Life should be sweet for writer/director Kevin Smith.
The Red Bank, N.J. native turned a black and white lark named “Clerks” into a cinematic coming out party, and he’s been making movies ever since. Films like “Dogma” and “Chasing Amy” didn’t rake in big bucks, but they transformed the affable auteur into a geek icon.
But lately Smith seems a bit cranky, or perhaps his PR skills are increasing while his film talent continues to shrink.
First, there was his imbroglio over getting kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight. Then he verbally smacked around critics for daring to dislike his last film, “Cop Out” and threatened to ban them from his future films.
(WWTW thinks “Cop Out” deserved every brickbat thrown its way).
Now, he’s angry at the online press for reporting that he’s pondering retirement. And guess where they got that idea from?
Smith himself told a reporter for the Boston Phoenix that he’s got little left to say on screen after wrapping “Red State” and “Hit Somebody,” his next two features.
There’s possibly a “Clerks 3.” If I have something to say in my late 40s about being in my late 40s, I’ll think of [Clerks'] Dante and Randal. Shy of that, I don’t have any more movies I want to make.”
Retirement talk is always catnip for reporters, especially when the person in question just entered his 40s. So when a crush of outlets pounced on the comments, Smith lit into them for accurately reporting what he said.
He gave an exclusive chat to SlashFilm to set the record straight. The web site deserves credit for checking in with Smith directly for comment. But it’s not always easy to get a celebrity/actor to comment on a given story. Talent often talk to the press when there’s a movie or project to promote but can otherwise be tough to reach. Here’s the statement Smith approved for Slashfilm to post:
But THIS “retirement” crap? Not news so much as another sad example of how [expletive] lazy movie press has become: they cannibalize stories by other writers just to have something to post on their own blogs.
Guilty as charged, Mr. Smith. And I’m not sure there’s a thing wrong with that. The movie blogosphere is a place where people can passionately debate the issues that interest them, and many still see Smith as a talent worth watching. If you’ve been misquoted, then you’ve got a real beef.
Smith used the rest of his statement to tease information about “Red State” and “Hit Somebody.”
The real takeaway from Smith’s rant is that he’s pretty darn eager to use the online press to promote his projects – just don’t dare to tell him his films aren’t the second coming of “Blazing Saddles.”
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds like Kevin Smith is getting as loopy as Roger Ebert. I liked “Clerks”, but “Clerks 2″ was just awful. Please, don’t let there be a “Clerks 3″.
It’s interesting for an artist to say, “I have nothing left to say.” For Smith, that moment may have come 2-3 films ago.
I think he’s just not used to having everyone kiss his arse when he makes a film like they did for nearly everything he’s done … he’s always the gentile Woody Allen, not making huge films but small quirky ones that always make just enough money and get great reviews. Now that he’s being thrown back in the meatgrinder he’s finding that he’s no longer the flavor of the month.
yeahhhh…Kevin hasnt made a good film in 15 years. Really.. not sure what hes done well outside of Clerks. Wasnt a fan of the follow ups.. Jay and Silent Bob strike back had a couple of laugh out loud moments..but all the other stuff has been crap. Jason Mewes was awesome in Clerks.. but then it was just silly in Chasing Amy and Mall Rats..
I thought Smith retired years ago, you couldnt tell from the crap he has been putting out lately.
He’s making a film called ‘Red State’ which is another film about how bad people in middle America are supposed to be. I couldn’t tell how bad they thought all those people were. Especially after 9/11 their first instinct was to make a ‘documentry’ of television show clips and a interviews condemning the entire country leaving me to believe there are a lot of people in the film industry that hate our guts or are so afraid a Islamic fascist will come and kill them if they simply denounce 9/11 as the horrific terrorist act that it was. Probably both.
Maybe he should just try writing for a while. I never thought he was much of a director.