Hey guys-

Seeing as I made a two hour drive and paid $20 bucks to see Kev in Wilmington NC last night, I figured I would drop you a line and let you know how it went. I dont feel like writing a narrative so I will just bullet out the facts.

What is the next film? he wouldn’t say. he did say what it would not be, though. He said no clerks 2, NO mallrats 2, and that the “ultimate Askew Flick” was not really going to be it either. He did say that it would bookend all of the other films nicely and would be the end of Jay and Silent Bob as main actors. (did not rule out the cameo thing) He said that there wasn’t a lot he could say yet, and that he should no more in a week or so. (I was hoping for a major scoop here, but alas…) Clerks: TCS. Well, this is still where it was last time. Not on ABC (or anywhere for that matter). Kev did tell the “fucked by the mouse” story. (which is a lot funnier in person) He showed episode 2 of the cartoon which was a big hit. I think the only joke that sort of sat there is the first joke about the pediatric burn unit. That one didn’t seem to get a lot of laughs. He said that he pretty much knew what was going to happen to the cartoon but that he couldn’t tell us just yet. Said “if the appearance was a week later he could have told all” sounds like some contracts getting signed, huh! To be honest, based on the comments and news lately, I think it sounded like the recombination into a feature is not out of the question. Stories: As I am sure is the case at all of these appearances, Kev was asked the same questions as usual. His comments were to be expected. Fletch 3 = never unless he needs to pay a mortgage. His quote was “If you see me doing Fletch 3, you know I have a mortgage”. He told the jon peters-supes-spider story. very funny stuff. i did get to ask a question which was “how do you think the internet and sites such as viewaskew and newsaskew and aint-it-cool are affecting todays hollywood, with movies like Blair Witch being big hits based on internet word of mouth and does he let the comments on the net affect his writing in anyway”. I thought his answer to this was pretty interesting. He said that he has a love/hate relationship with the web and that he feels that it does a lot of good as far as stimulating discussion, but that it is annoying when some 19 yo kid in Iowa tells him he sucks for no apparent reason. He also said that he did not feel that the Blair Witch success was totally internet related but that the trailers and TV commercials for it were very effective. As for how it affects him, he said that it doesn’t and that while it is nice to see things get positive returns (i.e. Mallrats 2) he does not let it lead him. One of the funniest parts of the night was at about 11:30 or so, Kev’s cell phone rang. He answered it on stage and it was his wife. He then put the phone to the mic and she said hello. It was very sweet and you could tell by the way that he talked to her that he was definately in love. Guess he is just a big ‘ol softy after all.

All in all, I would say that this was a fantastic experience. Kevin stayed until everything everyone had brought was autographed and was gracious to the fans. Kinda refreshing to see someone who is a big star not be pretentious. [taboot]

Hey Guys,

First, as always, great site, keep up the OUTSTANDING work.

Made the trip to Wilmington from Raleigh last night to see the man speak (which oddly was the same trip Kevin made earlier in the day, something about shitty airports in the Wilmington Area).

Kev spoke to us from about 8:10 until 11:45, as always in the question and answer format. A little bit of that was the showing of Clerks: The Cartoon Series Episode 2 The Phantom Leonardo, (alright I made that last bit up). I have to say the show was some VERY funny shit. Lookout for the Spielberg reference….I almost pissed myself.

The usual questions arose…..When is the Chasing Amy DVD coming? (Dammit go to NewsAskew and read about this inane stuff prior to the talk!) What happened with Superman? (Long, GOOD, FUNNY story)….What are you doing next? (Wait a week and he might have an answer for us.) What is Jay up to now? (followed by a slew of rip-roaring pee-in-your-pants stories of the stoner who stole our hearts and possibly our wallets). Although a lot of this stuff had been covered before here on the page, I still laughed (heartily) through it when I was given the full treatment of the story straight from the horse’s mouth. Also funny was the call from Jen in the middle of the show. (What am I doing? I’m talking to a couple of hundred people. What are you doing?)…Kev put the phone up to the mike so she could say hello to us all.

Kevin again stayed around until everyone who wanted him to sign something, got it done (Thank God! We were very near the end of the line). So I guess he probably finished signing things around 1:30 am. I glad to announce I am now the proud owner of a personalized (as personal as you can get in the few minutes you spend as the envy of everyone behind you in line) signature on my blown up image of the Bluntman and Chronic cover of Jay’s death.

I think this just shows what kind of person Kevin is and why so many of his fans love his work. He actually gives a shit about his fans and realizes they are not there just to put his kid through school or build a new wing on his house. In a time when so many directors can’t be bothered with their fans (Star Wars DVD anyone?) Kevin is truly a King among those who bring us the moving picture shows we all shell out our two bits to see. Kevin if your reading, know that your films and your graciousness towards fans, mean more than most people can express in the short time we get to spend talking to you. I, for one, wanted to say so much more than the few nervous jokes I slung at my friends as they got their pictures and lied to you about writing an ad for your appearance (and the hurt look in your eyes when he confessed that it wasn’t him).

So all in all, it was very much worth the $20 to hear him speak, see the cartoon, and fumble our way through having him sign something for us.

I hope he makes it back to us again soon, so we can apologize for our feeble attempts at humor the first time. Say “Hi” to Greasy Reese Withersponn for us. [John Dorman]

Hope you guys weren’t expecting a whole lot of news coming from “An Evening with Kevin Smith” at Wilmington. I don’t really recall there being even a drip of what I would call “news” that hasn’t already been mentioned.Kevin did say that he wasn’t going to do Clerks 2, Mallrats 2, or The Ultimate Jersey Movie, although his next movie would in someway bring the View Askewniverse to a close. Jason Mewes also tried out for a part in the new Penny Marshall movie “Girls in Cars with Boys” or somethinganother though it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll get that part. He is flying out to LA to do some work on an indie film out there. Kevin is starting on the Green Arrow comic and said his next turn on Daredevil won’t be coming until sometime next year. As far as the cartoon goes (which the 2nd episode is indeed very hilarious), he couldn’t mention exactly what the plans for it are as they are in final negotiations at the time. He was asked about it showing on HBO on Cinemax and said that they were going a different route with it. And
on
a personal note, Kevin got a call from the wife on his cellphone during
the
speech. Apparently she’s ready for him to get back to Jersey to start
pre-production on a new baby.
Well, as you can see it was mostly a lot of nothing. Kevin ended up
talking for close to 4 hours (including showing the C:TCS episode) and
while
he didn’t reveal any big news, it was entertaining to say the least…
[Bart Smith]

Hey guys, I don’t know if this is the forum to tell you guys about it but
I
saw Kevin in Wilmington last night. UNBELIEVABLE! He talked for about 4
hours and showed us the second episode of CLERKS TAS. ABC is really
missing
out on this one. He keeps getting better and better. He also took the
time
to do autographs at the end and talk with each person. A true testament
of
his devotion to his fans. Hats off to Kevin for making the night well
worth
the 20 bucks I paid to get in! [Dennis Cary]