It all started around 11:30 in the morning, when, after we each used up some more of that precious (and diminishing) vacation time from work, we hopped in the car, jumped on the highway, and started the 3 hour trip up to the city. Fairly uneventful, actually...That's a great time of the day to travel into NYC, by the way -- Traffic was quite light, even going in through the Lincoln Tunnel with all its construction, and before we knew it, we'd dropped the car at a garage and found ourselves footing it up Broadway just a little after 3 PM.

New York's really cleaned up in the past few years, and looks just great, especially in this area. The 100% chance of rain in the forecast was holding off for us by some miracle, so we decided to just hike up from 40th, passing by Times Square, all the Broadway theaters and marquees...Even the standby line of hopefuls waiting to get into David Letterman's Late Show.

By around 4:00 (we wandered around pretty slowly), we'd made it to our first destination -- The Comedy Central offices. Our friend Neil had asked if we wanted to stop by (though assuring us that the Comedy Central offices were NOT likened to the Mad Magazine office that Bart Simpson visited), and we thought it'd be a welcome diversion for a bit. The CC building was under some restructuring inside, thus in a bit of disarray. Neil showed us his nifty little office (with a window view of the street) and then took us to their lounge -- They've got South Park pinball on free play! After a quick 3 player game (Man, I didn't even notice who won) and some talk about Dogma and the other flicks going around the festival (Neil says that "Being John Malcovich" was wonderful), we were on our merry 'ol way towards the Dogma screening.

Now here's the tricky part - Many of you may not be aware of this, but they actually added a second Dogma screening, held by Lions Gate (not as a part of the festival), which consisted of most of the Lions Gate family and friends, as well as special guests of Kevin's, Jason Lee's, and others. That's where we were headed. So it was onto the Subway and up to the Lowe's 84th street theater. The show was scheduled to start just a bit after the premiere further down the road, to give Kevin time to get caught up with us to introduce the flick. We were a bit early, but saw that a line was forming, asked the security guy standing there about it, and joined the crew. Jimmy Palmiotti was a few folks up in the line, so it was good to see a familiar face.

The line started to grow, with a ton of unfamilar faces for the most part, but we expected that since probably 80% or so of the guests were going to be from the studio. Ming spotted us in line and stopped up to say hello. We rapped about the usual stuff for a while, the flick, our sites...At this point we also started to feel incredibly underdressed. Most of the surrounding folks, including folks WE knew like Ming and Jimmy were at least wearing suit jackets -- We'd thought about getting a bit dressier but being rookies and all weren't sure of the protocol. Plus, we knew we'd be in the city for a few hours before the show, so we just dressed comfortably. As we noticed a few other folks on the more casual side, we felt better, but some slightly more formal attire was definitely the norm. Hey, on the off chance that we ever get an invite like this again, we'll be sure to remember that.

We've gotta say, it was a very classy, slick, and organized operation ran by Lions Gate and the folks at Loew's. We were shown into the theater in an orderly fashion, where we met up with folks at a table who checked for our name on a list (two alphabetical sections, A-L and O-Z). Once we were verified, we were presented with a pass for the flick (which would double as a pass for the after party, lots more on that momentarily), and directed upstairs to the theater. There, 4 ushers were helping everyone find seats. Reserved areas were set up for Kevin, Jason, and others. In a matter of a half an hour, the place was packed and it was showtime.

The lights when down, and on came the spotlight. Jeff, the president of Lions Gate, introduced Kevin to rousing applause. Kevin once again took immediate command of the room, first telling us that we were the better of the two screenings, the joking repeatedly about how luxurious and lush the accomodations were at the other show (the "succulent chicken", free popcorn and soda, and the like). He also mentioned that most of the cast had opted to stay down at the other show to be pampered (and rightfully so!), plus they had a Q&A after the flick, but Scott Mosier was kind enough to make the trip up for our show, along with, surprisingly, Jason Lee, who Kevin announced had JUST finished shooting on his current project (the Cameron Crowe flick, we assume).

Without delay then right around 7:00, it was on with the show. I covered Dogma pretty well with the Toronto wrapup & review, and this looked to be the same print (due to the unfinished credits, no "Jay & Silent Bob Will Return..." at the end), so we're not going to cover the flick itself all over again. Audience reaction was a bit disappointing in sections, but that wasn't so much the film as it was just the type of crowd. We didn't let that stop us from laughing uproariously at a lot of stuff, including Jay's delightfully obscene one-liners. I did realize that this theater's sound system didn't hold a candle to Toronto, where in certain moments of the film the bass was so heavy that it scared me. Vincent assured us that the DVD's 5.1 mix will retain that and more. The good news about this film is that it has staying power, and holds up quite well during subequent viewings - Having just seen it less than a month ago myself, I can honestly say that I enjoyed it even more this time around, and picked up on small things I'd missed the last time. That's a sign of a great flick right there.

Following the show, the audience practically stampeded out the door, many on their way to the after-party, which is where we were headed as well. The shindig was scheduled for Ernie's, a nice little joint about 9 blocks down the road or so. Vincent was on his way down there as well so we walked quickly through the steady rain and chatted about Dogma a bit. Mostly the DVD, actually, which is already being talked about by Vincent & Kevin. No details as of yet, just some ideas, so it's best not to say anything about the project so far, but rest assured it's poised to be the greatest View Askew DVD ever. And all this before the movie is even out!

We arrive at Ernie's to find a flock of reporters, onlookers, cameras, and such...All milling about outside of the place. Of course, we've got passes, so it's right up to the door, and bam! We're inside. The place is very, very nice - Much longer than it is wide. There was a full bar at the front, where 3 bartenders were rushing to fill all the bizarre drink orders that folks could come up with. We strolled up, Chris got a beer, I got a Captain Morgan & Ginger Ale (love that stuff)... Nice! Good service. And the right price. As we moved into the main area of the place, we noticed that it was already full of folks hitting the buffet - some really tasty shrimp on there, some meat on a stick -- and hey, ya gotta love the meat on the stick -- plus some veggies, breadsticks, fruit...all very good stuff. They even had what looked to be a full service martini bar operating towards the back. Lions Gate was definitely generous to spring for such a nice spread of food & drink. Bravo.

Now here's something new to us, maybe to you as well, considering this was our first exposure to a Hollywood-type party...They actually partitioned a roped-off VIP section among the back of the restaraunt for the celebs and such. Not a bad idea, really, but one that took us by surprise. Vincent spotted Malcolm Ingram and went back to say hello, while we managed to catch Scott Mosier for a few minutes. Scott's a really cool guy. We talked about Dogma a bit as well as the website, which he told us he'd been reading fairly regularly on a daily basis for a while now. That's always nice to hear (Hey - Hi Scott!). He welcomed us on board the team officially. It was nice getting the chance to speak with him.

Making our way back into the heart of the place, we noticed that most of the Dogma stars had arrived and been seated back in the VIP section -- Salma Hayek's table was actually right in front of us and folks, she really is as gorgeous in person as she appears on the screen. Just stunning. Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, and Janeane Garofalo were also in attendance. We hadn't been to the actual premiere, but had sort of expected to at least see Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, and Matt Damon as well. Then again, they may have just opted out of the party; it's gotta be stressing to be constantly surrounded by people that wanna talk to you when you're just trying to kick back and relax with some food and some cocktails.

Right behind us on the floor was the Event gang...Jimmy Palmoitti, Amanda Conner, & Joe Quesada. Jimmy rapped with us for a few minutes, joking about this and that as always (those of you who've met Jimmy know what a jokester the dude is)...And he also mentioned that he'd seen Kyle MacLachlan at the bar having a drink! Yup, Agent Cooper himself! Well, being big Twin Peaks fans (Heck, David Lynch fans), we had to go check this out.

On the way up front, we run into a guy we've been waiting to meet for over a year now - Dogma FX Guru Vincent Guastini! He's there with his wife, enjoying the atmosphere and just taking it all in. Just a nice of a guy as he'd come across during our many e-mails and phone conversations. That's the best part of a night like this, really - Finally getting to meet a lot of the people you've gotten to know electronically or whatever face to face. We chatted about the FX and what he thought of the finished product (He was quite pleased with it) since it was the first he'd actually seen the film with the fruits of his hard efforts in place. Basically, any physical visual or makeup effect you see in Dogma, Vinnie's the dude who made it happen. He does some nice work. The wings are still quite impressive every time that we see the suckers.

Our drinks are long empty, so we headed towards the bar and, sure enough, there he was, Kyle Mclachlan, looking dapper as hell, drinking a beer and chatting it up with one of the many, many (did I say many?) lovely ladies at the festivities. This would soon turn into 2, then finally 3, girls circling the dude. Wow, very impressive. We could stand to take a lesson or two from this guy. Not wanting to be rude, but not wanting to miss an opportunity to at least say hello, I politely interruped on my way by after our drinks were replenished, telling him that I'd been a fan of his work since "Blue Velvet" and just wanted to say hello. He was very gracious, shook my hand, and I moved on. Chris did the same. He seemed quite pleased that we'd taken the time to stop and say hello, even moreso that we recognized him perhaps, but that was really cool. Nice guy. Seems that BOB has left him and moved on to a new soul...

The floor continued to be full of energy and indie starpower -- We spotted John Pierson taking a photograph with Ming on our way back from the bar, Bob Hawk, as well as the main man, Harvey Weinstein himself. Some major starpower and players were at this party, and so were we. Talk about fish out of water! And there we stood in our jeans and sneakers amongst the Hollywood elite. Aw well. We were comfortable, anyway.

Believe it or not, time was flying by...It has a habit of doing that when you're in a place as cool as this surrounded by lots of free eats, celebs & other beautiful people. We were having a total blast. Yet, it was reality check time. It was getting late, and we were still a cab ride follwed by a 3 hour drive away from being home and catching some much needed Z's before working the very next day. So, we figured it was time to seek out Kevin to thank him for a way cool night and be on our way. He was probably nestled back in the VIP section somewhere, so we made our way towards the guarded railing...

And guarded well it was. I nicely identified ourselves to the girl working the railing, told her that we did the site for Kevin are were going to be on our way soon, and wanted to pop back to say thanks. It was crowded back there, so she asked if we could wait a few minutes for a few folks to thin out - We did, and soon found ourselves in the fabled VIP section. Of course, we realized that most of the folks back there were doing their own thing, and trying to relax, so we didn't want to get in the way of that. We made our way back to Kevin, getting ready to do the thanks thing and hit the road.

Kevin was standing in back of the VIP area against a wall, chatting with a seemingly endless line of well-wishers, friends, family members, and the like. It was sort of like a receiving line at a wedding or something, strange, but cool at the same time. This definitely had to be one of the biggest nights for the guy so far, with Dogma premeiring in the Big Apple and everyone there to support him. Way cool. Kev was on top of the world. His family was seated at a table next to where he stood, while folks like Harvey, his wife Jennifer, some writers from the Chris Rock show, his agent, the bartender from the film, and more continued to approach, just to shake the guy's hand and chat for a few minutes. You'd think it would get a bit exhausting after a while, but Kevin was going strong and really having a great time from the look of things.

While all this was going on, we sort of stood on the sidelines, waiting for an opportunity to sneak in and thank Kevin for having us up to the premiere. Jason Lee and Malcolm Ingram, two guys we also wanted to chat with, were back in the corner chatting up a storm as well. It was kinda cool to see the director & lead from "Drawing Flies" hanging out like that. Again, we were hesitant to bother them, until Malcolm suddenly disappeared. We took a moment to introduce ourselves to Jason, complemented him on "Mumford" and all his other stuff. He also commented on the site, mentioning the downtime and the redirect screen that was there for a while, so he does visit. We loved hearing that. I then said it was nice to meet him, didn't wanna keep him for long, and he said something to the effect of, "Yeah, I've gotta go get some more beer". It was a pleasure to finally get a chance to talk to Jason after all this time, since we've been huge fans of his since the beginning.

A few minutes later, after standing there and feeling like Kevin stalkers long enough, we'd decided that we'd better just be a bit more forward so we'd get a chance to chat with him for a few minutes before we had to hit the road. By this time, it was just Kevin and his agent (another News Askew reader, we discovered), so we finally had the chance to talk for a few minutes. We thanked him for the job with the official site, the invite for the premiere/party, and congratulated him on the flick.

Kevin was starting to tell us about the protestors as well as the fans that actually got in and participated in the Q&A, when I feel fingernails drumming on my back and someone standing behind me! I turn and who do I see? Salma Hayek!!! Wow. Talk about a shock. Chris had seen her coming and sort of got out of the way, of course me with my big mouth yapping away didn't notice...He later asked, "I just want to know what it feels like to have someone tap you then to turn around and see Salma Hayek standing there." It was surreal! And very cool. Kevin, being the great guy that he is, immediately introduced us to Salma, and we shook hands. He told her about the News Askew site, and she remarked that she enjoyed the internet publicity, saying, "Just make me look young!". Nothing to worry about there, Salma. She's absolutely stunning, had a very lovely handshake, and was incredibly nice. She spent a few minutes talking to Kevin, we assumed she was on her way out soon, so we stepped aside.

Unfortunately, we never had a chance to chat with Affleck. The dude was around all night, just busy. We walked by him at one point giving an interview to a girl with a mini tape recorder, just to finish that and to find another lovely young lady waiting in the wings to chat. Ah, to be Ben Affleck! We didn't have the heart to interrupt the guy. Shame, though, we wanted to ask him what he thought of the Chasing Amy soundtrack that we'd passed on to him a while back (Lee too, for that matter, we just forgot to ask!). Hopefully we'll get the chance to talk with Ben again in the future, since we haven't had the chance since we met at the airport working on Dogma last summer.

A few more familiar faces came back to pay their respects to Kev as we were wrapping things up... Walt & Bry came back together to say goodbye (Bry's still promising us there's "Vulgar" pics on the way, so keep watching!), and the always pleasant Brian O'Halloran, who told us he's got another theater gig coming up soon.

That being said, many hands being shook, and a fine time had, we thanked Kevin a final time and went on our way towards the front of the VIP area. Knowing we'd probably never be at one of these things again made it tough to leave, we'll say that for damn sure. The gang from Event Comics were at a table on the way out, we said an old catch ya later to them and headed towards the ropes.

Man, did this place ever CLEAR OUT! Seems that most of the party had moved back to the VIP section while we were back there, or left the place altogether. Salma was gone (sigh!), but Affleck remained at a table chatting it up with a handful of his friends. No sign of Vincent or Malcolm, which we were hoping for. Never had a chance to meet Garofalo, either. Seems that most folks had moved on or were just out of sight somewhere. It was late, though, and we had a long drive ahead, so we left Ernie's, and suddenly we were back in our normal, non-hollywood, average everyday world again. Reality sucks!

Hailing a cab on Broadway takes about 2 seconds, so we were on our way to the parking garage down at 9th Ave and 40th street in no time. The rain had really started to come down now, but at least it held off for the better part of the day. Parking for the day cost us a mere 13 bucks, a bargain really, and the car was waiting for us. Sidenote: Every time that I see someone else parking a car at a garage, I think of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off": "Do you speak English?" "Ahhh, what country do you think this is?"..."You have nothing to worry about, I'm a professional." "Professional WHAT?". Anyway, this is getting off topic -- But the point is the guys did a good job and the car was fine (and it didn't have a few hundred extra miles on it, either...Not that it would matter with a Saturn anyway).

Chris looped around the block and got us right back on track for the Lincoln Tunnel, even in the pouring rain. The drive home was uneventful yet again, except for the fact that by the time we hit Hershey we were both about to pass out. Without having someone to talk to, it would have been even tougher. We rolled into Carlisle a little after 3 AM...With about 50 or so notes in the News Askew e-mail box, I took a quick glance and went to bed. I'd have to wake up in 3 hours to be at work on time on Tuesday...

Some days, it's hard to believe all of this came out of some little website that we started up with a few drinking games a couple of years ago. Wow. We really are two lucky bums.

In closing, we'd like to thank, in no particular order, all the people that made this trip a lot of fun and a day that won't be forgotten: Scott Mosier, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Vincent Guastini, Vincent Pereira, Neil Marks, Kim Loughran, Bryan Johnson, Brian O'Halloran, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Joe Quesada, all of the Lions Gate employees (We really need to start putting some names with some faces sometime), and, of course, Kevin Smith. We know it was a short list for invites, and feel incredibly grateful that we were thought of. Hopefully we didn't forget anyone there.

Thanks to all of you for making the day so enjoyable. We'll see you again soon.