• Kevin yet again dazzled auds in San Diego last weekend with another hour of fun and surprises. The first extensive report (with photos!) has gone up at AICN, and includes a very interesting description of storyboards that special guest Richard Kelly showed from next year’s “Southland Tales” (in which Kevin plays an Iraqi War Vet by the name of Simon Theory who lost his legs and is in a wheelchair).

In other ST news…JoBlo’s got the first teaser poster for Richard Kelly’s “Southland Tales” up, as well as a summary of what we’ve heard so far. The film is sounding EXCELLENT, and we’re very excited to see it, though hopeful that very little leaks out (sounds like it’ll be more fun that way). We’ll keep you posted on this one.

• Our most popluar scoop today was from last night’s episode of the HBO series ENTOURAGE. On it, Ari Gold (played by Jeremy Piven) had this to say to a character based on the real-life Harvey Weinstein : “If it wasn’t for me, he would be producing Kevin Smith movies for the rest of his life.” As it turns out, one of the writers on the show, Rob Weiss, hasn’t been a fan of Kevin’s for a long time. Here’s what Kevin had to say about the show…

• Montag-a-google is a fun website that’s uses Google image search function to create some unusual montages. Here’s what one of our viewers created by just typing “Clerks Movie” into the application…

• Here’s a great new item available for preorder from the Stash just in time for the summer months, the Clerks Hat. We thought we saw the last of these hats in the Mallrats dirt mall, but we were wrong. Order yours today!

Originally created by Scott Mosier’s sister Kristin, only 4 of these hats were in existence until now. The Clerks logo hat features the ‘Clerks’ typewriter logo embroidered in white on an adjustable black hat. One the back the words, “I’m not even supposed to be here today!” reflect the famous words uttered repeatedly by Dante Hicks.

• Kevin revealed that Southland Tales shirts began going on sale at the con, after his panel. You may have seen them, black with the ST logo, around the floor.

• Aint It Cool News reports that Kevin had the honor of giving a big introduction to the greatest band in the world whilst in San Diego this weekend. We got this report from a lucky eye witness:

As the Crowd was expecting the Tenacious D to take the stage, out comes Kevin to introduce them. He admits to begging for the opportunity to bring them out. Apparently there are only 9 cocks in the world that he is interested in sucking. (There had been 10 but he topped off Affleck and is now down to 9) The 2 men he was bringing on the stage were numbers 7 and 5 on the list.

He walked off stage as Jables and KG walked on, and Kyle stopped Kevin and totally dropped trow, mooning the audience and displaying his junk to Kevin, who at least for the time being did not come through with his offer, at least not then.

• Congratulations go out to J&SBSB composes James L. Venable, who was nominated for the Emmy for “Outstanding Main Title Theme for a Series”. The main title he did was for “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” on the Cartoon Network. You can hear an mp3 of the piece at Jim’s site. Congrats Jim, well earned, and best of luck at the Emmys!
• More congrats to pass around today, to View Askew alum Ethan Suplee on the birth of his first child:

• A local theater chain (Sunrise Cinemas) in Plantation, Florida has arranged for weekends of “flashback cinema”. Coming August 12th and 13th is “Clerks”. Yep, on the BIG SCREEN. We can’t tell you what a great experience it is to see the film in a crowded theater of fans if you haven’t done it before. So if you can make it, DO IT!
• Here’s a small tidbit from last night’s “Reel Paradise” screening hosted by John Pierson that we reported on earlier last week:

We’ll let you know of more opportunities to catch the film — We’re still eagerly awaiting a chance to see it ourselves!

• Joblo.com has picked up on the Mallrats DVD release , spotlighting it in “DVD New Coolness #90”. Along with a glowing appraisal of the movie by the author, they go over some of the new (& old) features. It’s nice to see folks picking up the story, and we thank JoBlo for their continued support. You’re very kind.

• This richmond.com article ranks Clerks in their Top 5 Movie Soundtracks (yep, those top 5′ers are at it again):

• An easy to spot Clerks reference appears in this web comic entitled “This Comic Sucks”. But hey, we say any comic from View Askew fans can’t suck THAT bad! Enjoy.

• The caption writers at “Nintendo Power” magazine continue to show their View Askew fandom. In the August issue’s “Power Quiz” section, there’s a guess-the-picture type puzzle. The caption for the puzzle says “No, it’s not one of those paintis that becomes a schooner if you look at it enough.” See the scan.
• And finally today, since this film remains one of the top reasons that Kevin is making movies today, and started making movies over 10 years ago, we thought you may want to attend (not to mention, it’s the perfect chance to visit that cool new IFC Center in NYC):

• A while back, we mentioned chatting with Bob Chapman about the concept of a Chasing Amy “playset” to go along with the inactions — Bob wasn’t sure it was the final decision at the time, and with the figures only at the con, we weren’t sure. Now, Kevin has revealed that the Marina Diner will indeed become a reality! Though it wasn’t prototyped in time for the con, here’s some exclusive concept artwork that should give you an idea what to expect. So yeah, now you’ve got to find MORE room on your shelf than ever! We were kind of hoping they’d put some SUGAR on the table for Jay, though…

• It’s been a while since we’ve seen any new concepts for inaction figures, so why NOT let San Diego be the debut ground for the new CHASING AMY INACTION FIGURES? Everything else that’s cool seems to be happening there this weekend, as well (including a major appearance from Kevin TODAY!). Yet again, these things just seem to get cooler and cooler with each passing wave. Silent Boba Fett was on the scene snapping pics of a bewildered Holden, an angry Alyssa, a belligerent Banky, a defiant comic collector (yes, Mos makes his FIRST appearance as an inaction figure, hooray!), and, last but not least, a deceptively threatening Hooper X (also the first inaction appearance for Dwight Ewell).

So now that you see them, all you want to know is…WHEN WHEN WHEN…Right? Well, we sadly don’t have an official date (but you can bet we’ll be hitting Chappy up for hints as soon as possible), though prototypes in the past have taken only a few months from finished state to mass production. Our guess? Sometime in October. But don’t quote us on that. For now, enjoy the pics, and start making space on your shelves for 5 more. More news later.

• Updates continue over at Kevin’s popular blog, Silent Bob Speaks (CNN Showbiz even picked up the Entertainment Weekly mention ). Visit the site today to read more about Kevin’s recent casino exploits, and to find out just how many times one person can watch “Glengarry Glen Ross”.
• And speaking of gambling, according to this online diary at ESPN, J&SBSB’s Shannon Elizabeth played in the World Series of Poker this year.
• “Reel Paradise”, the View Askew-produced flick about John Pierson’s quest to open a first-run theater in Fiji, screens at the Maine International Film Festival on Saturday. John is doing a live, in-person Q&A afterwards.See River City Cinema for details.
• We’re getting reports that the Women’s Entertainment Channel, of all channels, is playing the famous TV edit of “Mallrats” pretty regularly. Check your local listings if you got it on your system.
• In the wake of the London bombings, some folks have put together a anti-terriorist site called “We Are Not Afraid”. It encourages people to send in photos following that very theme. A few fans noticed a familiar face in one of the photos at the site.
• And finally today, silly as it is — Buddy Christ shows up in an odd place…“The Virgin Test” when you click yes. You’ll see…

• Yes, UK readers, though we realize you often feel as if you are in the minority around here…Your day has come. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. has been kind enough to provide us with FIVE (5) copies of the Clerks X DVD, coming to UK region 2 DVD on July 18th…Yes, this Monday! Please note this contest is ONLY open to UK readers. You must reside and have a shipping address in the UK to receive a copy.

Winning is simple, really. Well maybe not AS simple as we could have made it, but hey, you gotta work for your supper a LITTLE bit, right? So, here’s what you gotta do. Using our ARCHIVE SEARCH box, answer the following FIVE (5) questions. Be creative and use search terms that make sense, or simply visit our archives and attempt to track down the day that way, month by month. The answers are the DATES, Month, Day, and Year, when the following five events took place:

• The first Vulgarthon, Vulgarthon ‘98, took place in Red Bank, New Jersey on this day.
• The Clerks cartoon premiere episode aired for the first time on ABC television.
• We relaunched News Askew under its new name (previously, the site was known as “Drinks Askew”).
• MTV aired, for the first time, “Jay and SIlent Bob’s Video Stash”.
• The ‘Flying Car’ short made its debut on “The Tonight Show”.

Send your answers, in order, in an email to scoops@newsaskew.com. Include your name, first and last, and a valid e-mail address where we can get in touch with you. CONTEST ENDS MIDNIGHT, JULY 19TH, 2005, EST. You have from now until the end of Monday to get your entries to us.

Remember, ALL these answers can be found in the News Askew archives — But you might have to dig a little or use some brains to figure them all out. We’ll be selecting 5 entries, at random, from entrants who get all 5 dates correct. If no one does, or less than 5 do, we’ll go to 4 correct entires, and so on. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON IS ALLOWED. UK RESIDENTS ONLY. Multiple entries will get you thrown out of the contest. No, if you have 2 different e-mail addresses, you can’t enter from each one. Let’s keep it fair.

So good luck, and thanks again to Buena Vista for supplying us with the goodies! Good luck, UK readers! And for those of you who don’t win, you can own your very own Region 2 copy of Clerks X starting July 18th. Any View Askew fan will tell you, it’s more than worth the cash.

• The full press release announcing the US airing of Kevin and Jay’s 3-episode Degrassi run hit today, and many news outlets have already picked it up, both in print and on the web. If you’d like to read the entire thing, as it was sent out, we’ve got it here in PDF format. In short, the official airdates here on “The N” are August 12th, 19th, and 26th. All Friday nights at 8 and 10 PM ET. An excerpt from the release, including the 3 epsiode breakdown, as in the release, follows:

Smith and actor Jason Mewes (Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) play themselves in all three episodes of the three-part season finale. Alanis Morissette joins the duo in the second of the three half-hour episodes. Morissette plays the Canadian principal who accepts Jay and Silent Bob so they may graduate. The finale will roll out for three consecutive Friday nights — August 12, August 19 and August 26 at 8:00 pm (ET).

In the Degrassi season finale, Smith travels to Canada to film a fictional sequel to the cult-hit Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. For the ‘sequel’ titled, Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!, director Kevin Smith has chosen Degrassi as the perfect Canadian high school for the shoot. In the Degrassi / J&SB storyline, Jay and Silent Bob (played by Mewes and Smith) come to Canada to get a high school diploma since no high school in the United States will take them. Smith said, “The plot of the movie within the show is so funny, it almost makes me want to shoot the flick for real.”

To his legions of fans on both sides of the border and around the world, Kevin Smith has surpassed cult hero status with a body of work that includes titles Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dogma, the “Jersey Trilogy” of Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy and his most recent title, Jersey Girl.

The three-episode finale is as follows:

• “West End Girls”- Premieres Friday, August 12, 8:00 & 10:00 p.m. (ET) -With a common ex-boyfriend, competing Spirit Squad leadership ambitions, and Manny’s public revelation of Paige and Matt’s affair, Paige and Manny cannot stand each other. And none of this is helped by their shared desire to be Prom Queen. But with the claws bared and the fur flying, these “mean girls” take their war too far. Meanwhile, a chance at stardom could spell the end for Craig and Ashley.

• “Goin’ Down The Road” Part 1- Premieres August 19, 8:00 & 10:00 p.m. (ET) – Alanis Morissette makes a cameo appearance as she plays the Canadian principal who accepts Jay and Silent Bob so they may graduate. Kevin Smith is filming his hot new movie at Degrassi, and while Craig’s thrilled to be helping out, he’s destroyed over the fact that Ashley is going to England without him. Now he needs to figure out what’s really important to him, his health or his love? And Ashley may have another take on things altogether. Meanwhile, Caitlin’s been spending a lot of time with Kevin Smith, and she’s beginning to once again doubt her relationship with Joey.

• “Goin’ Down The Road” Part 2-Premieres August 26, 8:00 & 10:00 p.m. (ET) – Without his medication, Craig’s life seems to be falling apart: he’s fighting with Joey, he’s leaving home again, and when he’s kicked off Kevin Smith’s set after a huge blow-up, Craig has nowhere to run. Meanwhile, Caitlin is no closer to figuring out her situation with Joey and Kevin Smith, but running away from it all is sure looking good to her, too.

Smith recounted how he first encountered Degrassi in a November, 1996 article he wrote for Details Magazine, entitled ‘Obsession Confession’. In the piece, Smith confesses: “I used to work at this convenience store, and on Sunday mornings the only thing that kept me from gutting the customers in a sleepy rage was Degrassi Junior High. See, I had to put the papers together, and I did it while watching double episodes of Degrassi on PBS …” Shortly thereafter, Smith went on to create Clerks (1994), his first “Jersey” Trilogy title and even named one if its characters Caitlin, after his favorite Degrassi character.

Smith and series producer Linda Schuyler kept in touch ever since and the mutual admiration was obvious. Smith is renowned for making references to Degrassi in his movies Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy. In Chasing Amy, Jason Lee and Ben Affleck discuss their plans for the evening. Ben’s plans include clubbing. Jason, on the other hand, opts for a pizza and watching Degrassi Junior High, an option that intrigues his co-star.

What follows are a list of sites who have taken bits of this press release:

If you search the News Askew archives, you can learn more about the episodes and see shots of each, as we screened them back when their originally aired in Canada. The rest of ya — The wait’s almost over…Wait until you see Jay and Bob go Canadian, Eh?

• It seems that there was indeed some legitimate confusion regarding the Mallrats X DVD. It’ll be just a single-disc set, but a two-sided one. We’re assuming it’s one of those fancy dual-layer, dual-sided discs, so you’re basically getting the same amount of content as you’d see on two separate discs. Just less physical storage space and one less disc to lose or get covered in your grubby fingerprints. So that’s nice. Here’s Kevin with the clarification:

Due to the side separation, both films will still run uninterrupted in their full bitrates. We’re expecting the best-looking transfer of the film to date. ‘Rats has been well-known as one of the most rewatachable of the bunch, so be prepared to add this one to your collection, and spin it up in your DVD player for years to come.