• A couple of screening opportunities for View Askew flicks are happening around the US, check below and see if you’re within range:

• Minnesota State University-Mankato will be showing Clerks on February 1st at 7:00 p.m. and again at 9:30 p.m.; Mallrats on February 2nd at 7:00 p.m. and again at 9:30 p.m.; Chasing Amy on February 3rd at 7:00 p.m.; and a “Kevin Smith Marathon” on February 4th, starting at 3:00 p.m. and it will show all three movies back-to-back-to-back.
• Clerks is going to be shown at midnight at the Arizona Center February 9th – 11th.
• And finally, you can JUST make this one – There’s as screening of Chasing Amy tonight at 7PM at West Virginia State College in Cole Complex Room 315.

• From UK’s The Guardian website: Hollywood buddies Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are set to team up again for a new baseball film about a real-life wife-swapping scandal. According to reports, Damon has bought the rights to sportswriter Maury Allen’s memoirs “All Roads Lead to October” which chronicles the highs and lows of the New York Yankees. However, Damon is planning to focus only on the chapter which recounts the exploits of team-mates Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekick. According to Allen: “They literally exchanged wives, kids, houses, furniture, dogs and cats. They hatched the swapping plan whilst they were at my house.”
• Want to check out some pics of celebs arriving at the openings of Kev’s films, among others? There’s lots of Dogma and Mallrats stuff here featuring Lee and Doherty. Check them out at photographer Steve Granitz’s official website of celebrity photographs.

• We’d been hearing speculation, but weren’t sure until E! Online and Cinescape today officially broke the news that Eliza Dushku (we know her as girl-gone-bad “Faith” on Buffy The Vampire Slayer) will play “an aggressive jewel thief” in the flick. We hear that Kevin actually created the role around her after a lengthy audition. Sounds like a very interesting role for a flick that grows more and more interesting and complex by the day. We’ll keep ya posted!

• Aint It Cool News’s own Mysterio has been working hard on getting this together, and we congratulate him on his first of what looks to be many on-set reports from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back! Almost makes us wanna pack up News Askew and move it out to the west coast! Anyway, the first report involves a reading of the script and a meeting with Kevin, and is quite extensive. The best part of this coverage is that it’s SPOILER FREE, which is the way we like to see things kept around here. So, while he has read the script and will be on set, none of the details of the flick, including its plot and surprises, are going to be ruined for us. Here’s a preview of some of the more interesting stuff:

We’re going to be asking AICN’s permission to repost the stuff on our Jay & Bob page in an archive, but in the meantime, you can read the entire piece HERE.

• Those of you who submitted information to appear as extras in the film for January 25th at the El Rey theater hould be receiving callbacks today or tomorrow, if not already. Best of luck and be sure to send your reports from the set to us here at the site, we’d love to hear about your experiences. Did you make it? Mysterio says, “Basically if you’ve submitted your photo and called during the time the phone number for extras casting was posted, it’s a pretty safe bet you’re in. Now sure pretty safe may not sound much like a “for sure” right now, but Kev has assured me that you folks WILL be getting called; probably as early as tomorrow with the details.”

• Well, all looks to be running very smoothly on the set, and editing is also going well, all sure signs that the big August 10th release date will be made. Here’s Kevin with the latest:

• A BETTER PLACE (the director’s cut version coming out on DVD) will be screening at Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio, at 7 PM this Friday (January 26th). The screening is open to the public and the right price…FREE! More info can be obtained by calling the Student Activities Office at 330-569-5181. Vincent will be on hand for one of his excellent Q&A sessions directly after the flick. Vincent does Q&A very well.

ALSO – Would you like Vincent to appear at your college to screen the flick and do a Q&A? It’s very easy to book – Use Auburn Moon, the same agencythat books Kevin’s appearances. So, if anyone is interested in having A BETTER PLACE screened at their college and having Vincent out for a question-and-answer lecture session, call Jeff or Nancy at Auburn Moon at 1-800-566-6653 for more information. Ask anyone who’s seen the film and heard Vincent speak about it – It’s excellent and definitely worth booking at your school. Trust us.

• Hey folks, long time no talk. Well, things are finally calming down for a bit and there’s time to do one of these commentary deals. Things certainly are heating up with the new flick, aren’t they? It happened pretty damn fast, faster than any of the last 4, it seems. We’re happy to be keeping you on top of the latest news here at News Askew AND the new Jay & Bob site. Keep checking over there as the cast revelations continue, as we’re updating that cast page just about every day. Look for more new material there in the coming months.

The Psycomic DTM column is missed but may not be totally dead (see below). Either way, you know between Kevin’s reports and what we get here, you’ll have all the latest with the flick, at least, what leaks out. Kev’s keeping this one as tight as a drum and, unlike Dogma, there’s nary a script leak out there (thankfully). Sounds like a cameo-filled funfest so far.

The Jay & Silent Bob font that we posted the other day had a lot of complaints as far as problems with installation. We’re going to test it out and see where the problem might be. Once we figure it out, we’ll post a new version and let you all know. Also, there’s been quite a few talkback double and triple posts lately, and some of that may be due to server load and problems. Keep in mind, the message you post hits the board in 5 seconds or less. It’s the regeneration of the front news page (that updates the comment total you see there) that takes longest. We’re working on an automated way to speed this up considerably, and hope to have some good news on that soon.

We’re also happy to present a new poll topic and, of course, some new news for ya today. Thanks for stopping in as always. Let’s go:

• We’re not sure if this is just wishful thinking, a rumor, or some new development, but one of the Psycomic guys had this to say about taking Kevin’s “Developing The Monkey” column to a new place:

So, while Kevin has seemingly written off the column and moved on, demand may bring it back. We know that Kevin only had a couple (if that) written in advance, so unless another site gives him the forum and the freedom AND Kevin still has the time to continue with the column, it still seems like a long shot. Still, there’s hope, and we wanted to let you know the latest that was being said. We’re sure it’ll all be settled soon, one way or another.

• We’re hearing that Kevin and Jay will NOT appear at Mega-Con this Spring now, according to the convention’s people. The due were both slated to appear there but now, due to what they said was scheduling conflicts, it won’t happen. We attribute it to the fast-paced development of “Strike Back”. Sorry for the bad news, folks.
• The gang behind the “Chasing Kevin” short that got a lot of buzz both here and at Vulgarthon this past year will be showing the flick for free in Park City, Utah tomorrow. Here’s the details. Why not stop by if you’re in the area?