Last Updated on August 3, 2021
1. THE VIEW ASKEWNIVERSE
Six movies connected by minor details and a pair of drug dealing idiots. It’s the little details that really make fans love watching. Whether it’s a surprise visit by Steve-Dave and Walt the Fanboy, hearing more about Rick Derris’ sexual escapades, or just marvelling at the brilliance of having Jason Lee and Ben Affleck play two different characters in STRIKE BACK and hearing the random movie goer ask what the f*ck is going on. It’s a universe I hope he never ends because between all the dick and fart jokes there’s a real dedication to detail that very few filmmakers will go out of their way to include just to please the fans.
2. THE STORIES
The man can talk. Listening to Kevin talk about his life with such detail for vulgar secrets and personal vendettas is a treat we, the general fanboy public, aren’t supposed to be involved with. On the original EVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH DVD he jabs at Prince, a pop culture icon, with no limits. His Superman script story is legendary and almost every answer for his fans has it’s own little entertaining back story. Look, if you can have a best selling DVD (soon to be two) filled with footage of you just talking for a couple hours – you have a gift.
3. THE JOBLO LINK
It’s that type of interaction described above that led to led our very own head honcho, JoBlo, making a new friend via an internet newsgroup way back in 1999. Two years later, after a few emails, Berge worked up the balls to ask the man to write the foreword to this little book he was writing called ‘The 50 Coolest Movies of All Time’. Kev’s response came the next day asking how may words and when he needed it by. It was that easy, a small gesture that helped JoBlo sell some books and take another step towards ruling the world. Click here to help the cause.
4. THE INTERACTION
No director, and I mean nobody, loves his fans more than Kevin Smith. Posting almost daily at his message board, he is currently setting up his third poker night with board members, included ten thousand MySpace friends in the credits for CLERKS II, regularly stays hours after scheduled times to see everyone at signing events, hosts watching parties, and goes out of his way to try and personally answer every question he receives via his website. Spur of the moment Q&As on that same site are the norm, sometimes being held while he’s sitting in an airport or getting his daughter ready for school. He’s created a community where his fans feel as comfortable talking to him as they do talking about him.
5. THE DVDs
DVD collectors appreciate time and money being spent on the extras that come along with movies we decide to add to our library. This is one area Kev and his band of brothers have never disappointed in. As you listen to any one of their commentaries it feels like you’re in the room with them, just hanging out watching movies. You learn a little, you laugh a lot, and the whole thing makes you want to record your own tracks for home movies. It never works out the same though.
6. THE STORES
To own your own comic store is nice. Owning two is fantastic. Filling them up with shit from your own productions and personally written comics is mind bending. Having never had the opportunity to go to either locations of Jay and Slient Bob’s Secret Stash in Red Bank or Los Angeles I turn to the internet to browse through the amazing collection of goodies they have to offer right here. Most of the merchandise you can get signed for cheap. Almost every shirt, hat, and minor prop you see in his movies are available not to mention the continuously growing collection of Inaction Figures. Very few film makers, if any, offer this type of personalized memorabilia.
7. THE CAMEOS
When given the opportunity – everyone likes to whore themselves out once in a while. Whether it’s on ‘The Tonight Show’ for his ongoing skit, Roadside Attractions, or popping up in his personal guilty pleasure, ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’, Kev tends to get his face out there. Along with filling in over at ‘Ebert & Roeper he’s appeared on television’s ‘Veronica Mars’ as a clerk, ‘Joey’ and ‘Yes, Dear’ as himself, and on the big screen in SCREAM 3, DRAWING FLIES, and DAREDEVIL. It must be nice to be watching TV one night and say “Hey, I really like this show. I’m going to be on it next week.”
8. THE COMICS
With the dream of becoming a Hollywood director checked off his list it was time to tackle another life-long fantasy. After a few stories involving characters from his movies, Kevin started an eight issue run as the writer on ‘Daredevil’. From there he went to a brilliant stint on ‘Green Arrow’ and the delay plagued ‘Spider-Man/Black Cat’ which took almost three years to complete. His story arcs were as controversial as his movies and critically acclaimed but time constraints have proven frustrating for fans and led him to shy away lately.
9. THE FRIENDS
I imagine it’s hard to remain loyal to your friends when your career takes off so suddenly. Especially when one of your friends is a notorious heroin user who just happens to be starring in all your films. As hard as Smith worked to write, direct, and edit – he worked even harder at getting Jason Mewes clean. He offered his home and his money to do whatever it took to keep his hetero-life-partner at his side. Other names such as Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson might not be as recognizable but prove to be just as important in the universe Smith has built around him.
10. THE WIFE
She might be low on this list but if you were to ask Kevin, Jen Schwalbach would be his biggest achievement yet. After interviewing Kevin for a USA Today article something seemed to click. They married in 1999, she got prime roles in JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, JERSEY GIRL, and CLERKS II while Kev got a baby girl named Harley Quinn. He also got to watch Superman feel her up as he shot the above photograph for Playboy in 2004. Click it for a better look.
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