Kevin Smith comes to UMass; Silent Bob speaks to students
After a brief introduction by DVP (Distinguished Visitors Program) secretary John Kazlauskas, independant filmmaker Kevin Smith took the stage at the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall to a raucous and eager crowd and a wall of applause and cheering.
“It’s reactions like that that make up for any woman who ever said I had a small dick,” he said, one of many moments of self-effacing humor Smith would subject himself to over the next two hours and forty-five minutes on stage. He came with no prepared speech, and made no opening remarks, choosing instead to jump directly into crowd interaction, fielding a myriad of questions from fans, film students, and more than a few people just looking for a good laugh.
As can be expected, one of the first topics hit upon was how upstart independant filmmakers, such as those working towards their Film Studies certificate here at UMass should go about entering the industry.
“Is there a film school here? You can get a certificate? Well, fuck, I can give you a certificate.”Smith himself only attended film school for four months, and advised hopeful writer/directors to spent their money on film projects, not tuition.
Another hot topic of discussion was Smith’s most recent film, Dogma, Which sparked a backlash of hate mail (and some threats of violence) from religious apologists who saw Smith’s movie as a direct attack on their belief systems, the Catholic Church in particular.
“It was a pro-faith movie,” said Smith when asked about the reactions Dogma received, and although he said he tends to view organized religion with “suspicion and disdain,” he also noted, “Church I actually enjoy going to. It gives me a piece of mind.”
One of the highlights of the evening was Smith’s lengthy and hilarious tale about how he came to know Jason Mewes, who has made appearances in all of Smith’s films as the character Jay. Although too long (and far too profane) to retell here, one particular anecdote does merit mention. Smith and cast member Jason Lee were in their hotel room when Mewes stepped through the door wearing nothing but a red vest. “Did you order this?”
Smith also talked about his one-time involvement with the new Superman movie, Superman Reborn), for which he was hired as the scriptwriter. Untimately, the movie was shelved when Tim Burton was hired as a director, and insisted on bringing in his own writers. Kevin was dismissed, and the Burton-headed efforts untimately floundered and died.
Thats not to say Smith’s involvement in the comic book world has come to an end – far from it.A longtime fan of the genre, Smith has written for Daredevil, and is currently working on both The Green Arrow and a one-shot comic book detailing the history of Loki and Bartleby, the two angelic protagonists of Dogma.
And speaking of comic book movies, Smith’s opinion of the new X-men feature film was simply “It’s Halle Berry in a bad wig.”
Following this was a lengthy and hilarious exchange with the audience about unspeakably profane sex acts, a reminder that regardless of how articulate and thoughtful Smith might be, he’s still a nutty guy who loves a good, immature laugh.
What will Smith’s next movie be? “I know what it is, I just don’t want to say it,” is all he would divulge.
The evening concluded with a screening of the second episode of the new animated adaptation of Smith’s first movie Clerks, set to premiere this May (a move that, Smith acknowledges, means that the television company has little faith in it’s success, and is planning to discontinue work on the series soon after it’s debut).
If the audience’s laughter is any indication, however, there may be hope for the series yet.
