10 years ago, playing the manager of Mooby’s. It’s really quite funny and probably going to be a different kind of press situation after this, talking about it.”
- Casino Askew cooless ahead! We don’t have any photos yet, but check out this entry from the latest issue of Previews:
GRAPHITTI DESIGNS CASINO ASKEW POKER DECK 1 HOLD EM MCNEIL (MR) (C: 4) .SRP: $15.95
Looks like we’ll be seeing the playing cards featured on Kevin’s exclusive Texas Hold’Em table in our own home games soon, huh? Details when we have them, though we assume they’ll be shipping sometime in December.
- “My Name is Earl” has been nominated for best new television comedy in the 37th Annual People’s Choice Awards. Even cooler? You can go to their website and vote up to ONCE A DAY! So do it! Thanks for stopping by, folks.