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AICN Legends: Capone gets a great contact high from Kevin Smith, Part 1!!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
Okay, I'm trying something a little different with this column, but give me a minute to make my case, not that I need to; my column, my rules. Up until now, the AICN Legends column has focused on actors all over the age of 60. That wasn't intentional, and I made it clear when I began this column that it was more about the time I got to spend interviewing someone and the fact that these interviews would be more career-oriented than simply about whatever their latest movie was. So I think that when I get to interview a filmmaker (another first for this column; all the others have been actors) for about an hour and 15 minutes about every detail of his career, I think that qualifies for AICN Legends. I don't think anyone can argue with Kevin Smith's own take on the way films were written and made before and after CLERKS burst on the scene 15 years ago.
You don't need me to tell you the titles, but I will anyway because people have found great meaning and comfort and, above all else, laughs in MALLRATS, CHASING AMY, DOGMA, JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, CLERKS II (Kevin's favorite of his own films), ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO, and, yes, even JERSEY GIRL. Smith is not just a writer-director and occasional actor (he's played versions of himself or Silent Bob in everything from the SCREAM 3, FANBOYS, DAREDEVIL, and SOUTHLAND TALES to CATCH AND RELEASE, LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, "Reaper," and "Degrassi: The Next Generation." His marathon speaking engagements either on tour or at various comic conventions are the stuff of legend and the subject of three volumes of DVDs. And his SModcasts with producing partner Scott Mosier keep him in touch with fans between movies. He's called in as a cultural expert on subjects ranging from censorship to Superman, and he basically has no filter.
About two weeks before this interview, which was meant to be an opportunity for Smith to promote his latest books "Shootin' the Sh*t with Kevin Smith: The Best of the SModcast" and the new edition of "My Boring-Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith," which has been updated to include details of the ZACK AND MIRI experience, too place about two weeks after I'd actually paid to see Smith do his one-man thing at the Chicago Theatre. He went exactly three hours and must have name-dropped either Ain't It Cool or Harry's name a half-dozen times during the set. I don't think he new I was there, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't done for my benefit. More importantly, right at the end of the session, a young fan asked a question about Kevin's father dying not too many years ago, and Kevin broke down, just for second, but it was one of the most honest and heartfelt things I've ever seen. There were more than a few damp eyes in the audience as well during that moment.
I'd met him for the first time at the 2008 Comic-Con in San Diego immediately after the ZACK AND MIRI panel, and it was a great experience for me. About three months later, I was fortunate enough to be asked to introduce Kevin for a post ZACK AND MIRI Q&A screening during the Chicago International Film Festival.
But this particular phone call was something I hadn't been expecting. I was told I'd have 30 minutes with him, which I'd assumed would be sufficient time to talk about his books, SModcasts and maybe a little about his latest film as a director (working, for the first time, from a script he did not write), A COUPLE OF DICKS (apparently it has been re-titled A COUPLE OF COPS), starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. But after we were approaching the one-hour mark, I realized he was in this for the long haul, and I didn't stop until he said he had to leave. I'm really grateful and pleased that Kevin felt comfortable enough to go into this much detail with, so much in fact, that I feel the need to divide the interview in half and make this a two-parter, with the second part coming next week.
At least as of today, Smith is the last interview I have in the can for AICN Legends, but I may have one or two more candidates waiting in the wings before I'm due for a new column. In the mean time, please enjoy one of the most enjoyable speakers I've ever had the pleasure of listen to, Kevin Smith…
Capone: Hello, Kevin. Good to talk to you again, as always. I actually--for the first time ever--paid money to see you when you were here in Chicago a couple weeks ago.
Kevin Smith: How was the show?
Capone: It was great. But I gotta ask right off the bat, because I've never actually paid money to see you do your thing before…I've seen you do the stuff at Comic-Con, but does it is always so emotionally charged?
KS: You mean, like, at the end?
Capone: Well, yeah. I don't know if you save that sort of thing for the end, but yeah. Or, just in general. You told that whole story about your father passing away. And, I don't think there was a dry eye in the house, including yours. I was just wondering, is it always like that at these shows?
KS: Nah, that was the first time that ever happened.
Capone: Really?
KS: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Generally, you know, you just talk about goofy stuff and whatnot. I never really talked about my father dying on stage, and it just kind of hit me in a moment where I definitely teared up and whatnot, and I was kind of, like, Ughhh, God, I'm ruined on the Internet! Word's gonna get out. "This fuckin' crybaby bitch. He cries. You fuckin' buy a ticket, and he fuckin' cries! He cries! He should cry about how bad his movies are. Fuckin' JERSEY GIRL should make him cry!"
A year and a half ago, that would have bothered me. And, now, I'm just, like, [deep inhale sound] "You know what, dude, your entitled to your opinion." [long exhale sound] It's that simple.
Capone: But, I don't remember that kind of reaction. I didn't see that kind of reaction.
KS: No, but, you know, you always think the worst. I mean, look, I've been around 15 years now, man. I've seen the reaction, and you now kind of predict what they're going to be or kind of prepare for how bad or nasty they could be. So, I tend to go negative all the time in terms of expectations. I just always assume somebody's going to be, like, "He's a fuckin' idiot" because I've seen it so often.
That's why I'm kind of fascinated by Twitter right now. There's a world of celebrities jumping on to it. And, they're, like, "I hear you get in touch with the fan base, and you can talk to people, and it's fuckin' fun." Once they start dealing with people who are, like, "You suck cock, you fuckin' whore!" And, they spell 'cock' wrong, and it's filled with bile and shit like that. These fuckers, their heads will explode. But, I've had 15 years to get used to it. I've been out there for so long that it's, like, the good and the bad come together. And, I fully expect it, so much so that I'm kind of inured to it. I just expect more bad than good all the time. That's what kind of pops me the loudest, but, you know, I've talked about it elsewhere…and I hesitate to talk about it here, because then I get shredded in the talkbacks, but I don't read the talkbacks any more, so it don't fuckin' matter.
I started smoking weed like fuckin' crazy after ZACK AND MIRI collapsed, and that really, kind of like, became a great filter. It didn't filter out life; it just filtered out bullshit. It kind of opened up the third eye. I didn't have that period in high school. I skipped it, I didn't get stoned in high school, or I didn't really have a college experience and shit like that. I was off making movies and whatnot.
So, I skipped that all, and it feels like I guess I'm kind of living it now. My wife's kind of amused by the whole thing. I'm in that stage where I'm, like, "Did you know that legalization would prevent 95.6 percent of…" And, she's, like, "Yeah, Kevin, when I was 18 once, too. Of course I know that." But, for me, it's a real new thing. And, it's been fantastic for dealing with shit like that. There was a moment--a moment--as I was leaving the stage in Chicago, going, "Arghhh, God, I'm fuckin' ruined. They're gonna beat me up on the Internet for crying on stage." And, then, now that I live in a kind of "weed era" of my life, this weed period, this deep haze of wonder and creativity, stuff like that doesn't matter. I'm, like, "What the fuck? Why am I afraid of somebody who would make fun of me for crying about my dead father?" Doesn't that really reflect more poorly on them than [on] you? Isn't it nice that you liked your father enough to, as you talk about his death, get emotional about it. Get over yourself, Kevin. And, even if somebody fuckin says something, who gives a shit? Look at you. That's the thing I've figured out.
That's what weed taught me, too. I'd sit there going, Wait a second. All these things that people write on the Internet. And, again, they're not all bad, but I used to gravitate towards it, because it's, like, "Oh, what can I do to change this?" That's the sad thing about that. You don't pay attention to the people that actually like your stuff. You pay more attention to the ones who are trying to bring you down. You're trying to win them over and shit. That's just backwards and stupid.
But now, it's just, like, they can say what they want and, honestly, they don't take a fuckin' dime out of my pocket, or piece of food off my table. Just because somebody fuckin' rips me a new one cleverly online about one of my flicks, I don't get laid one iota less. I still get laid. You sit there going, Wow, in the last 15 years, out of that 15 years, if you concentrated the time that I spent online trying to correct misconceptions about me, or when people write wrong shit. I never went after people for not liking the movies. That's subjective, can't do nothin' about that, but going around correcting shit. I must have--concentrated time: two years, dude, two years of doing that online. Two years of my life—gone! I'll never get back. As I'm fuckin' cruisin' toward the grave, believe me, I'm gonna be, like, "You piece of shit? I wasted so much time on you. I want those seconds back!" And, that's a lot of seconds, dude, 'cause I used to do it a lot.
But, I tell ya', man, that's the thing I never figured out was always missing. The missing link was always weed, man. It just allows you to sit there and go, like, "Oh, my God, you're so fuckin' blessed. Why would ever be upset about anything? You're way ahead of the curve, dude. You're farther than you ever could have imagined. Kick back and smoke this shit away. Smoke your empire away. And, see if you can rebuild it; challenge yourself, for heaven's sake" Stuff like that.
Capone: There are worse ways to go into ruin.
KS: I feel you, man, I feel you. And, you know what, at least I go into ruin happily. I'm in a much better mood and shit like that. So much so that I saw something online today. People think they like you, and they send you negative things that they've seen about you, and you're, like, "I know you think this is done in friendship, but, dude, I don't need to know." So, anyway, somebody sent me something, and it was negative. And, I looked at it, and I was just, like, "Huh, I guess that is one way to look at it." And, I fuckin' moved on, because it was, like, Eh, it's not true, but it's one way to look at it.
Capone: I will say that the show--not knowing that that's not how it was every time…
KS: Well, I mean, it is, except for the end. Generally, there are moments of the show, you know… Look, I'm chiefly there just to fuckin' make people laugh, but, it's not all superficial. We talk about some real stuff. But, that was kind of like the most "real" I guess one of those shows ever got, when somebody brought up my dad, and then I'm, like, "Hmmm, do I really want to head into this territory?" And, I was, like, you know what, he asked, and it would be shitty to kind of blow it off, because I'm worried about how I'm gonna sound, so I'm, like, "Fuck it, I can do it." I mean, come on, you're on a stage. There's no way you're gonna…
And, then, your feelings just start welling up, and you can feel the choke in the back of your throat. And, then, you're…"Omigod, this is gonna happen. I can't help it, I can't help it, I'm gonna actually gonna happen. And, it's either leave the stage--rush off the stage, like an actress, some old actress, because I got the vapors, or just fuckin' ride it out. And, be like, yeah, "I'm sorry. It was embarrassing, but, yeah, I'm a little sad. I'm a little upset that my father died." But, generally, it's always like that. Like, the show the night before in Minneapolis and the show the next night in Ann Arbor--same show, except I didn't cry at either show, because nobody asked about my father.
Capone: Between that and the stuff about Wayne Gretzky's dad, it was Father's Day that night, it really was. And, I gotta say, I was really moved by the whole thing. I'm thinking, I would never miss one of these shows when it comes back, because he might cry the next time too.
KS: [laughs] Well, thanks. Exactly. There's always a distinct possibility. It's like, "Let's get tickets to the fat CLERKS guy's show. I hear he balls on stage! Bring up his father or Gretzky and watch him fuckin' tear up, man." Yeah, look, what I like about those shows is it's not…I mean, it's so wrong to even call them shows. It's not even a show, it's conversation. I get up there, and we just start talking and, you know, it's not…It's like a filthy fuckin' version of what Garrison Keillor does, or kind of like a less-monologued version of what Spaulding Gray used to do. It's just me sitting up there talking, and [the audience] helps inasmuch as they tell me what they want to talk about. And, you know, makes my job even easier, because it means I don't have to come with a bunch of material prepared.
Like, I know a lot of comics, and it's so funny to me when I hear comics go, like, I got 20 minutes, man, I got 20 strong minutes, you know. And, I'm working on my 60 minutes, I got me an hour, I got an hour set, so I'm going to do, like, a Comedy Central special. I'm just, like, "Wow, an hour. What's that like? How do you just a fuckin' hour?" But, that's because they have to stand up there and self generate. And, they have to make it work, they do stream of consciousness.
Me, I can rely on everybody else. I can be just, like, "Next," and then they start to ask a question, and I can either answer their question--straightforward answer their question--or answer it as entertainingly as I can. And, sometimes, that means I start telling a story that has nothing to do with the fuckin' question asked, just to kind of keep it interesting and shit like that. But, always honest. That's always been the key. I mean, I think that's why they always come back. I've always been honest with them, and the audience has always been honest with me.
Capone: Yeah, I wonder, going back to the weed thing, which apparently all roads do at this point…
KS: Yeah, really.
Capone: Would Jay and Silent Bob be different people, if you'd been smoking during that period?
KS: I guess, I mean, yeah, truly. Like those characters, all of those movies were conceived and written through the perspective--the prism, if you will--of a guy who didn't smoke weed. Before the Fourth of July 2008, dude, I think I smoked maybe 10 to 15 times on separate occasions in my life. I mean, it was, like, an annual thing, if that. There was a summer where I got stone a lot, but even that didn't total up a lot, because then a friend of mine was, like, "You're not funny anymore when you're stoned." And, that turned me off to weed for a long time. I was 18 years old, and, dude, all I had going for me was funny, you know what I'm saying? I was a fuckin' fat piece of shit, and I was not an athlete, or anything like that. All I had going for me was the funny, so when someone says, "You're just not funny when you're stoned anymore," I was, like, "I don't need weed anymore!"
And, that kick-started a very progressive period of my life, where for the next almost 20 years, I just created work, kept doing stuff. Hey, my foot's in the door, I'm going to throw my whole fat ass in the door. Let me in, I wanna keep doing it, and shit. And only, like, almost 20 years after that comment, really, I guess it would be…[pause]. Now, I'm 38, I was 18. Wow, it is, almost 20. I hadn't even thought of this, 20 years after he said, "You're not funny when you smoke," and me going hardcore to build something and slowly building this dopey little empire, I'm now prepared to smoke it all away. I'm now prepared to just be, like, "You were right, and I did something about it, but now, I'm just going to enjoy it."
But, honestly, I found I've been more…I mean, this is not news to anybody, I'm not telling you anything new…I'm far more creative now, you know. I've been writing this "Batman: The Widening Gyre" miniseries, and I'm stoned all the time when I'm writing it. And, I swear, I'll write it, and then, it's not so much blackout, but forget, so much so that the next morning, I go to read what I wrote, and it's, like, I'm that fuckin' little cobbler and elves came and fuckin' wrote it in the night, because I'm, like, "This is better than anything I've ever written before." I mean, like, I've done comics, but this is way better.
It just focuses you, man. It filters out the bullshit. For me, with "Widening Gyre," it gets me over myself in terms of, like, I don't think about the fact that I'm writing a comic book, you know. That's always kind of the biggest danger--self-awareness--"I am aware that I am writing a comic book, so I am going to write as comic books are written, or try to write in the way that I think comics books are written, how people want to read it." But, then, when you're kind of blazing, man, you're just like, "You know what, I'm just going to tell the story the way it makes sense to me. And, maybe, I don't need all these details, or I don't feel the need to be impressive with the language. I'm just going to honor the characters and honor the setup." I wouldn't even have tried the story that I'm writing--"Widening Gyre"--if it weren't for the fact that I was kind of blazing left and right. I mean, it's not like it's a stoner story, but, I mean, it allows you to get more in touch with yourself. Again, I know I'm not telling anybody anything new.
But, look, I'm 38, now I'm 39, I cannot discount the fact that perhaps what happened after ZACK AND MIRI was a sort of nervous breakdown, or as close to a mid-life crisis as I could get. I mean, a mid-life crisis is when you sit there and go, "I'm this age, and I haven't accomplished anything I wanted to. What have I done with my life?" I don't have that. My problem is more, like, "I'm this age and I've done too fuckin' much. Pick one thing." I'm not unfulfilled. But, my mid-life crisis was realizing that 'me', the guy that built his reputation on those filthy, talky little movies where they talk about sex and STAR WARS and geek culture, and all that stuff…I just couldn't write like that anymore. I couldn't do it, 'cause I was completely disconnected from the source. I haven't wanted or yearned for in a fuckin' long time, dude. It's been, like, 15 years of 'yes' for me. Not in a bad way where I'm just, like, fuckin' bathing in baby blood to stay young and buying 16 cars a week, but it's been a world where I get to do whatever I want.
When I made CLERKS, you know, I was all fuckin' prototypical emo, dude. I was, like, tearing up my shirt, "If I can't make this film, I'll just die!" And now, I live in a world where if I can't make this film, nah, I'll just make another film. The opportunity is there, so what opportunity does, it takes away passion. It's like having a dog. Dogs all used to wild, right, feral dogs, animals out in the wild. And then, they learned essentially over time that by kind of appearing cute to human beings, they wouldn't have to go out and hunt, 'cause human beings would just fuckin' throw them food to them to eat and shit.
So, the learned behavior with that for me was I could write about people who were, like, uncertain or didn't have it together, or broke, or didn't know how to express themselves, or had weird fuckin' male sexual insecurity, because (a) I was in my 20s, and we were all rife with that at that time, and (b) because I was still connected to the source. I was still closer to that era than I was to now, my adult years. As years go on, it's, like, I can't write about fuckin' what it's like to be unhappy. I haven't been unhappy in 15 fuckin' years. I mean, even my unhappiness is still considered happy by most of the people's standards, because I don't really have to work. Like, I work, but it's not work, because it doesn't feel like work, because I enjoy my job so much. So, essentially, they pay me to do shit I would do for free.
You know, dude, I spent a whole day just talking on Twitter. Like, I could do that, because I don't have to fuckin' work. I mean, it happened to be a vacation day, and everyone was off on Labor Day, but still, I mean a job job-type job. And, I'm appreciative of that all the time. I get how fuckin' blessed I am about the whole thing, but because of that, you just get further and further removed from that which kick-started you.
And, that was sad. I mean, that was beyond sad. It was devastating. It was devastating the day I realized that, like, I can't do this anymore, 'cause it's too easy at this point. Like, I could do this in my sleep, but it's disingenuous. Like, I love ZACK AND MIRI. I mean, I think it turned out well, but I look at ZACK AND MIRI, and I look at CHASING AMY, and I go, Okay, two movies cut from similar cloth. What's the difference? One is made with the passion and brio of somebody who is desperate to get their message across, desperate to communicate desperate to say, "If I don't make this film, I'm gonna die." And, the other one was made by a guy who was, like, "Well, that's the movie I chose to do that year." And, it's just not the same thing. I mean, ZACK AND MIRI happened very easily, very quickly. Seth [Rogen] read it. He loved it. The Weinsteins are, like, "Great. We got Seth Rogen. Let's make it." It came together. The shooting went well, no fighting, everything was copacetic. But, there's just not same, like…you know, for CHASING AMY, people were sleeping on couches, dude. We were stacked five men to an apartment and shit like that. That world is gone. That world produces something that I can't bring back to this world. I can't replicate the type of films I did.
All these people were, like, "He's not a fuckin' filmmaker." They've always been right. Those aren't films, dude. That is me, tearing my fuckin' chest open, diggin' in and pullin' out big fatty chunks of my oversized, enlarged cow-like heart, slappin' it between two platters, puttin' it on a fuckin' projector, flickin' the switch, and going, LOOK. "That's me, that ain't fuckin' film." I wasn't out there makin' films. I ain't Scorsese, I ain't Kubrick. I was out there fuckin' makin' essays that just happened to kind of resemble movies in a weird way. I was out there bloggin' before there was a blog, by way of a movie.
I mean, CLERKS viewed through my historical prism--I don't know how everyone else sees it, and I love it, and I won't take anything away from it…I realize it's cultural and pop cultural significance, or whatever--but I look at it now, CLERKS wasn't the first film as much as it was the world's most expensive icebreaker. It was just me going, "Hi, my name's Kevin Smith." That's it, you know. It was just an intro to the audience. And, for the next 15 years, all I did was keep talking to the audience.
And, I used to do it with the films, but then, it was like I didn't need to do it with the films anymore, you know. The films attracted people to me, because they identified with the material. I get why people don't like Kevin Smith movies, because it's not for everybody, man. And, I'm not saying, "Hey, it's only for people who are smart or understand." Not everyone wants to feel that way. Not everyone wants to watch somebody kind of pour their heart out and shit like that. Some people just want to be entertained. Or, they look at the medium as, like, "Hey, dude, if you're going to write fuckin' love letters and blog, do it on paper or online. Don't do it in film. I don't want to be bothered with it." But, I'm, like, "Hey, dude, don't go see it."
Some people feel like film should be reserved for just this one specific thing, as opposed to being something that everybody can do. You know, if you're not doing it the way [David] Fincher does it, then you're not a filmmaker. If you don't do it the way Scorsese does it, then you're not a filmmaker. You know what? They're right. And, you know what? They're absolutely fuckin' wrong. They don't know what they're talkin' about. So, yeah, once again, that all comes from smokin' weed. [Both laugh] Years ago, I couldn't have made that distinction. Now I can.
Capone: You kind of have that classic songwriter's dilemma. I think Bruce Springsteen has a lyric in one of his songs about how he gets paid a king's ransom for doing something that comes naturally, which he feels kind of guilty about, but also, yeah, once you're not really struggling, how can you write songs about working class people? That's the age-old dilemma.
KS: You can't, dude, you can't. I mean, Bruce still kind of can, if you listen to "My City in Ruins," it doesn't sound like it's made by a guy who has billions of dollars at his disposal. It's still searing and heartfelt. As for me, I can't. Like, for me, I feel disingenuous. Like, again, I don't disown ZACK AND MIRI. I love ZACK AND MIRI, but I look at it, and go, You know what, this is not why I got into the game. I didn't get into this just to make a movie. I got into it to kind of give something out there, pull something out of my chest, and put it out there and see who responded to it in that way.
And, ZACK AND MIRI, it's just like--again, I'm not dismissing it or dissing it, I love it--but, it's masturbatory, dude. It's literally me making a film about the story of my life, like, I've now run out of fuckin' shit to talk about. I'm so desperate to reach back to the source that, because I'm so disconnected from it, that--instead--I wind up making a film about the beginning, you know what I'm saying. Like, ZACK AND MIRI is just really the story of CLERKS with dicks and pussies on display. Yeah, it's just that we swap out 'PORNO' for the word 'CLERKS', and it's the same fuckin' thing, except me and Mos [producer Scott Mosier] never got down. Not yet, anyway.
So, I look at it, and I'm happy with it, but, I'm just like, You know, that's fine for other people, man, like, I get it on a certain level, too, Film is now, it used to be my passion. And, I'm still passionate about it, but it's more my vocation than my passion, because I've been doing it for so long, people are just, like, Yeah, you're a filmmaker, dude. We know. We understand, that's how you're identified. So, I don't have to be, like, "I'm a filmmaker." I don't have to tell people anymore. And, if you're not telling people, if they're just assuming it, then, I don't know, you're not expressing it, you're not kind of digging into passion. It takes passion and kind of being a novice or 'wanting' more than 'being' to be the person who steps out there and says, 'I'm this' when you're not yet.
My sister had given me a piece of advice when I was a kid, you know, she was, like…It was at about the time that I was thinking about getting into film, around my 21st birthday, I was talking about, "Yeah, I saw this movie SLACKER. It really kicked my interest off, and I'm now just really immersed in indie film. I really want to be a filmmaker in a big, bad way." And, my sister was, like, "Well, just be a filmmaker." And, I was, like, "Yeah, that's the idea--I want to be a filmmaker." And, she was, like, "No, don't just be a filmmaker. You are a filmmaker. You don't have to wait until you make a film to become a filmmaker. If you just kind of look at life through the eyes of a filmmaker, just believing you are a filmmaker and that's what you are, you're just a filmmaker who hasn't had the chance to make his film yet, I think you'll have a lot easier time achieving your goals." And, godammit, if she wasn't right. It was some psychobabble bullshit, but at age 21-22, it totally connected.
And, I did at that moment. I was just like, you know what, I don't wanna be, I am that. I'm a filmmaker, and I'm doing everything I can to get to the point where I can actually show you the film that's in my head. But, those days are gone. I'm not that type of filmmaker anymore. But, it is my vocation, and, I'm given opportunity to do it. And, I'm sure some people would be, like, Hey, fuckin' move out of the way, and let somebody who wants to do it, do it. But, I'm sorry, by virtue of the fact that I've done it a few times, there are people out there who want me to continue doing it, people with money. People hire me to do it. And, I'm not against it, I like doing it. So, I'm gonna keep doing it, and by virtue of the fact that I keep doing it, I keep getting kind of better at it.
A COUPLE OF DICKS--nobody's gonna believe I directed this movie, because it looks so average. And, when I say 'average', I mean that in a good way, like, it looks like everybody else's movie now. Back in the days, you'd look at my flick and you'd be, like, "Oh, that's by the motherfucker who made CLERKS. You can tell, because it looks so terrible. His camera won't move." A COUPLE OF DICKS, man, it looks like 48 HOURS. It looks like BEVERLY HILLS COP, LETHAL WEAPON. And, I know some people are, like, "Great, your movie looks like an '80s movie." But, hey, I'm on a slow curve. What the fuck do you want from me?
You know, my film school has been in front of everybody. I'm not ashamed of that. I mean, I've been given this rarefied position, dude, where it's, like, somebody handing me the golden ticket. Yeah, I made a fuckin' indie flick like everybody else, and I was in the right place, right time, and Harvey Weinstein gave me a fuckin' golden ticket, and forced me to become a personality by being, like, Get out there and talk about your fuckin' movie, it ain't got anybody else in it, so you become the front man. So, that forces you to become the front man. You're out front and center, and here I am talking to you, talking to everybody about the flicks. And, you become something of a personality, and suddenly, you've got this amazing golden-ticket life, where you're just like, "Wow, it keeps happening, over and over again. And, people like what we've done. And, some people fuckin' can't stand it, but some people absolutely dig it." And, because of those people, you're inspired to go on, and keep doing it, and shit like that.
But, I think I'd do those people a disservice if I go about it rotely, you know what I'm saying. I've got to make movies from that place, like, If I don't make this, I'm gonna fuckin' die. And, I wasn't going to be able to do that anymore with the dick-and-fart-joke movies, because when I started them…you know, like, I made CLERKS because CLERKS didn't exist. I wanted to see a movie that I identified with. I had been watching movies since I was a kid, and it's always the hero who's in charge and svelte, and he always knows what to do, and maybe, he faces a setback, but the dude's a winner from the beginning. And, then, by the end of the movie, he's just an even bigger winner.
I don't identify with that at all. I'm a big fuckin' loser from Jersey, workin' in a convenience store, so I wanted to make something that I identify with. I wanted to put me and my friends up on the screen, so I can look up there and be, like, "Wow, man, I get it, I get it." Now, in '93-'94, there wasn't any of that. And, so I got to do it. And, since I am the world's biggest Kevin Smith fan, I was delighted, because, Holy Shit, this guy Kevin Smith made a Kevin Smith movie. And, I like the sense of humor, and I like what they're talking about. And, they talk about shit that I'm interested in, like fuckin' geek shit and STAR WARS and pussy. And, he's trying to tell his other friend he's gay and shit, like it's a bad thing. I recognize these characters.
So, when that kind of happens, other people see what you do, and they go, Hey, you can do that now? And, I'm not even fuckin' speculating, because some people are like, "How dare you be so arrogant to think you've had an influence." It's like, "Look, folks, I know some of y'all hate me, but you can't say I haven't fuckin' had an influence." It's impossible to deny it. I'm told by people on a regular basis, still. Edgar Wright was just, like, "Dude, 'Spaced' only exists because we fuckin' went to your CHASING AMY Q&A in London, and Simon [Pegg] got up and asked you a question, because we were so blown away that you were allowed to talk about comic books or all the stupid minutia that nobody talked about in movies. I mean, you showed a fuckin' hotel ballroom Comic-Con. And, suddenly, what I did, I had the benefit of putting on screen, I had the benefit of being first--the first guy to put on screen the shit that matters to people like us. Then other people are, like, "Oh, you can do that? Shit."
And, look, the only reason I did it is because I saw RESERVOIR DOGS, and they started talking about Madonna at the top of the movie. And, I'm, like, "Oh, shit, now dialogue counts if you're not talking about dialogue, like that? You can just go off on tangents and deconstruct things? Shit, I do that with my friends all the time. I'm going to write that into my movie."
So, it inspires, it goes on. It feeds on, and then other people jump up, and they do it because of you. But then, there are more people, who are not doing it because they're, like, "Oooooh, I love this shit so much." But then, you got some people looking at your shit, going, "Well, I liked it, but I can do better than that." I mean, that's how I got into it. I saw Richard Linklater's SLACKER. I said, "I love this movie, but if this counts as a movie, Jesus Christ, I think I could make a movie, too." You know, that mixture of honoring it.
So, when it comes to, say, 2007 and shit…that was like when Judd [Apatow] kind of shows up on the scene with THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN. I guess that would be 2006?
Capone: 2005 actually.
KS: But, by the time you get to KNOCKED UP, 2007--that corridor, somewhere in that corridor, 2005 to 2007, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP--Judd essentially showed up and said, "I can do this movie way better, way more audience friendly. And, it'll make way more money." And, he was absolutely right. So, I'm not saying, "Hey, man, Judd makes the exact same movie I did," but Judd definitely makes a similar movie to the type of movies that I make and traditionally have made.
But then, when I see Judd doing it, and doing well with it…and now, you throw a rock, and every week a bromantic comedy comes out, and the hero of every movie is now a fuckin' loser schlub and shit like that, guess what, man? I identify with the people on the screen now. So, there's no more need for me to do those movies, because people who are far more talented than me have now picked up the ball and ran with it.
And now, I get to kick back as a movie viewer and be, like, "Okay, now there's a fuckin' glut of movies about losers, and that's great, because back in the day, there were none. Now, I see myself in a lot of comedies out there, a lot of flicks." So, you know, at that point, you sit there and go, Okay, well, if everyone's got this shit covered, why are you doing it anymore, 'cause your fuckin' bite ain't sharp anymore, old man. Like, these cats are young, they're all going to be better at it.
All you're left with, really, is the benefit of having done it first, because now people will redefine it, and redefine it, and turn it into what it ultimately becomes. But, it was cool, it was cool to be out there first, kind of talking about shit that people didn't really talk about in movies. And, now, it's cool to see people do it. Anytime somebody references STAR WARS in a movie, you don't think I feel proud? You know what I'm saying? And, anybody who would be, like, "Oh, you arrogant, cocksuckin' prick, how can you think…?" Dude, it has everything to do with CLERKS. Nobody was talking about STAR WARS pre-CLERKS anymore. They hadn't talked about fuckin' STAR WARS since RETURN OF THE JEDI back in '83. It had been quiet, dude, real quiet. And then, we started talking about STAR WARS in the movie, and people were, like, "You can do that? That counts? You can just talk about fuckin' somebody else's movie, and that counts?"
I mean, granted, I realize I lowered the bar, but that was the kind of movie I wanted to see. That was the kind of movie I made. And now, I don't want to make that kind of movie anymore. I'm not against it, but I'm just, like, Shit, everyone's doing it, so I'll get fulfilled watching everyone else's movie. And, that's when you sit there asking, "Well, okay, what kind of filmmaker, if any, do you want to be now? And, what is it that's going to fuel you?" And, by God, this HIT SOMEBODY picture is it? It's all I live and breathe now. That's the hockey film, based on the Warren Zevon song that Mitch Albom wrote the lyrics for. I mean, that's the movie, dude, that's the movie where, like, you know, "If I don't make this, I will fuckin' DIE!" It has nothing to do with other movies anymore. It has nothing to do with, like, if I don't make this, eh, I'll make another movie. This is the flick where I'm, like, Clear the decks, 'cause I'm not doing shit until this is done. This is where I dig the fuck in. I'm not interested in moving on.
Like, you know, I did interviews in the beginning of my career, where I talked about, I think I have 10 movies in me. And, guess what, that's going to be Number Ten. So, I got to honor the superstition. Look, I'm not finding any fuckin' money on RED STATE, because it's so fuckin' blatantly uncommercial and very, very marginal in terms of its subject matter. That money's not forthcoming any time soon. And, so I concentrate on something where my heart actually is, so that there's a fuckin' chance, dude, a hope in hell that I can make something that has that fuckin' fire and that passion in it that CLERKS had, that CHASING AMY had. I mean, it's not…That didn't come from desperation or not having the means. That just came from because I was so fuckin' in love with the material, I was, like, I just gotta share this. If only people could see the world the way I see it, through this particular picture, man, they would get it. So, that's where I am now, but I wouldn't have gotten there back in the day, 'cause I was always the dude who was, like, "I write and direct my own stuff. I would never direct something that somebody else wrote or conceived or something like that."
And, then, I did the "Reaper" pilot a couple years back, and I was, like, "You know what? I feel like I brought something to it. I read that script, and I saw that pilot. And, I think the pilot was better than the script. Not to dis the writers, by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel like I brought something to it. So, I felt like I had that in my back pocket, like, "Good to know." All those years that I said, "Ughh, why would you hire me to direct something I didn't write, I'm such an idiot." I got to see what it looked like, and maybe I wasn't such an idiot.
But, yet, this movie, you know, is lighter than air. I mean, it's fun, and there's great stuff in it. But, it's, like, nobody looks at DIE HARD and goes, "What is the searing, human message at the center of DIE HARD? I found it inscrutable. Do you think it had something to do with the Israeli conflict?" It's a movie, dude. You go, eat popcorn, you have fun, you leave. And A COUPLE OF DICKS, very much that same thing. It's just weird that I wound up making it.
But, it paved the way for HIT SOMEBODY, because suddenly, when I was in this world of, like, Okay, I will direct somebody's script that I didn't write, which I always said I would never do. Suddenly, it opens the door to something else, where I'm just, like, "Okay, I didn't write this, and I'm making this. Well, maybe, I don't always need to fuckin' think of the stories, or the things that I'm going to write necessarily myself. I mean, you're a writer. It doesn't mean you necessarily always have to come up with it."
I didn't even think in terms like that. It just kind of happened all at the same time, 'cause I was thinking about the Warren Zevon song so much. And, I was just, like, "Man, I love story songs, number one. I said, Number two, this just feels like a movie to me. This sounds like a movie. This is a movie waiting to fuckin' happen. So, I got very interested in it and started plotting a movie out in my head, and then I started looking for who owned it, because Warren was dead. And everything pointed back to Mitch as the guy controlling it, because Mitch Albom had written the lyrics for it. So, I met Mitch on the phone, or first online and shit--and, he didn't know who I was from Adam, but I know who he is--and, I was just, like, "Hey, man, this hockey song, 'Hit Somebody,' I'm really interested in turning it into a film. I guessed he sniffed around, and people were, like, "I wouldn't say he's legit, but he's made movies before."
So, then we started talking about it one night. And, he could see how passionate I was about the subject matter. Taking a song and turning it into a whole feature may seem like a dubious effort, but you gotta listen to that song. It laid out the three-act structure beautifully, and all you have to do is put meat on its bones. And, you know, I've just kind of been shaping it for the last year. And, I've found the meat, and now it's time to hang it on the bones, 'cause I think I'm ready to do it.
And, I think I'm the right guy for the job because, ultimately, it's a movie about hockey, but it's not a hockey movie. It's about a hockey player who's no damn good at it. It's about a guy who wants so badly to play in the NHL, but he's just not good. He can't handle the puck, not a great skater, he's got no talent. All drive, all passion, no talent. So, in the '70s when the WHA[World Hockey Association] kicked open its doors--the alternate hockey league or the competing hockey league to the NHL--the talent pool got drained. So, suddenly, they needed players on both sides, and there were people getting into the game that weren't particularly good at hockey, but they were really good at defense, in as much as they would just go out and beat the shit out of people. "Goons" they called them. So, goon hockey was huge in the '70s for that reason. You got people with their names on the Stanley Cup, you know, who maybe I'd probably play hockey better than, based on pure skill level, puck handling and whatnot.
That to me is just such a beautiful, compelling story, because you're talking about people who are, like, "Look, I know I'm not good at it, but I want it so badly. I want to be involved and around it so badly that I will take the lowest fuckin' role there is in this game, if you will just let me in." Tell me that doesn't sound familiar, dude, you know what I'm saying? So, of course, I fuckin' love the subject matter. Of course, that movie's going to kick all sorts of fuckin' ass. It may not be good, but you're gonna feel HIT SOMEBODY in a big, bad fuckin' way. I'm primed, I'm primed, I'm ready for it.
I'm going to cut the interview off here. Hope you're finding this interesting or at least damn funny. Lots more hopes and dreams and weed smoking from Mr. Smith. See you back here next week with Part Dos.
-- Capone
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Nov. 20, 2009, 2:08 p.m. CST
Ah, yes, the genious behind Zack and Miri
by lockesbrokenleg
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:12 p.m. CST
Legend My Ass!
by THE TRUE PINBACK
The only thing legendary about this idiot is his inability to fulfill his obligations, like his so-called comic book scripting. He spends more time insulting the people who criticize him than flexing his "creative talents." Kevin Smith...please do the world of film and comic books a BIG favor. Go away and don't come back. And trust me...I could stay here for hours and insult you, your friends and family and your work for hours. You, sir, are just not worth the effort.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:12 p.m. CST
by BadMrWonka
I'm not a huge Kevin Smith movie fan, but I could watch him at his appearances forever. and now I can add interviews to that list. at least if they're done by Capone!<p>great stuff!
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:13 p.m. CST
lol, you gotta love the assholes that just jump right in
by BadMrWonka
did you read ANY of what Smith was talking about? jesus christ...<p>you spelled cock wrong, morons.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:15 p.m. CST
Kevin Smith sucks
by newmoon4545
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:17 p.m. CST
He liked the Dark Knight
by lockesbrokenleg
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:17 p.m. CST
tl;dr - I really like weed
by CmdX
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:22 p.m. CST
by ebonic_plague
Yknow, I really like some of his movies, and some of them are just painfully inept, but from reading his interviews and seeing him talk a few times on his speaking tour, Smith seems like a righteous dude. <p> Kevin, if a guy like Lockes complains about you, you're doing something right in life. Actually, it just means you're doing SOMETHING, but still, keep fighting the good fight.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:23 p.m. CST
I was at that Chicago show
by CmdX
Kevin Smith is one of the most hilarious and awesome people to go see live. With Clerks he basically showed that on a shoestring budget you actually can make a decent film.<p>Although his comedy writing does get a bit repetitive after awhile I'm looking forward to seeing A Couple of Whateverthefucktheycallit and I think this Gretsky movie has real promise
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:23 p.m. CST
Cool piece....
by Jobacca
Kevin Smith seems like an allright kind of guy. I've never been a crazy die-hard fan of his movies,but I do like the man himself. I think I like his comics most of all-QUIVER was a fucking gift from god and I cant wait to read his current batman run when it gets collected into one book(fuck DC and their monthlies...4 dollars a book and half of it is ads trying to get me to join the Navy)
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:23 p.m. CST
everyone... GO OUTSIDE
by CENOBITE
& stop wasting your life in the talkbacks.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:24 p.m. CST
Scratch that
by CmdX
I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with other people's writing<p>I do know that he didn't write it :)
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:24 p.m. CST
Interesting guy
by Human_Bean_Juice_
Smith knows his shit.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:28 p.m. CST
Here come the Smith Apologists
by lockesbrokenleg
You know, the ones that defend Zack and Miri.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:30 p.m. CST
This is simple talkback baiting
by Rocco Curioso
No coincidence that this interview shows up on a Friday (no updates on weekends). Throw the wolves a bunny carcass and let them rip it to shreds. You either like Kevin Smith or you can't stand him. He doesn't really elicit neutral response.<P>By tomorrow, this talkback will have devolved into speculation about the symbolism of the Shit Monster in "Dogma", or why he couldn't get Elizabeth Banks to do a nude scene for "Zack & Miri Make A Porno". Maybe magnoliafan himself will drop in to grace us with a bon mot or two, just to keep things hummin'.<P>Carry on. I'm gonna go watch "Thirst" on DVD.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:32 p.m. CST
Honestly, though...
by ebonic_plague
I saw his show at the IU auditorium a few years ago, and it was a great time, but we actually had to leave early because that melon farmer KEPT TALKING FOR LIKE 5 HOURS. I mean, hell, I wanted to stay til the end, but it's Bloomington and the choice between getting some good ol' coed strange and listening to Lunchbox's extended storytime until the wee hours isn't exactly a hard decision.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:34 p.m. CST
Kevin Smith still has fans?
by nightheat500
That's cute.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:36 p.m. CST
KS seems like a cool dude.
by bobbofatz
He has talent. He is to be admired for making and selling Clerks independently. His movies just are not very good. I am not a hater and think that Jay and Silent Bob are iconic in a way. He has a rabid cult following that at least shows a fan base. I hope he hits one out of the park someday, but he is not a legend. Maybe in time.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:36 p.m. CST
"You suck cok, you fuckin' whore!"
by brodiebruce_405
I like Kevin Smith because unlike most of my heroes confronted with criticism and acting like they don't give a shit, Kevin clearly does but he makes a cool joke out of it. I also think it's cool that he manages to interject so much personality into definetely character based scripts. It'd be easy for him to fall into the kind of Tarantino trap where all the characters sound like the author (see "Death Proof"), but Smith has avoided doing that. He's clearly the same man on stage who is making those films, yet they are strong character films - he's kept his personality free from his creativity and intact in a commercial world that typically eschews individual voices.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:36 p.m. CST
He does talk a long time
by lockesbrokenleg
About what I have no idea.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:37 p.m. CST
Remember when Smith reamed my Z&M review?
by NinjaRap
Yeah, I posted an early review that was light on spoilers and he just fuckin' lit up over on ViewAskew. People linked me to the rant like a month later, how he basically accused me of being some loner with no girlfriend who was full of shit or something. I'm engaged to the girl who went to Zack & Miri with me right now, actually. But anyway, not the point. The point is that I'm glad he's chilled out in a lot of ways, and doesn't take shit personally. On the other hand, I'm disappointed that he's losing his passion for making his own scripts. Listen, I didn't love Zack & Miri. I gave it a pretty positive review despite Smith hating it, but I didn't LOVE it. I mean, after Clerks 2, which seemed like it came RIGHT FROM THE HEART, Zack & Miri didn't say anything to me except "This is Smith trying to be a little mroe commercial, except I'm not buying the core relationship between the title characters and that kinda kills it." I think he's really got somethin' to say with Red State, and I wish someone would give him the money. I think when Smith has something on his mind, you can SEE his heart is on-screen. Not that it has to be up there for his movies to be entertaining. Mallrats was fucking entertaining, but I don't think it says jack shit about Smith's heart. But I mean, Dogma? That movie has some beautiful sentiments in it, and you can tell he wrote that from deep down in his goddamn balls. It's my favorite of his flicks. I really wanna see Red State happen. Couple of Cops/Dicks/Guys/Whatever? Not caring as much, because he didn't write it. But Red State? Hell yes, I want that movie.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:38 p.m. CST
and Kevin... you aren't 20 anymore...
by CENOBITE
so you don't have to write films still trying to pretend you are. Time to start writing about stuff you relate to now, even if it's getting high and going to 'The Griddle' on Sunset.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:40 p.m. CST
Where is Gus Van Rant???
by Mr. Nice Gaius
He really should be here for this one.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:40 p.m. CST
by Mr. Nice Gaius
Ha! Nice.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:41 p.m. CST
mmm... The Griddle...
by CENOBITE
..."Peanut Bubba" is God's gift to man (french toast dipped in Capt'n Crunch and fried). OK, now I'm hungry!
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:44 p.m. CST
If anyone doubts Smith's taste, read his EPISODE II review
by YackBacker
His loving praise of Hayden Christensen's performance, and the overall "love story" in the movie pretty much defines Kevin Smith's cognitive abilities.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:47 p.m. CST
RE: Rocco Curioso
by Capone
Wow, you've read so much more into a Friday-posted piece than I would have dreamed possible. The only reason this went up today is because I've been trying to keep the AICN Legends articles as Thursday or Friday posting vs. the movie-specific interviews I do that go up on Monday or Tuesday. It has everything to do with my schedule and nothing to do with talkbacker baiting. No one in their right mind would deliberately bait the talkbackers--then again, my mind has rarely been accused of being right.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:49 p.m. CST
by HaterofCrap
there's a documentary title for ya.
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:52 p.m. CST
Kevin Smith is a legend?
by ominus
since when? come on now >:I
Nov. 20, 2009, 2:59 p.m. CST
Is this the same dude who played "Warlock" in DIE HARD 4?
by YackBacker
He's fucking amazing.
Nov. 20, 2009, 3:06 p.m. CST
Smodcast is Awesome
by eric haislar
Every one should take a listen. You will laugh and cry.
Nov. 20, 2009, 3:06 p.m. CST
The current Kevin Smith
by Samuel Fulmer
As a writer he really hasn't had any new thoughts since the days of Dogma. His post Dogma output is highly derivitive of his own past works, or the works of others. I think he has become a much better director (better direction, composition, editing rythm, etc.), so maybe the move to making other people's scripts isn't such a bad mood. I liked Zack and Miri, but it was obviously Kevin Smith trying to do Chasing Amy via Judd Apatow's highly Kevin Smith influenced work, so a bit cannabalistic to say the least.
Nov. 20, 2009, 3:09 p.m. CST
Got to give the guy credit on the merchandise
by Samuel Fulmer
I don't know how well the stuff sells, but at least a few years back there was a lot of it out there. Sort of the George Lucas of the 90's indie film scene.
Nov. 20, 2009, 3:10 p.m. CST
Nerds with fingers
by ChocolateJesus
I should start printing talkbacks out to use as toilet paper.
Nov. 20, 2009, 3:11 p.m. CST
I'm sure he's hilarious but..
by Aloy
My brother insisted I check out his stand up as being super funny blah, blah, blah. So I rented one of his "Evenings With"..and it starts with his wife and daughter introducing him and then he comes on and in the first few sentences proceeds to say something like "this is who I fuck" and said some other equally hilarious thing about his daughter, totally disrespecting both of them and they were still within hearing. <P> Dude that school of buying off your audience at the expense of loved ones was never cool or funny, that's all I had time for.<p>
Nov. 20, 2009, 3:32 p.m. CST
Great interview.
by Nordling
He's certainly pretty open about himself. That's refreshing. Very well done as usual, Capone. See you in December.
Nov. 20, 2009, 3:47 p.m. CST
I will say, after reading the interview that KS needs therapy
by YackBacker
"The weed" doesn't make your life better, holmes. That's a crutch. And you whine way too much for a rich guy. Grow the fuck up.
Nov. 20, 2009, 3:51 p.m. CST
Kind of agree with YackBacker
by Samuel Fulmer
Smith's saying in his own words that hit the substances due to a bout of depression. Substance use (or abuse depending on what you want to call it) brought on by depression is never a good thing.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:02 p.m. CST
by TehCreepyThinMan
I gave up on him for a few years because I thought Dogma, JASBSB and Jersey Girl were piss poor. But I believe that Clerks 2 and Zack and Miri were masterpieces for the type of movies that Smith makes and as good as anything John Hughes ever did. They hit the right balance of being funny while also having enough emotional resonance. The casting was also great as I think Smith fails when he casts Affleck (except for Chasing Amy but I can imagine someone else doing a better job) or that plank Jeremy London from Mallrats. He needs actors that come off as "real" while also being able to go big when need be. I'm looking forward to A Couple of Pigs and hope that it's a huge success so that he can get Red State made.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:05 p.m. CST
Nerds are so jealous of Kevin Smith
by MacReady452
I am looking forward to seeing him focus on just directing. Plus there should be a little more action in this and he usually has a more quiet style. God I hope Red State comes about.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:06 p.m. CST
AICN kissing ass to this guys so
by newmoon4545
they can get exclusives
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:06 p.m. CST
by TehCreepyThinMan
Dude, you're fucking loaded and can't spring for an exercise room in your house? Smoking weed, watching movies and playing video games is fine but, for Ceiling Cats sakes man, you have a daughter. Don't you want to see her grow up and graduate from High School and College?
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:09 p.m. CST
His wife is right.
by Mostholy
Most people grow out of the "dude weed, like, totally makes me so mellow and creative" phase. I'm not hating on the herb, mind you, but Smith sounds ridiculous here.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:10 p.m. CST
Kevin Smith and Bruce Campbell
by lockesbrokenleg
fans love kissing the ass of these wankers, but they produce shit.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:20 p.m. CST
An excellent actor and director
by medium_messiah
I am a fan of evrything this man does.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:21 p.m. CST
when is aicn gonna join the 21st century
by brabon300
fuckin post the audio...christ<p> it doesnt take that much bandwith, and i wont get a headache after reading this trype
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:23 p.m. CST
by lockesbrokenleg
If your into the seventies.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:25 p.m. CST
say what you will about his movies
by HebrewLantern
but the man is fucking hilarious in person and can work a room like no other. he's also a down to earth guy. i was at his q&a in dallas a couple weeks ago (if anyone else was there, i was the guy who sat on stage) and after the show i gave him my business card. i figured he would have thrown it in the first trash can he came to, but nope. he still had it the monday after. so say what you want about his movies, etc., but the man is fucking classy!
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:27 p.m. CST
And Shit Like That
by kevinwillis.net
That should be the title of his next film. To be followed up with "Weed: The Kevin Smith Story".<br><br>Crybaby.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:34 p.m. CST
lockesbrokenleg, GO WATCH TRANSFORMERS ROTF YOU JERKOFF!!!
by TehCreepyThinMan
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:36 p.m. CST
by lockesbrokenleg
Ooh, wow, that hurts so bad. Sniff.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:36 p.m. CST
Idris Elba in Thor!
by jaysin420
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:38 p.m. CST
by TehCreepyThinMan
They don't want us to hear just how inarticulate they sound as well as the fact that they probably comes off like giggling faggots. They also wouldn't be able to edit the stupid shit that comes out of their cocksuckers.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:41 p.m. CST
by TehCreepyThinMan
Emotions are a sign of intelligence and you clearly possess neither.
Nov. 20, 2009, 4:44 p.m. CST
Is this fella still 300 pounds and ballooning fast?
by Turd_Has_Risen_From_The_Grave
Lack of self respect is an ugly thing indeed.
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:01 p.m. CST
Kevin Smith and RED STATE...
by Jobacca
Really looking fwd. to this one as well-although from what I've heard of it,I'll be watching it more as a documentary than a horror film. I live around Mountain Folk who make the Westboro Baptist Church seem sane...
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:07 p.m. CST
by lockesbrokenleg
Actually emotions are a crutch. Used by shitheads.
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:20 p.m. CST
A Couple of Cops is such a shitty title
by Browncoat_Jedi
That interview is so damn long I won't even attempt it.
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:20 p.m. CST
by supercowbell5THECOWBELLHASSPOKEN
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:21 p.m. CST
lockesbrokenleg, GO SUCK OFF A VULCAN THEN!!!
by TehCreepyThinMan
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:22 p.m. CST
Browncoat_Jedi, A COUPLE OF PIGS IS A BETTER TITLE!!!FACT!!!
by TehCreepyThinMan
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:27 p.m. CST
Im a big Kevin Smith fan
by Col. Tigh-Fighter
And I guess Im the only person on here who liked Zack and Miri :) Watched JASBSB the other week. Still funny as fuck. <p>"I am the clit commander!"
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:28 p.m. CST
The True Pinback - "Byte Me"
by Alen Smithee
Only pussies like you hide behind user names. If you're going to openly criticize a guy. use your real name. You are a fucking douche bag - Kevin Rubio
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:31 p.m. CST
How the fuck is Kevin Smith a Legend?
by Stegman84
Whether you happen to like his films or not he has in no way come close to earning "legend" status. Honestly, this is as dumb as having someone like Jon Bon Jovi on Inside the Actors Studio. Not just jumping the shark, but orbiting that motherfucker.
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:33 p.m. CST
Could only make it halfway through....
by MrPoop
F**in' this, F**in that. Ramble on and on incoherently about smoking weed. This is one of my generation's greatest Orators/Wordsmiths? Sorry Capone, I've been following this guys careers since Clerks hit theaters and he is nowhere near a master. He had a couple movies that I would say were slightly above average at best after Clerks and those were in his early career.
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:37 p.m. CST
I'm surprised Kevin Smith isn't a clerk
by lockesbrokenleg
right now after the shit he's directed.
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:54 p.m. CST
Hey Rubio...
by THE TRUE PINBACK
Everyone here has a screen name. I just looked your name up. I happen to have enjoyed TROOPS. So do everyone a favor...get your head out of Kevin SMith's ass and go make another entertaining video. Maybe this one can be about how much money Smith pays his wife to stay marries to him. Oh, and by the way, I don't give a hoot in hell if you're a member of the much-vaunted 501st. If you lived nearby, I would find you and shove your fiberglass armor fakery up your already loose and bleeding ass. If you want to stick up for someone, why not find someone worthwhiel to stick up for, not some drug-adled dickhead who has delusions of self-righteousness.
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:58 p.m. CST
surprised to hear that he's not that proud of Zack and Miri
by Stifler's Mom
I found Zack and Miri to be his first truly funny movie since Chasing Amy. Dogma, JASBSB, Clerks 2= bad movies with decent moments scattered too far apart. Still seems like a cool guy though.
Nov. 20, 2009, 5:58 p.m. CST
Oh, and Rubio...
by THE TRUE PINBACK
...one important question for you. Why do you stick up for this idiot anyway? Do you get your drugs from him? Be careful, that can be dangerous!
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:04 p.m. CST
Red State and the Hockey Flick sound cool
by Tall_Boy66
As for Couple of Dicks, I'll give it a shot and I do like an action movie, but action comedy is really hard to pull off but I've liked all his movies so far. Red State, whatever it's about, I just want to see the guy do a horror movie. And I'm a hockey fan and there certainly isn't enough Hockey movies out there (what was the last one, Love Guru? Fuck you!). So now that Smith has ditched Jay and Silent Bob he actually seems to be going different and unique places. Neat-o.
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:07 p.m. CST
But he really should finish that Daredevil comic
by Tall_Boy66
Kind of lame that he jumped ship to DC to write all kinds of Batman books but won't finish the Daredevil book. Issue #2 is written, just polish it off!
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:08 p.m. CST
Criticism on AICN
by THE TRUE PINBACK
Mr Rubio...or Alen Smithee...whatever name you choose to use. One of the great things about AICN is our ability to come hear and discuss and/or criticize the work of people involved in the entertainment industry. Unfortunately, we can't all be Roger Ebert, so this becomes OUR platform. If you notice, a majority of the talkbacks in this section are openly critical of Kevin Smith and his work. He himself is prone to criticizing things, often in ways that some might find questionable. SO regardless of who you are, what you have done, or what you say, I will continue to write what I see fit to write about who and what I choose. If you can't take the heat, then stay out of the talkback kitchen. I'm sure Kevin Smith doesn't need you speaking for him. If he wants to talk to me, let him. Just do me a favor and give him a tic-tac first.
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:12 p.m. CST
Hey Tall_Boy66
by THE TRUE PINBACK
His comic book creds kind of speak for themselves don't they. SMith can't be depended on to keep on a schedule or finish his work. And he always seems to have some clever excuse for it. He oughta stay away from comics altogether. Maybe his work on DC's BATMAN will change this, but I tend to doubt it. He ought to get out of comics and filmmaking altogether and throw his greasy hat into the political arena. At least there his bullshit would fit right in.
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:41 p.m. CST
Can I have his mailing address?
by BurnedNotice_Dude
Still waiting for a refund for seeing Clerks II and Zach/Miri. I deserve it.<p> Thank you.
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:44 p.m. CST
by THE TRUE PINBACK
And to top that off, neither DC nor Marvel should hire him again, and Cheech and Chong should find him and kick his fat ass for stealing their shtick and ruining it.
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:45 p.m. CST
I bet he donated money to Capone.
by BurnedNotice_Dude
Remember when Capone wanted money because a storm did damage on his home? I bet Kevin Smith gave him some money if he could be interviewed in the future.
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:46 p.m. CST
by THE TRUE PINBACK
Money he pilfered from naive filmgoers who thought they would get some entertainment value from watching one of his "masterworks" no doubt. Or is it money he got from selling illegal substances? We'll probably never know.
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:52 p.m. CST
Judd Apatow
by THE TRUE PINBACK
Kevin Smith thinks Juss Apatow just took some of his stuff and made it more "audience friendly." Not correct. THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP are terrific, fun movies. They didn't do what Smith claimed at all. He's just pissed because A.) they made money, and B.) they are funny. NONE of Kevin SMith's films can claim that.
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:57 p.m. CST
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back come to life
by Bouncy X
seeing all these people attacking him reminds me of that movie's ending. where they travel across the country to meet and kick the ass of all those internet posters who insulted them and they all turn out being 13yr olds. i bet its the same in real life. except for the odd douche, i've rarely seen people, well males, in their 20's or older actually act this way. of course the other possibility is that they're using the advantage of this not being real and acting up. god knows i say and do things online i'd never do for real but yeah....just thought it was all sorts of funny.
Nov. 20, 2009, 6:57 p.m. CST
wow pnnback
by medium_messiah
Did Kevin Smith rape your dog or something? You seem upset.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:06 p.m. CST
Not at all Messiah...
by THE TRUE PINBACK
...although I wouldn't put it past him. What it boils down to is that Kevin SMith is in no way a legend. His films are mindless drivel that aren't funny or likeable. He talks a lot of shit...much of it to diss others by the way...but still can't find a way to entertain the masses. He walks in the shadows of greatness and I truly doubt that he will ever emerge from the darkness. I've seen his movies-unfortunately-and I've read his comics...ho-hum. And I've read quite a bit about him. Calling him a legend is a BIG MISTAKE. Legend he ain't, nor will he ever be, except in the minds of the small handfull of drug-adled followers who for some reason or other hang on to his work for dear life while life passes them by.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:11 p.m. CST
Why doesn't Smith produce Red State?
by The Dum Guy
Or, at least get his friends to help co-produce.<br><br>I wonder what the budget for it could be?
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:15 p.m. CST
Bouncy X
by lockesbrokenleg
So that's what that shitty movie is about? And Mark Hamill signed up for that?
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:15 p.m. CST
Mid-Life Crisis: The Interview
by REVENGE_of_FETT
Dude is so fucked up he spends half the interview explaining why he doesn't care that some people think he sucks and that he spends his days toking up because he thinks he sucks. Kevin Smith has totally lost his fucking shit!
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:16 p.m. CST
This is why I like Kevin Smith so much
by PorkChopXpress
This is a guy who, if Clerks had never been made, would be one of the talkbackers. He would be one of the fans online talking about movies he liked...always thinking he could make something, too. And inside, he's STILL that guy - only now, he's turned something he did out of passion into his vocation and being one of those people myself, I feel what he's saying.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:18 p.m. CST
by THE TRUE PINBACK
Very cool and admirable Pork Chop, I just hope your work is better than his.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:23 p.m. CST
how old are you fuckers
by happyboy
If you're 24 and under you just dont get it. not sure why Smith is QQing about everything and the Sun in this interview but he's right about his impact. Smith certainly did heavily HEAVILY influence the geek movement and also Indy filmmaking. While Smith is not exactly a great filmmaker if you deny the impact of his perspective on American film the past 15 years you're simply too young to understand what movies were like in the early 90s and 80s (basically subsequent to the movement in the 1970s). Smith and Tarantino aren't the BEST filmmakers but are 2 of the more impactful ones of the mid 90s... basically every movie made in the genre is touched by these guys. He's also right that guys have come along and done it better (apatow not being one of them) but he was the one of the first with the balls to be real and show geeks being geeks and show how shitty life for the middle class american actually is.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:25 p.m. CST
Really, shilling weed???
by jimbojones123
It is all just kinda sad. When weed was funny to Smith, I was okay, but this was downright creepy. At 38, he knows what he is doing and defining himself as, and I have a bad taste. I also have one for Capone and this site. Do not believe that I am the only one that feels this way. Too bad. I hate feeling like this about things I like.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:28 p.m. CST
Dude, I'm fucling in my 30s and I don't get Smith
by lockesbrokenleg
He seems like a nice guy, but wow, his movies are terrible.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:30 p.m. CST
Hate hate, hate hate hate.
by MCVamp
There's almost as much hate in here as the NEW MOON TB. Jesus. He ain't Bergman. We get it. But when he makes a bad movie or muffs a joke, don't take it personal. You think you have more talent than Kevin Smith...and honestly you may be right. But he worked his ass off and got lucky. Either do better or get over it.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:30 p.m. CST
I think this is a fair statement...
by THE TRUE PINBACK
If Kevin Smith and all of his work were to disappear as if they never existed, NOTHING would be any different on this site, in the comic book industry, in filmmaking, or anything else. He hasn't influenced anything so far as I can see. He tries to sound relevant, and his fans back him up, but that means little to anyone outside of their meager circle.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:33 p.m. CST
I don't want to be a director and never did.
by THE TRUE PINBACK
I did, however, work in the special effects industry. But by putting himself and his work out there in the public eye, he opens himself up to this. And while I would say that he doesn't see himself as a "legend", I think it is very short-sighted to put him in the category.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:33 p.m. CST
Actually, forget I said anything...
by MCVamp
Upon further review, there seems to be more praise than hate (barely.) Gotta stop chugging Nyquil before posting.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:35 p.m. CST
Weed is harmless...
by blackmantis
Anyone who gets their panties all in a bunch over marijuana use has never used it. It's far less harmful to the body than alcohol, and unlike alcohol doesn't turn some people into raging assholes. Yes, like anything done to excess it isn't healthy but it's not like crack or crystal meth, which are instantly addictive and both physically and emotionally damaging, even in small amounts. I've smoked marijuana many times, but haven't in a while and don't have any great urge to do so. I enjoy it, but don't feel like I gotta go do it RIGHT NOW. Nicotine is a far more addictive and destructive herb than cannabis.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:37 p.m. CST
This dude badly needs to get over himself
by Geekgasm
Also, over 30 + still smoking weed = sad, and don't act like it isn't. You know it is.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:48 p.m. CST
nothing wrong with smoking weed
by supercowbell5THECOWBELLHASSPOKEN
get the fucking neverending stick out of your ass
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:50 p.m. CST
Yeah, nothing wrong with doing drugs
by lockesbrokenleg
It made DJ Am popular.
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:52 p.m. CST
by myspoonistoobig
Jesus Christ, could you troll a little harder?
Nov. 20, 2009, 7:54 p.m. CST
Alot of productive members of society smoke weed....
by The Dum Guy
Wait... what?
Nov. 20, 2009, 8:06 p.m. CST
you guys on
by HarryLove
Nov. 20, 2009, 8:11 p.m. CST
here are
by HarryLove
too judgemental. everyone has self doubts thats why its refreshing to see it in a director. glad to see kevin is passionate about a movie again.
Nov. 20, 2009, 8:11 p.m. CST
by THE WALLACE
You sound like a fucking tool. Shuttup already.
Nov. 20, 2009, 8:27 p.m. CST
Clerks GREAT! Rest not so good :(
by Niger_Hating_White_Boy_88
Nov. 20, 2009, 8:32 p.m. CST
I have a theory...
by The Dum Guy
Pinback is Smith.... what a twist!
Nov. 20, 2009, 8:36 p.m. CST
lockes is 30??!
by TheJokesOnUs
I want my tax dollars back. The education system failed you. Crap, I'm years younger and my posts make so, so much more sense. Whew. Go to fucking college.
Nov. 20, 2009, 8:42 p.m. CST
PINBACK's sfx work= maker of Real Dolls...
by TheJokesOnUs
and he tests every one. Ugh. That guy is kryptonite to a woman's sex drive, I just know it.
Nov. 20, 2009, 8:54 p.m. CST
"YOU are the ones that are the ball lickers.."
by MacReady452
Nov. 20, 2009, 9:09 p.m. CST
by MacReady452
Thats why these bitches hate Smith so much. He did it. He went out and made his dream happen. The mirror is held up. "Smith is just like us." Yup, except he had the sack to accomplish his goal and it just burns people up that Smith's goals are the same as ours (write, direct, own comic store)but his came to fruition. THAT SHOULD BE ME! WAH WAH WAH! Fuck you, you bunch of failures. Hey he aint for everyone though. If you don't like it, you don't like it. I have no use for you or your opinion, but your a opinion is your own and your entitled to your wrong hateful opinion.
Nov. 20, 2009, 9:10 p.m. CST
Holy crap Capone
by ltgalloway
Hope you paid someone handsomely for typing this one up. This is another great series. Keep with it!
Nov. 20, 2009, 9:14 p.m. CST
Hey Niger_Hating_White_Boy_88--
by blackmantis
What don't you like about the country of Niger?
Nov. 20, 2009, 9:28 p.m. CST
by PatientZer0
And honesty, and the growth he has shown in his films, you are a total fuckin DOUCHEBAG. Clerks was GREAT. Mallrats was GOOD. Dogma was GREAT. J&SBSB was FUCKING BALLS. Clerks 2 was the best piece of fried gold EVER. FUCK YOU ALL. FUCK YOU IN YOUR STUPID ASSES. I can't believe the hate here. All of my friends LOVE Kev's flicks. Of course, we all have girlfriends, productive lives (even us hardcore stoners), and a healthy regard for THE FUNNY. Kev brings THE FUNNY. You haters bring THE DOUCHE.
Nov. 20, 2009, 9:30 p.m. CST
by PatientZer0
Do you like the Lord of the Rings films? GUESS WHAT: The guy who animated some of the most amazing shit in the world: TOTAL FUCKIN STONER. Productive, healthy, smart, funny guy, and he smokes more weed than Jeff Fuckin Spicolli. Me too. And I'm fuckin ENORMOUS in the skillz. YOU guys all suck...get back to whackin it to twilight you bunch of fuckin bitches.
Nov. 20, 2009, 9:39 p.m. CST
by lockesbrokenleg
Hey fucker, I went to college. I had to put up with shitheads like you that couldn't complete a sentence to save their lives.
Nov. 20, 2009, 9:41 p.m. CST
Bill Hicks: on weed...
by The Dum Guy
"They lie about marijuana. Tell you pot-smoking makes you unmotivated. Lie! When you're high, you can do everything you normally do, just as well. You just realize that it's not worth the fucking effort. There is a difference."
Nov. 20, 2009, 10:11 p.m. CST
Unless Smith's dream was to be a media whore...
by Stegman84
...then he hasn't really achieved shit. Yes, he occasionally gets to make movies, which never seem to make any money, and which have been suffering from the laws of diminishing returns creatively now for far more years than I care to remember. And sometimes he writes comics, which he can't keep to a schedule with, and sometimes doesn't even bother to complete at all, wasting peoples time and money in the process. <p>I mean let's face facts people. His movies have almost all been failures in one regard or another, except, Clerks, which got his foot in the door, giving him an opportunity which he has since largely pissed up against the wall. His comics, those that he bothers to finish anyway, have been nothing more than disposable pap, easily forgotten. His films have influenced no one of any significance, and have shown no real growth as an artist from film to film, while simultaneously having no great effect on the general public at large either, other than his small core group of fans who largely seem to be suffering from cult of personality syndrome in their endless dedication to the man, despite his growing list of failures and mediocrities. He isn't reliable, can't seem to be bothered to learn or grow as a film maker or as a writer, instead always seemingly taking the easiest, laziest way out in any given situation and opportunity, and even after being granted this dream shot, with more follow up chances than he has frankly earnt at this point, he still to this day doesn't actually try very hard to grow or get better or challenge himself as an artist or film maker. Or us as an audience. Or hell, to even get around to completing his various obligations a lot of the time. He seemingly only bothers to do something when it literally falls right into his lap, and even then he doesn't put too much effort into it. <p>He hasn't grown as a writer or director, and can't act as anything other than Kevin Smith (tm), the latter of which seems to be his only real calling card these days. Being "Kevin Smith (tm)" and playing himself for anyone or anywhere that'll have him. He seems like a nice guy, he talks a good game, but that's all he does. And when the time comes to put up or shut up he invariably just goes the easy route every single time, and then wonders why he has failed to make any real impact yet again.<p>And that's why I think a lot of geeks have turned on him these past few years, because yes he's one of us, and he had all these great opportunities that most of us can only dream of getting even one chance at, and he has pissed it all away on mediocrity and laziness. Rather than getting that foot in the door and then passionately driving forward, trying to grow and challenge himself, and audiences, instead he just lazily delivers product, and doesn't seem to much give a fuck about doing so.<p> He seems like someone who was actually more interested in being famous than in making a true mark, than in adding something that might last in the mediums that he has had the dream opportunity to work in. He seems like a guy who is about the money, and an easy lifestyle, rather than truly caring too much about what he does in order to achieve those goals. He's a hack by choice and by laziness, and one by one his band of supporters are gradually seeing as much and abandoning him. And I think many fans feel betrayed by that, because they wanted to believe in the guy, many did believe, thinking, finally one of us can make his mark, score one for the (not so little) geek guy. Only instead to see him sell out and just make product instead, targeted at a percieved niche audience which seems less and less interested as time goes on. <p>Kevin Smith could have been King of the Geeks, but he's our naked Emperor instead... It's kinda sad when you think about it.
Nov. 20, 2009, 10:16 p.m. CST
by Niger_Hating_White_Boy_88
Mostly the periodic drought and desertification.<p> If your an agriculture nut like me, Niger is about the last place on earth you want to attempt to farm.
Nov. 20, 2009, 10:26 p.m. CST
Smith was great in Die Hard
by lockesbrokenleg
He should do more acting instead of directing these bombs.
Nov. 20, 2009, 10:38 p.m. CST
any reviews on THREEVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH?
by Meadowe
I think that's what it's called. I loved part 1 but don't have it, I got part 2 (hide behind a rock, haha!) and I was wondering if anyone has an opinion on it.
Nov. 20, 2009, 10:47 p.m. CST
Ask Smith when he's going to make me laugh.
by Onin Solstice
Nov. 20, 2009, 10:58 p.m. CST
Stegman84 has said all that needs to be said
by THE TRUE PINBACK
and said it in a way that sums it all up clearly and succinctly. I doubt the small circle of Kevin Smith fans will be able to argue against those facts. Thanks Stegman!
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:08 p.m. CST
he couldve been the king
by HarryLove
of geeks, whatever that means.
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:09 p.m. CST
Stegman84 Should Be Running This Site!
by THE TRUE PINBACK
Stegman, sir, you have a talent for words. Your post was refreshing and fun to read...and I wager to say that it would have been so even if our views differed.
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:33 p.m. CST
by THE TRUE PINBACK
Throwing this guy into a column about legends is like calling the TWILIGHT films good. Mr. Capone, you are WAYYYYYY off the mark this time. But I guess there's something to be said about getting your column done on time. Knowles can't do it...and he always has an excuse!
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:34 p.m. CST
Wow, this is gonna need damage control
by reflecto
Is it me, did I skim too much, or is he damning his current films with faint praise? I love you anyway, Kevin. You ain't my first or last bear.
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:37 p.m. CST
finally a talkback about weed...
by iwasredempted
weed does help you forget about bullshit and will get the creative juices flowing. unfortunately, prolonged usage of said ganja will turn you into a zombie. people who are unmotivated are like that before smoking weed.<br>smoke it up fellas, life's too short to worry about the bullshit. rastaman...
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:37 p.m. CST
And yeah - I think he's depressed and in a rut
by reflecto
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:44 p.m. CST
by THE TRUE PINBACK
Nothing wrong with the weed brothers and sisters. In fact, in my humble opinion it should be legal. If these brain-dead rednecks can swill their goat-piss beer, folks should be able to light up a doob when they feel like it. plus it could solve a lot of financial woes in this country. HOWEVER...I don't think pot oughta be used as a creative tool. If you can't be creative without a chemical additive, then you aren't very creative to begin with.
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:44 p.m. CST
Stegman84, WELL SAID!
by REVENGE_of_FETT
I have no personal grudge against Kevin Smith per se, but he is openly admitting that he is making SHIT! And he dulls the sting by getting baked as often as possible....AND BRAGGING ABOUT HOW IT MAKES HIM NOT GIVE A SHIT! I mean, come the fuck on man! He has the unique opportunity to write, direct, produce or act in ANYTHING HE WANTS! Yet he chooses to remake Clerks (BADLY) and go on tour talking about nothing in particular! And we are praising him for this WHY!?
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:47 p.m. CST
I remember when Kevin was doing scripts for every genre property
by reflecto
Six Million Dollar Man, Fletch, Superman, you name it, he took a shot at the motherfucker. Some of those scripts were pretty good. Not a one got made, and here we are with Zack & Miri, Clerks 2, J&SBSB, and now Kevin yammering on about how he gets high to dull the ennui. I'm not gonna hate on Kevin, I like him. But this interview sounds like one shaky fucking dude, having hard times.
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:48 p.m. CST
by THE TRUE PINBACK
You are 100% correct in what you say. But take a look at the "praise" Smith gets and those who dish the praise out. I don't think that praise amounts to squat.
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:50 p.m. CST
One thing I can't forgive you for though Kev
by reflecto
Two words: SOUTHLAND TALES. Come on. You know bad comics when you see them. That shit was BAD COMICS.
Nov. 20, 2009, 11:52 p.m. CST
by THE TRUE PINBACK
I'm not real sure how this new GREEN HORNET film is gonna go, but we can all breathe a sigh of relief that at least is is not in the hands of Kevin Smith. If the past is any indication, he would just end up dropping the ball anyway. And then Bruce Lee would have to come back from the dead to kick his stoned ass.
Nov. 21, 2009, midnight CST
I like some of Smith's movies and he seems like a cool guy but
by snallyg
it's pretty obvious what he's doing here. By making such a point that he doesn't care what people thinks of his lifestyle, he's really protecting himself from any criticism of his films. It's a defense mechanism.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:05 a.m. CST
by Toilet_Terror
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:16 a.m. CST
i have to agree...
by iwasredempted
anything said under the influence of weed generally isn't for public consumption.<br>some guidelines to follow Mr. Smith. burn one with friends or to relax by yourself. the mental vomit induced by weed sometimes makes you seem...gasp!...baked.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:22 a.m. CST
all this talk about weed makes me want to...
by iwasredempted
burn one. it's good for brainstorming sessions. ultimately though, like all brainstorming sessions...stoned or sober...you have to shitcan 70 percent of what you came up with.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:25 a.m. CST
Dammit.... you've all forced me into it!
by The Dum Guy
I'm going to have smoke weed, peer pressure is a mutherfucker.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:26 a.m. CST
Anyone who fucks with fanboys is okay in my book...
by BurnHollywood
I see the repressed, sex-hating little shits are getting their panties in a knot over his Batman stories again...Good. I hope Poison Ivy's pounding his Batcave with a strap-on tree trunk before the series is over. AFTER she finishes with Robin and Alfred.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:35 a.m. CST
smith rules
by plus44boy
Kevin Smith is the most awesome director ever. No one else can be as personal as this dude. fuck u true prickback, why don't u eat my grits.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:39 a.m. CST
Kevin Smith might cry at all this negativity...
by GunterMonkey
...And then go smoke more weed to make it all better. This guy is pathetic. Mr. Smith, if you are reading this: quit smoking. Unplug your computer. Go make movies that you like. Enjoy your family. Enjoy your money. Go spend some time at your comic shop. Screw the talkbackers.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:44 a.m. CST
And Mr. Smith, one more thing...
by GunterMonkey
Quit griping about your crappy work--do something about it. Stretch yourself. Smoking weed ain't gonna help that, especially at your age you pathetic fuck. You can lean on your "legacy" (if there is one) or keep pushing your creativity, which a true artist would do. Guess you're not one.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:45 a.m. CST
go for it The Dum Guy....
by iwasredempted
if you only knew the power of the darkside!
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:46 a.m. CST
Kevin Smith is a "personal" director?
by GunterMonkey
Because his characters talk about Star Wars and sex? hahaa
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:50 a.m. CST
"AICN Legends" is generic and pretentious
by ParagonComplex
The name is. Sorry. I'm sure I'm not the only one to think that. Must've taken you, what, all of a minute to come up with that name? Seriously, my 9 year old nephew could come up with a better name half asleep.
Nov. 21, 2009, 1:04 a.m. CST
One thing about Kevin Smith...
by p0llk4t
...great tipper...Quentin Tarantino...horrible tipper. But as for Smith saying he doesn't read the TB's anymore. Bullshit! He can't help it.
Nov. 21, 2009, 1:06 a.m. CST
it sounds to me like kevin smith...
by iwasredempted
needs to
Nov. 21, 2009, 1:07 a.m. CST
sonovabitch...fucking edit button people...
by iwasredempted
Nov. 21, 2009, 1:08 a.m. CST
My advice to Smith...
by BurnHollywood
Consider switching to stage plays, which are ideal for "talkiness". Plus, the feedback from the audience is instant and honest, and the show can be tailored on the fly.<p> What's more, he already has ample experience in front of a live audience, which is probably the most entertaining aspect of his career. Except for the douchebag college potheads who keep trying to horn in (which is all potheads are good for), his EVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH is some seriously entertaining shit...the Prince anecdote is classic.
Nov. 21, 2009, 1:19 a.m. CST
anyway...as i was saying...
by iwasredempted
kevin smith just needs to work. how do you define success? he still is in a profession he loves. is his output legendary? no. is clerks influential? yes. is he content with being a niche artist or does he aspire to spielbergian megesuccess? is huge box office returns the definition of success in hollywood?<br>stop giving a shit about what a small negative segment of the population thinks. david lynch doesn't seem to. i think lynch is fantastic but some of his stuff is impenetrable to me. just make your movies as long as you can.
Nov. 21, 2009, 1:37 a.m. CST
Stegman84 and all his followers
by MacReady452
No growth? I think the growth just occurs in a way fanboys don't like. Dogma is a very intelligent look at religion. Chasing Amy was way more mature of a take on modern relationships than anything in the mainstream at the time. These are not fanboy movies but Kevin Smith throws just enough shit in there to keep geeks frustrated. Kevin Smith makes movies about relationships. They are not fanboy movies. In fact, if someone goes to a Kevin Smith movie for comic/movie reasons they have default missed the point of ANY movie. That shit is in there for a little fun. Just like in real life, comics and movies are for a break from reality. EVERY movie is about GROWTH. Choices, failures, friendship, infidelity, and Dogma aside these generally occure in a "real" way. Chasing Amy's ending for instance is a total downer. You don't like the production value? I get that. I think Smith is making HIS movie and the quality isn't always as high end as I would like, but it isn't about seeing every dollar in every frame. The man (up to this point) writes and directs and appears in almost every movie. If your looking for perfection on the screen your looking in the wrong place. Smiths movies are flawed themes, with flawed characters, and yeah for the most part the movies have flaws. Thats the closest thing to honesty you can get in a movie.
Nov. 21, 2009, 1:55 a.m. CST
by irvingberlinalexanderputz
You got my ticket, dude. Love the song and can't wait. I totally see Adam Baldwin in the lead.
Nov. 21, 2009, 2:01 a.m. CST
He should switch to cocaine. David Bowie
by Dingbatty
was at his brilliant best on massive amounts of coke.
Nov. 21, 2009, 2:36 a.m. CST
Oprah would make Smith blubber like a baby
by lockesbrokenleg
That would be a sight to see.
Nov. 21, 2009, 4:09 a.m. CST
It only took 15 years..
by Cobb05
for Kevin to figure out that doing the same thing over and over will only get you so far. I think the problem with Kevin is that he beat a dead horse to death. After Dogma, he should've hung up Silent Bob. He should've done a more commercial movie. Kevin's problem was that he thought his was this kick ass writer, but he wasn't growing as a writer. Even Jersey Girl, which was an attempt to do something more mainstream, had his own perverse humor to it. He made the same movie for 15 years. It was all pop culture references and dick jokes. He might say that Judd Apatow is doing the same thing, but he's not. A lot of Kevin's characters, you kinda hate them. Kevin had a kinda:"Fuck you if you can't take a joke attitude". Whereas Judd wants you to laugh and have a good time. I'm sure A Couple of Cops will be a pretty good movie. I think Kevin's ego has taken a hit and he realized that he doesn't have to make a Kevin Smith movie. I think that's why M. Night sucks as a director. He wants to make an M. Night movie and doesn't listen to people when they want him to make the movie better. Cause to him, it's his way and too bad if you don't like it. And with Kevin saying that no one talked about Star Wars in movies until he did it in Clerks and now people do it cause of him. That's total crap. I'm sure people were talking about it, just not long monologues. And also directors who are in their late 30's/early 40's who grew up on star wars weren't making as many movies back then.
Nov. 21, 2009, 4:31 a.m. CST
Damn you Capone.
by DutchRudder
You gotta hurry up, and put the rest of this up, sir. I'm a big fan of all of his flicks. Shit, my name is DutchRudder for fuck's sake. I'm a big fan of Kevin Smith, period. Thanks for running this, I enjoed it, and look forward to the rest.
Nov. 21, 2009, 4:54 a.m. CST
Smiths hockey movie
by HarryLove
sounds good, is that gonna happen or is it going to get shit canned like Red State?
Nov. 21, 2009, 6:04 a.m. CST
after I'd actually paid to see Smith do his thing
by andrewsubtitle
Oh, noes! They made you pay for something? Basterds!
Nov. 21, 2009, 6:22 a.m. CST
Ha I love this.
by liesandpicturesofalsolies
Also, I love Clerks 2. I don't care what the rest of you think.
Nov. 21, 2009, 6:34 a.m. CST
I don't mind him at all, but maybe he needs a break..
by quantize
...a break from being 'out there' all the time. yabba yabba yabba. Put some of that energy into just living, writing and making films. I feel like he's not concentrating..we dont need to know his innermost thoughts..save em for the celluloid or something
Nov. 21, 2009, 7:20 a.m. CST
Drug addiction
by andrewsubtitle
To Kevin Smith I would suggest quitting drugs. That is all. Mind expanding and creativity - all bullshit. David Lynch doesn't take drugs, how about it. And Kev has a daughter for Christ's sake, I suggest he might take some more time to spend with her. But that's none of my business actually. And you know, in socialist Russia, this interview would be considered narcotics propaganda in some sort of way) Any kid out there can start smoking after reading this, cause kev does it and kev is cool with it/
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:05 a.m. CST
Just asking semi gayly...
by bobbofatz
but what would KS be without the Weins. And how many of their cox have been in his mouth?
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:09 a.m. CST
Deep down not that anyone cares...
by bobbofatz
I hope and want Kevin Smith to make an awesome sci fi or comic movie, because he knows the shawnrahs.
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:11 a.m. CST
by bobbofatz
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:15 a.m. CST
Kevin is the real deal
by stvnhthr
I don't agree with Kevin on a lot of issues, but he always seems legit and cool to the fans. I hope he can turn his life around and find purpose away from getting stoned.
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:17 a.m. CST
Love his comedic charm but......
by bobbofatz
all his movies blows Jersey girlz
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:18 a.m. CST
by Sick Fixx
Your reasoning that because Russia would take issue with pro-marijuana sentiments is disturbing to say the least. Who the fuck cares what those Iron Curtain dictators think about an American interview talking about a harmless substance that is, by the way, much safer than the substances ('medicine') hocked by our own medical industry??? OH NO, the Russians would have a problem with an American filmmaker praising weed!!! What a way to ATTEMPT to make a point. That's the most bizarre thing I will read all day.
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:18 a.m. CST
He needs to keep smokin
by bobbofatz
this is not poop chute.com
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:20 a.m. CST
keep bongin smith
by bobbofatz
fuck the rooskies in their tight ass as you might say.
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:22 a.m. CST
His best movie is............
by bobbofatz
Jay and Bob strkes back. Pretty funy considering.
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:23 a.m. CST
Why Kevin Smith is a Legend
by cymbalta4thedevil
For similar reasons to why Spike Lee is a legend. There were black directors before Lee and there will be black directors after Lee, but if you ask anyone to name a black director, Lee will be the one they name. Even people who've never seen one of his films know who Spike Lee is. The marketing, the self promotion, Smith definitely saw Lee as an example for that. <br /><br />There were fanboy/geek directors before Kevin and there will be fanboy/geek directors after Kevin. But he is the quintessential one, to his credit and to his detriment at times.<br /><br />Do you think comic books and 70's -80's pop culture would be so prevalent in Hollywood without Smith?<br /><br />Do you think directors would have become so internet content friendly without Smith and viewaskew.com?<br /><br />I've gotta go to work so I can't elaborate right now, but even directors like Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro and Sam Raimi who are much more accepted by the mainstream, would tell you that Smith has had a lasting effect on the way movies are made and marketed to geeks and fanboys. He is an influential figure regardless of how you feel about the actual films themselves.
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:24 a.m. CST
Please do Jay and Bob
by bobbofatz
with ewoks next.
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:30 a.m. CST
Influential yes legend not
by bobbofatz
If he makes a film even close to peter or del toros or raimis, we will say yes, and ya might well be on your way to being a legend. Cum on with weins money it is plausible. I am not sure he can do it.
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:37 a.m. CST
Come on dude
by bobbofatz
One great movie without cliche, past movie references or jersey girls. You can do it. We are all pulling for you Kevin, because deep down you are one of us(pathetic director wanabees)
Nov. 21, 2009, 9:07 a.m. CST
Great. He's a stoner.
by Sal_Bando
Translation: I can't handle the real world I gotta crawl into my stashbag. Way to go there Jersey Bob. <p> PS your films are shite.
Nov. 21, 2009, 9:21 a.m. CST
by ZombiManos
i think the backlash is rather funny...do you enjoy to sit down and have a beer? i don't see why alot of people in america think that weed is this soul crushing life killer...as if moderation of such a thing could never possibly exist...many things can become a drug if you don't have moderation...and most ALOT more harmful physically then the use of ganja... --sam--
Nov. 21, 2009, 9:30 a.m. CST
People getting all butthurt about Kevin Smith's pot.
by liesandpicturesofalsolies
Didn't you just read the thing where he said it helped him get over the rut he has been stuck in for years? Shut your morally superior mouth and rejoice, these upcoming projects sound fairly promising. Rockers against drugs suck.
Nov. 21, 2009, 9:39 a.m. CST
Sick Fixx
by andrewsubtitle
If you didn't get it, that was a lame joke. But you amuse me. I've just read death rate statistics of heavy drugs users, and man, it's comparable to some war casualties. Then I see how Kevin here talks in detail why ganja is great and stuff. It's like a little weed commercial. And some poor child like yourself reads this now. A little censorship, anybody? And if you don't care about the world your kids will live in - I pity you. I pity da fool! Btw what's the point of living in a land of democracy, when you don't even have a normal "edit" or "quote" button on your favourite site?)
Nov. 21, 2009, 9:56 a.m. CST
You get this one life.
by gotilk
And some people are so worried about a little plant when the world is full of a billion things that are legal, encouraged and ultimately responsible for taking days off your life rather than putting life into your days. I don't smoke the stuff, personally. But maybe, if the rest of you get so fucking annoying with your self-righteous bullshit and "play by the rules..the rest will take care of itself" life lessons.<br><br> (Mortgage crisis anyone? Hey, go have some kids, buy a house and get that "secure" job, we'll talk in 11 years.. LOL fucktard losers) <br><br> You wanna go off on someone, go get into politics. No, not Fox, the real stuff. Plenty to hate there. But if you think POT created or led to ANY major problem in our society right now, you're not paying attention or you're just flat out stupid. Most of what we think makes society tick has nothing to do with doing what's right and EVERYTHING to do with worshiping the latest "boogie man" bullshit story, the latest scapegoat. Pick some things that people desire, want or need and make it either immoral or illegal. Watch some step in line and jail or exclude the rest. You get to feel good for a few years until you figure out there's no payday for your self-denial. By then it's too late and it turns to jealousy and hate. And then you watch TV and someone famous/powerful agrees with you, reinforcing it. Finally, when all is said and done, you've lived your life by the rules and played the game the way you were told to, you lose your wife, your job and your house. Then when you retire, most of you will mellow out and laugh at the next batch of idiots from an armchair. Until you get sick. Best of luck, you'll need it.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:09 a.m. CST
Don't care about him being a stoner per se.
by Sal_Bando
Figgered he Already was. But-as some others here have said-turns out he went into the deep end into that scene at 38?! What the fuck, does he think he's Mercury Morris or Keith Richards? Gimme a break. <p> As for his movies and this legendary thing--have only seen bits and pieces of his stuff-Dogma here, Clerks Too There, some of the Jay and Bob Strike Back, etc, one of those Bennifer abortions there. <p> Pass. He's a rank amateur as a director. He's a gimmicky pop-cultry slinging writer who obviously connects to many many people in our age group. But I ain't buying. I don't care. <p> Smith IS a funny live speaker, and someone else who said he should do live theatre-prob. is right on the money. A Daredevil 2-act? Why not? <p> Like it or not-Smith could learn a thing or two from Mikey_Bay and yah, fuck youse too.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:13 a.m. CST
I am surprised at the timing, too.
by Sal_Bando
I thought he'd gone into the 'Zack and Miri' thing fully accepting he was a director for hire on it, he was fine w/ that, and that the movie had done some good $$ for him compared to Clerks and whatever else. A minor hit, in other words. <p> So I'm rather startled Smith has become a fat version of Horshack and decided to crawl away. Very very strange. Git help son.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:28 a.m. CST
Fascinating interview.
by Jack Burton
He's right. People always tear into him. Either you get it or you don't. I get it. I've liked all the movies, loved some of them, and I understand completely where he is coming from with the difference between Chasing Amy and Zach & Miri. I'm glad he's found something to passionate about again with "Hit Someone" and I hope that translates on screen. As for the increased pot usage, whatever. He's an adult and strangely it seems to be working for him. I've known people that did their jobs coked up without a problem, and others who couldn't hold down a fry cook position because they were stoned all the time. Sound like Kev is getting by just fine as the former. The only soapbox comment I'll make is it kind of makes me wonder what Jen thinks about all this and what kind of example he is setting for Harley. But it's his family, not mine. Looking forward to part 2.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:34 a.m. CST
re: 'Drug casualties'
by Sick Fixx
And I'm sure you read nothing in those statistics about potheads smoking a lethal dose of grass. Narcotics are the big killer. And if I'm still a kid at 26, then I'll gladly take that slam because I sure would love to feel like one again.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:38 a.m. CST
by Sick Fixx
You made a lot of sense with that. I think our perceptions of what morality is has caused the majority of our problems in today's world. Everyone interprets what constitutes moral choices and strong decisions differently, resulting in the schism between Conservatives, who have the tendency to become boxed in and only care about themselves and their own riches, and Liberals, who can become so focused on civil rights that they will give anyone a pass for anything they do and eventually come to encourage decadence in all its forms.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:49 a.m. CST
Great interview
by Bellam
Predictable talkback.<br><br>Seriously, TBers, it's like you've lost the passion. You've lost your drive. You're just punching the clock with this one. This is the ZACK AND MIRI of talkbacks.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:56 a.m. CST
i had to quit reading this
by Rage_Against_Martin_Sheen
he lost me after all the weed era stuf and saying how judd apatow was doing what he's been doing for years but only better.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:59 a.m. CST
sick fixx....
by iwasredempted
you are referring to politicians..this is what i think kevin smiths problem is...are you a politician or are you an honest person. quit giving a shit about what other people think. what do you think? oh no! someone didn't like what i did. fuck them. you don't flip burgers so who gives a shit. pull a terrence malick and say fuck you...i don't give a shit that all my movies after badlands are tedious boring bullshit...i will continue to do voice over narrative bullshit until someone stops giving money to do narrative voiceover bullshit...
Nov. 21, 2009, 11:01 a.m. CST
Ha ha, I love stoner Kevin Smith
by mraig
Hey Kevin, did you know that we're all made of atoms, and atoms are almost entirely empty space? And so we're like, all just mostly empty space, man. Like, I could just get up and walk through that wall if my mind weren't so warped by what society tells me, man. <P> And, like, the universe is mostly empty space too, with these tiny planets orbiting stars--but that's just like, fuckin', electrons and nuclei, man! So what if our whole galaxy is just one atom and our whole universe is just one molecule in some creature in a world made out of other universes, man?!?!?! And what if there's, like, fuckin', whole universes inside each of my atoms with guys just like me? <P> And look at my hand, Kevin! It's so fuckin' weird looking!
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:01 p.m. CST
Kevin - be careful on the pot.
by hallmitchell
I think grass should be legalised. Yet i wouldn't encourage anyone to smoke it. Why do you think mental illness and depression levels are through the roof? Drugs has a big part to do with it.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:02 p.m. CST
I accept your apology for Zack and Miri
by hallmitchell
Because i was crushed when i saw this. Grotty and unfunny. Coming off Clerks 2 I thought zack and miri would be your breakout hit. After seeing it, i realised it wasn't your breakout hit.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:04 p.m. CST
Cobb05- Great point.
by hallmitchell
I really wanted Kevin to move on to. I was really disappointed when he may Jay and Silent Bob strikes back. That movie represents a point where it was time for him to move on, yet didn't. On the other hand I loved Clerks 2.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:07 p.m. CST
I'm looking forward to Widening Gyre.
by hallmitchell
Yet i don't buy individual issues anymore. Why do comic companies still do this? Just release the trade up front!!!. Come on guys it's 2009. My business plan for comics. Individual episodes on the website for free. Pay for the graphic novel and it should be available for download. It's comics, all of your audience are internet savvy.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:08 p.m. CST
Kevin - sorry to hear about your father's passing.
by hallmitchell
And no need to say sorry for crying about it. It would be weirder if you didn't.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:10 p.m. CST
I can understand Kevin's angle on not taking on a comic property
by hallmitchell
Yet, man he should have done his own. This guy is my favourite comic book writer. They're funny and fun and he knows the medium so well. It's a shame Superman got knocked off it's perch. Yet why a Kevin smith comic book film is not out there on the big screen is a shame.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:12 p.m. CST
YOu don't need Red State at this point in your career.
by hallmitchell
It was so Bush era and right now people just want to forget the Bush era. You don't need a movie that disappears right now Kevin. Have some hits, then if you really feel the movie has to get made. Then put it out.
Nov. 21, 2009, 12:49 p.m. CST
Smith should make movies...
by Will_Dearborn
...only when he's got something to say. A COUPLE OF COPS sucks -- and yes, I went to the test-screening two weeks ago -- because it's simply him showing he can make a mediocre '80s action movie. And seriously, there are enough guys out there who can do that better than Kevin Smith. Smith's movies are at their most alive when his characters do what he does best -- talk. About something that matters to them (and, we can assume, him). I don't want to see the guy writing a Superman movie (again, leave it to the professionals -- although, admittedly, they don't seem to be offering us much these days either). But if he's got something to add about guys' insecurities with their girlfriends' sexual histories, bring it on. That's where he's in his element. If he's got something to say, that's when I want to hear from him.
Nov. 21, 2009, 1:26 p.m. CST
Smith is a cock-blocking jerk-ass robot!
by ChocolateJesus
Look at my dick!
Nov. 21, 2009, 1:37 p.m. CST
HIT SOMEBODY = SLAP SHOT remake?
by Hokeybutt
Seriously, dude, you need to see this movie before you make yours... and if you can't top it... DON'T DO IT!!!
Nov. 21, 2009, 1:38 p.m. CST
It seems like
by BillyLo
from this interview Smith loathes his own movies as much as I do.
Nov. 21, 2009, 2:06 p.m. CST
Jeez, I thought he'd never shut the fuck up.
by Stalkeye
Smith is a hack and a very unfunny one.He's right about one thing however, his fellow Geeks hate his films. I'm just sick of the fat fuck kissing Stan lee's ass.He was the worst thing about DH4..wel next to Bruce (Willis) jumping on a Harrier of course.
Nov. 21, 2009, 2:07 p.m. CST
Pot is for losers...
by BurnHollywood
...Real artists use heroin.<p> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjU7ul0uoII
Nov. 21, 2009, 3:34 p.m. CST
by lockesbrokenleg
Or msybe go back to TV. Your movies don't cut it. Maybe try making a mainstream comedy. But, you're so different to normal movie goers, that you'd probably screw that one up, too.
Nov. 21, 2009, 3:52 p.m. CST
"Drug addiction"
by DutchRudder
No offence, but, shut the fuck up with your drug addiction bullshit. It's marijuana, and he isn't hurting anyone by doing it. At least Kevin Smith isn't driving around drunk as fuck, getting on TMZ, trying to rap, while punching his wife.
Nov. 21, 2009, 3:54 p.m. CST
by DutchRudder
Are people REALLY that surprised that Kevin Smith likes Marijuana? Have you seen his movies?!? I'm kinda surprised he wasn't smoking pot this whole time.
Nov. 21, 2009, 4:59 p.m. CST
Kevin Smith was in DH4?
by Hey_Kobe_Tell_Me_How_My_Ass_Tastes
Really? Was he the truck? The one that fell down the elevator shaft with the bitch?
Nov. 21, 2009, 5:23 p.m. CST
MacReady452, on Dogma and Chasing Amy...
by Stegman84
Dogma is, hands down, the best thing that Smith has ever written. And he absolutely and utterly ruined it as a director. As such I find it one of the most frustrating films to watch, because here is something that could have been truly great, but was spoiled because of laziness and pure directorial ineptitude. I can't actually watch Dogma without getting depressed about the film that could have been, but wasn't. If that script had been given to anyone with even a modicum of directorial talent and visual style, someone who understood pacing, how to build a scene and an overall structural thematic, and who could imprint a visual and stylistic mark onto the film worthy of the script, someone who understood when to use restraint, and when to just go for it, with that cast and that script, I still contest to this day that it could have been Brazil level great, it could have been one of the finest films of the decade. But instead we got a stilted, lazy, hollow and dull translation to film of something that had all the ingredients, and should have been great, but wasn't, because captain point and shoot pissed another opportunity against the wall. Dogma could have been Smith's Heavenly Creatures, the film where he made the transition from interestesting newcomer with possible potential to serious film maker, but it was like he didn't even try. Instead he was just happy to take the easiest, laziest route once again, and that showed pretty conclusively for he his true colors as a film maker. And nothing he has done since, most of which has been mediocre at best, with some of it being just downright awful, is why I said what I said above, and why I personally stand by it.<p>And the fact that Chasing Amy is still the go-to-movie that people bring up to defend Smith's work is actually testament to how little he has developed as a film maker, because people still use a film he directed 12 years ago as proof of growth, when all it really was is a backwards step returning to the comfort of simplistic Clerks type film making when he floundered so badly with his first hollwood movie in Mallrats. Chasing Amy is a nice little film, don't get me wrong, but it also seems to be one he has never recovered from making because it marked his retreat back into a comfort zone that he has never really left for any great length of time since. I don't personally think it is a film anywhere near worthy of the kudos that it often gets, as I had seen that film made too many times before, and better, but it's a nice little film all the same, and like Clerks, showed a small spark of potential for something better, if Smith were to really grind down, take some risks, and really put some effort in. But that potential has been squandered badly ever since, and the guy who could have had something to offer is well out of chances at this point after every chance to take that next creative step has been fundamentally pissed against the wall, time and time again, whether it be by laziness, ineptitude, fear, or just a lack of even remotely giving enough of a fuck to bother to continually learn and refine his craft, or to try anything outside his highly insulated comfort zone. The man is stagnation personified. <p>And at this point I just think it's too late to ever hope for him to deliver on any spark of early potential he may have had, he's just a hollywood robot now, delivering the same old repackaged shit in the easiest way possible to ever diminishing returns. I'd love to be proven wrong, and to see him come out and just wow me one day, but I don't think he gives enough of a fuck to even bother trying to do that, let alone having fortitude and dedication enough to ever remotely deliver on such a promise.<p>I'm not saying this stuff just to hate on Kevin Smith, I wasn't trolling for 'followers', I am saying what I have as a legitimate critique on the man's work, and whoever may happen to agree with me and whoever doesn't is up to each individual to decide for themselves. And that's cool. It's the way it should be. But at this point I think if you are calling Kevin Smith a legend then you'd better get a plaque ready for Uwe Boll next...
Nov. 21, 2009, 5:27 p.m. CST
Should have been...
by Stegman84
And nothing he has done since, most of which has been mediocre at best, with some of it being just downright awful, has managed to come even remotely close to swaying my opinion around, and is why I said what I said above, and why I personally stand by it.<p> Damn being dyslexic sucks ass...
Nov. 21, 2009, 6:01 p.m. CST
I agree about a play
by Jaka
I'd like to see Kevin write a play - preferably one with few characters and a lot of dialogue. I also agree about liking Clerks 2. It's not the best of the Jersey films, but it's got the most confident feel to it as far as the "film making" side goes. Lastly, at this point, I really think people just like to a) bait the diehard Kevin fans in foaming at the mouth with pointless hate filled comments, b) write pointless hate filled comments because about Kevin because they think other people actually care, and c) because so many people read any KS related talkback it makes them feel important. The reality is that there is only a small group of people who worship at the alter of Kevin. Name one film he's been a part of that's grossed more than $50 million. Are there any? I don't think so, but I'm not sure. Personally, I just dig his films and speaking engagements (or dvds of them) because dude speaks openly and honestly, with a good amount of humor and at great length about damn near anything. In our fast edit, microwave society I've always found that aspect of him/his work to be incredibly interesting. I don't always agree and I don't think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I just think he's a cool dude who's got an insane gift for dialogue. Whether or not he's the greatest filmmaker of our time holds zero fucking interest for me. And anyone who gets their panties all in a bunch about how bad his films are should get off their computer chair and try to make their own films. You might look at what he's been able to accomplish a bit differently after you fail miserably.
Nov. 21, 2009, 6:02 p.m. CST
Kevin Smith, If You're Reading This
by Stabby
You need to reconnect with God and return to what really matters in life. You have been blessed. Enjoy it. Peace, brother!
Nov. 21, 2009, 6:03 p.m. CST
by Quin the Eskimo
Kevin Smiths Box office has been consistent, no diminishing returns. Z and M made MORE then any of his other films, barely.
Nov. 21, 2009, 6:35 p.m. CST
But Z&M cost more to produce
by MrPoop
The budget and Prints and Advertisements(Domestic) cost about 50 Million dollars. I don't know what they spent on the Prints & Ads outside the Domestic market, but it only made 42 Million worldwide. It will make some money after all is said and done. But Harvey Weinstein said he was expecting 80 Million Domestic.
Nov. 21, 2009, 7:26 p.m. CST
When I'm talking diminishing returns...
by Stegman84
...I'm actually talking in overall quality more than anything else. But if you are going by box office, Dogma made around 30.5 million, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back made about 30 million, Jersey Girl made 25 million, Clerks 2 made about 24 million, and then after all that I guess you could say he finally had an upswing to get around 31 million for Zack & Miri, although if adjusted for inflation Zack & Miri still made quite a bit less than Dogma. And internationally it's actually scary how little his films made at the worldwide box office, with his biggest take being only 10 million for Zack & Miri, while his average is closer to 3 million per fim. But, again, as I've said, just my take on the whole thing. Agree, disagree, don't care either way, players choice as far as I'm concerned.
Nov. 21, 2009, 8:32 p.m. CST
AICN LEGENDS Part II - Bruce Campbell
by lockesbrokenleg
followed by AICN Legends Part III, Joss Whedon.
Nov. 21, 2009, 9:01 p.m. CST
by DutchRudder
Actually...this kind of IS moviepoopshoot.com.
Nov. 21, 2009, 9:33 p.m. CST
Stegman84, you nailed it
by snallyg
Concerning Dogma, Smith's career, everything. No reason for me to read any more comments on here because you summed it up perfectly. Well said, sir.
Nov. 21, 2009, 9:54 p.m. CST
by XeRocks81
You ARE saying all this just to hate on Kevin Smith, don't try to weasel out of it. If really the bone you have to pick here is because he's being referred to as a "legend", you do realize that Kevin Smith has nothing to do with that right? He just did an interview with AICN that's all. And did you even read it by the way? He agrees with you. He knows his movies looks like shit and has been saying it for years.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:21 p.m. CST
by MacReady452
When I watch Dogma I don't see bad directing. I see bad acting. Now you may say (and I wouldn't argue) that a good director would draw out a good performance, but there was a ton of talent on the screen and the only person who put in a better performance than Mewes was Alan Rickman (oh and Carlin is great). Then there is the "cartoony" sets that take away from the mostly serious nature of the movie. My only point being that these things take away from the movie before the directing and, as you already mentioned, the script was good. I will also agree that Chasing Amy is held up as the definative Smith movie. Although I used this as an example earlier I was only trying to illustrate the "growth" we were discussing as a move from Clerks and Mallrats to a more adult subject matter. I will go on record saying that Mallrats is actually my favorite of his movies because Jason Lee (mostly unknown at the time)delivered such a great performance for a newcomer and we get an expansion on Jay and Silent Bob(so intriguing in Clerks). I don't consider your opinions invalid at all but I do think there are a lot of people who are panning for gold in a fountain. You just aren't gonna find what your looking for where you are looking for it. I think people look at something like Sex, Lies and Videotape for example and compare that to Clerks. Then they say, "Where is Smith's Traffic?" As he admitted in the interview, his film school has all been viewed at your local cinema. Ahh. I'm done defending him. I enjoy his films. It really just comes down to, hamburger is good and so is a nice tenderloin. I just won't let someone tell me the guy has no talent. I watch a Kevin Smith movie and see a guy who is making movies he loves with his friends and that is a great thing. Respect for a rational discussion.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:26 p.m. CST
one more thing
by MacReady452
I almost missed my whole point. I am VERY curious to see how things change when his focus is on directing alone. If it is still, set camera on tripod-run out in front of it-cut-print-moving on, then maybe I'll change my tune. This movie will definately influence my opinion.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:29 p.m. CST
I hate to listen to this guy...
by cheyne_stoking_DMS
Just stay behind the camera, Smith. I especially don't like listening to him speak the way he did to Stan Lee. I would've smacked the shit out of him.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:35 p.m. CST
I'm curious...
by snallyg
Has Smith expanded his audience? I'm 35 and accordingly have a soft spot for "Clerks" (Chasing Amy too, but less so). Have young folks embraced his films? Perhaps for them JASBSB is their entry point. I honestly have no idea. Just curious. Because for me personally, I've grown out of them mostly. And the ones I do have affection for (clerks) has more to do with nostalgia. Not judging either way. Just curious to hear what "the kids" think.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:41 p.m. CST
Right on the money...
by cheyne_stoking_DMS
I got into his stuff in High School. Primarily Clerks.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:44 p.m. CST
by cheyne_stoking_DMS
actually it was Dogma that got me into it. I think it was him at his most effort and it really worked. That right shade of goofiness. I hope he does more of that and alittle less on the dick and weed jokes. Gets old.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:51 p.m. CST
Kevin Smith? Really?
by zacdilone
Does anyone care about his work any more?
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:52 p.m. CST
by Star Hump
Beautifully stated. At this point, Smith is a total bore.
Nov. 21, 2009, 10:54 p.m. CST
Let me clarify...
by zacdilone
...as a person, I think Kevin Smith is incredibly gifted and has yet to really tap his true potential. But his consistent inability to reach that potential (I think the closest he got was "Dogma") is such a massive disappointment. And I don't think the weed will help him get there, it will only help him not feel guilty about it. Kevin--take a deep breath of real air and reality and get off your ass and write your magnum opus.
Nov. 21, 2009, 11:22 p.m. CST
by Tall_Boy66
Look, just cause a guy never finishes a fucking Daredevil comic doesn't mean he should go away forever. That's just retarded thinking. You know how many projects our favourite filmmakers have abandoned in pre-production? Smith got the shit end because the comics (supposedly) come out monthly, while films you have to have ready to roll before you start. Lame that he never, and probably never will, finish it? Yes. But he should quit forever over one throwaway mini-series? That's just really stupid thinking.
Nov. 21, 2009, 11:50 p.m. CST
Final thing I want to say...
by Stegman84
...and then I'm done here, because I have stated my opinion and reasons why and going over and over it would be redundant at this point. <p>All I do want to say is that despite what some think, I don't have a personal vendetta against the guy and I'm still open to a great Kevin Smith film. I am still open to the idea of him one day surprising the fuck out of me and really making something special. Or at least different, and challenging. In fact as a film fan first and foremost, I'd absolutely love to see that happen, because I would always rather enjoy a film than not. I honestly don't get the people who seem to take great joy in hating seemingly everything, but at the same time I won't blind myself to what I personally think to be bad cinema or poor film making either. So yes, I would honestly like to see Kevin Smith make a great film, or even just an honest and legitimately good one, but the cynic in me has been burnt so many times that I just can't see it happening, and nothing the man himself says gives me hope or makes me think that is about to change any time soon. <p>Maybe MacReady452 is right, and Smith focussing on just directing will spark something new and interesting. Maybe not. I won't hold my breath, but if Smith wants to prove me wrong I welcome it. Put up and I'll gladly shut up. We'll see.<p>And to those who love his films just the way they are, so be it, more power to you, and again I wish the man no ill, I just personally find him overall a massive and consistent disappointment as a film maker, and and about as far removed from being a legend as a film maker can get at this point. And yes, I understand that's just a catch-all title for these articles, but my points still stand, not that I ever asked anyone to agree with them. <p>And there I will leave my part in this discussion, travel well fellow talkbackers.
Nov. 22, 2009, 12:06 a.m. CST
Chasing Amy and Clerks are dishonest films?
by Tall_Boy66
I don't see anything manufactured and calculated about either of those movies.
Nov. 22, 2009, 12:57 a.m. CST
Clerks 3: Night Of The Living Baked
by Rocco Curioso
THIS should be Kevin Smith's next movie (work with me... here goes):<P>It is December 2012. The world is gripped in irrational panic as the 21st day of that fateful month & year draws closer. Dauntless to the last, Paul Thomas Anderson has just finished editing his magnum opus--- the one that will win him (finally!) a Best Director Oscar--- and it's slated for a 12/21/12 release (a Friday, natch). It gets released on 3000 screens nationwide...<P>and it sucks so completely that a dustcloud of lameness arises from each & every theater, and spreads rapidly. The dustclouds infect everyone who didn't see the movie (99.8% of the American population), and turn them into zombies. Except these aren't your standard "eat the flesh of human beings" zombies. Their hunger is for weed instead (and hash, hash oil, etc., but that's beside the point). BTW, you can EAT weed instead of smoking it in order to GET HIGH, but most of you already knew that.<P>Of course, Jay & Silent Bob take action against this threat to their chosen profession (they sell weed, and AGAIN, most of you already knew that). They break into the New Jersey National Guard Amory, get armed to the teeth, and go lookin' for some payback. At some point, they find themselves in an Amsterdam hash bar, and Silent Bob unloads (words followed by hollow points) his usual solitary homage zinger: "In a sluggish economy... never, ever fuck with another man's livelihood."<P>Joining them on their global epic to save the ganja will be Dante and Randal, who don't so much kill weed-munching zombies as bicker over the merits of zombie movies from the original "NOTLD" to "Zombieland". Rosario Dawson will be there in fine ass-kicking form, albeit clothed only in tank top and scanties (nod to both "Terminator 2" and "Alien") because the zombies ate her blouse and pants (they were made of hemp).<P>Joining these intrepid protectors of the weed are Danny Trejo, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Ken Jeong as (respectively) Mexican, Turkish, and Thai drug lords who have a stake in the outcome. Cheech Marin and Thomas Chong add some STONER COMIC RELIEF as Trejo's lieutenants.<P>Cut me in on 5% of the gross, Kev. That's all I ask.
Nov. 22, 2009, 1:15 a.m. CST
One more thing BTW (@Stegman84)
by Rocco Curioso
Can't say I agree with your opinion of "Chasing Amy". That's the one where Kevin Smith managed to incorporate the better Sahara-dry comic elements of "Clerks" with a mostly serious love triangle, and made a lasting and mature film. For awhile after that, I resented him for pulling back from that to his usual shenanigans... but maybe he felt he'd said all that needed to be, and moved away from it. He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for "Chasing Amy", and rightly so. It's insightful and well-measured and (thankfully) real in depicting the male/female dynamic among people in their mid/late 20's.
Nov. 22, 2009, 2:11 a.m. CST
holy fuck those are long answers/ramblings
by Osiris3657
I'm guessing he was high during the interview
Nov. 22, 2009, 3:43 a.m. CST
Probably was high.
by DutchRudder
That and he is Kevin Smith. The dude has 3, 3 hour dvds, of him talking.
Nov. 22, 2009, 5:09 a.m. CST
Hey Capone, it's "BAWLS on stage", not "balls"
by JT Kirk
"... balls on stage" means Smith whips out his junk. "... bawls on stage" means he cries. <p>Dang man, I thought Silent Bob was a talker before, but I guess the wacky tobacky has taken those open floodgates and gone all Katrina on their asses. Having watched K.Smith lose and gain weight as his creativity and budgets waxed and waned, I suppose self-control isn't his strong point, but in the case of ol' Mary Jane, he should watch out for ruining either his material with too much weed-induced laziness, or ruining weed with too much weed-as-a-crutch. The guy still freeforms thoughts like a pimp though, at least in this monologue thinly-disguised-as-an-interview. If he's gonna go herbal green though, maybe it's time to bring out a collaboration with someone outside the View Askew regulars, someone from a different perspective for producing, directing, writing, something. Which, BTW, if Kevin Smith is looking for inspiration, how about fat normal "loser" types like you and me and every other motherfucker on this site not just yapping about our shit and about Star Wars and about how JJ Abrams is or isn't a genius-slash-drooling vagina, but how those same folks are making differences, whether it be computer IT shit or being a stand-up-guy in a world of limp prick douches or science n' stuff or even a tubby guy who is a fucking superhero by night and hides in that shell of being a guy who watches Kevin Smith movies because nobody would ever believe that guy is a superhero?<P>PS - Capone, I hope you have a damned good speech-to-text program or that must have been some epic transcribing on your part. I hate typing up audio notes with normal conversations, and here Kevvy Clerks is freeflowing a bible after every 3rd word you uttered, so you may need to sue Harry for some worker's comp for your fingers.
Nov. 22, 2009, 5:25 a.m. CST
More ideas to reignite Kevin Smith's fires...
by JT Kirk
the creative ones, not the doobage ones. <p>Try teaching a class.<p>Make a children's film, yes, make a movie without swearing every 5th fuckin' word. Sneak Jay & Silent Bob into it for extra credit.<p>Write a book and then force yourself to edit it into a coherent narrative.<p>Do a project about internet trolls more substantively than J&SBSB. Book, movie, pamphlet, whatever.<p>Figure out what drives you beyond weed, sex, and your kid, then go abstain from it for a while, then make a movie about it that nobody thinks they want to see so it has to become a sleeper hit.<p>Host the Emmys, so what if you've never done much TV? It's a fuckin' challenge!<p>Buy all the Pong consoles left in the world and give them to orphans for christmas, thus ruining christmas for a significant portion of the world's orphan population.<p>Make another movie where your wife is a lesbian, only this time release it onto the internet "by accident".<p>Try reading Shakespeare and classic literature, all the best Star Trek rips off - er, I mean "is inspired by" - the classics. <p>Watch all your favorite movies's end credits for misspells and jot them down somewhere. I'll start you with an easy one, "Dennis Lawson", and if you don't know what the source or problem is there, then you aren't the Kevin Smith they're looking for.
Nov. 22, 2009, 6:12 a.m. CST
still got some issues, eh JT?
by Rocco Curioso
You've done your little trolley cart ride, the bell's done ringing, and no one's listening... not even randomness. Hang it up.<P>I TOLD YOU... revolution must come from within. Here you're transparent... even by SP standards.<P>Learning is half the battle. Implementing is following through.
Nov. 22, 2009, 6:21 a.m. CST
My ("unbiased") take on Smith's movies
by Stalkeye
Dogma: Great concept, pretentious potboiler..but I give Smith props for having the bawls to utilize his creative expression even if it meant pissing off the catholics.<p>Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: funny in some ways (thanks to Jason Meves..whateverthefuckhisnameis.)and a lil' jab at the movie industry.It's Smith's pee Wee's Big adventure.<p>Clerks: Best part of that film was the arguement of which is better; Star wars or Empire.<p>Clerks 2: gross, overly offensive,tasteless garbage masquerading as a desperate attempt to get laughs.but sucked donky balls. (and yes there was a sex scene involving a donkey.)<p>Chasing Amy: had potentual to be a good love story/comedy but the story fell apart and why would a guy want to identify with a woman that he is infatuated with to the extent of "experimenting"? (bisexuality) <p>Jersey Girl:<p>....<p>.........<p>......<p>Kev, you had your chance now it's time to close the books and retire.
Nov. 22, 2009, 6:58 a.m. CST
I'm high as a
by HarryLove
muherfucker right now, thanks to ks take on weed.
Nov. 22, 2009, 8:04 a.m. CST
Clerks 2: Passion of the Clerks
by slugbat
He REALLY wanted that as the title. Really. The fact that he seriously considered this, and lobbied for it, that alone was the final nail in the coffin for me. It was then I realized what a hack he had become. <p> I don't understand the love for Chasing Amy. The scene where Ben tries to coax Jason Lee into a 3some was probably the most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat through. I'd rather watch a puppy raped by a hobo, with Schindler's List playing in the background.
Nov. 22, 2009, 8:18 a.m. CST
Hey, AICN staff, look what Kevin said...
by Brody77
"It's a movie, dude. You go, eat popcorn, you have fun, you leave." Maybe you should take those words of wisdom on board rather than bash fluff like New Moon just cos you think it's cool to do so. Incidentally, all the talk of weed really put me off Smith. I don't think it's a good image when you're a parent to be pretty much bragging about being a hash head. Other than that he seems quite a decent bloke.
Kevin, email me dude.<p> I want all your cutting room floor footage of Salma's pole dance in DOGMA and i'm prepared to pay in ganja.
Nov. 22, 2009, 2:09 p.m. CST
What the FUCK do you People WANT?
by cymbalta4thedevil
He makes movies where people TALK. And REACT to other people TALKING. And most of them are pretty damn FUNNY.<br /><br /> And you're still complaining about how they're SHOT and EDITED? Go watch a Cheech and Chong movie.Go back and watch the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges. If it's FUNNY you shouldn't be analyzing his shot choices. You're just a bunch of frustrated film students with pretensions of grandeur. Good luck getting anyone to fund your piece of shit scripts while you blather on about your vision and walk around making rectangles with your hands while the jokes die and all the energy goes out of the room. <br /><br /> DOGMA works precisely BECAUSE it's a low rent View Askew apocalypse. If Miramax had spent $100 million on CGI effects and Smith had shot it like Michael Bay would it have made the film FUNNIER? That's what's important. It's the ONLY thing that's important in a Comedy. <br /><br />Now granted, maybe he should have moved out of his Take the Money and Run /Bananas phase and into his Annie Hall/Manhattan phase by now. But I don't need Kevin Smith to ape Bergman and get foreign guys to run the cameras to show me he's grown as a filmaker.<br /><br />If he changes his style you whiners will be bitching about shaky cam and lens flares next like he's fucking Abrams or something. Most of you would give your left nut to make something as good as ZACK AND MIRI or JERSEY GIRL, much less CHASING AMY or DOGMA.<br /><br />And Boo Hoo Hoo he didn't finish a fucking Daredevil miniseries. Yeah, Alan Moore is the worst comics writer ever because BIG NUMBERS never got completed. Cry me a River...
Nov. 22, 2009, 2:10 p.m. CST
by Bungion Boy
I love that song. Great Zevon song, with some classic angry Letterman backing him up. I used to think it would make a great movie, but now, hearing Smith talk about it, I don't know. I would love for it to work, but I'd absolutely hate for him to fuck it up.
Nov. 22, 2009, 2:33 p.m. CST
Got through it.
by Toilet_Terror
Took me about four tries, but I did it.
Nov. 22, 2009, 2:35 p.m. CST
cymbalta4thedevil follows in Smith's footsteps
by Toilet_Terror
Write first, smoke later.
Nov. 22, 2009, 2:37 p.m. CST
Go watch Spielberg's 1941
by cymbalta4thedevil
Now THAT'S a comedy that's shot really well... Cough.
Nov. 22, 2009, 4:16 p.m. CST
Kevin Smith belongs in a group with Uwe Boll
by manifestchaos
... and the MEET THE SPARTANS duo. Honestly, what a pathetic filmography.
Nov. 22, 2009, 4:23 p.m. CST
by manifestchaos
THROW OUT A BUSINESS CARD!!!<BR><BR>Pure class, ladies and gentlemen.<br><br>The stupidity on display here is alternately hilarious and terrifying
Nov. 22, 2009, 4:49 p.m. CST
Cobra--Kai (re Salma)
by manifestchaos
Can't you just rewatch DUSK TILL DAWN?
Nov. 22, 2009, 5:20 p.m. CST
Ivan Reitman - THERE'S A COMEDY LEGEND
by lockesbrokenleg
Every one of his movies, laugh out loud funny that doesn't pander to the audience. Smith on the other hand, well, who the hell knows?
Nov. 22, 2009, 5:27 p.m. CST
Why isn't this guy working at a Burger King?
by Uncle Stan
Nov. 22, 2009, 5:47 p.m. CST
CLERKS 2 is his best movie
by Razorback
It really is.
Nov. 22, 2009, 6:18 p.m. CST
Drugs + Kevin Smith = Sad
by Bandit 37
I recall all the drug stuff that went on with Jay. Why would he go down the same road?
Nov. 22, 2009, 7:32 p.m. CST
weed is a drug?
by h8tersbeware
are you kidding bandit, i think weed and pharmaceuticals are a little different. weed is as much as a drug as caffeine.
Nov. 22, 2009, 8:01 p.m. CST
Next time on Drug Celeb Rehan - Kevin Smith
by lockesbrokenleg
Nov. 22, 2009, 8:05 p.m. CST
Not kidding at all.
by Bandit 37
I also think its irrespnsible to do drugs with a young child at home living with this. As for weed being "a little different"...that doesn't change the fact that its an illegal drug.
Nov. 22, 2009, 9:51 p.m. CST
Bandit 37
by manifestchaos
Lots of things that are illegal (marijuana, same-sex marriage) often shouldn't be. And lots of things that ought to be illegal (Scientology, for starters) are tolerated and legitimized.<br><br>Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it's "wrong." At one point it was illegal for black people and white people to intermarry. That's how the people of 2200 are going to see our marijuana laws -- and probably lots of civil rights stuff too -- when they look back.
Nov. 22, 2009, 10:44 p.m. CST
To all the haters...
by SimonDunkle
Bravo. Ever read that talkback that Kevin did a couple of years ago? Was gracefully swatting away insults until someone called his wife a hooker. Suddenly degenerated into puerile mudslinging, the likes of IMDB had never seen. Guy thinks Jaws is the best movie ever. It's a good movie, but come on... Learn to frame a shot, man. And cut the pseudo-christian shit. There is no such thing as god. Grow up, spastic. Puerile enough for ya?
Nov. 22, 2009, 11 p.m. CST
by Zulithe
Okay, it's been said before, but you guys REALLY should start posting the audio of some of these reviews. Kevin smith is a funny read, sure, but he's HILARIOUS to listen to. Stop torturing us. Give us the goods.
Nov. 22, 2009, 11:50 p.m. CST
Why would he go down that road?????
by DutchRudder
Marijuana is a far, far cry from Heroin, and crack.
Nov. 22, 2009, 11:55 p.m. CST
by MacReady452
Have some of you ever even smoked pot? Once again we have a bunch of assholes commenting on something they know nothing about. Oh, and Jaws IS potentially the best movie ever. Cast, dialogue, drama, comdey. Please, by all means offer another film. This is not an attack. I am just VERY curious to hear the other contenders.
Nov. 22, 2009, 11:59 p.m. CST
Bandit 37 & slugbat
by DutchRudder
Bandit, Your right, Kevin Smith should just become a drunk, piece of shit, because drinking is legal. Slugbat, You think one of the Weinsteins made him change the title? No. He decided against it. If that was the most uncomfortable thing you've seen, watch "Caligula".
Nov. 23, 2009, 12:24 a.m. CST
by SimonDunkle
But the shark looks uber-fake! Amongst Americana I would rate: Goodfellas Apocalypse Now Natural Born Killers Taxi Driver The Dark Knight The Empire Strikes Back Blade Runner easily above Jaws. But that's just my dark soul speaking. BTW gateway drugs are an urban myth. If dope led to heroin, about 50% of the population would be junkies.
Nov. 23, 2009, 12:33 a.m. CST
by Bandit 37
How do drugs equal same-sex marriage? You are a fucking idiot. As for DutchRudder my "going down that road" I was alluding to the delusional justification or taking drugs.
Nov. 23, 2009, 1:20 a.m. CST
People who write
by Cujo_Fugate
long diatribes against Kevin Smith like to suck the cum out of cocks. People who write short bon mots against Kevin Smith like to suck the shit out of assholes.
Nov. 23, 2009, 1:24 a.m. CST
"How do drugs equal same-sex marriage?"
by The Dum Guy
In some cuntrees they are both legal.
Nov. 23, 2009, 1:26 a.m. CST
Kevin Smith is ASS.
by Motoko Kusanagi
A legend? Are you fucking kidding me?
Nov. 23, 2009, 1:29 a.m. CST
It is too hard, I must do what this legend tells me....
by The Dum Guy
I must smoke weed (at this very moment!), in order to not give a shit about what anyone else thinks here.<br><br><br><br>I'm back... what?
Nov. 23, 2009, 1:52 a.m. CST
by Rocco Curioso
YES, "Jaws" is potentially the best movie ever made, and here's why:<P>Robert Shaw, taking a nibble off that cracker as the fishing line just eases out, and the very slow, deliberate way he sets himself up for what's ABOUT to happen, and the way his eyes alone are so telling in that sequence. That, and his monologue about the USS Indianapolis, and every other moment he captures. A stellar piece of acting.<P>Roy Scheider, and the way he morphs from dutiful yet awkward chief of police who faces down his fear of open water, and eventually squares up and becomes the unlikeliest of heroes. Not to mention his superb reaction shot to first seeing the shark, and the immortal zinger "You're gonna need a bigger boat."<P>Richard Dreyfuss, who blends comic with utterly serious in droll fashion, and acts as Greek Chorus to bridge the gap between Chief Brody and Quint.<P>Steven Spielberg and John Williams, THE architects. Very few movies, then or since, have been so expertly calibrated to maximize audience participation, and fear, IN THE MOMENT. And NO other movie has so brilliantly segmented itself as that framing shot of the Orca moving out to sea, seen within the shark jaws mounted on the wall of Quint's lair.<P>Suffice to say... yes, it's well placed in the pantheon.
Nov. 23, 2009, 2:04 a.m. CST
Best movie ever:
by The Dum Guy
Predator.<br><br>Jaws meets Drug-run governments.... plus aliens.
Nov. 23, 2009, 3:39 a.m. CST
Kevin's "Jaws 5" treatment, another vaporware project
by reflecto
Shoulda been made. Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper leading a squad of marine bio students. Opening is a suicide jumper off the Golden Gate Bridge getting eaten by the shark. Ends with Hooper doing just what Quint tried to in the original - dragging the shark in and drowning it. Good times. Yet Kevin fumbled it.
Nov. 23, 2009, 4:26 a.m. CST
Its Impossible not to like his films
by Drsambeckett1984
And I'm kinda disappointed about the way he feels about Zack&Miri, I liked that film. <P> I'd love to see him make a Mallrats sequel, more than anything actually.
Nov. 23, 2009, 11:47 a.m. CST
Wow I like Kevin Smith
by Series7
Dogma is his best stuff, but man trying to read this was annoying as fuck. I like his Q&A things, maybe hearing him say this shit is interesting, but just reading its like talking to a stoned person when you are sober as hell. Just annoying.
Nov. 23, 2009, 5:06 p.m. CST
Like wooowww man how do you dooo that---
by Sal_Bando
---like make a movie when yer stoned mannnn?? <p> That's easyyy----I just let my hands do the directing and I don't let'em know that I'm stonnneed Mannnn...
Nov. 23, 2009, 8:21 p.m. CST
by SimonDunkle
Dude, the shark looks fuckin' fake. Impact on suspension of disbelief: SIGNIFICANT
Nov. 25, 2009, 3:44 p.m. CST
Is it just me..
by ToshiroShimura
..or is he fucking stoned out of his tree in this interview? I know I can only go on breathless ramblings like that when I've smokes a joint or two. Anyway, maybe this has been noted before, but who the fuck has the patience to read this whole mess of days old nonsense?
Jan. 14, 2010, 12:27 p.m. CST
by BTroxell
Look how fucking dedicated some of these haters are to constantly coming back to this board. What a sad, sad fuck up you people must be to constantly come back to a comment board. It is just so gut renchingly pathetic how these people believe that their opinions are that important. Go do something with your shitty life and quit bothering yourself with things you don't like, or approve of. Absolutely no one, NO ONE gives a flying fuck what you have to say. Instead of being an ignorant, invisible, dick all day why don't you people pick up trash at your park or donate to charity; you worthless, sorry, sacks of slop. (ps: I'm only saying this to those on this board that have consistently, repetitively posted their dislike; not to those that just drop by and say what they have to say)
Jan. 14, 2010, 12:30 p.m. CST
by BTroxell
I fucked up gut-wrenching. Btw I signed up just for this one comment and I have to say that this is the ugliest, most unappealing website I have ever seen.
Jan. 22, 2010, 3:22 p.m. CST
"Space Camp" referenced Star Wars before clerks
by brodiebruce_405
You didn't INVENT Star Wars references Kevin.
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