Posted by Kevin at etntwn1-blk1-hfc-0252-d1db060b.rdc1.nj.comcastatwork.com on June 19, 2000 at 15:14:47:
In Reply to: This is on indieWIRE today - regarding Clerks posted by Redial on June 19, 2000 at 11:41:35:
: >> IN RESPONSE TO: "Clerks" Killed by ABC After Two Episodes
:
: Dear indieWIRE:
: On Kevin Smith's continued whining about the trials and tribulations of
: "big business" ABC, please spare us any more.
Done and done.
: "Clerks" premiered at Sundance in 1994 alongside another scrappy little
: indie flick that was also cheaply shot in black and white with lots of
: dialogue, little action and few locations. That film, Rose Troche and Guin
: Turner's "GO FISH," showcased urban lesbian subculture in the same way CLERKS showcased suburban convenience store subculture. Smith has gone on to make multiple films--not incidentally for big business ABC's subdivision
: Miramax--while Troche has made only one subsequent feature and Turner has appeared in and/or written only three subsequent films one of which was Smith's Chasing Amy.
: If Mr. Smith feels so badgered by the colossus that is contemporary
: American filmed entertainment
What?!? Badgered? By the who that's the what of American filmed entertainment? I only said (a couple of million times, to make it extra clear) that I hated ABC. Did someone suddenly elect that network as the hallmark of contemporary American filmed entertainment while I wasn't paying attention?
:, perhaps he should remember where he really stands in the business, which is at a place far and away more privileged than most, especially those two women filmmakers whose careers began at the same exact moment in time as his.
Folks, back me up here. Aren't I normally very gracious about being where I'm at with my career? Has anyone ever heard me protest "I've been able to write and direct three films, exec produce an Oscar winner, and make a cartoon because I'm just that good. I deserve all this shit, and I had it coming to me!"? No. I feel I've always been modest to a fault, and annoyingly (some might say cloyingly) self-deprecating on top of that.
And in terms of where I am vs. where Rose is in our respective careers: just because two filmmakers start at point 'A' together, doesn't mean they're necessarily going to have the same careers. Rose has made one movie since 'Go Fish'. I've made three since 'Clerks'. The only reason I've been able to make three more since 'Clerks' is because once I got my foot in the door, I haven't stopped. Shit - even after the debacle that was 'Rats', I went back to the 'minors' (so to speak) and made a cheap flick. 'Go Fish' got reviewed well enough and did enough box office to warrant Rose being able to make more films than just the recently released 'Bedrooms and Hallways'. While I haven't spoken to her since '94 or '95, I'd imagine Rose hasn't made more films than that one since 'Go Fish' because she CHOSE not to (though you'd have to ask Rose).
And Guin's been plenty busy, aside from the appearances she's made in our flicks. She's starred in at least three other indie flick since 'Go Fish', co-wrote 'American Psycho', and has been working on a 'Betty Page' bio-pic.
The difference in our output levels is that I've tirelessly generated projects for us to work on, because a) I'm a storyteller, and b) that's my occupation - filmmaking. I have no choice but to generate material - otherwise, I feel like I'm wasting one of the few gifts I have, and I starve (or my family starves).
: Mark J. Huisman
: New York
Thanks for your thoughts, Mark. Next?
:
: Dear Editor:
: It may not have been just the ratings which weren't great. Kevin Smith
: should be lauded, heartily, for getting a film done on no budget.
: Every
: filmmaker that gets his or her story told should.
Awesome. Thanks for the shout-out.
: But Mr. Smith's
: stories
: are simplistic at best.
Heavens. Here we go again...
:His approach to getting laughs is not very
: different
: from Beavis and Butthead's, and they're yesterday's news;
Really? Even 'Chasing Amy'?
Shit...
:so, it appears, is Mr. Smith.
*gulp* You mean... I'm over? Why the hell is this guy telling me? Couldn't one of you fucks have let me know before this?
: When someone champions a filmmaker, as Pauline Kael did to a
: number of marginal and long-forgotten filmmakers, as John Sloss did to
: Kevin Smith
Yes - I was championed by my lawyer. Isn't that his job?
I think this poor soul means John Pierson, not Sloss.
:, sometimes the rest of the world just buys it, and doesn't
: question whether the filmmaker really has talent. In a situation like :this, perhaps the filmmaker himself should question it.
Back up, ladies and gents - I'm about to commence with the questioning. Let's see if I can muster up enough self-doubt to convince myself I'm just a product of hype.
Let's see...
1) Built an audience from scratch, coming out of nowhere with a shitty-looking flick that benefited from no connections in the world of cineman whatsoever.
2) Received kudos from well-respected critics and secured positions on year-end ten best lists.
3) Been honored by inclusion in prestigious film festivals around the globe.
4) Always made back the investment of whatever entity I've been funded by.
5) Have a thriving website where fans gather to essentially communicate that I'm doing a good job.
6) Still think enough of feedback - even negative - to even read the armchair ramblings of someone like this cat. And make time to respond, to boot.
No - on closer inspection, I think I'm doing okay.
: To Mr. Smith: artists should question everything.
I just did, man.
: Here are a few for you:
: Does the world really need to see a cartoon version of a six year old,
: no-longer-relevant movie?
The world said "No."
As for no-longer-relevant...
People still love the flick. Apparently, it still holds up, and is an indie benchmark by which other flicks are judged. If you make a low-budget flick, I'll bet you ten bucks sometime, somewhere, if anyone writes about it, 'Clerks' will come up.
: Is the public allowed to ignore such a
: cartoon?
Sure. But my job, prior to the airing of said cartoon, was to make as many folks aware of it as possible, being that the network wasn't throwing much marketing muscle behind it. Once the cartoon got out there, I didn't have much more to say about it, as my job was finished. Make something some day, sir, and see if you can sit idly by as it enters the marketplace with no promotion. Nobody makes a film/tv show/cartoon and doesn't care if no one sees it.
: Are low ratings a manifestation of executive evil or merely evidence
: that the content was unengaging?
If you put any stock in the ratings system whatsoever (if you have room left in your child-like faith closet next to Santa and the Easter Bunny), there's a whole different discussion to be had. However, I never said the low ratings were the exec's faults (outside of not making too many cats aware of the show in the first place). What I blamed the network for was dumping the show in the first place. Mind you, this was a show they gave two Superbowl ads to - so high was their faith in it. That all changed (and I'm saying this for the last time) once their superiors (Eisner and Iger) gave an edict that they didn't like the show. I'm not some loon maintaining the ratings were a network conspiracy. I'm the loon maintaining the fix was in long before there were ratings to compare.
And one network's low ratings are another's high. Seven million people watching a show on ABC may be piss-poor, but the same seven million viewers would've made us gods on UPN or the reeeeeeaaaaaaallllllly ratings-challenged WB this year.
: Do you really have stories to tell which
: the world needs to hear?
If they didn't want to hear them, they wouldn't show up (nobody NEEDS to hear anything). Since the audience shows up (even for the cartoon, as - mentioned above - seven million people watching our cartoon is not what I'd call a failure), I guess I'm doing something right.
: Marshall Zweig
Marshall - I'm sorry I'm doing what you'd like to be doing instead. Perhaps one day, when you've accomplished your goals and seen your dreams come true, you, too, will be as fulfilled as I am, and not feel the need to send a letter to the editor, in which you pretend to have a conversation with me and pose queries that you feel I need to ask myself. Just think - all the time you spent writing to 'IndieWire' could've been better-spent on that script I just know you're working on, you wanna-be Kev, you.