Kevin Smith On AOL's Celebrity Circle

OnlineHost:
In nearly three years since his entry into the
independent film community, Kevin Smith has
seen it all - from the surprise critical success he
received for his debut film "Clerks," to the
disappointing reception of his second outing,
"Mallets." Along the way he has collected an award
at the career-making Sundance Film Festival, and
two at the prestigious, Cannes Film Festival and
collaborated with independent film guru John
Pierson on his book "Spike." Welcome!

KvinSmith: Mallets?

AOLiveMC14: LOL! I think they meant "Mall Rats"

KvinSmith: The book was 'Spike, Mike, Slackers, and Dykes', also.

AOLiveMC13: We have some questions lined up if you are ready Kevin? :)

KvinSmith: Shoot.

AOLiveMC13: Our first question comes from Dark Vader:
Question: MR. smith when do you plan on releasing or making the movie Dogma??? Darkvader, huge fan

KvinSmith: We start shooting 'Dogma' this fall (around the end of October). It won't see release until around
KvinSmith: the same time the following year.
KvinSmith: We're hoping to debut it at Cannes next year.

AOLiveMC13: Mallrat82 would like to know:
Question: Kev, what was it like having you're girl, Joey, on the set with you everyday? What were
Question: the ups and downs(though i'm sure there weren'rt many downs)?

KvinSmith: It really wasn't bad. It was actually kind of pleasant. However, it did lead to one major fight
KvinSmith: when we didn't keep our modes straight - professional mode and relationship mode. Always
KvinSmith: a dangerous prospect to address your girlfriend like a director, or your actress like your girlfriend.
KvinSmith: Short of that, it was fine. Often pleasant. (Although you know that rumor - that a professional
KvinSmith: pair who happen to date in life usually spend half the shoot knee-deep in nookie? Horseshit.)

KvinSmith: Bullsh_t.
KvinSmith: Just kidding.
KvinSmith: I'll be good.

AOLiveMC13: LOL

AOLiveMC13: Our next question comes from Rook32 about "Clerks:"
Question: Kevin, I heard a rumor that there originally was another ending to "Clerks". Is this
Question: true? And what was different?

KvinSmith: If I had a dime for everytime I was asked this...

KvinSmith: Those rumors are true. It's available on the laser disc release of 'Clerks' (also downloadable at our
KvinSmith: website - www.viewaskew.com). Dante gets killed.
KvinSmith: Kind of a bad idea from the start. At John Pierson's behest (and others), we cut it prior to
KvinSmith: the Sundance debut.

AOLiveMC13: SoccerMid asks:
Question: Kevin, thank you for those 2 unreal movies. What made you decide to speak in "Chasing
Question: Amy"?

KvinSmith: I got tired of writing these page-long monologues and watching my actors have a blast performing them.
KvinSmith: I wanted my piece of the pie, so I wrote myself one. Plus, it made more sense to have Silent Bob
KvinSmith: explain the film's title. It's the quiet ones who usually have the most going on (that, and it had
KvinSmith: become a sort of hackneyed convention of mine to give Bob a line. I figured I'd go for broke and give
KvinSmith: him several. Listen to me - how stupid do I sound? Talking about the guy like he's real.
KvinSmith: I gotta get a life.

AOLiveMC13: Mallrat82 has this one for you Kevin:
Question: Kev, I heard you wrote Superman Lives with Nick Cage in mind. Is this true? If so, why
Question: Cage? It's not a bad choice, just an interesting one.

KvinSmith: It had been an early rumor within the company ranks that Cage was going to be considered for Brainiac.
KvinSmith: I thought he'd make a better Superman, and started dropping hints to this effect in Jon (the
KvinSmith: producer) Peters' ear. Crafting the dialogue for Cage's inflection was just a small way to help the
KvinSmith: cause.

AOLiveMC13: Adabada is curious where your characters come from:
Question: I've got a question for Kevin Smith, I want to know where he gets his characters (esp)
Question: Clerks. They are so real and so much like people I know. Are they based on friends, relatives?

KvinSmith: I like to base a lot of the characters on myself. Seems to make them more real. A writer's job is to
KvinSmith: fashion his or her ideal world - in my ideal world, I've had a friend since I was a pre-schooler, and
KvinSmith: we've hung out for twenty years. That's why you get the 'two guys' phenomenon in all three flicks so
KvinSmith: far.
KvinSmith: But in order to get them fleshed out and sounding believable, I inject a little Kev into each (not
KvinSmith: like that, you filthy-minded s.o.b.'s...)

AOLiveMC13: DrkKnt200 asks:
Question: Are you going to get Adam Carolla to be in your next film?

KvinSmith: Absolutely. Adam's a funny m.f. Gotta work the boy in there somewhere.

AOLiveMC13: This one from Agent Dar:
Question: Are you planning on keeping the "Clerks" references in the next movies you (hopefully!)
Question: make? I loved that movie, and I think that the allusions are hillarious, particularly because
Question: not everyone gets them!

KvinSmith: That's why I like them too. It's great to be in a movie theatre and hear ten people out of a hundred
KvinSmith: laughing when they catch an inside reference.
KvinSmith: It doesn't alienate the other ninety, but it does make the ten feel incredibly inside and clever.
KvinSmith: And if I can send a few cats home feeling just a tad superior to their fellow patrons, I feel I've
KvinSmith: done my job.
KvinSmith: That, and I love to cross-reference the flicks - keeps them within the same 'universe' (sorry - it's
KvinSmith: a comics thing).
KvinSmith: But yes - there's one huge reminder of the first three flicks in the next one: Jay and Silent Bob.
KvinSmith: The flick after that, though, is going to be like old-home week. We're going to collapse the first
KvinSmith: three flicks in on each other. It's going to be a fan-boy's dream (or maybe just THIS fan-boy's
KvinSmith: dream).

AOLiveMC13: ZipperPoo would like to know:
Question: Hi, I loved Mallrats and dont see why it didn't do well, I watch it all the time, but
Question: Chasing Amy was a different tone then Clerks and Mallrats, why did u decide to make it more
Question: serious than your other one liners?

KvinSmith: Felt like it was time to move on, I guess. How many times can you make the same flick...

AOLiveMC13: MinkSto asks:
Question: What other movies did you like at Sundance?

KvinSmith: I didn't really see much. I was just writing what I didn't like, but then thought twice and deleted
KvinSmith: it. You never know when these things are going to wind up in 'Entertainment Weekly'.

AOLiveMC13: CLPTLESS would like to know:
Question: Have you gotten any feedback from Lucasfilm regarding your many Star Wars references in
Question: your films??

KvinSmith: No, and it steams me. You'd think the Man would've at least called to say "Knock it off,
KvinSmith: ya' fat bastard! It ain't funny anymore." But so far, I've yet to receive even that.
KvinSmith: Guess he's busy not making the next trilogy.

AOLiveMC13: MunkDiese would like to know:
Question: Kevin, love your stuff, man. I have one question, though. Your other two movies had
Question: fantastic soundtracks. Why did "Chasing Amy" not have one?

KvinSmith: Interesting story there. Long one, though. Got a minute?
KvinSmith: So this local Jersey rocker tells us that he wants to record a song for the flick. And at this point,
KvinSmith: we were out to other labels, seeing if they were interested in picking the soundtrack up (which
KvinSmith: admittedly was somewhat unappetizing for any label, being that it was made up largely of what they
KvinSmith: call 'catalogue songs' (older, previously released material). So Jersey Rocker Boy has Scott (my
KvinSmith: producer) and I over to his house, and not only does he hand us a song he's written, but he's also
KvinSmith: recorded it! He plays the tune for us, and it's tremendous. We're giving him huge props ("Oh, Jersey
KvinSmith: Rocker Boy - you're the man!" and that kind of thing). He says "If you like it, it's your's. Do
KvinSmith: whatever you want with it," and makes mention that his label would probably want to put it out, and we
KvinSmith: could do the soundtrack there. So at this point, all bets elsewhere are off, and we're doing the
KvinSmith: soundtrack at his label. But then, a week later, we get a call - it's not going to happen. It seems
KvinSmith: that Jersey Rocker Boy's label put the fear of God in him about his own upcoming album release,
KvinSmith: maintaining that it'll canibalize sales of said release if they release a soundtrack with a song by
KvinSmith: the artist before release of his new album. Confused? So were we. Suddenly, Jersey Rocker Boy was
KvinSmith: out, and other labels were even less receptive than they were before.
KvinSmith: Then, good ol' Dave Pirner (who is really the Man), gets involved and does not just the score, but
KvinSmith: also a song or two, and helps pick out all the tunes for the flick. Unfortunately, it was too close
KvinSmith: to the release for a lot of labels (who consider soundtracks to be a commercial for the flick and vice
KvinSmith: versa). Hence, no soundtrack. It's a shame too, because it was my fave of the three. Pirner did a
KvinSmith: tremendous job.

AOLiveMC13: GroundIng1 asks:
Question: Your NJ trilogy has revolved around a central theme....sex. How did you become such a
Question: renowned "sexpert"? -- Groundlng1

KvinSmith: Maybe it's semantics, but I'd say the trilogy (for what it's worth) is more about relationships than
KvinSmith: sex. As for me being a
KvinSmith: 'sexpert'... well, I'm sure you can find a few unlucky gals from my digital fumbling pre-pubescent
KvinSmith: days who'd refute that.

AOLiveMC13: AUDRA420 would like to know:
Question: What's the best part about making independant films?

KvinSmith: The lack of money, the lousy hours, the nail-biting fear of never having enough cash - take your pick.
KvinSmith: But all in all, I'd say it's the freedom to say as you please, shoot as you please, and screen what
KvinSmith: you please.

AOLiveMC13: As we are coming close on time, this will be our last question.
AOLiveMC13: RustyOrga asks:
Question: What authors or movies or books have helped to shape your unique artistic style
Question: portrayed in films such as Clerks?

KvinSmith: It's going to soound weird, but go with me on this...
KvinSmith: The authors Jean Shepherd and Gregory McDonald; the comedians George Carlin, Dennis Miller, and Sam

KvinSmith: Kinison; the filmmakers Richard Linklater, Jim Jarmusch, and Spike Lee; and especially my
KvinSmith: ex-girlfriend/current company development exec Kim Loughran - she taught me all about love, pain, and
KvinSmith: the importance of good grammar.

KvinSmith: At least on 'Clerks'.

AOLiveMC13: Kevin, thanks so much for taking the time to be here tonight and
AOLiveMC13: for answering all our questions!

KvinSmith: No prob. Thanks for having. And everybody - don't forget to stop by the website: www.viewaskew.com

KvinSmith: It's a hoot. G'night.

AOLiveMC13: And, thank you audience for all your great questions!

AOLiveMC13: Have a great night everyone!

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