• Kevin noted that we’re coming up on a significant milestone in View Askew fan history in January:

  
  In 2 weeks, it’ll be ten years since the first “Vulgarthon”.

  Man, I feel old.

  Check out this nearly-decade-old article on things that never really came to pass (like the View Askew Institute).

  Ah, youth; where have you gone?

  
  It’s neat looking back at articles like this, and also a fine opportunity to advertise our own News Askew archives. While there’s still some cleanup left to do on the massive archive of news we have here from the transition to the new software, you can indeed see we had the text of this sucker posted back in January of 1998. Very cool to see Ming’s stylized piece of this up with all the photos after all these years. Don’t forget, our archive search is speedier than ever and can also find you those tidbits from the past you might be looking to dig up!

  

  
  Check our our own coverage of the first Vulgarthon as well, complete with our own photos and observations from that fantastic day.

• Last week, we revealed that Kevin will indeed be allowing fans the opportunity to appear as extras in what we’re betting will be View Askew biggest film yet — “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”. Much like the Dogma days, extras in the Pittsburgh area (or those willing to fly in) are being considered. Our previous post has all the initial details, with more on the way. Naturally, the chance for a fan to be in the movie is a rare one, so this news has been traveling the web and exciting folks across the country. Here’s just a few of ther other sites talking it up:

  
  CINEMABLEND – “Kevin Smith Wants You In His Next Movie”

  “…It’s not clear exactly what sort of scene he’ll be using these extras in, or even how many he needs. He is pretty clear that those chosen aren’t getting more than minimum wage. He also asks that all photos included with your mail-in applications be fully clothed, so it’s probably safe to assume he doesn’t want you in the movie’s porno scenes, so… who cares why he wants you. It’s a new Kevin Smith movie, and you can be in it without showing your dick. Who the heck wouldn’t want to be a part of that? Seth Rogen wants to be in it. What, you’re better than Seth Rogen? I think not. “

  ---

  THE HOLLYWOOD NEWS – “Be In Kevin Smith’s Next Movie”

  ---

  JOBLO – “Be A Porno Extra”

  Ed. note – Our pal JoBlo always comes through with the photos, this time with two very sexy shots of star Elizabeth Banks to further entice you!

  ---

  PASTE MAGAZINE – “Kevin Smith Wants You To Be In His Porno”

  “…The job only pays minimum wage, but its spiritual dividends are virtually endless. Keep in mind that the filming takes place in Pittsburgh, so if you don’t live near there or have an extreme amount of free time on your hands, it’s probably not the job for you. Zack and Miri goes into production in January for a probable release in late 2008.”

  ---

  CINEMATICAL – “Who Wants To Be In A Kevin Smith Porno?”

  “…Now, I’m pretty sure that they don’t need extras to be in the film’s porn, nor fluffers or anything of that sort, but if you’d like to be seen somewhere in the film, Smith is opening the floodgates. As the director says, it could be “just your shoulder, and only for a second,” but I’m sure that it would be a great experience.”

  

  
  Kevin’s got the address and all the info you need at his blog. Yes, best of all, you even get PAID (our Dogma pay slips are still archived here on the site somewhere). We hope to see many a News Askew fan on the set come this January/February!

• Attention, Florida! The FXI International show, taking place in Orlando from Jan 25 to Jan 27, 2008 has a very impressive guest list this year, including two View Askew vets – Marilyn Ghigliotti (“Clerks”) and Jeremy London (“Mallrats”). A complete guest list is available. This show is different from many cons, as they use a virtual ticketing system, sort of like a “FastPass” type deal, so you don’t have to wait in long lines to get your autographs. Pretty nifty.

  We’re sure that Marilyn and Jeremy would love to meet some of their View Askew fans and sign some stuff for you. Jason Mewes was scheduled for this at one point, but unfortunately had to cancel. We also heard rumblings of a possible Brian O’Halloran appearance, but that’s still up in the air. For a fan of the Askewniverse though, this is certainly a great chance to meet two icons from the first two flicks, and a spectacular chance to get that DVD or poster signed.

  Speaking of Marilyn, her new horror film “Dead and Gone” is going through the contract stage, and set to hit video sometime in 2008. We’ll let you know when it’s available.

• With Kevin now working closely with Seth Rogen for “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”, this was destined to happen — The guys are chatting about “Green Hornet”. MTV’s movie blog has a new piece which reveals Kevin’s admiration of Rogen’s plans for the updated version:

  
  “I wish I could have made his version,” Smith said. “The parameters that we had in our version of ‘Green Hornet’ – he’s not suffering from the same parameters At the time they were like ‘We want to make a big straight-forward action movie” – the wrong approach for the character, Smith insisted.

  “You can’t really compete with Spiderman and Batman and stuff like that with Green Hornet,” the director contended. “So it’s best to take a different approach to it all-together.”

  Which, according to Smith, is what Rogen is finally getting a real chance to do.

  “He’s Seth Rogan, the man of the moment. He can do anything he wants with that project,” Smith said. “It’s not a comedy what he’s doing, but he gets to do his with a better sense of humor than we would have been allowed to. He’s in a great free place to do something fresh with that material.”

• We forgot to mention this in our last article — Kevin’s new live Q&A disc won’t be part of the “Evening With” series — It will indeed be called “Kevin Smith: Sold Out” as we had previously heard. Great title, in our opinion.
• The author of a new book on the “Death Star” references Kevin’s “Clerks” monologue on the station in a new interview:

  
  Q: With its fascist interior design, we never think of the Death Star as having restaurants, happy hours, luxury flats and recreation areas.

  A: We start from the point that not everyone on board was a villain. As Kevin Smith pointed out in Clerks, someone had to be the plumber. That’s where we’re coming from. There’s got to be bars, places to eat.

  
  The book, which focuses on the life as an everyday worker on the space station, sounds like a fun read.

• That fantastic “Marvel: Then And Now” DVD featuring Kevin And Stan Lee is getting some good press from Newswire today. We don’t think the Stash has this one online, so Google it to find a copy — All proceeds will benefit the great Hero Initative.
• The director of the critically-acclaimed “Juno”, Jason Reitman, cites Kevin in a quote regarding his Golden Globe nomination:

  
  Jason Reitman, the 30-year-old director of “Juno,” added that the youth brigade was something of an old story. “I feel like I am just following in the footsteps of Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith, Wes Anderson, the list goes on,” he said.

• A writer with the Onion’s AV Club names 1994 as his “Favorite Movie Year” and we have a tough time arguing that — We might even agree. It’s the year “Clerks” came out!

  
  Kevin Smith’s uber-grungy Clerks captured the low-key, agreeable vibe of smartass go-nowhere buddies hanging out and talking shit. It was cinematic democracy in action, a triumph of proletariat ingenuity over technical wizards with film-school degrees and elaborate storyboards.

• Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier once again grace us with their vocal presence for another episode of SModcast, arriving only a day late (Yesterday, though we just finished listening, busy holidays). This one’s recorded direct from the home of “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”, Pittsburgh, PA. It’s amazing to see the guys keeping up with the broadcast and production despite being quite busy themselves due to holiday shopping and location scouting. The show hasn’t missed a beat despite the uprooting, of course. This week, the guys spend the first half discussing racism and race relations, then segue into some viewer mail, their excitement over the new Batman flick, and a few moments on this year’s Oscars. The official loglines:

SModcast 41: Honkey! -In which our heroes get into a discussion of the white man’s lack of reclaimed cultural terms of endearment before launching into an even more in-depth exploration of cultural terminology, try to come up with words to hurt each other, turn their sights on sites that feature comments that aim to be mean for mean’s sake, read a very special piece of listener mail, debate the history of the Christmas Tree in relation to self-mutilation, and wrap up with another dip into the SModcast mailbag, the best Oscar’s ever, and a Bat-Quickie.

As always, there’s one place you can get SMOdcast — And it’s FREE. Quick Stop Entertainemnt. Won’t cost you a dime, either. Not many deals like that in this world anymore. Enjoy SModcast, and continued thanks to Kevin and Scott for the continuing weeks of entertainment. Long live the ‘SMod!

• By way of the WWWBoard, Kevin reports that the next “Evening With” DVD (which may not actually have that title, but the one that was taped on Kev’s 37th birthday) may be set for an APRIL 2008 release date. We were there live for this one, and can tell you with all certainty that the DVD will be a must-have for the collection, if even for the Bruce Willis story ALONE. We’ll keep you posted on the status on what’s sure to be View Askew’s first big DVD release of 2008.
• Kevin makes Maxim Magazine’s list of of the Top 10 Movie Sidekicks, standing in the #6 spot:

  

  
  6. Silent Bob
  Sidekick to: Jay
  Even though Bob is usually overshadowed by the nonsensical shit-talking of his weed-dealing counterpart, he has the uncanny ability to dole out sage advice that Confucius would quote on his MySpace page. Plus, he has that sweet utility belt and is friends with a monkey. Snoochey boochey.

• Congrats to longtime View Askewer JASON LEE for a fantastic opening weekend for “Alvin & The Chipmunks”, 45 million dollars! Lee plays the Dave Seville to the CGI-generated chipmunks, and celebrates a much larger than expected take at the ticket windows this weekend. We’re happy for Lee, and look forward to future films stemming from his “My Name is Earl” acclaim.
• And finally today, in happy (or to some of us, sad) news — Ali Larter (“Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”) has gotten engaged — And not to either of us! Seriously, congrats to Ali on her engagement to longtime boyfriend, actor Hayes MacArthur.

• For those of you who were looking for new SModcast today, and not finding it, here’s Kevin with the why:

  
  Mos was at a Steelers game all day, and I was out Christmas shopping with Jen, so no new SMod tonight. Earliest you can have it is tomorrow night (we’re scouting all morning).

  Sorry.

  
  ‘Tis that time of the year, and we can relate. We’ll of course keep an eye on SModcast, and let you know if an episode does drop this week. If not, we’re pretty certain the guys will have things set up for next Monday (with two full weeks of great stuff to chat up). Stay tuned.

• Both Clerks and Mallrats make the ReelzChannel list of films related to shopping , part of their holiday feature:

  
  9. Clerks

  Sure, the clients here are shopping for snacks, gum and cancer sticks, but still shopping nevertheless. And if you have really crappy parents, they just might go to the Quick Stop to fill your stockings.

  6. Mallrats

  Kevin Smith clearly has a thing for shopping as he graces our list for a second time with this cultish little mall-based movie from the mid-90’s. Jason Lee and Jason London troll the malls discussing everything from relationships to comic books and even new and exciting uses for chocolate covered pretzels.

• Screenwriter Michael Wilson has great kudos and comments towards Kevin in his latest blog entry, where he announces his next project and names Kevin as his inspiration for it all. We’re looking forward to seeing what he’s got planned.

• Finally today, a couple more scans from the Wizard movie ish – Kyle Newman, the director of “Fanboys”, shares with us information that Kevin and Jay’s appearance in the film may be too “R-rated” to make the PG-13 cut of the film that’s planned. The full footage will be on the DVD. He also shares with us a blessed vision of Kristen Bell in the slave Leia costume. Wowza! Click the scans for a closer look at the article (and Kristen).

• The largest (and arguably BEST) batch of View Askew props were auctioned off at the end of this week — If you missed it, we’re sorry. Some items (not surprisingly, items worn by female leads) fetched crazy amounts of cash. Others, from what the following list will show, were obtained for what we think are very fair prices, considering these are authentic pieces of Askewniverse history. If you didn’t bid, it’s your own darn fault! Kevin had comments to make on each of the items sold and their ending price, which we’ve got just ahead, in italics:
  1050: Ben Affleck costume worn in Dogma – $500
  1051: Matt Damon costume worn in Dogma – $500

  Odd amount for them to go for, I thought.

  1052: Highland Clamdiggers hockey jersey – $375
  1053: George Carlin holy blessed golf club – $500

  Those seem about right.

  1054: Pair of Mooby statuettes from Dogma – $250

  Can’t tell you how many times these were almost lost/thrown away.

  1055: Bloody “Mooby the Golden Calf” poster – $350

  Impressive.

  1072: Kevin Smith shirt worn in Jay and Silent Bob – $700

  I find it incredible that this lone shirt went for more than Bart/Loki’s outfits. But it makes me happy… because I have so many of these (each costume is always tripled; I’ve played Silent Bob many times).

  1073: Jason Mewes costume worn in Jay and Silent Bob – $850

  Seems about right. Had we included the Quick Stop smock, it would’ve went higher, I’m thinking.

  1075: Eliza Dushku catsuit – Jay and Silent Bob Strike – $3000

  Wow. Just wow.

  Still got Shannon’s and Ali’s catsuits to go, too.

  1076: Shannon Elizabeth ensemble – Jay and Silent Bob – $250

  Seems about right.

  1077: “Potzers, Inc” sign – Jay and Silent Bob – $150

  That’s a nice price for something so large (interesting footnote: it hung over the register at Stash West for years).

  1078: Blunt Penalization panel from Jay and Silent Bob – $125

  I’d have thought at least $200.

  1079: “ET” getaway bicycle from Jay and Silent Bob – $300

  Not a bad price.

  1080: Premiere movie marquee from Jay and Silent Bob – $400

  Nice.

  1081: Scooby Doo square dog collar – Jay & Silent Bob – $600

  The one I find the most shocking.

  1082: Security console from Jay and Silent Bob – $325

  Whoever won this can probably get it to actually work like it did in the flick, with the right power source.

  1083: Bovine Size It display – Jay and Silent Bob – $175

  Seems about right.

  1084: Cigarette cartons from Jay and Silent Bob – $275

  Incredible.

  1085: Safety warning sign Jay Silent Bob Strike Back – $175

  Incredible.

  1109: George Carlin “Highlands” jacket from Jersey Girl – $0

  Also incredible.

  1110: Liv Tyler bra from Jersey Girl – $900

  People are weird. Did it go so high just because Liv’s boobs were in it?

  1111: Ben Affleck “music pimp” t-shirt from Jersey Girl – $225

  Impressive.

  1122: Rosario Dawson camisole and sign from Clerks II – $1000

  Amazing.

  Nearly twelve grand for stuff that would’ve sat in storage (or gotten lost in storage, most likely). I’m a happy camper. Thanks to all who bid, and special thanks to all who won.

  For those that won, CONGRATS! If you’ve got photos of you and your new stuff, or just your new stuff, we’d sure love to see what you do with it when it arrives (within reason, of course, those of you with the female garments). We’re hoping that Kevin will do this again, as this was not only a fantastic batch of goodies, but from what we’re seeing, some very fair prices. If you check out the individual auctions, you’ll also see that pretty much everything went beyond (or WELL beyond) the estimated take. Thanks to all who bid. We’re jealous of your swag…Especially you, marquee owner!

• Our fantastic interviewer Chris Graves is back with another unique look at another personality from the View Askewniverse. Malcolm Ingram has been with View Askew since “Mallrats” and somehow had a hand in pretty much everything since. You may know his as the man behind “Drawing Flies”, “Tail Lights Fade”, and the recent award winning documentary, “small town gay bar”. Malc was also around for the entire ‘Rats production, and famously documented every second of “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”, turning it into a documentary. The following conversation’s one of the longest and best we’ve ever featured, so kick back and read on for Malc’s words on partner Matt Gissing, a C.H.U.D. remake, what he’s got planned for future projects, and so much more.
  AN INTERVIEW WITH MALCOLM INGRAM

  BY CHRIS GRAVES

  CHRIS GRAVES: For those who do not know, what is your background?

  MALCOLM INGRAM: I started working for the Toronto Film Festival as a young man of about 20. Working as a volunteer in the Press Office. Slowly working my way up to Press Office Manager. It was an awesome job.

  I ended up making friends with the Film Threat boys…..who had recently been allowed back to the festival after being banned the year before for hi-jinx. I’d tip them off to the big shindigs and slip them tickets to stuff. We ended up getting along real swell…. and I eventually made my way into the profession of word whore.

  Journalism was an awesome gig, especially for Film Threat. They were really on the cutting edge of the Indie scene and had a very cool following. I went to Sundance for the first time with them…went to the the Playboy mansion…..all kinds of cool shit.

  CG: How did you become involved with View Askew?

  MI: I had just been offered the job as Canadian editor for Threat and was at the Toronto film festival with newly appointed Editor In Chief, Paul Zimmerman. I had helped him with his festival coverage in the past.

  He had been talking about these guys, Kevin and Scott, who he’d met at a festival in Texas. They had made this indie flick called ‘Clerks’….and he thought that they’d be my type of people. We all went to dinner and he was right.

  We ended up meeting again at a film festival in New Orleans, bonding over petting sharks, tawdry strip shows and a bizarre run in with Mick Jagger, while window shopping for swords with Henry Thomas.

  Eventually, I pitched Paul a cover story on Mallrats.

  Thus it begins…

  CG: Can you describe your experience on the Mallrats set?

  MI: Mallrats was cool. It was Minnesota in winter. We were all so fucking young and excited. I slept on Mosier’s floor. In retrospect, I feel bad for Scott…here he was producing his first big gig and he was stuck with a surly Canuck.

  It was like camp.

  Everyone was at the same hotel…the hotel bar was the clubhouse….and we essentially had the run of a whole fucking mall.

  Thinking back to that experience, all I can do is smile….

  I made some lifelong friends and got my first chance to witness one of Kevin’s sets. Which are probably the most fun in the bid-ness. Good fucking times!

  CG: Did you always want to be a filmmaker? How did Drawing Flies come about?

  MI: Since I was 5 years old.

  It’s an interesting and frustrating road when you ALWAYS know what you want to do. But there is no real set path to follow.

  I was a horrible student…I only wanted to watch or talk about film….

  My poor parents had no idea what to do with me…

  Cut to

  My friend Matt Gissing and I drunk on his back patio coming up with ideas for a screenplay…. I had originally tried to sell him on the concept of mounting a live theater production of ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls’.

  He wisely suggested a movie.

  We both seemed stuck on the concept of a slacker being sent on a quest by a fever dream.

  Cut to

  The Mallrats set…the last week of production…Kevin and I are playing Sega hockey. Kevin casually mentions a script I had told him about…and asks how much it would cost to make…”$27,575 bucks” was my reply…. an obvious joke, as that was the much written about budget of Clerks. “It’s yours” was his reply. My life immediately changed…. and that 5 year old kid’s dream came true.

  CG: Do you enjoy co-directing on stuff like Drawing Flies and Tail Lights Fade more than directing by yourself like on Small Town Gay Bar?

  MI: Drawing Flies was an incredible gift…It was my film school…. what an incredible privilege to work with the cast and crew we were lucky enough to get on board.

  Nobody got paid…people worked on the film because they believed in it…Who DOES that these days?

  I’m a very lucky man.

  I remember one great moment when Jason Lee has that great freak out scene near the end of the movie. He is brilliant! He took Gissing and myself aside and told us that for the first time in his experience with the craft…he transcended just acting and he WAS the character.

  Those are the memories that get you past the bad times.

  As far as Co-Directing, Drawing Flies was the only film that I shared the credit. Although with Tail Lights Fade I offered the writer Matt Gissing a co-Director credit, that he certainly earned, but turned down.

  Gissing is truly like a brother to me. He’s helped me out through so much…..he has been the equivalent of my Mosier. Unfortunately all of his hard work is rarely rewarded. When I started ‘small town gay bar’ Gissing was onto his own thing…. but when the Producers dropped the ball. …Gissing was the one to come in and clean up the mess. And he didn’t even get paid.

  Without Gissing….’small town gay bar’ would never have gotten finished…

  As far as directing by myself…..I hate to sound like a hippy….but it’s such a collaborative process….I never really feel like its all me. DP Jonathon Cliff, PTO Scott Tremblay, and editors Graeme Ball and Scott Mosier could easily share the Director credit with me.

  CG: What was your inspiration for Small Town Gay Bar? What awards did the film and yourself win?

  MI: “small town gay bar” was a direct result of me coming out of the closet at a very late age, and seeing zero representation of what it felt like for me to be gay.….stuff like WILL & GRACE and QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAGHT GUY was like a minstrel show for me. Mincing queens prattling on and completely devoid of saying anything remotely idententfiable or interesting to me. I mean..the only thing that makes me gay is that I suck dick. I have no idea why the key identifier for fags became the sissy.

  I wanted to find people who represented a reality that I knew existed…. real people who happen to be gay.

  I researched the movie for 4 years and finally got the opportunity to film it in the South in ’04.

  The incredibly brave, thoughtful, outspoken and decent people that I met left an impression on me that I will carry for a lifetime. The eloquent way in which they told their stories are what makes that movie what it is…and I am humbled to be their messenger.

  We went on to play over 50 film festivals… including Sundance, SXSW, London Gay & Lesbian and Outfest in Los Angeles. Winning several key awards including best documentary at Outfest and the HBO Best Feature Documentary at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.It’s really hard to have a complaint after such incredible good fortune…..one thing I’ll say…..

  The film industry is not for the thin skinned or weak willed. As wonderful as the entire creative process was for this film, the business side has left me wanting to quit the business many times. That’s where it was incredibly helpful to have someone as smart and experienced as Kevin on your side…He talked me down off many cliffs.

  CG: Can you tell me what the status of “Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party”, (the behind the scenes documentary for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back that he and Jennifer Schwalbach worked on) is?

  MI: I’m not quite sure. All I can say is that I am no cameraman.

  I actually had a great time working on that with Jen……although we had some brilliant knock down brawls. Jen is very much like a sister to me…and we fight in only the way family can. Jen and Kevin were good enough to let me stay in their house during production. It was this nice house in Toluca Lake that was full of people. Kevin really loves to surround himself with friends and family. As with any family….. there was always some kind of drama going on…It always made me laugh that there was a tire swing hanging from a tree on the front lawn, completing the white trash vibe of it all.

  Jen and I also had double duty as she was starring in the movie and I was given the job of Mewes wrangler, which entailed keeping Mewes occupied while he battled his demons. Which was nowhere near as fun as it sounds…and led to my absolute worst X-mas ever when I was forced to stay in LA on Mewes duty. Then again…. I also remember sharing a smoke with Kevin and Gail (Jen’s Mom) on the patio of the house on a really nice night, we just exchanged small talk. As we headed in…Smitty said “We’ll remember these as the good times.”

  Man was he right.

  Anyway.

  The doc suffered as a combo of my complete lack of experience and the fact that I was distracted. I’d love to have a second shot at shooting it….but ultimately I think it kind of fits that it’s sloppy and amateurish. It’s a home movie of a time and a place that meant a lot to some good friends. When we showed it at the Dome for Vulgarthon ..it played at the end of a very long and action pact day….The only people left were the die hards who had made it to the end…it felt like an intimate setting…

  And in that context…it works.

  That’s the life that I’d love to see that movie take.

  Dragged out at events….and shared with friends.

  CG: Is it true that you were working with Bryan Johnson on a remake to the film C.H.U.D. and a movie about the Jersey Devil myth?

  MI: Yes. It’s true.

  We even had a meeting about C.H.U.D. that included Scott Mosier, Brian Quinn, Johnson and some douche who apparently had the rights to C.H.U.D.

  I’m a huge fan of Johnson’s flick VULGAR….and for awhile I was really excited about helping Johnson create his next vision.

  I thought the idea of a C.H.U.D. movie melded perfectly with Johnson’s sensibility…and wrapped in the package of View Askew Presents….delicious!

  I’d drop everything I was doing to be involved in that project if it ever came to fruition.

  After C.H.U.D. fell through…Johnson had written some great pages for JERSEY DEVIL that I found really exciting….yet it was not meant to be.

  Johnson is one talented mother fucker…and I’d love to see him make another flick.

  CG: Is the character you play from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Mallrats related to Silent Bob? That’s been bugging me for years.

  MI: No. I’d hardly call it a character. It’s basically an inside joke between 3 people: Kevin, Mewes and me. One day on the set of Mallrats they needed to fill the space around Renee Humphrey in a scene and Kevin threw me out there. It was last minute and I was disoriented, so I actually look like someone just smacked me in the face with a salmon.

  Cut to….

  The Mallrats screening at San Diego Comic Con….a great screening to have been at. Anyway….the scene where I flash on screen comes on…..and you just hear one solitary guffaw resonate throughout the theater…in what is an otherwise non-comedic shot.

  My work as the worst extra of all time seemed to have captured Mewes’ funny bone. And led to much good natured ribbing…. When it came time to make Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Kevin’s idea was to bring back characters from all of his previous films. And apparently that included the worst extra of all time.

  CG: What is your favorite View Askew / Kevin Smith flick (Drawing Flies / Mallrats excluded)?

  MI: I’m gonna cheat and name two…

  The movie of Kevin’s I enjoy watching the most is Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. I just think Mewes is so fucking funny it. And I love the fact that Kevin got to make this decent budgeted old school ON THE ROAD flick with a monster cast, made about these two small time drug dealers from Jersey. It’s a funny, funny movie.

  The movie I admire most is DOGMA. I think it’s a brilliant meditation on faith. And it’s got a poop monster. I always laugh when I see people attack Kevin online for this and that. I think that some people really forget how audacious he is as a writer. He takes on these incredibly controversial subjects: lesbian falls in love with man, Catholic Dogma, sexual politics and adds this incredibly human perspective without being treacle-y. And on top of this…..He lends his name to flicks like Vulgar, A Better Place and small town gay bar. Clown rape, youth violence and homos……this is a man who is clearly not looking to take the easy path.

  Can’t wait for RED STATE.

  CG: Do you have any new projects coming up? Any more documentaries or fictional films?

  MI: I got plenty of pans in the fire…..I’ve been working with a great Canuck screenwriter Tony Burgess on a flick called COMMERCIAL DRIVE…best described as a love story about bears….as well as a bear documentary called BEAR NATION, Bears of course being husky, hairy men and their admirers. I’ve also started talking with my friend Ash (FAT GIRLS) Christian about doing this really cool doc about a famous NYC gay landmark.

  Down the road….

  I’m still interested in the ‘small town gay bar’ narrative feature that I traveled down South with the talented Ms. Guinevere Turner to discuss ……and a top secret LSD bio-pic that I’d LOVE to tackle when I have the chops.

  CG: And finally, do you still keep in contact with anyone related to the world of View Askew?

  MI: Yup.

  Whew! A nice long read there. Thanks so much to Chris for another set of questions that led us to some new answers, and for our pal Malc for taking the time to answer in such detail. Hope you enjoyed the interview — Chris will be back with more in the future, of course.

• You need to have Apple’s iTunes installed for this link to work — But we’re very pleased to report that SModcast has made their list of “Best of 2007”, near the top of the “New This Year” category. Through the link, you can get to the ‘cast itself, but perhaps even cooler, read heaps of positive kudos (129 and counting) from listeners. Congrats to Kevin and Scott for this much-deserved honor. We’re loving SModcast week after week, and look forward to the 2008 editions, where we’re hoping some “Zack and Miri” tidbits may trickle in from time to time, as well. XM subscribers can catch new SMod epiodes on channel 202, The Virus, typically Saturday nights (but check programming guide for upcoming airtimes, which vary).

• The international fanbase of View Askew makes this site international as well, so we’re always pleased to bring you scannage from around the world — This time, the UK’s “Bizarre” magazine features a new two-page interview with Kevin. This one’s a bit different than your typical piece as they attempt to ask the more offbeat questions, such as “What’s the strangest thing you ever had in your mouth?”. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, folks. Click the scannage above for the super-sized, easily readable goodness.
• Kevin announced the winners of that Clerks II banner ad contest from a while back, which challenged Myspacers to promote Clerks II via various net locations. Prizes included screen-used items (like the stuff that sold for hundreds in the auctions) and the coolest of the cool – A walk-on role in “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”, which went to our pal Paul, aka Douglas Fir — Paul’s a great guy as well as a longtime fan and contributor to News Askew. Congrats to him and all the winners. We’ll be looking for you in the flick, Paul.
• Much like their recent praise for “Clers” in the movies they’d like to see as live-action series poll, the folks at Film-411 also site “Clerks: The Animated Series” among the best movie-based TV shows of all time.
• One of the earliest memories of our work here at News Askew was an early scoop where Kevin appeared on “Space Ghost: Coast to Coast”, long before Cartoon Network even called that late night animation block “Adult Swim”. We seem to recall a plaque in the View Askew offices that Kevin was given to thank him for the appearance, too. Now, the newest Space Ghost DVD is out, titled “Space Ghost Coast to Coast: The 1998 Episodes”. And yep, it features the episode “Rio Ghosto” where Kevin was featured as a guest. The $12 DVD is only available for purchase online http://www.williamsstreet.com/cat/Space-Ghost-Coast-to-Coast-The-1998-Episodes.html but a worthy addition to the View Askew completist’s library.
• And finally today, a fan discovers a Kevin mention in an archived letter to Roger Ebert regarding “The Usual Suspects”. Kevin had, in the past, called the film overrated and Ebert agreed. Check it out, enjoy the rest of your weekend, and we’ll be back soon. Thanks for making News Askew part of your web travels today.