Of course, there’s also more of the marquee stars as well, as we’ve got record numbers from this one, more than we’ve ever seen from a premiere before, as a matter of fact.

As always, our extreme thanks to Mr. Ortega for donating these high quality shots with us, and for taking the time to pass them on. Enjoy!

And just in case ya missed it, here’s Matt Damon giving his very candid thoughts on ex-VP candidate Sarah Palin.

Thanks!

Aint It Cool News posts a very positive review of the book this week as part of the “Pull List” feature, read on for some choice passages.

“…Kevin brings his trademark humor to a story of murder, drugs, and intrigue. The best part of this book hands-down is Onomatopoeia, a superb villain who first debuted during Kevin’s GREEN ARROW run. It’s perfect that he brings him back for this story, but it also brings up a gripe I have with DC. This guy is phenomenal – why do you not put him in more books!?!? Out of the four baddies who appear in the first issue, the others being Joker, Zsasz, and Deadshot, Onomatopoeia steals the show once again.”

“…I have to commend Walt Flannagan and his artwork. Traditionally he’s been the guy that sells comics at the Secret Stash in Red Bank or Walt the Fanboy in Smith’s movies, but the guy actually has some very serious talent.”

“…BATMAN: CACOPHONY #1 was an amazing return of Kevin Smith to DC Comics. Smith handles Batman like a true pro and masterfully runs us through the issue. Flanagan is a much welcome addition to the comic book world and the two are truly a dynamic duo together (bad pun well intended). This is a comic I can’t wait to get my hands on, so hopefully the rest of the series will come out on time.”

Books 2 and 3 are written and drawn, so expect to see them in your hands in the next couple of months. Then it’s just a matter to see what comic project Kevin will take on next – Hopefully once again with Flanagan’s awesome art to go with it.

So far, no new SModcast yet this week, but Kevin did assure us that the podcast will continue on a regular basis. Going through a flick’s release is a major drain, and we’re guessing Kevin, Scott, and their family and friends are all enjoying some much-needed rest after putting “Zack and Miri” in theaters.

Speaking of which, I caught the flick again out in Las Vegas this past weekend, at the awesome Brenden theater in the Palms casino, and it plays great on a second watch — The gags are just as laugh-out-loud funny and it really allows you to catch some of those rare moments of both humor and drama that you might have missed the first time around — A few of the touching, more dramatic scenes with Rogen and Banks feature some real fine chemisty, and emotion that you just don’t typically see in a raunchy comedy. And man, is it ever raunchy! We recall Kevin’s joy in seeing “Clerks II” make it through with its R intact along with the donkey scene, this one easily outdoes that, and has to be one of the most visually and verbally raunchy R’s in quite some time, possibly ever. We love the fact it made it thru the ratings board, and can’t wait to see what’s in store on the DVD.

“Zack & Miri Make a Porno” is in theaters, and as new stuff rolls out every week, it may get harder to find, so we highly recommend catching it on the big screen again. And keep in mind, all your ticket stubs are good for a nice discount at Laser Blazer, so it’s like getting an extra gift along with a fun few hours at the movies. And hey, for those of you who walked out as soon as the credits kicked in (and shame on you if ya did), there’s even more reason to go back — You missed an awesome mid-credits scene.

We hope you’ll catch the flick one more time, and continue to admire Kevin and View Askew for delivering the movies they want to make, pleasing the fans and breaking new ground every time they pick up their tools and go to work. Let’s hope it’s not long before “Red State” becomes a more tangible reality. We’ll of course keep ya posted.

News Askew is proud to be the exclusive home of these interviews, and we once again thank our pal Graves and all his subjects (past and future) for their contributions.

16. ELIZABETH BANKS

Over a few weeks this fall, Elizabeth Banks babysat Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott in Role Models; evinced Laura Bush’s quiet devotion to her hubby in Oliver Stone’s W.; and tackled her first title role, as an amateur porn star, in Zack and Miri Make a Porno — all with enviable ease. After years of thankless roles as The Girlfriend (to Ryan Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg, even a robot Eddie Murphy), the 34-year-old actress is finally Having Her Moment, even if she can’t quite make the poster for Zack and Miri. ”It’s a f—ing drawing of a girl,” Banks says with a full-bodied laugh. ”I can’t even get myself on the f—ing poster. What moment am I having?” We have a feeling, with her wide range and genuine charm, she’s going to be having plenty more chances to be front and center.

Clerks

Kevin Smith isn’t really a director you’d associate with sequels, and thus eyebrows were raised when he announced he was revisiting his debut film, Clerks, to find out what had happened to Randal and Dante since we met them last. Leaving a 12 year gap between the films, this gave Smith the space to build some genuine evolution into his characters, and he gladly took the chance to do so. And while the worldwide box office take of $26m may not raise eyebrows, set against the sizeable business it’s done on DVD and the low production budget, it’s proven to be a very profitable enterprise. More than that, though, Clerks II was a terrific sequel, and one that makes the rumours of a third movie later down the line very interesting indeed…

Dear Miami University Performing Arts Series Patron,

Thank you for purchasing tickets to our presentation of Kevin Smith November 22. Unfortunately, Mr. Smith has just had to cancel his performance at Millett Hall due to a schedule conflict with the overseas release of his new movie. Regrettably, he is unable to re-schedule his show at Miami University because of future movie commitments. I’m sure you are as disappointed with this as we are.

Given the cancellation, here are your options:

* Exchange your tickets for another Performing Arts Series event. See list at the end of this email and check out our website for more details. If you choose an event with a lower ticket price, the difference will be forfeited. Simply bring or mail your Kevin Smith tickets to:

Miami University Box Office
Phillip R. Shriver Center
Oxford, OH 45056

Exchanges will be honored through December 23, 2008. If mailing tickets for exchange, please complete and include the attached form.

At any rate, we were happy to test the technology out for the first time, giving us the ability to give you almost up to the moment updates on what was going down at the show. As future events happen, we’re hoping for better conditions which will allow for even more fancy tech stuff to happen at News Askew, allowing those of you who can’t make it to these things a front row look at what’s happening.

With thanks to our pal Robb, we’ve got some photos from his camera — Unless you’re up close with a fancy camera, the dim lighting in the Count Basie doesn’t lend itself well to photos, though Robb managed to walk right up to the stage to snap some shots. We’ve chosen a few to share here, click away to take a look.

Quite different and a nice change of pace from recent events, we enjoyed the laid back nature of this one — Having a large couch on stage set the scene for what turned into a very comfortable night. This Q&A reminded us quite a bit of the sessions of old, where Kevin blazed though questions at a much speedier rate than normal. Admittedly, Kevin mentioned that he typically takes the stage with a group of tales he intends to tell, even if he needs to sidetrack a bit to get to them. This time, aside from opening remarks including that now famous “bathroom incident” and his thoughts on the Zack & Miri opening, Kevin had no agenda other than to honestly chat up the fans and answer their questions.

As summarized in our blog, the night did not bring a bunch of new revelations. Kevin did confirm that “Red State” is next on the slate, but went a bit more conservative on production start, hoping to be ramping up sometime in the Spring of 2009. The Clerks cartoon movie project remains stagnant and probably dead. From the comics world, “Batman: Cacophony” issue #1 has arrived, and Kevin was kind enough to read a choice scene for us onstage. From the projects perspective, that’s all that’s on the slate at the moment (though we know that slate has a tendency to fill up rather quickly, so stay tuned).

Crowd antics were rather good, with the most outrageous requests few and far between – With long lines, several fans took the unsavory practice of asking multiple unrelated questions when they got to the mic, a tactic we don’t really dig but that Kevin fielded quite well (though it possibly slighted a few on the bubble folks in getting their turn). Questions were generally quite good and complimentary, though Kevin made it clear that all questions are welcome, and that there’s never been one that really offended him. Unlike the story Kev shared from Canada, no fans fainted when they took to the mic, though it was obvious that there were nerves at play with so many onlookers. The night capped off with a simple request that turned into a fitting conclusion, where a girl asked simply for a photograph. Kevin probed her with questions which led to a potential hook-up between her and her male companion, who eventually took the stage with her for some photos (see above).

With three multi-hour DVDs now available, and well over 12 hours of content, Kevin’s already put forth more original material than some of today’s biggest comedians. One fan remarked that he became a fan of Kevin’s Q&A work even before he discovered the films. If Kevin’s honest, open delivery style continues, we have a feeling that there’s going to be a lot more where that came from. Before we know it, Q&A events like these will be filled with a new grouping of anecdotes and obersvations. So, for Friday, it was certainly nice to catch Kevin in one of those rare moments in time, where it was just the man, the mic, the fans, and a bunch of random conversation.

On a final note, for those of you missing these shows, we can highly recommend SModcast as an alternative until Kevin’s in your town. Many fans in the auditorium commented on the joy the show brings them, and we even noticed a few tidbits and jokes that conceptually began during SModcast. So, it’s not only a fun listen, but an excellent primer or companion piece to the live shows. At this stage, there’s sadly no plans for a “live” SModcast, so, for now anyway, these Q&As are as close as you can get. Next time he comes ’round, you know we’ll be there. So should you!