Alanis plays Sylvia, first seen in one of Nick’s (Jonathan Scarfe) visions as a glamorous, phenomenal singer, who shows up in real life as an ordinary woman looking for a secretarial job. Recently declared in remission from lymphoma—which has puzzled her doctors, who thought it would be fatal—Sylvia gets a job at Nick’s record label as a secretary, where her spirituality and visions soon make her a soul-mate with Nick.

Commenting of her first dramatic lead role, as a mysterious woman with prophetic visions and a beautiful singing voice, Alanis says, “I am a big fan of Philip K. Dick’s poetic and expansively imaginative books. I feel blessed to portray Sylvia, and to be part of this story being told in film.”

We wish her luck and hope to see her back in a Smith film one of these days, as well.

Casting – Kevin claims to have selected his ideal Zack and Miri — However, we’ve yet to see any deals signed that confirm anything at all. Kevin will likely post the moment something’s in ink, as Variety tends to catch wind of that stuff fast as well. We’re expecting news on this within a week, two at most. With a shooting schedule just months away, actors will need to start clearing schedules.

The IMDB page for the film currently titles the film just “Zack and Miri”. Kevin is aware and says they have it covered. Only two cast members appear so far: Jason Mewes and Jeff Anderson. In a recent post, Kevin also confirmed that the upcoming Hollywood strikes will not affect the film, since it’s writer-related and the script has been completed for some time now. No worries there.

Many folks have asked about the chance to be extras in the film, much like the Dogma shoot many years ago where we had the pleasure ourselves. At this point, we can’t say how much background work will be involved in the film, however, given the need for snow, that tells us outdoor scenes. So yeah, there will probably be some chances. We’re just not sure if that will be handled by the same agency as last time, who coordinated the efforts of recruiting folks from the boards, etc. Of course, we’ll let you know, as we can certainly understand how exciting it is to have a chance to be in the flick. We’ve loved it every time we’ve been given the pleasure of appearing as well. Stay tuned for that.

Other than that, not much to say! We realize that this post doesn’t shed a lot of new light on things, but that’s the way things work around here. Kevin and Scott are great at keeping things under wraps as long as they want, typically. Once they’re ready for news to break, they’ll be the ones to break it. And we think that will be very, very soon.

Oh, one more thing — In case you missed it, the film is targeted as a Fall 2008 release right now, however, a lot will depend on the end result. Clerks II was bumped up due to fantastic test screenings and reactions from Bob and Harvey. You may very well see that happen again. Kevin’s the king of editing as he shoots, so we’re betting on a first rough cut in the Spring. Exciting? You betcha.

Stick with us at News Askew for all the latest breaking news on “Zack and Miri Make A Porno”.

SModcast 34: Jersey Justice League –

The Heroes of the East convene for a special Jersey roundtable, featuring epic tales of early friendship, “Star Wars” summers, a fecal tooth and a mother’s love, a fecal ring quest and a decided lack of love, a friend’s betrayal, how old is too old to attend a high school party, how to creep out an elementary school class whilst proposing to your wife, and the misfit zoo. TECHNICAL NOTE: Due to malfunctioning equipment, the sound quality may be a bit wonky – but the stories were just too good to lose.

Kevin’s been saving the best newsworthy stuff for the blogs, the boards, and here at News Askew — So we haven’t been posting any summaries of the casts themselves. By now, we hope you know where to go, every Monday, or that you have your podcasting software of choice already auto-grabbing each new file. SModcast remains the funniest and cheapest podcast in all the land, and you just don’t want to miss a single episode.

Kevin’s been enjoying mixing it up with Bry and Walt, but promises that the original SModder Mosier will be back in just two weeks. Also in the works: An appearance by the great Jeff Anderson on the show. We can’t wait.

SModcast, exclusively available at Quick Stop Entertainment, brought to you by View Askew Productions.

Um… this is kind of a big deal for me

Apparently, I’m a NY Times Best Selling Author….

Number 32 on the Non-Fiction Papberback Best Seller List.

Wow. Not bragging about it or anything, but that’s something I never expected to be. I figured I’d be thin before I’d ever make it on that list. But there I am (or, rather, there the book is). And I’m still fat.

Anyway, yay me and my dopey non-book.

We’d like to wish Kevin the most sincere congratulations on this honor — As we said, most writers only dream of hitting this list, never to make it. Kudos and congrats.

Want to hear more on the book? You should own a copy by now, but if you’re on the fence, this Hollywood Reporter article should convince you otherwise, and give you some insight to the contents.

Here’s the text:

‘Silent Bob’ speaks up about Pittsburgh film

By Jolie Williamson

TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Director Kevin Smith, whose controversial movie “Dogma” was filmed in the region in 1998, might be headed back to Pittsburgh for another shoot.

Smith appears set to shoot “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” in the region, according to posts on his news Web site, which reports that the shoot will be 40 days in studio and on location in Pittsburgh.

Smith wrote Monday on his blog that he is discussing “the Pittsburgh trip and at what varying stages all of us will head east to Western Pennsylvania. We’re now 12 weeks out from the start of shooting, so this is the point where logistics start taking shape, vis-a-vis dates, where the family will live, whether or not the dogs will come, etc.”

“I’m hearing they’re going to start in January,” said Ming Chen, Web master for Smith’s main Web site. Chen expects the production crew to be in the area for two to three months.

Dawn Keezer, director of the Pittsburgh Film Office, said she has not received official confirmation of the film shoot, but said production representatives for Smith were in the area Friday scouting locations. Neither they nor Smith could be reached for comment.

“We’re thrilled they’re considering shooting here again,” said Keezer, adding that she believes legislation that took effect in July offering additional tax incentives to filmmakers appears to be directly influencing more filmmakers’ decisions to shoot in the area.

Keezer said she has not seen a script for Smith’s upcoming film, but that despite its title, the film is not pornographic.

A description on Internet Movie Database said the film is about two 20-something friends who decide to begin an amateur porn studio — “a knockout story for their upcoming high school reunion.”

Smith’s films, including the raunchy 1994 comedy “Clerks” that started his career, usually feature cutting-edge humor and provocative subject matter. Such was the case with “Dogma,” which starred Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and featured rock singer Alanis Morissette as God.

His Web site said casting announcements for “Zack and Miri” could take place in about two weeks.

Here what they’re saying – On November 3, they will be playing SModcasts. No word on which episodes or how many. From the sound of it, these will be older SModcasts, not something live or new. So, no live call-in for this (not yet, anyway), but it DOES expose the Smodcasts to a North American audience that may have never listened to the program. If audiences like it, we’re thinking this could expand to a regular thing, possibly even a live version of the program where fans could call in. We’ll keep you posted. If any O&A or XM fans hear more, please do drop us a line.