it’s a BIRD it’s PLANE it’s. . . super SMITH Kevin Smith is still flying high

by: PEDRO CABEZUELO

It’s been five years since Kevin Smith made his acting and directorial debut in Clerks, the low-budget indie film that garnered him critical accolades and launched his career.

Since then he’s released two more films, or Mallrats and Chasing Amy and he’s been called everything from a one-hit wonder to a genius. But whatever the label, Smith has gained a sizable following. His success is rootedsomewhere between the indie and the blockbuster, and his fourth film, Dogma. is set to premiere this spring.

Along the way he’s also managed to run a successful comic book store, write for Marvel Comics and have himself immortalized as an action figure. He even dipped his toe into big-budget Hollywood when he was asked by Warner Brothers to pen the script for Superman Reborn in 1995. The film was expected to reboot the franchise and Smith turned in what many insiders called a brilliant story. Unfortunately, the project failed to fly.

“They really had high hopes for this,” Smith reminisces regretfully. “Everything was going smoothly until Tim Burton got into the mix and ironically, now he might not even direct it”.

Burton had been one of Smith’s idols, (think the Batman homage in Mallrats). But Burton’s concept (the Nicolas Cage Man of Steel) and producer Jon Peter’s merchandising mentality didn’t gel with Smith’s character-heavy script. It was a disappointing experience for Smith.

“Being a Superman fan, it was kind of sad being in on it. I mean, hearing them say ‘It’s not about how good the dialogue is, it’s about how many toys we can sell’ – and that was a quote too, you can’t make that stuff up.”

Smith is perplexed by the blockbuster mentality that sacrifices good storytelling for spectacle. “It would be nice if the studios would wake up and realize, ‘You know, if we make a good flick we’ll make money and we won’t be laughed at.’

Look at Superman. You’re guaranteed to make at least $100 million, why not just make a good movie? Why think just about the profit – you win profit – but why not at the same time try to make a good flick and maybe you’ll make more of a profit? And then at the end of the day you could hold your head up high and say, ‘This is our film and we like it.”

Even so, he hasn’t sworn off Tinseltown. He’s seen the dark side of the indie world, too. “I know everyone credits indie film with being the savior of modern cinema, but you know, for as many crappy Hollywood movies out there, there’s as many crappy indie flicks too. It really just comes down to who’s in charge, who’s writing the cheque, and who’s got the most to gain from it.

But the recent success of small films is encouraging for Smith who co-executive produced Oscar winner Good Will Hunting. For his new film, Smith has again teamed up with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who play a pair of guardian angels sent to earth.

Dogma is a film which involves religion (Alanis Morissette will appear in a non-speaking ‘ role as God), and with such touchy subject matter, Smith anticipates some controversy. But he is quick to dispel last summer’s media buzz that Miramax owners Disney and the Catholic Church are having problems with the final product. “There was about a week where the press kept telling us that we were receiving a lot of flack, but we hadn’t even started cutting the movie yet so we were like ‘Really? Disney wants us to cut the film down to two hours? They hate it? They haven’t even seen it”.

As for the Church: “I think somebody jumped the gun. There was-never anybody going ‘This is bad news and you’re in trouble.”

Controversy aside, the film will certainly capture the attention of independent and mainstream fans alike, and is sure to keep Smith a silver-screen Super hero with a foot firmly planted on each of his two worlds.

…Now the two companies are making final plans to strike a second deal, this one for a series based on filmmaker Kevin Smith’s popular slacker comedy Clerks. Smith will executive produce the series, which ABC is eyeing as a midseason replacement.

David Poland’s Hot Button column from Roughcut.Com has some choice words to say about the show, too, and they ain’t so good:

MAXI-BAD: Miramax is joining the family TV business. ABC looks like it will order “Clerks: The TV Series.” Let the whoring begin! Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier are back in business and this could be a show that in tandem with the singularly overrated “Sports Night” (the show with dialogue so pretentious and thick that Harold Pinter watched it and cried, “What is their problem?!”), could bring the network to a critically acclaimed complete stop. An HBO series could be worthy, but this?!?! Argh! Clerks in prime time. Just think about it. Kind of like “Basic Instinct: The Saturday Morning Animated Series” or “Friends” without the tight clothes. No one could take it! And, uh, by the way, where the hell is Dogma?

Don’t worry, Danny – While you’re not gonna see Randal watching any hermaphroditic porn on ABC, we’re sure the series will still be entertaining. As for Dogma: This fall. Pay attention!