Love the man, only mildly like his movies... OK, I only mildly like some of his movies. But as a dude? Kevin Smith is tops. Maybe his move towards talk show/talk circuit presentations is the best "direction."
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Kevin Smith: "I Am So, Like, Sick of Movies and Shit"
On the road with the cult filmmaker turned podcaster turned DIY warrior
The answer might be determined by whether the Red State release succeeds or fails, vindicating Smith or giving him yet another very public flop to flee. He’s hoping to break even on the film’s $4 million budget before the “official” opening day, Oct. 19 — exactly 17 years after Clerks hit theaters. As of this writing, the Red State tour has grossed $701,977. Smith says he expects foreign sales and ancillary revenues to make back the rest of the $4 million budget. But he admits the usual markers of victory may not apply to what he’s doing:
“Once you pull your ball out of the game and create your own game, you have nobody to be compared to. Well, now I guess technically we could be compared to Charlie Sheen, who has his own tour.”
Smith is referring to Charlie Sheen LIVE: My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option, the series of performances Sheen launched April 2 in Detroit with a disastrously ill-organized roundelay through his own memes, sprinkled liberally with references to crack smoking. The following night in Chicago, Sheen revamped the show, incorporating a question-and-answer format not unlike the one that fuels Smith's live shows, and recieved much more generous reviews.
PHOTO BY KEVIN SCANLON
Kevin Smith
PHOTO BY KEVIN SCANLON
"Four years ago I started this Red State conversation. And if I would have just done it as a podcast, it would have been done four years ago."
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The Wiltern
3790 Wilshire Blvd.
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When Smith mentions Sheen — a few days before the actor's tour is to begin — I ask, “Do you feel like Charlie Sheen is ripping you off?”
“Not by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s like, we [sold] 3,800 in Radio City Music Hall and we were feeling awesome about that, and it took us like a month, without any advertising or marketing. [Then] Charlie Sheen sold out Radio City Music Hall twice in the span of, like, 20 minutes, and I was, like, ugh. And for one second I was like, ‘Man, what are we doing wrong?’ And then I was like, you know what, I’m not a girl-puncher, so at the end of the day, if that’s what it takes to sell out Radio City Music Hall fast and twice, I’d rather work a little harder for it over time.”
Compared with Sheen's lightning-fast, highly quixotic engagement with the zeitgeist, Smith looks like the slow-and-steady toad in this race, but whether his entrepreneurial experiments can sustain themselves remains to be seen. In the short term, Smith is fueled by each new shock of pulling it off. “After we played Radio City Music Hall and Variety put us in their box office gross chart? You look down the [distributor] column and you see Paramount, Fox, WB — you know, all the famous logos — and then all the way down in whatever position we were it just said ‘SMod.’ Seeing SMod in Variety really fucking did it for me.
“You get to middle age and you start thinking about a lot of shit,” Smith muses. “We’re all gonna die. And so I feel like anytime you can give yourself a dopey little victory, that makes it all worth it. Seeing SMod in that chart staved off death for a couple hours.”
TheRed State road show comes to the Wiltern Theater on April 9.Red State opens in theaters Oct. 19.
34 comments
Lol...Maybe if his films were better he probably wouldnt be quitting..His movies as of late have been quite boring...He lost that spirit after Dogma ever since then nada. So no big deal in my book. Just gives someone hungrier and with more creativity a chance. Now if only M Night whatshisname will follow suit.
Clerks II was good. It had heart behind it. Everything else? Yeah they were pretty bad. But he had dipshits putting him down hardcore. That would dishearten even Kings and Nobles
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[incorrect event name listed dept.] APRIL IS JAZZ APPRECIATION MONTH!
Thurs. Apr. 28th - Special TRIPLE signature "Companion Events" Jammin Foundation & Linda Morgan, Ms. SmoothAhead Jazz Presents: HONORING -6PM CHARLES OWENS "Sensei Maestro" & DOLORES PETERSEN - A.Pro-Advocate Rep.
SHOWCASE: And OPEN MIC / JAM: "Welcome Home" And JAM w/ D'z "Lady & Gentlemen" In-House Live Jazz Trio "redoubtable jazz vets" Karen HERNANDEZ & Tony DUMAS · Ralph PENLAND
7PM SHOWCASE: feat. "Woodwindist" FUASI ABDUL-KHALIQ visiting from Germany, "Special" Guest Co-Host JEFFREY WINSTON - Jazz Historian, Philantropist, writer8PM (sign-up 7:30PM) OPEN MIC / JAM: "heavy surprise guests" "stellar assortment of top-flight jazz musicians" Guest Co-Host "Young Lion" RANDAL FISHER - Intern/s DOLORES PETERSEN Presents: @ HSB&G 6122-6124 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood
This is an efing boring article, you lost me after the second paragraph; I didn't finish reading it. Sharp your writing skills.
ur an asshole using a word like that, u are trying to make urself seem above us all with your vocab, must be a film student
this guy is such a douche. never thought he was funny. his lame attempts at humor and use of offensive material come off like a community college student who still makes fart noises in the classroom like a third grader. dont get me wrong, i'm not offended by the jokes, theyre just not funny. clerks was probably the worst movie i have seen in my life
If you thought Clerks was so bad, why did you (a) watch more of his movies; (b) read this article? You don't like the guy, cool. Yet you took the time to read a six-page article on him? Seems weird to me. You must not have much of a life.
The guy simply isn't any good anymore. I loved Clerks, thought Mallrats was funny (purely because of Jason Lee), loved Chasing Amy and Dogma, J&SBSB was alright, liked Clerks 2 and Jersey Girl, and then...HATED Cop Out, Zack & Miri. Hating 2 movies isn't that bad but I used to love Smodcast and now, yikes! HE isn't funny. Scott is GREAT and the only reason I still listen once in a while. But he is so, so terrible. I have NO problem with smoking weed, but if the anti-drug guys and gals need an example of how far some one can fall, look no further than this guy. But, it may not be the weed. It may be the one thing that people don't want to directly blame. I think it may also be his wife. In case Mr. Smith (I'm not on a first name basis with him anymore as we've grown apart) ever reads this, I'll refrain from going any further on that as, even though his wife his ruined his sense of comedy, she should be more important to him than his career.
I love his films. He's a great guy, but sadly lives in a world 3/4 full of wankers.He definitely deserves better from people who slag him off for the sake of it. I mean nobody HAS to watch his movies. I don't like many people or they don't appeal to me and often I don't even know what they look like because I ignore the stuff that I know isn't to my taste.Not give it/them attention just so I can mouth off about them online.This was a good piece too.Now give that penis a sandwich.
You are so, like, sick of movies and shit, Smith? What a coincidence! Why? Because movies, moviemakers, and moviegoers are all sick of YOU.
Suggestion: please take a wee break from the endless Smith Co. branding and self-promotion. Just go away and leave us all alone for, like, 5 or 10 minutes, during which time you could put down the bong, maybe study writing and/or directing, learn how to structure a screenplay, use the camera to tell a story...y'know, shit like that?
[listing dept.(corrections & details]Upcoming Events• Showcase And Open Mic / JamEvery week Thursday Thurs. Apr. 7th, 7p and 8p, sign-up 7:30p (Blues, Jazz, Latin, Pop And multi-genre)SHOWCASE: And OPEN MIC / JAM: "Companion Events" (vocalists/instrumentalists)LARRY DAVIS "CD Release Party" And JAM... + (both events) Guest Host: James GERALDEN & "D'z" In-House Live Jazz Trio " 'Lady & Gentlemen' too " Karen HERNANDEZ & Tony DUMAS · Don LITTLETON "masterful" accompanist/improv-musiciansDOLORES PETERSEN Presents: @ HSB&G 6122-6124 Sunset Blvd., HollywoodThurs. Apr. 7th, 7p and 8p, sign-up 7:30p (Blues, Jazz, Latin, Pop And multi-genre)
[listing dept. details] Thurs. Apr. 7th, 7p and 8p, sign-up 7:30p (multi-genre - Blues, Jazz, Latin, Pop)SHOWCASE: and OPEN MIC / JAM: "Companion Events" (vocalists/instrumentalists)LARRY DAVIS "CD Release Party" and JAM... Guest Host: James GERALDEN DOLORES PETERSEN Presents: @ HSB&G 6122-6124 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood
He's one of the nicest people I've ever had the privilege to meet, and considering his place in the world - he didn't need to give me the time of day. He's ALL Class - no matter what ANY paper says. Great interview, I'm looking forward to the show on Saturday!!!
[listing dept.]
APRIL 2011 DOLORES PETERSEN Presents: (instrumentalists/vocalists)02 Carlos Guitarlos 6-9pm Señor Fish [Blues, Pop, Rock’n Roll, Roots]03 Serge Kasimoff 5pm Duna Csárda [Classical, Jazz, Latin, Pop]03 Javier Vergara 5-7:30pm Señor Fish [Jazz]07 SHOWCASE: 7pm Larry Davis CD Release Party HSB&G [Jazz]07 OPEN MIC / JAM: 8pm Guest Co-Host James Geralden - HSB&G [Jazz, multi-genre]09 Carlos Guitarlos 6-9pm Señor Fish [Blues, Pop, Rock’n Roll, Roots]10 Serge Kasimoff 5pm Duna Csárda [Classical, Jazz, Latin, Pop]10 Javier Vergara 5-7:30pm Señor Fish [Jazz]14 SHOWCASES: 7pm Sharon Stanley HSB&G [Jazz]14 OPEN MIC / JAM: 8pm HSB&G [Jazz, multi-genre]16 Carlos Guitarlos 6-9pm Señor Fish [Blues, Pop, Rock’n Roll, Roots]17 Serge Kasimoff 5pm Duna Csárda [Classical, Jazz, Latin, Pop]17 Javier Vergara 5-7:30pm Señor Fish [Jazz]21 SHOWCASE: 7pm Society of Singers Fundraiser HSB&G [multi-genre]21 OPEN MIC / JAM: 8pm HSB&G [Jazz, multi-genre]23 Carlos Guitarlos 6-9pm Señor Fish [Blues, Pop, Rock’n Roll, Roots]24 Serge Kasimoff 5pm Duna Csárda [Classical, Jazz, Latin, Pop]24 Javier Vergara 5-7:30pm Señor Fish [Jazz]28 Pavior Night 5:30-7pm Honoring Charles Owens and Dolores Petersen HSB&G [Jazz]28 SHOWCASE: 7pm Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq, Guest Co-Host Jeffery Winston HSB&G [Jazz]28 OPEN MIC / JAM: 8pm Guest Co-Host Randal Fisher HSB&G [Jazz, multi-genre]29 Chambers, Herbert & Ellis 8pm Duna Csárda [Jazz]30 Carlos Guitarlos 6-9pm Señor Fish [Blues, Pop, Rock’n Roll, Roots]NOTICE - L.A. Acoustic Meetup Fridays @ Cafe Audrey on hiatus until further notice.
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