• USA Today ran a blip about Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back and, unless they’re just guessing, reveal that Alanis is indeed returning in the role of God for this one. Seems likely, then again, we’ve yet to see any official confirmation of this one anywhere else:

• Lots of Affleck stuff going on today…Apparently he upset some memebers of the UK when he bashed the way they run things over there, so that’s certainly stirred things up a bit. He’s scheduled to appear on a Yahoo! Chat tonight LIVE at 9 PM, likely to discuss Pearl Harbor but you can probably ask him anything.

In addition to that, Affleck’s also in talks to star in a new flick called “Surviving Christmas”. Here’s the scoop:

• Adam Carolla briefly discussed his involvment with J&SBSB on Loveline’s radio program last night, along with Mark ofBlink 182. Adam was wearing a jacket with a J&SBSB patch which Mark said he was jealous of. Mark asked where Adam got the jacket because he was a big Kevin Smith fan. Adam replied saying that he was in the new film. He added that he had previously joked with Kevin about needing to be in his next film and Kev took Adam up on that offer. He said that they filmed him for a few scenes and he hoped that all his work didnt get eddited out. From what Adam had seen he was looking forward to the new film. In their discussions neither Adam or Mark knew when the release date for the film was, though.

• The internet and e-mail box is all abuzz this morning, as last night,the first test screening of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back was held in LA.The flick ran around 2 hours, which means about 20 minutes or so is still due to hit the cutting room floor, so attendees got a look at a cut of the film that likely no one else will get to see ever again! Test screenings are done for a variety of reasons, whether it be audience reaction,walk-outs, and the like, but the most important aspect are the actual scorecards that each viewer fills in after seeing the flick. The great news is that the film not only wowed the audience, but had incredibly HIGH test scores! This not only gives Dimension and Miramax the confidence to release the film wide, but also bodes well for a huge opening weekend and steady grosses in the weeks to follow through word of mouth. Great stuff here. Here’s Kevin’s post regarding the event:

By the way, if you were one of those fans in attendance who does read the website, and would like to submit a review, feel free to do so. We’ll post it up over at Scooping The Monkey.

• We’ve received word that the server update is going to happen hopefully as soon as Thursday night, which will speed things up here dramatically in all respects, including forums, talkbacks, and mass riots when trailers are released. When the update happens, we’ll be taking the front page down (and some other key pages) and posting a brief warning message regarding the switchover. If all goes well, downtime will be limited. After the switch is done, the current IP address will direct you to the new one. The new IP address should go through on Monday (at that point, typing www.newsaskew.com into your browser will take you right to the new site instead of the redirect page). Until then, be sure and go to the front page (www.newsaskew.com) to get forwarded on to the new IP. We’ll keep you posted as to the status here. If we disappear, never fear, everything’s been backed up, so we’ll be up and running ASAP. And now, the news:

• Digging around the moviepoopshoot.com site, an astute fan noticed some great new content, real AICN-style gossip showing up at this site, a tie-in promotion for Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (…or is it?). Anyway, surf over to the site to check out the updates or real the 5 new stories individually:

• Last night, on Ground Zero, if you wisely skipped that lackluster Sopranos finale, you might have listened to Kevin appear live for an online and AM radio interview regarding Green Arrow and lots of other stuff. Or, maybe you missed it. In that case, don’t worry, we’ve got the entire thing here for your listening pleasure. Make sure you’ve got the latest version of Realplayer and click the links below to check it out:

	Streaming Version (3:13:45) Downloadable Version (3:13:45)
	Full-Length Version (3:13:45) Part 1 (0:38:53) Part 2 (0:38:53) Part 3 (0:38:53) Part 4 (0:38:53) Part 5 (0:38:12)

Thanks to Michael for the site mention on the program, by the way!

• Will Ferrell has been making the talk show rounds this week: On Friday’s Today Show, he spoke mostly about SNL, but he did mention he’s appearing in “the new Kevin Smith movie, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, opening August 24th”. Looks likeIn a recent Charlie Rose appearance, he talked about J&SBSB as well, especially the origin of his character name. He even sang the “Land of the Lost” theme.
• Maxim gives a good little plug to Jay & Bob, though some of the people listed below aren’t exactly “cameos”, still, it’s a positive mention:

• AICN reports that Jeff Anderson (Randal of Clerks fame in case ya didn’t know) will direct his script “NOW YOU KNOW”, starring Rashida Jones (”Boston Public”). The story revolves around a woman who calls off her wedding to her childhood sweetheart for unknown reasons.

• Finally today, an assortment of sound and video for ya. First, an impression of Silent Bob done as part of a mock newscast at a fan’s college. Fans of View Askew have also put together a commercial-style video using CLERKS:THE ANIMATED SERIES, and a funny tune from THE RISE GUYS, Check that out HERE. And finally, the shot above a cool original sketch of Bluntman & Chronic, done by fan Scott Wilson (whose art appeared in Jay & Silent Bob #3). Later on.

• As promised, our weekly edition of 3 new pictures to brighten up your Monday morning. That first pic…well…Kinda speaks for itself. What more is there to say? Next, we’ve got an artsy little shot of Jay & Bob called “Green Room”. If you’ll look carefully on the right, you’ll notice that hilarious poster with the monkey that we mentioned in the on set report. Hopefully that will show up onscreen. The monitor at the lower right with the scene framed is also a nice touch. And finally, another from the Mosier collection, a slightly different pose of the girls outside the van (no, it’s not the same as posted before, we had a few of them). Thanks again to Jamie Anderson, Kevin Smith, and Scott Mosier for providing us with these exclusive photos.

Don’t forget that Kevin promised some updates at Moviepoopshoot.com today, so be on the lookout for that. We’ll be in touch with the latest on that as well. Catch ya later today.

• Here ya go, folks. It won’t be long now! The DVD jacket has been finalized for the A Better Place Special Edition, and here it is! Click the thumbnail to get a look at it in all its glory. It’s going to be a great, packed disc, so if you didn’t get that preorder in, do it now. You don’t wanna miss out. Thanks to Vincent for sending it our way.

• E! Online’s website has a short realvideo clip not featuring Kevin or the trailer clip, but mentioning it along with the Movie Poop Shoot website. They say, “Director Kevin Smith is waging an Internet war, but you’ll be surprised to find out who he’s battling.” You can view the clip online HERE.
• There have been some new changes and a new design at fan site www.silentbob.co.uk. Surf over and check it out if you so desire.
• There’s a new Yahoo club that’s been created dedicated to View Askew director turned Hollywood writer Brian Lynch, located HERE. Stop by if you’d like to know what he’s up to as well as chat with fellow fans.
• This afternoon, a caller to the Don & Mike show (syndicated nationally) asked Don if he had seen the internet trailer to J&SBSB. Don said no, but that he really enjoyed all of Kevins’ films, and DOGMA in particular. The caller then got the plug in for Don and all the listeners to go to viewaskew.com and watch the trailer. The guys both agreed that Kevs’ films were, “Funny as hell!”.
• Finally today, here’s a cool new cartoon of Jay & Silent Bob found over at celebritoons.com. Enjoy the weekend.

• Just a quick word about that news that’s appearing on TheForce.Net today (and has resulted in no less than 50 e-mails at least in the inbox today) regarding the Star Wars Episode 1.1: The Phantom Edit (story originally appeared on Editorsnet by author Erin Lauten. Apparently, a mysterious video cassette containing a re-edited version of George Lucas’ “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” has started circulating around Hollywood. Why is this relevant here, do you ask? Well, folks are theorizing that the tape itself may have been a project of Kevin Smith’s.

We contacted Kevin about this immediately, who assures us that while he’s had nothing to do with the project, he HAS seen a copy and can confirm that is does exist. Interesting. So, who’s got a copy they wanna pass along? Drop us a line! There ya have it, folks.