It’s a fascinating read, which not only includes links to all of the work, but some inside details and memories from the projects that we’d never heard before. Here’s a sample:

…Mr. Smith had seen this and asked if we could make a version for Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez as a wrap party present for the film Jersey Girl. We wrote a proposal, which Kevin then took and added a bunch of gags and inside jokes and developed the script. We also sent ideas for a Dogma game and a game based off of the Clerks animated series. We had 8 weeks till the wrap of the film, where Kevin wanted to give the arcade machine to them.

We worked most of the hours of those 8 weeks. We were still programming the game when we drove it straight from Austin to New York City in a U-haul attached to Brad’s jeep. We took turns working, sleeping, and driving in shifts. We presented the arcade machine on the last night of shooting, with paparazzi everywhere ruining multiple takes of the final scene. We installed the machine in the couples’ apartment. That part is pretty hazy, I personally only remember that the refrigerator was 100% full of diet-caffeine-free cokes, and showing a bodyguard how to play Frogger on the machine.

And if you like that first issue (and you will), do yourself a favor and seek out the next few which should also be close by on the shelves. And take a look at some of the other items of coolness as well. Comic book shops are great, and the medium has never been better, with a record number of feature films coming out based on comics. Get your butt to a comic book shop today, and tell ’em News Askew sent ya. Enjoy the free books!

Via @torontoist “The Toronto Underground Cinema Prepares to Rise Up: http://bit.ly/aOyRC8 ” Looks like a great place to SMod…

Via @Anthem85 “please buy a nicer mic for SMods. You get really distorted when laughing/loud” Part of the charm is sounding home-made, sir.

@chefcharming “bottom line, did Cop Out make money?” Only cost 32mil, so we’re all good & WB happy. Home video still ahead, too. But best of all? It led directly to both RED STATE and HIT SOMEBODY money (& lead). Oddly, worst reviewed flick was biggest bucket of win.

Via @Anthem85 “script of HIT? How many pages you in” 52. Wanted Canadian feedback, so I showed some to @MalcolmIngram. Ask him what he said.

Via @hockeynight “Nice to see that you’re including some Canadian compatriots in the process” Hockey Night makes first appearance on page 5.

SModcast114: Highlands – A Peephole History, Pt 1. First chapter in a sporadic, ongoing SMod sub-series. Only at http://www.smodcast.com

There’s a fantastic series of tweets from Kevin recalling his wedding as he celebrates his 11th anniversary that’s worth the trip alone, along with the great before and after pic we posted above.

The live Smodcast tour continues in Fargo, North Dakota tonight, on to Billings, Montana tomorrow and finally to San Francisco on May 2nd. If you’re lucky, you might still be able to nab some last minute tickets at the official site. Get there if you can, we live to think of live SMod as a rare commodity, one that doesn’t happen a lot and could stop at any time. Don’t miss your chance to attend one of these hilarious sessions.

The bearded comics writer/filmmaker/author/pride-of-Jersey was utterly comfortable in his own skin (right down to his self-effacing fat jokes), if not his signature outfit: hoodie (navy), ankle-scraping denim shorts and backward ballcap. Smith — director of “Clerks” 1 and 2, “Mallrats” and “Chasing Amy” right up through this year’s “Cop Out” — had his fans in the palm of his perspiring hand from the get-go, and he seemed to feed off that energy. The room was the height of pure geeklove — from shared “insider” references to a hug for a female fan who giddily requested the embrace.

Smith recently attended a George Carlin tribute ceremony in New York, and Thursday night’s crowd reveled in his storytelling about the late comedian. Smith relayed stories about how sweet and sentimental Carlin could be in person. Once, after Carlin talked about his then-recently deceased first wife, the touched Smith said: “I wish you were my mom and dad.”

Smith also said that by example, Carlin — whom he called “an incredible craftsman” as an entertainer — “taught me a way to live. … to play it truthfully.” Added Smith: “I miss him every day and think about him every day.”

Scroll to the very bottom of the article for a bonus fan-shot Youtube clip from the event.

Hey, it’s Jay and Silent Bob.

Drug dealers as lovable as Muppets.

These guys made it okay to be friends with your pot dealer. Up until Jay and Bob, drug dealers were portrayed as less than desirable elements in our culture. They made it possible for bromances like Pineapple Express to come later.

Via @billhelm “Dang, live #SModcast in Duluth” @SMosier & I will Live-SMod the Untold Delights of Duluth: http://tinyurl.com/livenudeduluth

Coming to see me & @SMosier do #LiveNudeSMod in Duluth or Fargo? Make sure you snag one of THESE: http://viewaskew.com/kevin/FargoFlip.jpg

That link on the 2nd #LiveNudeSMod poster (by http://dkngstudios.com ) is good now: http://viewaskew.com/kevin/FargoFlip.jpg You coming?

Via @peterwattie “SMod was awesome this week, already listened 3 times” Me too. As a SMod fan, I’d say me & @SMosier are on a roll lately.

Dear @StarkToons: I peeped the FORGETICUS cartoon 13x now. You’re a goddamned genius, sir! @SMosier in animal form is my new favorite Scott.

Via @johnleete “where can we find the FORGETICUS cartoon? I checked the @StarkToons website” It’ll be at www.SModcast.com very soon…

More news later — And don’t forget, Kevin’s making his first-ever appearance in York, Pennsylvania THIS MONDAY, April 26th, along with Scott Mosier for another sure-to-be classic edition of SModcast Live. Tickets available for immediate purchase!

Weinsteins to take back Miramax

It looks as if the Weinsteins have managed to fashion a winning bid in the Miramax auction and will take back operating control of the company they founded in 1979 and sold to Disney for $80 million in 1993.

Running the process internally, the Burbank studio for months has been soliciting offers for the recently shut specialty-film unit and its 611-title library.

Miramax founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein had been building enough financial muscle to put together an offer of $600 million or thereabouts, seeking to top bids from such rival suitors as businessmen Alec and Tom Gores and a more controversial one from Hollywood wheeler-dealer David Bergstein.

Harvey and Bob Weinstein have been kibitzing with billionaire financier Ron Burkle throughout the auction process. In addition to Burkle’s Yucaipa group, the duo’s backers include hedge funds Fortress and Colbeck Capital. In effect, Burkle and friends would be the official buyers, but the Weinsteins effectively would run the operation.

No word yet on when an official announcement of the deal will be made, as Disney lawyers apparently were still going over the financial details provided by the Weinsteins on Thursday.

“No deal has been reached,” a Disney spokesperson said Thursday night.

WaxWord did a great job summarizing Kevin’s tweets of support as well:

Exclusive! Kevin Smith Sweetens Weinstein’s Offer for Miramax

News from Silent Bob, the man who lately made SouthWest Airlines tremble with his mere thumbs.

Filmmaker Kevin Smith writes WaxWord that he has desperately been trying to help Bob and Harvey Weinstein close the deal to buy Miramax. “I’ve sweetened the Weinstein’s offer to buy Miramax back,” he writes. “All day yesterday and just now this morning, I’ve been throwing Tweets and large artwork at the Mouse to up the ante, but they’ve not responded.”

Smith is a Weinstein diehard, who has been following the MIramax sale closely. The brothers bravely backed Smith in making such lasting cultural oddities …landmarks… movies as “Clerks,” “Mallrats,” and “Chasing Amy.” He has been Twittering (@thatkevinsmith) to his million-plus followers about the deal – offernig Mickey Mouse paintings, for example.

The deal is in the midst of pitched negotiations since the Weinsteins were granted an exclusive window through the weekend to try and close the deal.

Here is what Smith has offered in the past few hours, via Twitter:

Ease on down, Dis! 600mil & 2 huge paintings: http://twitpic.com/1gaz4s http://twitpic.com/1gb15k For Miramax. Deal? #YoPharaohLetMyPeopleGo about 2 hours ago via web

On top of Weinstein 600mil bid, AND my giant “Blue Mickey”, I’ll also throw in Helnwein’s “LA Confidential”: http://twitpic.com/1gb15k about 2 hours ago

Your silence in the matter telegraphs the tough negotiator you are, Disney. So lemme sweeten the pot with ANOTHER piece of giant Disney art! about 2 hours ago via Echofon DearDisney: Friday, I offered to sweeten Harvey/Bob’s 600mil Miramax bid w/ inclusion of this giant MM painting: http://twitpic.com/1gaz4s about 2 hours ago via Echofon

That & I promise to never tarnish your magical legacy w/ twat & cock jokes ever again. Please, Disney… #WaltWouldSellMiramaxToHarveyAndBob about 18 hours ago via Echofon

This amazing, eight foot Gottfried Helnwein piece will look dope in some lucky Disney exec’s office! So 600 mil… PLUS a Mickey painting! about 18 hours ago via Echofon

Dear Disney, I’d like to sweeten Harvey & Bob’s 600k offer for Miramax by throwing in this giant painting: http://bit.ly/9ackU4

The Weinsteins had last offered $600 million in cash, to those who are following this process. They need to come up with a bit more to beat out their rivals, Alec and Tom Gores, and David Bergstein.

Now they have the mighty Silent Bob on their side. He concludes: “Please inform the Disney cabal that I’m super-serious. They’d look awesome in any exec’s office.”

Via @dvdmike “another 80’s score on #redstate?” Gonna try… TRY… to go no score whatsoever. No score, no music. Just dry and unsettling.

Via @Saint_Johner “u finally getting sick of Twitter? I don’t see as much from ya lately” Sick’a Twit’a? Nev’a! (Just been writing, sir…)

@MikeSeils “SouthwestAir hiring a social media superstar: http://bit.ly/dCp2r1 ” I’d do that job FOR FREE. But first, they gotta let me remake THIS commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHnqnyzegfc …with me as the lead, in titular attire. #KindaSaidTitJustNow

My Gay Proxy, @MalcolmIngram, drops another episode of THE TORONTO, ONTARIO MO & GLO SHOW! In a good way. http://smodcast.com/moandglo

Wanna see me doing it with @SMosier? http://viewaskew.com/events/livenudesmod/ Wanna see me doing it alone? http://viewaskew.com/events/hob

Via @JIMMYDANGER1 “The head backer for Weinsteins is Ron Burkle, co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins.” Wow. And me with a hockey movie…

Saw Al Pacino waiting at a light just now. Dude looked contemplative – like he was thinking “Holy shit: I’m Al motherfuckin’ Pacino…”

Walt of @BryAndWalt fame is almost done drawing our 44-page WIDENING GYRE #6! And look who’s back: http://www.viewaskew.com/kevin/lawton.jpg

Remember, it’s totally free to follow Kevin’s tweets at Twitter or via your favorite client of choice.

Kevin Smith: (laughs) Roger Ebert is in rare form with how he keeps re-tweeting his Cop Out review. I was thinking if Roger was trying to send me a message. But he’s liked enough of my stuff in the past. He liked Jersey Girl, but I know he didn’t like Mallrats and Clerks II. He also said something great about Chasing Amy saying how he regretted not putting it in his top ten. Roger has always been so fucking fair. Even though people kept pointing out he keeps re-tweeting that Cop Out review and saying, “isn’t that suspicious?” Obviously I’m not retarded, it’s very suspicious. But he’s a guy who’s been nice to me throughout my career in particular when I really needed it. I wasn’t going to start yelling, “he did what? I fucking guested on his show!” I mean I’ve been saying a lot lately and it’s dawning on me, but I’m almost 40. Getting mad at Roger Ebert is just not in the cards for me. He’s an icon and I like the dude. He didn’t like it? That’s fine, he liked something else I did. It’s not like I don’t get it. I used to be very contentious… Shit, used to be? A few weeks ago I took on a huge corporation (laughs). That was a real thing, but getting mad about an opinion isn’t my thing. Maybe they’ll like the next one. For Cop Out, it’s a different world. A bad review for Cop Out isn’t going to fucking kill the movie. Most people going in are thinking, “we know it’s stupid, who cares?”

Read it all over at DVD Talk.

We’re talking about Dogma, the 1999 comedy in which Smith pits a pair of exiled angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) against a ragtag group that includes a Greek muse turned stripper (Salma Hayek), the heretofore unknown 13th apostle (Chris Rock), Jesus Christ’s last surviving relative (Linda Fiorentino), and a pair of unwitting prophets (Jason Mewes and Smith as, of course, Jay and Silent Bob) — all while God (played by Alanis Morissette, natch) lies trapped in the comatose body of a homeless man (s)He was using to play skee ball. Not for the easily offended, obviously — but despite what Dogma’s detractors may have thought, Smith didn’t go for cheap gags, instead using humor to leaven a thoughtful look at what we believe, and why. “Make no mistake,” cautioned TV Guide’s Maitland McDonagh, “Kevin Smith’s talky, farcical comedy of cosmic errors is clever. But it’s clever in a deeply juvenile way.”

#16: Clerks (1994)

The ’90s Film: At the time, Kevin Smith’s comedy was a defining document of no-budget slacker filmmaking, with its slapshod camerawork, shaggy-dog dialogue and on-the-pulse video store setting.

Nowadays, apart from still being hilarious, it’s a period piece. The technical ability bar has been raised for budding auteurs, and – as Clerks 2 confirmed – nobody rents anymore.

If They Have To Remake It: It should be topical. Let’s set it in the vast warehouses of Lovefilm.com, with Dante and Randall bitching and moaning all day long as they traipse to the stockroom to post yet another boxset of The Hills.