Posted by kevin d. at ip210.troy6.ny.pub-ip.psi.net on May 04, 2001 at 04:24:44:
A few things,
is eJay officially dead yet?
am I not correct in my belief that the end of Chasing Amy is the best that Kevin has ended a film? I mean, we all know about the original ending of Clerks; that didn't work out. 'Rats ends with J&SB walking away with Suzanne; left field? And Dogma, "Pregnant women can have sex up till their third trimester," :-| But Chasing Amy... you've got the end of the trilogy ending with the 'Kevin-Smith-Like' character doing just what Kevin did with the film which was to return to a personal work of art after mixed initial success(es). It was a perfect ending as far as I was concerned. Brilliant. Right?
finally, how have you guys handled and dealt with Kevin's success? I mean, you all seem like great friends, and I imagine you feel nothing but happiness for Kevin and will say it couldn't have happened to a better/more deserving guy, but isn't there ever even some small part of you deep down that feels a little envious? Are you ever jealous of his success, feeling that you deserve just as much recognition, respect, and attention?
I mean, Brian, Bryan, Vin, you all seem to have some filmmaking aspirations yourselves; do you ever feel even the slightest bit of resentment or frustration of being known or referred to as just one of Kevin Smith's 'friends'? NO, right? You're grateful for his success because it has helped you to achieve what you have, to make your films; his luck in hitting it big has afforded you opportunities that might have been impossible otherwise right? You're happy just riding the tail of his success? Yeah, right. ;-)
Look, I don't mean to sound condescending or anything, and you're probably thinking, "Fuck you asshole, you'll never even be as successful as me," and you're probably right, but I seriously want to know. I'm very interested because I suppose I do have some filmmaking aspirations of my own, and I associate with and have a lot friends who are like-minded artists with similar hopes, and I've always thought to myself that if I ever get to finally make one of my movies that I would want to try to involve a lot of my friends and help them get a foot in the door too or whatever, you know? But then there's part of me wondering what if my friends hit it big and I'm just 'their friend' and how would I feel? Would I feel in the shadows? Would I be disappointed? Would I be jealous or resentful? Would I feel less talented? I don't know.
As I said, I'm not trying to be a jerk, and I know you guys are successful based on your own talents and merits, and I love your work, and maybe you'll eventually be even more successful than Kevin, and maybe it's wrong to even try to compare you. I mean, I've heard Vinnie mention how he knows Kevin is a better writer, but Vinnie has more visual style, and Lynch has his own style, and I haven't seen Vulgar yet but I imagine Johnson's work and Kevin's are probably like apples and oranges too. And I suppose it's probably the same with my friends and I. I guess I was hoping you guys might be able to offer some insight, but maybe I just answered my own question. Thanks anyways. Flame me if you must, but it was an honest question.
Lastly, I just wanted to say (if Kev's reading) that I finally read Green Arrow #2 and 3 today and I'm hooked. Never read Green Arrow before, so #1 was a little boring/confusing for me, but I'm really into it now and can't wait to find out what happened to Ollie and what will happen next. Great work.
==kevin d.