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patrick wrote:The fact that anyone in film school worships Kevin Smith is cause for alarm (and according to my sister, there are plenty of people who think he's some sort of brilliant chronicler of human relationships - but I guess that's something to discuss on a Kevin Smith thread).

At least Kevin Smith doesn't think of himself as "brilliant". When I met him he seemed very down to earth and grateful that he has his job. One fan told him how wonderful his camera work in Chasing Amy was, and he promptly told him to go rent Citizen Kane.

That said, he is also a shameless self promoter and merchandise whore who has ridden seven movies worth of Star Wars references to the bank.

Agreed, his An Evening With Kevin Smith DVDs are better than any of his recent films. However, while his self-effacement is welcome and somewhat charming, I wonder why if he thinks his films are just passable why he doesn't try to improve his own work. There's certainly a place for what he does, but he's been in the same holding pattern for how long now?

The more time goes on, the less i'm interested in Kevin Smith. Thus recently forgetting all about him when he was mentioned in a conversation. Yes, i've gotten to the "oh that guy" point.

however, for whatever reason, i stumbled across his blog (once again saying to myself "it's that guy again). And i must say that his 9 part blog entry of Jason Mewes' drug addiction is extremely compelling.

if Smith is one thing, it's honest. and i hold honesty in filmmaking at the top of the list of important artistic virtues.

Unfortunately, smith is only that one thing, so i find his movies rather boring.

Yesterday Smith announced his next comedy: Zack and Miri Make a Porno

I can't believe you guys fall for his faux self-effacing, he's not being modest or honest, he's creating a shield to protect himself from criticism. "Oh you don't like my movie? Neither do I!" WINK WINK

Another talented guy who is wasting his talent on movies whose apparent goal is to win the coveted "most swear words per scene" award. Oops...I thought this was the Tarantino thread...might as well be.

Are there any Smith fans on here who can explain how his fans feel about Smith's tendency towards blatant merchandising and repackaging of his material? I suppose it's kind of like how Star Wars fans complain about Lucas being a greedy bastard but still eat it all up. I've heard rumors that Smith wants to do a new Chasing Amy DVD, but I'm guessing that that means it'll be pulled from Criterion since I doubt they're going to see the need for a second disc of fan convention interviews or whatever he wants to add. I guess in the end I can't fault him for what he does, since if his fans didn't want it they wouldn't buy it.

patrick wrote:Are there any Smith fans on here who can explain how his fans feel about Smith's tendency towards blatant merchandising and repackaging of his material? I suppose it's kind of like how Star Wars fans complain about Lucas being a greedy bastard but still eat it all up. I've heard rumors that Smith wants to do a new Chasing Amy DVD, but I'm guessing that that means it'll be pulled from Criterion since I doubt they're going to see the need for a second disc of fan convention interviews or whatever he wants to add. I guess in the end I can't fault him for what he does, since if his fans didn't want it they wouldn't buy it.

As far as I can tell it's exactly like Star Wars nerds (which I am, and I have spend thousands of dollars on Star Wars crap) in that they obsess over the "ViewAskewniverse" and collect all the action figures and lunchboxes and what have you.
As for Chasing Amy, I think the criterion disc is fine and I didn't bite for the Mallrats X dvd (because I rented it and the extra scenes are SHIT). But as I understand it he didn't feel a need to revisit Mallrats, he just made the dvd for the fans since the studio was releasing a tenth anniversary with or without him.
As far as Smith's writing is concerned, he is a natural when it comes to writing comic books, as evidenced by an excellent run on Daredevil and a pretty good run on the Green Arrow.
Unfortunately, he is also a bit of a lazy comic writer (which I don't understand, he had time to write a Superman script that was never used) as he never followed up a strong first issue of Daredevil/Bullseye. I remember him joking that the two things someone always said to him when he would walk into a comic shop was 1: I am a huge fan & 2: Where the fuck is my Daredevil 2?
Anyways, I think Smith is afraid to try new things and I would love to see him try his hand at directing one of those comic book movies (Maybe Green Arrow?) or just stick to screenwriting for awhile.

As a comics reader (I probably spend as much or more money on comics per month as I do on movies), I really liked his Daredevil and Green Arrow runs, but that Spider-Man/Black Cat was a ridiculous attempt to address "serious" issues (child molestation and incest) in a completely inappropriate manner. Plus, like you said, he can't keep himself on schedule for shit.

Live in Pittsburgh? Be an extra on Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

USA Today's handwringing about the film's title.

What a pointless article. It's non-issue as the film will pack in both Smith and Apatow fans in equal measure and the provocative title will only spur more teenage asses into the seats. If the studio is smart, they'll learn from Walk Hard and Semi-Pro and stay away from an R-rating and release the inevitable Unrated DVD.

I hate to point these clips out but this Jimmy Kimmel skit has been sweded by the cast of the film.

I have not yet been able to manage to watch any of the three songs in their entirety! Please tell me if they become funny at any point.

Scariest part of that article:

star-on-the-rise Rogen

Harry Knowles likes him, and that's good enough for me.

colinr0380 wrote:I hate to point these clips out but this Jimmy Kimmel skit has been sweded by the cast of the film.

I have not yet been able to manage to watch any of the three songs in their entirety! Please tell me if they become funny at any point.

I think the funniest thing about that skit with Kevin Smith is that the directing credit goes to M. Night Shyamalan... other than that it's pretty turgid.

So it's like a test screening audience, only they don't actually review the movie until it's already been released. Smart.

“[Malcolm’s] one of these nihilists. If it’s popular, he can’t stand it,” Smith said.

I'll bet $20 this is where he learned that word

Spoiler

on opening day, none of this early bullshit, ain’t doing it like those critics, doing it legit — and then just go down the street, sit down and have a gabfest, man.

Remember when Kevin Smith used to talk like a normal, intelligent human being?

Funny you post that, Gregory - Smith once told a pretty infamous story about going to see that film with some other people while filming Dogma and everyone hating it - Chris Rock booed and hissed at the screen over the end credits.

Apparently he's selling it by sounding like a drunken sot who corners people at a party-- "And then we get 'em all in a fuckin' room, rite, and like we just like jam with our opinions and shit. Like you talk and I talk and she talks and like we're all there about it and shit"

mfunk9786 wrote:Remember when Kevin Smith used to talk like a normal, intelligent human being?

My memory of that would probably improve if you removed the term "intelligent".

Why?

mfunk9786 wrote:Why?

Just some terrible humor on my part. Discard if you want.

Sorry to be short, it's just the second time someone's implied that Kevin Smith isn't an intelligent person in this thread, and I'm just surprised that's even in question. Has made quite a few bad movies, sure. Annoying public personality, sure. But he's definitely a smart guy.