For an entire year, Movies Askew and Kevin Smith embarked on a yearlong quest to find the best short films in the world.

That yearlong search has now ended. Thousands of entries were submitted and 12 shorts were chosen as finalists. On September 6th, 2006 those 12 shorts will be shown at the 2006 Movies Askew Film Festival with a panel of celebrity judges will choose a grand prize winner. Join Kevin Smith and the filmmakers who participated in the Movies Askew shorts contest at Cinespace in Hollywood, California.

The 12 finalists:

Chingaso The Clown!
Soplipsist
Perils in Nude Modeling
Raymond the six fingered boy
Robin’s Big Date
Whistling Dixie
Parallel Parallel
Someone to love
Earls Your Uncle
Up Syndrome
R.U.U.
Rio Peligroso : “A Day in the life of a Legendary Coyote”

Watch the Movies Askew 12 Film round up!

The Details:
Date: Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Time: 6:00pm – Midnight

Location:

Cinespace
6356 Hollywood Blvd (corner of Hollywood and Ivar)
Second Level
Hollywood, CA 90028
323.817.FILM

http://cinespace.info

Parking:

Valet parking $8
available on Cosmo St. (Between Cahuenga & Ivar street)
Self parking
Lots and street parking are available on Cahuenga, Ivar and Vine Street

Tickets:

Tickets to this event are extremely limited.

$20.00 online/$25.00 at the door (if there are any left.)

Purchase online tickets here: http://WWW.MOVIESaskew.com/filmfest

Coming off a 13-hour marathon that had him signing geek memorabilia almost until dawn at his Broad Street comic book store, filmmaker Kevin Smith entertained 2,000 fans in Marine Park last night with a mixture of endless approachability and profanity.

Local politicians, including Mayor Ed McKenna and mayoral candidate Pat Menna, all but kissed Smith at the start of his open-air Q&A and rocked with laughter at his early answers. But they grew increasingly rigid of jowl and then vanished from stage right as the director of the recently-released ‘Clerks II’ worked his way through an hour of audience questions with dozens if not hundreds of graphic references to sex.

Until a host finally interceded, many of the questions came from self-described aspiring filmmakers asking for jobs, advice or an opportunity to have picture taken with Smith. Increasingly, such requests elicited groans from the audience.

But as he had at Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash on Monday, when he stayed past 4a to greet every fan who turned out seeking an autograph, Smith indulged most questions and requests, no matter how inspired or insipid. Twice he spoke by cell phone to friends of audience members, and agreed to sign one man’s penis after the event.

“Clerks” director Smith applauded on NJ home turf

RED BANK, New Jersey (Reuters) – Indie film director Kevin Smith chatted with fans, dispensed wry career advice to aspiring filmmakers and flat-out refused to sign a woman’s rear end on Tuesday night when he came home to New Jersey for an outdoor screening of his breakthrough film “Clerks.”

The show, part of mail-order DVD rental service Netflix’ “Rolling Roadshow” free summer screenings series, drew some 2,000 enthusiastic fans of both the film, shot mostly in nearby Leonardo as well as Red Bank, and Smith, born in a hospital across the street from the suburban New Jersey waterside park where his fans gathered.

In a question-and-answer session before the screening, Smith was alternately respectful and engaged, self-deprecating, profane and good-naturedly abusive of his fans and their questions.

“I don’t wanna’ read your script dude,” he told one of several would-be directors, writers, actors and producers who made brazen bids for everything from career advice to jobs. “I don’t even wanna’ read my own scripts.”

When a young woman told Smith, known for other films including “Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy,” “Dogma” and “Jersey Girl”: “I need you to sign my ass” so she could have it tattooed later, he demurred, saying “I don’t sign body parts ma’am.”

On a more reflective note, Smith said his hit 1994 film “Clerks,” about the vacuous if amusing existence of a couple of slacker convenience and video store workers in New Jersey, was a product of writing from his experience — which he noted was about the only advice he could offer.

“Part of the reason I do what I do is, I grew up fat, and I grew up in New Jersey,” he said to applause from the crowd, many of whom closely resembled the characters in his films.

“So you tend to try harder” and to develop a sense of humor, he said.

The film’s success and resonance with young adults caught Smith by surprise. “It was meant as a calling-card film, and it ended up launching a career,” he said.

The sequel, far-less well-received “Clerks II,” was released this summer. Smith also made a few references to one of his worst-reviewed films, the Ben Affleck-Jennifer Lopez bomb “Jersey Girl.”

“I’m going to do a horror movie next,” he said. “It’s called ‘Jersey Girl II.”‘

“It’s time to do a slasher movie — no comedy, just blood and gore. And boobies,” he added. “But man boobies,” he said in the kind of joke that are his films’ stock-in-trade.

Between jests, Smith obligingly spoke via cell phone to several fans’ friends who were not able to be there.

“This is such a weird job,” Smith said, almost to himself. “Write on my ass. Talk to my friend … ”

The Rolling Roadshow series stages free outdoor screenings of popular films in areas where they were shot or set. Recent events included “Jaws” on Martha’s Vineyard and “The Warriors” in Coney Island.

“…it’ll be pretty different from anything else I’ve done thus far – that much I can tell you. There may be a few chuckles in it along the way, but it won’t be comedy-horror. It’ll be chills and gore.”

Hey! She’s Gay!

Now you too can act out your own ill-advised three-way or scream BLACK RAGE! with your very own set of CHASING AMY INACTION FIGURES!

This 5th set of Inaction Figures based on Kevin Smith’s film CHASING AMY features 5 of your favorite characters from the film in classic inaction form. BANKY EDWARDS and the TRACER guy from the comicon come ready to throw down. Holden and Alyssa argue about sexual experience and inexperience and HOOPER X is ready to, “kill any white folks he lays his motherfu*king eyes on!”.

Sold as a set only. $45 per set.

“This is what I’ve been told by the Weinstein Co. folks…

Turns out that exhibitors (folks that own the theaters) weren’t too keen on the idea of people showing up to the movies with iPods. They felt it was going to be too distracting (or something) for other people in the theater who weren’t wearing iPods for the show – like the commentary-listeners would be laughing when nobody else was laughing, and that’d create some kind of problem. Based on that, they suggested that if Weinstein Co. went through with the commentary track promotion, they’d start pulling the flick from screens. So the commentary track promotion has been tabled until we’re at a very low theater count (which is starting to happen now).

For the record, from what I was told, AMC Theaters was supportive of the commentary idea. So if it still winds up ultimately happening (and it better be soon, as we’ve only got about two weeks of theatrical life left), check the flick out in an AMC Theater while listening to the commentary track. You won’t get any shit for doing so there.”

It’s official. The Weinstein Company and MGM Home Entertainment will release Kevin Smith’s Clerks II on December 5th. The follow-up to Smith’s career-making 1994 original film arrives as a two-disc set with a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Bonus materials will include a feature-length audio commentary with Kevin Smith and his View Askew cohorts (of course), deleted scenes, a 90-minute making-of documentary, the complete MySpace.com DVD Credits List, trailers and more. Retail is $29.99.

Also look for an HD-DVD edition day-and-date with a 1080p hi-def transfer. No word yet if there are any exclusive extras to this version, so stay tuned. Retail is $35.99.