Posted by JimmyBobCob at medplay.med.utoronto.ca on October 12, 1999 at 13:49:16:
In Reply to: Question for Kevin (Repost) posted by keekle on October 12, 1999 at 12:56:45:
: Basically,in the future are you going to try to make movies based primarily on the return bank, or are you wanting to
: keep your relative cult status as the Indie King... I don't want to see you lose that edge that comes with having no one own you.
Kevin is a man of integrity who has chosen to remain near his roots and has been blessed with the ability to make the movies he wanted to, without losing complete control to producers and studio heads.
If money was his sole concern, he would pack up his bags and family and head on out to Hollywood today. There is nothing he has told us that suggests he has any inclination. Anyway, Hollywood comes to him for script doctoring (Superman Lives, $6million Man, Coyote Ugly, to name a few).
Does he hope that Dogma makes some good coin when it's released? Of course. It would be a sort of validation of his most ambitious film to date. But the fact that it's actually going to released after all the bullshit (Catholic League, change in distributers, death threats) offers its own validation. If, by cult status, you mean a lack of mainstream success, that doesn't seem fair. Isn't Kevin allowed to be successful? Make some big money? Enjoy the fruits of his labors? If he was offered to write and direct a big budget for a major studio, what right do we, as his fans, have to deny him that opportunity? Would he have to give up his Indie King card?
Would some people label him a "sell-out"? Probably, and some people have already done so, for his direction of NIKE/Footlocker commercials. Is that a fair criticism? No, because in his judgement, these commercials allowed him to do something different, something funny, and something fairly lucrative.
But would Kevin Smith ever really sell out? How the fuck should I know? That said, from everything I've read in interviews and his responses on the board, Kevin is a very grounded, very generous, very level-headed person. He writes what he knows, and has a unique perspective and voice. He seems likely to remain true to the vision demonstrated in his 4 films.
But if he didn't, so what? It's his life and he can make his choices. It is also your choice not to see his grand "Sell-out opus". But you'd miss the best dick and fart jokes around.
Something to think about
JBC