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View Askew NewsBites™

December 4th @ 8:36 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Joe Jenkins, John Whiteaker, Ryan Evans, Ryan Free, Jay Myrechuck

  • We’re getting a smattering of emails from folks reporting in Easter Eggs from the new “Evening Harder” disc. We did run a full listing of all these eggs earlier in November, but in case you missed it, here’s a refresher:
Disc 1 (Toronto)

In the “Special Features” menu, highlight ‘Main Menu’ and press Left to reveal a maple leaf. Press Select/Enter to see a clip of Mewes and Kevin talking about Jason having to hit on Jen in Degrassi.

>From the “Subtitles” menu, Go to Play and hit UP. You’ll see another maple leaf. Click Select/Enter. There’s a 14 minute piece on Degrassi here!

Disc 2 (London)

In the “Trailers” menu, highlight ‘Special Features’ and press Up to reveal a crown on Kevin’s head. Press Enter to see a clip on the Secret Stash West opening.

  • One scooper reports seeing the Kevin-filled “Catch and Release” trailer before a sneak preview of “The Holiday”. Release date is getting closer, folks! Those of us at Vulgarthon can attest to Kevin’s rule over this film, the rest of you will love it when you see it early next year. Plan to take your girlfriend or boyfriend (or spouse) along!
  • We’re hearing that G4 again featured View Askew on their “Attack of the Show” program, this time on Friday with a segment from Stash Westwood on the signing event. If anyone has a capture for us, we’d love to add it to the archives, so drop us a line.
  • Hey UK fans — Did you really like Clerks II? The BBC film 2006 website is running its “Film of the Year” awards, and asking for fans to vote in their choices. Have your say via their simple online ballot.
  • And on a final pleasant note today, the folks running the Hero event on Saturday tell us Kevin brought down the house, and that it was a great success. They’ve received dozens of calls and emails with raves about the program, with not a complaint to be heard. Congrats to Kevin, the Hero Initiative, and to all of you who attended the show. If anyone reading our site was there, we’d love to hear about your experience.

View Askew NewsBites™

December 2nd @ 5:06 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by John Whiteaker, Josh Tafoya, Beau, theKiwi, Movidude74, Robert Sanchez

  • In an interview with the IESB, director Mark Steven Johnson reveals that he’s hoping Kevin will come on board to direct an episode of his upcoming HBO series based on the “Preacher” comic book. He promises the show will be 100% faithful to the comics. At one point in the development process of Preacher, View Askew was attached to produce a feature film adaptation.
  • As we mentioned last update, Chris Gore gave huge props to ALL THREE View Askew releases on DVD last Tuesday during G4’s “Attack of the Show” this week. Gore names Clerks II as one of his favorite comedies of the year. Big props for the Well documentary, too. The segment is now available in full video format at YouTube. Enjoy!

  • Movidude74 hooks us up with some shots from the DVD signing earlier this week. Folks lined the street in Westwood to get autographed copies of their new View Askew DVDs from Kevin and special guests Jeff Anderson and Trevor Fehrman.
  • Dogma comes in at number four in Progressive U’s countdown of their 10 favorite controversial flicks:
4. “Dogma” (1999)
Religion: Christianity
Controversy: Including but not limited to: Foul-mouthed, fallen angels; a female descendant of Christ working in a pro-choice clinic; a muse-turned-stripper; and God played by a pop singer.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck joined director Kevin Smith for this look at fallen angels who figure out a minor loophole that will get them back into heaven — an act that will prove God’s fallibility and therefore, by extension, negate the existence of all mankind. “Dogma” was criticized for the way the Catholic religion was depicted, including casting that darned cheeky Chris Rock as a missing 13th Apostle and a disturbingly twinkly Alanis Morissette as God, but at least it wasn’t Val Kilmer (see “The Prince of Egypt”).

  • Catch a reference to Chasing Amy’s male lead characters in a recent edition of web comic “Anywhere But Here”.
  • Looks like Brian Lynch has inked a deal with the CW to write a new show, “Dodge”. Here’s his announcement from his blog. The official tag:
“Dodge,” a CW horror comedy about an immortal man who battles evil. Brian Lynch is writing, with Bender, Spink and Charlie Gogolak exec producing via Fox 21;

You can also peep out this thread from angrynakedpat.com for more info. We’re happy for Brian and hope for big success on this one — It certainly sounds like a show we’d watch, and a great companion piece to the network’s Smallville or Supernatural, especially if one of the two doesn’t come back next year.

  • The director of the much loved short film “EARL’S YOUR UNCLE” from the finals of our Movies Askew contest has gone on to shoot a feature film titled RATTLE BASKET. The movie just got out of Post-Production and is currently hitting the festival circuit. Check out the trailer HERE and the flick’s MySpace page as well. It’s great to see folks moving on from the exposure and experience of the contest. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and we’ll catch you later!

Kevin On The Saturday UCLA Gig…

November 30th @ 10:59 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Brad & Chris

  • Kevin checks in via the MySpace blog with his thoughts on the big show on Saturday that we’ve been promoting here. Need we again tell you what a cool way to spend a Saturday night this is gonna be? You always get your money’s worth when you see Kevin live, and with two comic icons onstage for the show, it’s a rare opportunity that you just should not miss. Tix still available at an amazingly cheap $20, and all benefitting the Hero Initiative as well. A good show, a good cause. Here’s Kevin:
Ladies? Are you looking for Mr. Right?

Gals, do you live in or near L.A.? Are you looking for submissive, easily bossed-around boys to be your love slaves, with the small price being that you’ll have to put up with ‘em screeching “EXCELSIOR!” and “SNIKT!!!” all the time (not to mention that you’ll probably have to teach ‘em how to eat pussy)?

Then you need to get your man-hunting asses over to UCLA this Saturday night at 7pm, for the ultimate Sausage Party. Unsullied cocks will abound at this special, one-time only event!

“Marvel: Then and Now” – a discussion between Stan Lee and Joe Quesada (as mediated by yours truly). Come watch as legions of eligible bachelors line up to hear a living legend and an artist-turned-editor-in-chief talk about wall-crawlers and shell-heads, and ask questions so inside and arcane, you’ll think they were speaking another language! It’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel for you women-folk! You’ll have the pick of the litter: unshaped clay you can mold into your old perfect man!

Check out this L.A. Times piece about the event…

And then, order your tickets right here (or pick ‘em up at the door on Saturday night).

If you’re one of those women who’re forever grousing that all the best men are either married or gay, quit yer bitchin’ and start your mission! Mr. Rights aren’t simply found; they’re made! Take matters into your own hands this Saturday night at UCLA, with a roomful of certifiably disease-free and undamaged goods!

View Askew NewsBites™

November 30th @ 10:58 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Vince Sabatini, Will Wilkins, Eric Rhoades, Steve Watkinson, Roger Frantzman

  • As promised, JoBlo finishes up their “10 Reasons We Love Kevin Smith” segment, with items such as his interaction with the fans, his great storytelling ability, and the Askewniverse itself hitting the chart. Click on over to check out the full story.
  • Our audio capture wizard Will Wilkins comes in again with Kevin’s 18 minute call to Opie & Anthony earlier this week, in promotion of DVD Tuesday. The clip is MP3 ready, and even has artwork embedded so it’s ipod friendly. Thanks to WW for the hook-up! Enjoy the call.
  • A few more DVD tidbits for the interested: The bonus disc that’s available through FYE and Suncoast, does contain 5 Train Wrecks (as well as the uncensored VH-1 special and music video contest winner). We do hear that 2 of the Wrecks are repeats from the main disc: “Day One” and “Cannes 2006” are included on the top 10 on Clerks II. ALSO – We hear there are indeed widescreen copies of Clerks II at Circuit City with the comic book inside. Just dig around the shelves and look for a square green and purple sticker on the shrink-wrap, indicating the bonus book is inside.
  • Kevin’s recently revealed ultimate iPod playlist is reviewed on AOL’s online music show, “The DL”. Check around the 1:20 mark for HIGH praise for Kevin’s playlist from the show’s host.

Clerks II DVD: The Easter Eggs!

November 29th @ 11:33 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Brad & Chris, Kevin Spellman, Chickendancer

  • We ran some hints on Easter Eggs located on the new Clerks II DVD in our review earlier this month. But in case you were too lazy to track them down yourself, here’s a list of what’s been discovered so far. Of course, if you’ve got more to add, let us know:
DISC 1, EGG 1Access Main Menu
Acces Special Features
Go to Second Page of Special Features
Highlight “Play introduction to film with Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier”
Click right arrow
A thought bubble with a burger in it will appear above Jeff Anderson
Click enter and watch Kevin display the Askewniverse bible and talk about the end (?) of the Askewniverse.

DISC 2, EGG 1

Access Main Menu
Under ‘Blooper Reel’, highlight ‘Play Introduction by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier’
Click right arrow
A Mooby’s logo will be highlighted in-between Brian and Jeff.
Click enter to watch the first-ever Train Wreck!

DISC 2, EGG 2

Access Train Wreck Menu
Highlight ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Man’
Click right arrow
A Mooby’s logo will be highlighted on Elias’s shoulder.
Click enter to watch another bonus Train Wreck!

Kevin @ New York Comic Con – Feb ’07!

November 29th @ 11:32 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by John Whiteaker

J. Michael Straczynski and Marc Silvestri will appear at New York Comic Con as Guests of Honor, joining other newly named guests including Gene Colan, Peter David, Michael Golden, George Perez, and Kevin Smith. “The list of special guests who will appear at New York Comic Con is growing day by day,” notes Greg Topalian, the Event Director for New York Comic Con. “We couldn’t be happier with the enormous talent that has come on board already and we’re looking forward to making many more announcements about guest appearances in the weeks and months ahead.”

New York Comic Con will take place in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Center, February 23rd – 25th.

Kevin Smith: Kevin is a well-known producer, writer, director and actor who has had a rapid rise in the independent film community. In addition to Clerks (which won the Filmmaker’s Trophy at Sundance) and Jersey Girl, Mr. Smith is well known for several other films, including Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. He has published the screenplays to all five of his previously released films, written comic books featuring not only his own characters (the multiple-printed Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob), but also legendary mainstays of the superhero world (the award-winning Daredevil and Spider-Man and the Black Cat at Marvel Comics, and the award-winning Green Arrow at DC Comics), and written a monthly column for UK based Arena Magazine. With his View Askew partner, Scott Mosier, he has also executive-produced four low budget, first film efforts (including Bryan Johnson’s Lion’s Gate release Vulgar) and one large budget, multiple Academy Award winner (Good Will Hunting). Kevin Smith’s most recent film, Clerks II, was released this past summer (2006). In this film, Smith revisits the zany characters ten years after first being introduced to them in Clerks.

No further scheduling info at this time — If the date sticks, we expect Kevin to do the usual Friday signing, and Saturday Q&A. We’ll keep you posted.

Reminder: Kevin @ UCLA Saturday!

November 29th @ 11:32 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Brad & Chris

  • We just got word that there’s amazingly still tix available left for that amazing opportunity to catch Kevin Smith, Stan Lee, and Joe Quesada for a LIVE Q&A panel in Los Angeles (UCLA) THIS SATURDAY, December 2nd at 7:00 PM. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to catch three of the biggest stars EVER in the comics industry in one room, one night only. Tickets are a total steal at just $20 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster. This is set to be a landmark event, and the only time we can EVER remember Kevin, Joe, and Stan being in the smae room, let alone on one single stage for one event. A HUGE opportunity for fans of Kevin or of the comic industry in general. Don’t miss this one. What a fantastic way to spend a Saturday in December.

Hear more from the guests of honor, Stan Lee and Joe Quesada, in this article promoting the event as well. I heard Howard Stern promote this today on his program as well, which should have tickets flying out the door — If you wanna go, and you should not miss this…BUY NOW.

The “Roger Moore” War…

November 29th @ 11:32 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Brad & Chris

  • Subscribers to Kevin’s blogs or boards read this stuff over the weekend, but we still wanted to log this up at News Askew — It’s just been a busy few days here with the DVD releases and all, and we wanted to ensure we had full coverage on that. ANYWAY…Kevin brought to our attention, via his blog, a post from Orlando Sentinel film critic Roger Moore, which essentially stereotyped View Askew fans as a bunch of Gex-X losers. The quote:
“But the guy’s following is Grateful Dead/Liza Minelli/Ronald Reagan fanatical. The big guy (increasingly so, it would seem from his latest appearances) can do no wrong. They’re captured, in all their still-wearing-t-shirts everywhere, dead-end-job/living in mom’s basement glory in the An Evening With Kevin Smith films, documentaries shot at his long Q & A sessions at colleges, etc.”

Kevin’s reply to this attack, complete with tons of eveidence to back it up, is in the blog.

The saga then continued on when Moore replied, and Kevin did likewise, via THIS blog entry.

We urge to to read it all — We know that if you’re here you must be a fan, so we know whose side you’re on, but that’s not even the point — The internet has given journalists of all shapes and sizes a voice to be heard, and, while they certainly have their right to like or dislike anything that they want, making broad generalizations about a fanbase is just plain stupid. I can speak for ourselves, and for the droves of fans that we have met over the close to ten years of running this website — We’re not only an intelligent and successful bunch, but a resourceful, peaceful, loyal, kind fanbase…The likes of which I’ve really never seen for any author auteur out there. And I think a lot of that comes from the way Kevin treats his fans, as well as in the way his work shows intelligence and insight that some critics will just never understand. It’s a shame that some folks resort to attacks like that without having anything to back up their point. It’s one thing to have an opinion, it’s another to just mudsling at random with no factual basis.

So, that’s what we’ve got to say about the whole thing. We remain happy that guys like Kevin exist to keep the press in check from time to time. It’s nice to know these folks can’t always get away with it, in an age where it’s so simple to have your voice heard.

View Askew NewsBites™

November 29th @ 11:31 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by James, Maleah Dust, Keenan Urnick, McFierce, Adam Chitwood, Tony Morrison, Chris Edwards

  • We had a report come in today that one customer purchased the Best Buy Mooby box only to find the FULL SCREEN version of Clerks II in the box, not the widescreen. The disc was stamped as widescreen, but didn’t play that way. Be sure and check your discs! Anyone else have this problem? Ours are still sealed for collectability, so we’ve yet to break that shrink wrap.
  • More DVD promotion today on G4 TV’s “Attack of the Show”. As part of their “DVDuesday” segment, Chris Gore reviews new releases. This episode, he gave the big “buy it” tag to Clerks II, Evening Harder, AND Now You Know! It’s a trifecta. G4 appears on Comcast digital cable. Check your local listings for a repeat this weekend.
  • This short article came across the wire today — Some quotes from Kevin on YouTube and the impact technology like it will have on discoverng new filmmaking talent:
Smith: YouTube will shake-up Hollywood

Cult director Kevin Smith has predicted YouTube will revolutionise Hollywood movies.

The filmmaker behind Clerks said the film-sharing website will allow the next generation of movie-making talent to emerge without the help of big studios.

Smith himself managed to break through by making his own cheap films and he thinks more and more will be able to do so with the website slashing distribution costs.

“If you make a film and you’re having a hard time getting people to see it, break it into six chapters and throw it up on YouTube,” he explained. “There’s a good chance somebody will see it.

“Since that film’s already ‘out’, maybe movie companies won’t be interested in distributing it, but they may give you a shot at doing another film.

“These days, the best thing is to do stuff on the net,” he told The Sun. “Even with a MySpace page, you can whip up a lot of attention. These are great opportunities that didn’t exist 12 years ago, when I started out.”

  • Here’s an exclusive new article that you won’t find elsewhere — From the UK’s “Exposed” magazine, scans from a brand new interview conducted with Kevin on a variety of topics. Click the scans for quotes on Clerks II, Myspace, Road House, street dates, the horror flick and a possible guest spot on “My Name Is Earl” this year!
  • Jason Lee makes it to number 4 on the list of “TV’s Top Mustachioed Men”:
After winning the lottery, Earl Hickey decides to dedicate his life to doing good deeds, which apparently doesn’t involve shaving. NBC initially resisted Jason Lee’s suggestion that his “My Name Is Earl” character should have a mustache, but after seeing it on his face in all its glory, the network relented. The rest, as they say, is hairstory.
  • VH1’s Best Week website seems to have misinterprted what Kevin said regarding his iPod playlist earlier this week — From our interpretation, he’s not miffed about it, rather, just wanted it to go out unedited, instead of having to shorten his thoughts on it.
  • We’re hearing some reports of shortages or missing shelf copies of Evening Harder and Now You Know, especially at some Best Buy locations. Rest assured, street dates did not slip, so check around, or order your signed copies directly from us to enure prompt shipment of your discs!

Now On DVD – Clerks II, Evening 2, Now You Know!

November 28th @ 6:32 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by Brad & Chris, Chris Hayner, Stephen Lee, Jason

  • We’re pleased to report the highly anticipated arrival of THREE View Askew related titles on DVD today. First up, the latest in Kevin’s Askewniverse series, Clerks II, which many (including Kevin) say is the likely end to the View Askewniverse as we know it. You’ll certainly want to complete your collection with this one, and read our review of the disc set as well.

Next up — Kevin goes international with 2 Q&A sessions from Canada and the U.K. in “Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder”. Another two disc set chronicles Kevin’s hilarious Q&As and anecdotes, as Kevin entertains packed houses like no one else can. Look for tons of laughs and unexpectected surprises in these no-holds-barred sessions. Now everywhere on DVD (finally caught up with you Australia!).

And finally, Jeff Anderson’s directorial debut, “Now You Know” — Not originally produced by View Askew, but now presented by Kevin Smith as it earns a place in Askew myth in its own right, due to discovering Trevor Fehrman who steals many a scene in “Clerks II”.

As we speak, fans everywhere are converging on Stash Westwood for a big signing of DVDs today with Smith, Mewes, Anderson and Fehrman. If you’re in line, we hope you’re having a blast, and look forward to your tales and photos.

For the rest of us, here’s hoping you’ve got your pre-orders in with the Stash, as it’s still the only spot to get personally signed copies of all these discs to put under your tree. In the meantime, here’s some other info on today’s releases and what special goodies you can find at various outlets:

  • Suncoast Pictures are carrying the Clerks II DVD packed with the bonus DVD. The disc contains a music video contest winner, the VH-1 Special and 5 BONUS Train Wrecks.
  • Many Best Buy stores are in short suppy of the Mooby’s Meal Box set. If you want one, we suggest you run and grab one as soon as you can!
  • The free comic in the Circuit City version, we’re being told, is only coming packed with the Full Screen version of the film, NOT the widescreen. Be careful.