- We’ve been posting quite a few reports of Jason Mewes making public signing appearances at horror conventions across the country over the past few weeks - Mewes is starting to branch out into the genre, with small roles in the Project Greenlight horrorfest “Feast”, as well as David Arquette’s “The Tripper”. He’s also promoting a turn in the horror-comedy “Netherbeast Incorporated”.
We’re taking what we’d previously announced (in our right sidebar “Events” area) and adding in new dates for Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Orlando. Dates and links straight ahead:
Jay’s always of course happy to meet his View Askew fans, so if you’re in the area of any of these shows, be sure to stop by for your chance to meet this View Askew icon and get some swag signed.
Kevin To Blog For The NHL!
- We’re from the Northeast US, so hockey is a sport that’s always been dear to our heart. From our beloved Philadelphia Flyers to all the influence we get from Canada, as well as great hockey teams out of New York and New Jersey, it’s tough to be a sports fan here and not love hockey, despite its overall lack of attention here in the States. So, we couldn’t help but crack a smile when we saw an AP press release come across the news desk today, indicating that Kevin was going to be part of a new NHL blog area at their official website. Here’s a snippet:
Jason Reitman, Lauren Conrad, Dierks Bentley and KEVIN SMITH are among the celebrities who will blog about their love of hockey on the National Hockey League’s Web site.Beginning Wednesday, more than a dozen celebs will follow their favorite teams through the Stanley Cup playoffs, said NHL spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur.
“As NHL.com bloggers, they can be irreverent and candid about their love for the NHL,” she said.
The NHL says that, beginning today, celebs can check in, chat about the playoffs, and how they fit their love of hockey team (Kev’s a Devils fan, naturally) into their hectic schedules. We’ll keep our eye on the blogs, as we’re sure that our fellow hockey fans will be, as well. You can check out Kev’s new area, just underway, HERE. Now, if only Philly would have an easier playoff schedule ahead of them…
Kevin Graces “Wizard 200″!
- Wizard, the greatest comics magazine in all the land, celebrates their 200th issue this month. And, naturally, it’s chock-full of Kevin Smith references due to all of his contributions to the comics and ancillary industries over the years. We’ve got a full suite of scans for you above, and below, a rundown of what you’ll find in each.
- A section from the writers called ‘Our Favorite Stories’ in which Rickey Purdin (Entertainment Editor) writes about his experience at Kevin’s house and a poker tournament.
- Kevin’s comics get mentioned in the ‘200 Greatest Comics in Wizard’s History [July 1991 to Now]. Daredevil #1 (vol. 2) is number 9 and Green Arrow #1 is in at number 101. Cool.
- A section called ‘Art Gallery’ shows the Kevin as Green Arrow picture from one of the Wizard issues.
- Finally, a section called ‘Our Favorite Stuff’ on toys and comics merchandise has the Jay and Bob figures.
A BIG thanks to scooper John who did the legwork on this one! Pick up the issue at your favorite comic shop or newstand now. It’s sure to be a collector’s item someday. - A section from the writers called ‘Our Favorite Stories’ in which Rickey Purdin (Entertainment Editor) writes about his experience at Kevin’s house and a poker tournament.
Laser Blaser Turns 20!
- The coolest comic and multimedia store in the west, “Laser Blazer”, celebrates 20 years in the business TODAY! Laser Blazer is now the exclusive west coast home to our beloved “Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash”, as well as the best place to go when you wanna pad your DVD collection — And that’s just the beginning. Check out their celebratory video above or at the official site. And if you’re in the area, stop in and wish Ron your personal congrats. Here’s to 20 more, Ron!
View Askew NewsBites™
- Jason Mewes has become the most recent guest added to the Chiller Theater convention in Parsippany, New Jersey, taking place from May 2nd to the 4th this year. There’s an extensive guest list that seems to keep getting better. Seems like a good con to attend, especially for those in the region. We have no further info on Jay’s dates of appearance or a signing schedule, but will let you know if we hear any more definite details.
- The always entertaining JoBlo site picks a scene from “Clerks” in their “Money Shots” series, a new column highlighting some of the best scenes in film history. Click over and see the hilarious segment that they chose. I fondly recall reaching this early scene for the first time and knowing that “Clerks” was something a cut above everything else. A fantastic choice, and still funny to this day.
- On a recent episode of MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann”, the host mentioned Elizabeth Banks’ upcoming role in Oliver Stone’s “Bush” biopic, and described her as “coming off her recent role as an amateur pornographer”. Cool to see that folks are already predictin “Zack And Miri Make a Porno” is what she’ll be known from, as we think it’ll be her most visible role yet.
- Finally today, a little “Clerks” love via this political blurb over at ESPN.com:
FUNNIEST POLITICAL STORY OF THE WEEKBarack Obama bowled a 37 last week. Where’s Dante from “Clerks” when we need him? Thirty-seven???? Thirty-seven??????
SModcast Has Returned!!
- All rejoice, as the sting of Monday morning hurts a little less this morning, as the great SModcast has returned. For our new viewers, SModcast is an entertaining, free-flowing unscripted podcast from Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier. This episode is the first since completing filming on “Zack And Miri Make a Porno”. After recording a show early on after the first week on the set, the guys got so swamped with work (typically putting in around 20 hour) days, so recording the show became impossible. Now, that downtime is over, and the guys are back to form with another hilarious episode:
SModcast 45: The End of the SMod-fastIn which our heroes finally appease the hunger with chatter about where they’ve been, what they’d do if they were “Lost”, and how they ride their mellow.
Don’t miss the return of SModcast, available for immediate, free download exclusively at Quick Stop Entertainment.Also, a sidenote - For those of you who traditionally got the feed automatically via iTunes, that feed will no longer update until Friday. This is to allow faster downloading for those of you who want the show right away, and less slowage on Monday mornings when everyone was doing a direct download AND an iTunes download at the same time. Makes sense, right? Welcome back, Scott & Kevin!
View Askew NewsBites™
- Remember when Kevin wrote a script for “Superman Lives”? Remember when Tim Burton was attached to direct and they were planning to use Kevin’s script as a basis? Well, comic site “Bam! Kapow!” has some concept artwork up from the project — Looks like it’s been there a while, we’ve just never seen it before. If you’re interested in seeing their takes on Supes, Doomsday, and Brainiac, click yourself on over.
- Wanna see that quick Patton Oswalt mention of Kevin from “The Tonight Show” that we brought up last update? We’ve got it now courtesy of the News Askew YouTube channel. Enjoy.
- And finally today, we’re not advocating the use of spray paint in public places, of course, but it does look like Clerks II has inspired one budding “artist” to make a mark — This photo comes to us from a couple walking in Lakeview Park in Oshawa, Ontario. Both were fans and couldn’t resist snapping a photo (NSFW). See ya next time…
New York Comic-Con To Present Exclusive “Zack And Miri” Preview!
- Looks like a group of lucky fans in the New York area will get their exclusive first look at footage from “Zack & Miri Make a Porno” — Quick Stop Entertainment has just announced that, during their panel at this year’s New York Comic-Con, they’ll present an exclusive look at the movie. Will this be the first public footage anyone sees? It all depends on Kevin’s plans for deploying his internet-only trailers. The panel will run on Saturday, April 19th, from 5:00 - 6:00 PM in room 1E16. Full details in this post:
Quick Stop Entertainment will have its very own panel at this year’s NEW YORK COMIC-CON, packed with plenty of surprises, prizes, reveals, and even a live performance from cyber-troubadors Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm.Join us for an exclusive preview of Kevin Smith’s upcoming ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO,starring Seth Rogen & Elizabeth Banks, as well as a few additional surprises sure to wow you, straight from the fine folks at QuickStopEntertainment.com.
Be there…
Where? New York Comic-Con, at the Javits Center
Room: 1E16When? Saturday, April 19
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
View Askew NewsBites™
- The Underground Operations Booking Agency, who handles gigs in Canada, has added Kevin to their booking availability list on the web. If you’re looking to have Mr. Smith show up for an event in Canada, hit up the site for more details and to get a hold of the man (who they list may also be available in conjuction with Jason Mewes for some events). Plus, Kevin always delivers a fantastic, memorable, unique performance everywhere he goes — A true crowd pleaser. We’re betting he’ll be traveling with exclusive new movie footage over the next few months, too.
- Comedian Patton Oswalt dropped the Kevin Smith name last night on “The Tonight Show”, when joking about delivering votes to Hilary Clinton through the “nerd vote” (which we assume means us as well, though we’re sure it’s meant in a GOOD way). If anyone’s got the clip, let us know.
- Don’t forget — The best show on television returns to Sci Fi TONIGHT. Battlestar Galactica will begin running its 4th season at 10 PM EST. If you can’t wait, you can even stream the show live on the Sci Fi website right now, though we’re waiting to watch in HD as it airs tonight. There’s never been a better reason to stay home on Friday (though the girlfriend may not necessarily agree with ya). If you’re not watching, get caught up, and get on board — We’ve watched a lot of TV in our day, and this is the medium at its best. And, of course, Kevin agrees. New Galactica at 10 PM TONIGHT! Whoohoo!
Kev Q&A: The Latest Round…
- Today, Kevin fields queries regarding Zack & Miri’s promotional plans, release date, budget, trailer status, and more. And check that final question for some sad news regarding the current state of the Chasing Amy X project:
Will you personally do a lot of interviews and so on to promote this film or will it be more the actors for interviews etc?
Kevin said: “I imagine I’ll be out there doing interviews to promote the flick, as per usual.”
When do you have to have the movie ‘locked’?
Kevin said: “Like, the day before it hits theaters (some folks make changes right up until then). But we’re scheduled to be done by second week of September.”
Any talk on Z&M being part of any of the film festivals this year?
Kevin said: “The only fest it’d be eligible for, schedule-wise, would be Toronto. But there’s been no talk about doing any fest screenings, really.”
Are you working on Z&M daily right now? What I mean is there something that needs doing every day?
Kevin said: “Today, we broke the film down into reels to send to the composer so he can get to work on some cues, then laid in some CG shots. Earlier this morning, I was cutting the ‘net teasers.”
Any chance if the test screenings go well that the release date might be bumped up to late summer/early fall?
Kevin said: “Nope. Too crowded there.”
Will you publish the script? No, I’m not looking to read it before it comes out, I mean “eventually”.
Kevin said:: “I’m game to do so.”
How did the Weinstein co. set your budget? Did you say “I need $25 Million” or did they just toss a briefcase at you full of cash?
Kevin said: “Scott and Laura budgeted the flick based on five day work weeks and salary projections, and we arrived at $25mil (which is actually kinda cheap).”
Why is this budget set so much higher than your previous films (excluding Jersey Girl)? Did the Weinstein Co. like the script more, or did you know you would need more money than on previous films?
Kevin said: “To be fair, it’s only five mil more than “Jay and Silent Bob” (and ten million less than “Jersey Girl”). And most of that price difference, as you might imagine, has more to do with salaries than anything else.
“Clerks II” cost five million largely because a) we were in one location the whole time, with limited movement, and b) nobody really got paid (I did the movie for free, when all was said and done). This flick’s a bit more complicated than that flick, and it stars a guy who gets more than scale at this point, so the budget’s bound to be bigger.”
What ever happened to the Chasing Amy 10th Anniversary DVD?
Kevin said: “The Disney/Weinstein rift happened. We were game, but the folks at Disney Home Video slowed it all to a stand-still. Jerks.”
So, Kevin’s got the internet teasers for the film cut, which is exciting — We bet those drop on us sometime in April, as it’s going to be tough to keep them from the world, we’re guessing.
As for the Chasing Amy 10th Anniversary DVD project, we’re still hopeful that Kevin finds a way to release just the supplemental DVD to go with the original Criterion disc, as once planned. The reuinion Q&A is something we know you’d all enjoy, along with enough other new stuff to make what many argue is the best View Askewniverse film of the bunch even sweeter for home viewing. We’ll keep our eyes open on that project, and of course be back with you as more news on “Zack And Miri Make a Porno” breaks.
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