Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here’s a look at what Kevin’s contributed to EW. First and foremost, one of our favorite pieces of ALL TIME. This article, titled “A Guided Tour of my Geeky Career”, spans 21 photo and text pages on the website, and features quotes direct from the man himself on all of these milestones. Directors talking about their films and lives is always fascinating to us, and this article has to be among the best of the year. We’ve taken a few snippets to share here, but surfing over to EW to peep the entire article is required reading, or you’re going to bed without dessert:

ON CHASING AMY: “”When I watch that flick now, I feel like Holden is such a f–ing child. Then I remember that I was that guy, and that’s why I wrote the flick in the first place: to stop being that guy. Still…I’m so disconnected from that jealous boyfriend/male sexual-insecurity thing now that it’s baffling to watch. Love the flick, though. Very pure. [It was made by] a bunch of people who either had to redeem themselves (me and Mosier, post-Rats) or were waiting for their breakout role (Ben and Joey) or a guy who’d let the world know he could do more than skateboard.””

ON THE CLERKS CARTOON: “”If you love the Clerks cartoon, and I do too, you owe a big thanks to [executive producer] Dave Mandel. Rather than do a real-world, straightforward adaptation of the flick, Mandel’s the guy who — thankfully — made it surreal. The process, though — six months per episode, from script to screen — killed us. I wish we’d done it more like South Park and let the animation slip a bit in favor of getting more episodes in the can, or being more current. We pitched it to ABC when they were in third place and were willing to try anything to find a hit. By the time we turned in our six episodes, they’d already found said hit in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and suddenly our show seemed like a waste of time. Only two ever aired. The Clerks cartoon left a bad taste in my mouth, in terms of working in TV.””

ON CLERKS II: “”Even though it was high time (maybe past due, according to some folks), it was kinda sad. But at the same time, you couldn’t ask for a better end-to-end experience: from the writing all the way up to the DVD release. I loved that movie with every iota of my being, man. Even when people were pooh-poohing on the Web during preproduction, I didn’t care: I knew it was the best thing I could do for myself. That flick completely recharged my batteries, man. I have zero regrets about any aspect of that flick. Jeff Anderson…that guy gave such a great performance. He owns that film, because it’s all about Randal — the guy who’s completely out of step with the world around him. And that’s how I felt when I wrote it.””

Not only did Kevin contribute all that great stuff, but also submitted a two-part article summarizing the coolest folks he’s met at the San Diego Con. Let’s first get some select snippets here from both, and then we’ll let you know how to get to full versions:

Robert Downey Jr. – Comic-Con 2007: The Con the Iron Man trailer debuted (the July before its May 2008 opening). RDJ was in town, big pimpin’ his Starkness. He and the Iron Man entourage emerged from a freight elevator onto a loading dock at the back of the venue, where I was smoking a cigarette, waiting for a ride. We made brief eye contact, but I’m the guy who never says “hi” to anybody for fear they’ll be like “I hate your stuff.” Proving he’s the bigger man, Downey stepped over, extended his hand, and introduced himself. Class act. We exchanged pleasantries and moved on, but that was always the classiest Con move I’ve ever seen.

Joe Quesada & Jimmy Palmiotti – Comic-Con ’95. Then, the rock stars of the comics world, with their Event Comics label, I met Jimmy and Joe at an early Mallrats sneak screening. Afterward, they offered to do artwork for the opening credits, and our friendship began.

Neil Gaiman (author of the Sandman comic series and the novella Coraline, among others) – At last year’s Comic-Con, backstage. I’ve always loved Neil’s writing, so what a delight and relief it was to discover him a sweetheart.

Leslie Mann – After the EW panel last year, I was backstage talking to Zack Snyder about an early peep at Watchmen when Leslie Mann (the actress and Judd Apatow’s wife) was passing by, stopped, and said, “Oh my God…you are so funny.” I just about passed out.

Bob Chapman – Maybe he’s not a celeb to anybody else, but Chapman was like a rock star to me. Because before Chappy, people simply read comics.

Those are just snips of each of the 5, so you’ll of course want to surf over to the EW website for the whole thing. Here’s the way:

“The five coolest people I’ve met at the San Diego Comic-Con” Part One

“The five coolest people I’ve met at the San Diego Comic-Con” Part Two

Note: Kevin’s latest tweets cite October as the arrival of these books, though publisher Titan lists September 22nd. Once we get the date clarified, we’ll let ya know.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

As the cast continues to grow, we’ll continue to report. The great /Film also says that comedian Jim Norton will come onboard, which would make sense as Norton just filmed a cameo for “Zack and Miri”. We’re guessing Norton’s role will be another cameo type situation.

Filming on the flick continues in New York City, and we’re hopeful for a closer look before it’s all over. Here’s a bit of trivia for ya – What other ex-“Buffy” cast member had a small cameo in a View Askew production?

It will be a treat to see these guys working together again, as well as which of the film’s current stars Lee gets paired up with. If anything good can come out of the terrible news that “My Name is Earl” won’t return, at least it’s that we can again have Lee back on the big screen. Which is never a bad thing. We’ll keep you posted, as this incredibly talented comedic cast continues to be revealed. More news later, we just wanted to get this breaking story up for ya ASAP.

The two Kevins both have great comedic talents and timing, so we’re expecting a fun episode this Sunday. And it’s free. So tune on over.

“Silent Bob Speaks”

Carnegie Hall

June 17

The expression “like an open book” should be updated to reflect the startlingly full disclosures Kevin Smith has been offering his fans over the past few years through his online diary, Twitter account, SModcast, bestselling memoir and, most recently, his live “Silent Bob Speaks” performance, which played to a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall last night. But whereas most cases of celebrity over-sharing come off as mindless exhibitionism, Smith’s divulgences seem generous-a gift to the sizable portion of his audience that takes a near-scholarly interest in Smith’s day-to-day activities, from the directorial (he’s currently shooting A Couple of Dicks with Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis) to the lavatorial.

The latter took precedence at Carnegie Hall. After being sweetly introduced by his daughter Harley Quinn, Smith gave thanks by announcing, “So you saw what happened when I came-that! I don’t know what your orgasms look like, but that’s what mine looked like.” The audience cheered. Wearing a pair of baggy ankle-length jean shorts and a New Jersey Devils t-shirt beneath a terrycloth bathrobe, he rhapsodized briefly about his newfound stonerhood (a result of his proximity to Seth Rogan on the set of Zack and Miri Make a Porno) and accompanying weight-gain. “These days I sweat when I breathe,” he said.

Things got saltier during the two and a half hour Q&A. Queried about his friendship with Malcolm Ingram, Smith praised the Canadian director of Small Town Gay Bar for introducing him to the phrase “sloppy party bottom” and the existence of the International Bear Rendezvous, where burly gay men “get together and look for guys like you to fuck,” he told his shy, purple-haired interrogator. Later, Smith asked a husky young questioner with a beard whether he wears his shirt during sex. “I often do, yes,” the guy said, heartbreakingly. And when a pretty girl in a pink dress with matching pink stilettos, pink bra, pink fingernail polish, and a pink iPhone asked, on behalf of Time Out, whether Smith had any dating advice, he replied, “Well, the first time I fucked my wife I had an open sore on my cock.” Smith’s wife and mom were sitting near one another in the third row.

One of the evening’s rare non-scatological digressions concerned Smith’s love for Wayne Gretzky and Gretzky’s dad, Walter, whom Smith met at this year’s Walter Gretzky Street Hockey Tournament. “He used to tell Wayne, ‘Don’t go where the puck is, go where the puck’s gonna be,'” Smith said. “I swear, Walter Gretzky is the most perfect man since Jesus Christ.” He paused. “When we met, he told me, ‘You’re one of God’s angels on earth, Kevin.'”

Don’t miss our own review of this show, one of Kevin’s best ever. And of course, when Kevin comes to your town, BE THERE.

Man, I wish we’d have come up with that “directorial to lavatorial” line. Nice one, VV.

Geekscape takes it a step further, by posting a spoiler-free set visit report. The lucky author enjoyed face time with Kevin Smith and star Tracy Morgan. Here’s a few snips:

About 1pm they wrapped for lunch and Kevin Smith walked from the set and said hi to us. He didnt know who we were really just sitting there. He was just being friendly.

I got up and introduced myself, but it seems as if our friend had already talked me up. Kevin and I got to talk for nearly 15 minutes today.

The real mind blower was how friendly and open he is. We talked about Mosier, about his new flick. He told me SModcast is one of his favorite things he loves to do in his life right now. We covered talk of old episodes and future endevors. It wasn’t Kevin who ended the conversation. I had to leave. See I work for a living and I was already out a day to go to the set, so i had a train to catch. Kevin told me to stay as long as I pleased and to watch the rest of the filming. I graciously bowed out and took the long train ride home.

If you catch a glimpse of the set or are lucky enough to experience some time watching the shoot, don’t forget to drop us a line. It sure sounds like things are going swimmingly up there in warm, sunny NYC. And if you DO find
your way to the set, New York’s Examiner has some tips on how to be a good looky-loo.

This second clip comes from the fresh “Reaper Season 2” DVD and features a short snippet of Kevin talking about the show, for which he filmed the acclaimed pilot episode. Enjoy. See ya next time. As always, thanks for stopping by News Askew today.