• Today’s big “out of nowhere” news is that Kevin has signed on to direct a TV pilot. Normally we ignore surprise stuff like this, but the sources are two legit spots on the web, Cinematical and SlashFilm. The news is this: Kevin will direct a pilot episode for the CW network! The show is called “Reaper” and is billed as a comedic drama, though also seems to have a bit of supernatural overtones to it. We’re certainly intrigued. Let’s take a look at the stories as they ran today:

This is, as they say, a milestone, as it will indeed mark Kevin’s first directing effort where the material wasn’t scripted by him. The satanic headline Cinematical used seems a bit sensationalist, as genre shows are quite common these days, on all the networks. We’re onboard, and hope we might be lucky enough to see this pilot even if it doesn’t get picked up for air. We’ll certainly be watching this one anxiously, and will get you the latest news right here, at News Askew!

• The gang from “Clerks II” goes up against the badasses from “The Departed” via voting at the Movie Battle Royale Myspace page. We really dig that photo at the top.
• A Clerks reference shows up today in the video podcast “Hockey Strike”. Not only do they have an obvious nod, in a Quick Stop scene, the episode, titled “Geek Hard” is a Die Hard spoof, and they also reference Veronica Mars season 2. Three references in there. Great taste for sure. It’s part two of a three part story that started two weeks ago. The show is HERE and The episode itself can be found HERE. Enjoy!
• The trailer is up for the movie “Underdog”, in which Jason Lee provides the voice of the titular character. Check it out at the Disney website.
• And finally today, we can all breathe a disdainful sigh today, as yes, Brandi is now off the market. Almost, anyway. Claire Forlani announced her engagement to Dougray Scott today, according to the IMDB:

Guess Claire can’t be our Valentine. Thanks for stopping by today, and we’ll see you back soon.

• Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier are back yet again, with the podcast that oozes coolness, SModcast. The guys yet again have some up-to-the-minute discussion on current events (and anything else that comes to mind), with a totally uncensored, brilliantly-produced FREE online podcast streaming to your computer or MP3 device of choice via the Quick Stop Entertainment website. Things get right off into R-rated territory today with a discussion of one of the more profane words here in the US and then directly into the death of Anna Nicole Smith (yet again proving that these guys are recording this stuff on the fly). The creative clippage returns to accompany Smith and Mosier, along with almost constant music throughout this one’s 46 minute runtime. Other topics include sex with celebrities, the Dogma shoot, crime in the city, and more. The runtime just flies on by again; these guys could talk all day long and remain compelling.

Here’s the official write-up:

Kevin’s tease over at the blogs for this was that he “Wussed Out In Front of Alanis”. Listen to SModcast to find out how, exclusively at our own beloved Quick Stop Entertainment. FREE!

• Joblo.com has given Clerks II three award nominations in their yearly “Golden Schmoes” awards:

The official voting period runs from February 12 thu February 18, 2007. You can vote for your favorites at the official site.Winners will be announced on Monday, February 19, 2007. It’d be silly not to vote, folks!

• And finally today, Kevin throws out a quote to debunk a rumor that yet another JAWS sequel would come direct to DVD:

The rumor came around amidst rumors that some other beloved flicks will see direct to video sequels, such as Gremlins and The Goonies. Let’s hope NONE of these come to fruition. Thanks to Slashfish. See ya next time!

• Kevin WILL guest co-host Ebert & Roeper At the Movies this coming Sunday, February 18th, this according to Roeper himself on this week’s episode. On their platter will be Chris Cooper in “Breach” and Drew Barrymore in “Music and Lyrics”. The syndicated show airs all over the dial next weekend, so check those local listings.
• Check out some chances to vote for Clerks II in a couple of online polls over at Box Office Mojo. You can vote it as Best Sequel and one of the funniest films of 2006. Go vote!
• The popular web-based movie rental service Netflix now offers “Vulgar” via streaming video. You can actually watch it online via their “Watch Now” feature. If you’ve yet to see the film, it’s a neat immediate way to check it out.

• Here’s another fun little reference to Mallrats via JoBlo on this caption from “Pan’s Labyrinth”. The big JB does always throw those View Askew shout-outs around.
• Here’s a couple light fringe Askew tidbits from Female First. First on the block, Affleck:

And then there’s this one concerning Kevin getting Mrs. Affleck started on a bad habit of her own :

• And finally today, blogger Matt Ford thinks that the infomercial “Focus Factor” guy on TV has a striking resemblance to a longtime member of the View Askew family. Who, you may ask? Check out his blog! See ya next time, folks.

• Our good pal Martin from the UK checks in again with some great exclusive stuff — The popular UK magazine “DVD Review” runs a fresh interview with Kevin in their February 2007 issue, and we’ve got scans of the whole thing right here. As always, they put together a fantastic piece with nice photos and quotes throughout. As always, click the scans for super-sized versions of the pages for your reading enjoyment. The piece covers everything from Evening Harder, Jersey Girl, Clerks II, comics, horror flicks, and Kevin’s admiration of the work of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg.

In the same issue Clerks X hits #26 in their “100 Greatest DVDs Of Our Lifetime” feature. Nice!

• Kevin’s famous feud with film critic Joel Siegel made the LA Times’ revue (#9) of Hollywood feuds this year:

• Finally today, one fan tells us how “Dogma” changed his life via spiritual development in this online article. See ya next time!

• Some more blog magic today in Kevin’s 3rd edition of his weekly crusade vs. the evil temptation of junk food. His Optifast diet continues to go quite well, and he’s sticking to it, though frustration set in this week after some unexpected results. Here’s a clip:

Read the entire saga, including today’s insightful entry, at MySpace or Silent Bob Speaks!

• Clip god Will comes through again with an almost-complete, commercial-free capture of Jeff Anderson’s stint on Sirius’s Playboy Radio on Monday morning. Due to an encoding issue, the first 45 minutes are sadly misisng, however, the remaining 2 hours is all here, in 2 flavors of MP3 (grab what suits your bandwidth):

• Congrats to Jason Lee on his nomination for a Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Award this year, in the category of “Favorite Television Actor”. The rundown of his competition:

We sure think he’s got a good shot. This one of those shows where winners are normally pre-notified of the outcome, so if you see Lee in attendance for the program airing Saturday March 31st. Starting March 11th KIDS, and kids only, can cast their votes at http://www.nick.com.

• And an interesting aside to end the day, cult icon Bruce Campbell has an entry in his IMDB bio stating “Has expressed an interest in working with Kevin Smith.” The comment was traced back to a Creature Corner article where he dropped Kevin’s name. We’re not sure if there’s more to it than that, but still, it’d be kinda neat to see Campbell’s face in Kevin’s first foray into the horror genre this year, wouldn’t it? Kevin, Bruce, are you listening? See ya next time…

• Over the weekend, news broke (via Kevin) that a new frontier was about to be tackled on the Internet — Podcasting! Kevin and Scott have created their very first podcast series, titled “SModcast”, which will run EXCLUSIVELY over at the Quick Stop Entertainment website. Smith and Mosier have taken their trademark witty banter and chemisty to this new audio-only feature, which takes an ongoing conversation between the two and gives you, the listener, a chance to be a virtual fly on the wall. Here’s Kevin with his official announcement:

Judging by this first installment, it seems that Kevin and Scott might cover any variety of topics each episode. This isn’t by any means a View Askew news podcast, though we wouldn’t be surprised if Kevin or Scott occasionally do make use of this program to announce new projects, discuss ideas, and the like. Sex and marriage is a big topic this time around. This is more just the guys being themselves, covering things that interest them (and hopefully you as well). They do it quite well and make it a fascinating stream-of-consciousness listen. Kevin’s recent radio experience has served him well, for sure. He promises the cast will happen once a week (we’re hoping it sticks with Mondays) and is not a longer session cut into smaller pieces to stretch airtime. So, things should be very timely to current events, when needed.

The podcast has fantastic production values, of course, with the duo well-mic’ed up and clear, along with some nice sound beds and other production touches (when discussing an Asia song early in the ‘cast, for example, the song lightly plays in the background). As usual, no topic is too sacred, and this stuff is totally uncensored, so listen with care. You only need a computer capable of playing MP3s to listen to a podcast, though using a portable MP3 player such as an iPod allows you to automatically receive new shows and take them on the road with you.

SModcast is a welcome addition to the View Askew family, and we’re looking forward to the next one already. May it continue on for a very long time! Folks are discussing the show at The Board, and you can of course leave comments on the first show via either of Kevin’s blogs.