Independent filmmaker Kevin Smith-the director of Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy-will speak at the Ohio Union at 7:30 p.m. June 2.

He’ll give a brief lecture on indie filmmaking, then take audience questions for more than two hours. Don’t worry, he’ll have plenty to talk about: Besides his directing/acting stints, he’s been bumped as screenwriter for the new Superman movie, is shooting a new film (Dogma) in Pittsburgh, and is the guy who got Miramax to take a peek at a little script called Good Will Hunting”.

Tickets are $10 (students $5). They go on sale through Ticketmaster on April 10.

1) We shot Carlin the other day, who was absolutely brilliant. He’s one of the most expressive performers on the planet. Folks give Jim Carrey a lot of credit for being rubber-faced, but I have to toss some equal props the way of the great Carlini, who was able to take some okay lines in his monologue, and make them absolutely hysterical with the most subtle (and sometimes, not-so-sublte) contortion of his face.

The shots looked phenomenal (God, that 2:35 to 1 ratio makes for some lush frames), as did Carlin’s wardrobe (props to Abigail, our costume-mistress). And our own gramp shared major screentime with George as well, doing his best non-intentional Silent Bob impression.

We also shot our own Brian O’Halloran that day. He turned in two completely disparate perfs – one cheesily-funny, the other a pretty big leap from all the stuff you’ve seen him do thus far (though not that far a leap from ‘Vulgar’, which you’ve yet to see).

2) The following day, we shot Linda and Alan in a little Mexican restaurant outside of Pitt. Some local news crews showed up, and I’m told a few pieces ran that night on the local affiliates.

Both turned in tremendous performances. It’s a pretty funny scene, but the true humor (I found) was watching two actors of their calibre deliver my stupid dialogue. It was surreal.

3) Yesterday, we shot the clinic stuff, with some very special guest cameos. The first two, was our very own Bry and Walt – reprising(?) their roles from films past, but with a twist. Their co-star in one scene was none other than Janeane Garofolo (sp?), who spent the morning kicking it View Askew style. She was funny, and adapted to the stuff pretty quickly, offering up one of the flick’s lighter moments with all the pro of a stand-up (which makes her the third comedian in the cast, next to George and Rock… never the aim, but ironic nonetheless).

Linda limned a powerful monologue, offering some of her most touching and funny work to date. She’s so fucking excellent, the flick’s almost unworthy of her.

There’s a new member to the troupe who shared screen time with our Linda – Marie-Elena. For a first-timer to hold the frame with a seasoned pro like Linda, it takes a certain something. Marie-Elena had that in spades.

We watched projected dailies last night, and the shit looks incredible. After this flick, the critics of my visual style may have to re-think their positions (or just plain shut their yaps).

I’ve got a good feeling about this one, kids.

The inevitable curious onlookers that have popped up around us have been really polite and unobtrusive. I signed a bunch of autographs between takes (some of which were followed by the requesters asking “What’s your name?”).

Tonight, we shoot the first Jay and Silent Bob stuff. Mewes has never been better (honestly), so I’m anticipating some great stuff.

It’s all great, when you’re in production. Pardon me while I savor it – because in two months, I may sit down in the editing room and realize I’ve shot a shitty film.

Doubtful, but anything’s possible. At one point, we thought ‘Rats’ was going to make $30 million.