Posted by nastypup at pcp04985504pcs.benslm01.pa.comcast.net on March 23, 2004 at 02:09:09:
The family man?
Fatherhood and a desire to 'work without a net' drove Kevin Smith to stifle his brand of childish humor and make a family-friendly drama called 'Jersey Girl.' But he hasn't gone completely soft on us just yet.
Sunday, March 21, 2004
By Dan Pearson
Daily Southtown film critic
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According to filmmaker Kevin Smith, the fact that Jennifer Lopez dies in "Jersey Girl" was once one of Hollywood's most carefully guarded secrets.
"We kept it really quiet all through production, which is tough in this day and age with the Internet," Smith said.
"Now (her demise) is a marketing hook," admits the somewhat disappointed Garden State native.
The often controversial Smith said he fully understands the decision by Miramax to deliberately try to put distance between "Jersey Girl" — which features Lopez and Ben Affleck — and the bad buzz surrounding "Gigli," last summer's abysmal first pairing of the two former real-life lovers.
On a recent promotional trip to Chicago for "Jersey Girl," the husky, bearded, casually dressed 33-year-old filmmaker fondly recalls the first test audience screening for his latest film, which opens here Friday.
"They didn't know Jennifer's character dies (in the first 15 minutes). It was a (expletive) gut-punch, because you expect her to be in the whole movie. Now, you don't get that anymore. Post-'Gigli,' it was very important to (Miramax) to get it out there that Jennifer is not in the movie that much, to let people know not to mistake 'Jersey Girl' for another Ben-and-Jen movie."
A heartfelt family drama, "Jersey Girl" is a far cry from Smith's previous fare — irreverent comedies such as "Clerks," "Mallrats," "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."
Smith said the new direction was taken in part as a personal challenge to see if he could "work without a net" and pull off a story with new characters who had no connection to his previous films.
"Fatherhood also sparked it. I know I would have never thought of making this movie if I hadn't had a kid," said Smith, whose daughter turns 5 in April.
Affleck previously worked with Smith on "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." In "Jersey Girl," he plays a former hotshot New York publicist unprepared for the pressures of single fatherhood.
After the sudden death of his wife, Affleck's character moves back to New Jersey to live with his street-sweeper father (George Carlin) and slowly learns how to best take care of an inquisitive 7-year-old (Raquel Castro).
Smith said his established relationship with Affleck is both a challenge and a plus.
"I tend to ride Ben a little harder," Smith said.
"Because I have known him for a while, and I can get away with asking for more than he gives at first. I had seen him in a bunch of movies that I haven't done, and it just seems like some directors are content with the first or second take, and Ben is much better if you pull it out of him."
Despite their long association, Smith admitted that Affleck wasn't his first choice for the challenging role of the struggling father.
When he wrote the first 50 pages in 2000, Smith said he had Bill Murray in mind before he stuck the unfinished script in a drawer and decided to direct "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" instead.
In 2001, Smith attended a Fourth of July barbecue thrown by Affleck where the actor expressed a desire to do some serious character-driven work and encouraged him to finish "Jersey Girl."
"Ben was talking about (us) doing another (movie like) 'Chasing Amy.' I think he romanticized that period because it was the last time he made a movie before he was Ben Affleck the (expletive) movie star."
Even though the profanity content is toned way down for "Jersey Girl," Smith was able to insert his own gleeful brand of suburban anarchy by staging a grisly number from the Broadway musical "Sweeney Todd" for a grammar school talent show where nearly everyone else does something from "Cats."
A beaming Smith said he first heard about this musical with a serious body count at age 9 from his older siblings, who returned from a class field trip to the Big Apple claiming they had just seen the best musical of all time.
"They said it was about a barber who slices people's throats and sends them through the floor where a crazy old lady bakes them into pot pies. That was a musical I could get behind, but my parents wouldn't let me go see it," said Smith, who had to wait another nine years to see it live in a New York revival.
The former convenience store employee also lights up when speaking about the May DVD release of the 10th anniversary edition of his debut film "Clerks." Among the new extras will be his 1994 appearance at the Chicago International Film Festival, where he spoke with an enthusiastic crowd following the screening at the Music Box Theatre.
"That was the Q&A that really set the tone for every Q&A that followed," said Smith.
His first decade as a director is also celebrated at the beginning of "Jersey Girl" with an animated logo that features his beloved slacker characters Jay and Silent Bob.
"What I know now is that (the animated) logo cost more than my first movie. Which, to me, is kind of telling and surprising and a little bit sad," he said.
"(Looking back), I certainly learned how to be a better visual storyteller and how to rein in the dialog. I know now that less is more.
"I still think it is about making a movie with your friends, because it doesn't seem like work when you doing it that way. And it still is about telling the stories you want to tell. The moment it becomes about the paycheck, you are (in big trouble)."
Next up for Smith will be his big-screen adaptation of "The Green Hornet." True, it'll be a big-budge affair, but Smith denies it's a sign of him selling out.
"Personally, I can think of no less of a sellout movie than for me, a comic book lover (and writer), making a comic book movie. That is not a sellout, that is the goal. If I can keep doing it for another 10 years and not hack-out, I would be pretty happy."