- Happy 2005, Askewers! We’re happy you’ve come back to visit again in the new year. 2004 was yet another exciting, banner year here at View Askew, and we remain proud to be a part of the team, and excited to bring another year of the latest happenings with View Askew and all its offshoots to your computer screen. Let’s look back at a few of the highlights of 2004 briefly:
1.
Jersey Girl. Easily the biggest View Askew event of the year. While the film continued the trend of the controversial press pieces (Dogma had the Catholic League, J&SBSB had GLAAD, and this film had Bennifer), it also marked the first PG-13 for a View Askew production. Though many critics decided to take unfortunate stance of maligning the film before it even hit screens due to the Ben/Jen factor, there hasn’t been a single person we’re talked to who hasn’t seen the movie and enjoyed it. Both young and old, fans and non-fans. Despite what reputation the film seemed to get on paper, it’s easily most diverse of all of Kevin’s films, and a real crowd pleaser. A wonderful performance by Affleck, too, possibly the best of his career so far.
2. Secret Stash WEST opens doors. Back when the Stash was just tucked away on a side street in Red Bank, and looked pretty much like every other comic book store out there, you never would have thought that one day, it would be a bi-coastal operation, as well as a major tourist attraction for fans both east and west. The Secret Stash stores are now full of one of a kind View Askew props, a wide array of merchandise and, oh yeah, COMICS. 2004 marked the grand opening of the new west coast store, which brings in a large amount of traffic on daily basis. More signings and events are planned for 2005. If you’re coming to California this year, make sure to put the Westwood Stash on your list of things to visit. You might even catch Mewes behind the counter. And, of course, Red Bank’s Stash remains just as magical as always, and is the proud home of Jay & Silent Bob’s Bluntmobile.
3. The 10th Anniversary Clerks DVD. By far the most ambitious and impressive DVD release by View Askew thus far, 2004 saw the release of Clerks X on DVD. This 3 disc set celebrated 10 years of everything Askew, with 2 cuts of the film that started it all (including the first ever look at the Sundance version), and an AMAZING documentary called “Snowball Effect”, which chronicles Kevin’s life up to Clerks, with all the cast, crew, family and friends telling the story. It’s an amazing piece of work, and airing tonight on IFC. Worth picking up the disc for this alone. One of our biggest highlights of 2004, the disc sold a ton and was loved by critics everywhere.
Got some favorite moments of your own? TALK BACK and let us know what your favorite View Askew experience of 2004 was!
There are many exciting prospects for 2005, the most exciting of which probably being the uncertainty of it all. At this point, we don’t have any official timeframes for most of what’s happening, but the talk surrounding Clerks 2 has fans excited above all other projects. Last we’d heard, a start date of April is planned for this one. It’ll take us back to the R-rated roots and follow all the film’s characters lives 10 years later.
Kevin’s also going to be easy to find in person this year, as he’s got a ton of Comicon apperances booked. Kevin’s signing lines and Q&A sessions are more packed than each prior, so if you’re planning to attend, we always recommend getting there EARLY. See our upcoming events page for full details. We’re hoping that Kevin brings all those exclusive inaction figures to the cons. At one point, it was proposed that special edition Kevin Smith figures, designed after each town in which he appears, would be the feature.
Kevin plays himself on the small screen for his first major television role (after a few small guest stints on Yes, Dear, MAD TV and Law & Order. Degrassi: The Next Generation features Kevin as, well, himself (along with Jay & alter ego Silent Bob) in a 3 epsidode arc to end the season. It’s airing in Canada this month, and will show up in the US later this year.
“An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder” looks to be the next View Askew DVD to show up on shelves in 2005. It’ll feature Kevin’s already filmed Canada appearance (see our recent update for a trailer), and this year’s upcoming UK Q&A. All new stories, all new audiences, and lots of laughs. The next best thing to being there in person.
What else is coming up? We shall most certainly see. Rumblings of Kevin’s possible involvement in a Star Wars television program for Lucas himself has a lot of us excited, but remains only strong rumor at presstime. Talks of future direct to video animated Clerks projects seem to pop up now and then as well. With a lot of the original cast together for Clerks 2, it’d sure be easy to record some voices for an animated feature as well. Hmmmm.
It was a blast having you all along for the ride in 2004, and we look forward to spending another year of Askew greatness with you fine folks again. As always, thanks for being the best fans on the planet, and thanks for all you do to support us. Happy New Year!
