Posted by RPacatte at cache-mtc-ah06.proxy.aol.com on March 29, 2003 at 23:38:15:
Hi-
I am writing a chapter of a book to be published by Sheed and Ward on Catholic Dicrectors/writers who act/appear in their own movies. I have seen all of your films except MallRats and that's on my agenda for tomorrow. Your DVD "Evening with Kevin Smith" and the Summaries answer many questions, but I have a few more more.
You seem very much at home speaking of religion (as if everyone in your audience is on the same page as you are; it's almost seamless the way you travel around your subject matter); you mention Catholicism in every movie (besides DOGMA; and CHASING AMY was very moving)... do you consider yourself a Catholic director or a director who happens to be Catholic? (The Catholicism of Scorcese and Hitchcock, Coppola, etc., is said to often present itself in an afterimage kind of way - at other times it is more specific...)
You are married with at least one child - has becoming a family man changed you spiritually? How? Would you describe your spirituality (relationship with God) and your practice of religion (Catholic) as it is today? Is it different from 5, 10 years ago? How? How would you describe how being a Catholic matters (or not or somewhere inbetween)to you?
You speak of the crisis of faith that you explored in DOGMA - have you resolved it further? If so, how? If not, why?
What do you think are the most important or significant spiritual questions of our era - if there are others that have emerged for you since DOGMA? Are you thinking about making another film that will deal as explicitly with religion/Catholicism or Catholic social teaching again (DOGMA touches on this topic - briefly)? Or would you seek to do so in more subtle ways?
Thank you, Kevin. I would appreciate any response you can give as soon as possible. I would also be willing to chat on the phone.
R. Pacatte
PS Were you, by chance, on a flight from Rome to Newark in December? If not, you have a twin out there somewhere.