comment #1

Arran says ...

Lemme pre-empt the haters...I love Kevin and many of his battles with critics are thoroughly amusing - but things like this don't really do him any favours. He's just giving dicks like Moore extra ammo.

Having said that, most of his points are valid.

comment #2

donnyboy says ...

Judging by the articulate nature of his fans on myspace: does a snob in his world mean someone who uses words other than four letter explicatives?

As for the Sentinel page

The funniest is #2 Carrie:

--I dress up nearly every day as I work on my master's degree and go to work in my high demand career---

Sounds like it.

Does Kevin Smith troll the internet for dissent? A tad bizarre. How Orwellian of him.

comment #3

The Movie Man says ...

I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Smith's films (though Clerks and Mallrats, have a special place in my heart) but I have a great deal of respect for what the man has done, he got off his ass (at 23!) and made a movie and has built a mini-empire of fans over the years since. That said, I think he should resist the urge to seemingly respond to every person who criticizes him or his work. This particular response, like all of Smith's responses, are well written, but he shouldn't validate his critics with these rebuttals, it seems a tad insecure.

comment #4

breadlymoore says ...

Fact: Roger Moore is a huge prick and is greatly disliked by the critic community. Like most print critics, he fell assbackwards into his job and is not going to give it up easily. Just another print tool in an online world...

I'm with Smith on this one. Moore shouldn't take such potshots. If he had any cred, it would be gone with this incident.

comment #5

Gabriel says ...

It's been over 3 hours since this was posted and Smith has yet to weigh in. Should we maybe send someone over to his house and check to see if he's okay?

comment #6

D.Z. says ...

Clerks 2 did alright, but not exceptionally well for a director who has built such a large fanbase over the last decade. If Kevin wants to continue avoiding challenging projects for the sake of easy money, it's fine by me. But unless he wants more, he has no reason to act so defensive about it. The Jackass guys don't write lengthy diatribes about not doing more with their careers. They just are content to revel in their mediocrity.

comment #7

Arran says ...

I wouldn't call his fanbase "large" (unless you're referring to their weight...too easy. And by the way, I'm obviously a Kev fan so chalk that joke up to a hearty sense of self-deprecation), but certainly committed. Clerks II's gross was probably about right given the size of his fanbase (grosses of previous few films: $30m, $30m, $25m, - see a pattern there?)...though of course they were hoping it would cross over. It didn't. But people will still make money. No tragedy.

comment #8

The Movie Man says ...

"Clerks 2 did alright, but not exceptionally well for a director who has built such a large fanbase over the last decade. If Kevin wants to continue avoiding challenging projects for the sake of easy money, it's fine by me. But unless he wants more, he has no reason to act so defensive about it. The Jackass guys don't write lengthy diatribes about not doing more with their careers. They just are content to revel in their mediocrity."

I actually agree with this assessment. Its sort of like the big Brett Ratner (though at least Smith's films bear the mark of an actual person making them and not a marketing committee) thing a while back, if your gonna coast and make money and be happy, nothing wrong with that (more of us would love to do it), but don't expect us to take you as seriously as someone who sweats a little for their work and produces films that are surprising and different and moving. Smith can argue all he wants and he probably will and he'll probably make a hell of a case, but he hasn't really moved beyond where he started, I think he knows that, hence all of the defensiveness. That said the Roger Moore article was cheap and condescending, and to use someone's appearance against them is in bad taste.

comment #9

The Movie Man says ...

Devin at CHUD has written the best response I've seen on this:

http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=8095.

comment #10

Devin Faraci says ...

Thanks!

comment #11

RoyBatty says ...

Faraci's comments are right on the money. Smith's problem for the last couple of years has been being far too interested in setting up and running his empire than producing new work. How the hell could he have any time to work on scripts when he spends way, WAY too much time writing on his blog or other's?

But then, maybe Smith himself realizes he is at the end of the road, creatively. It's the other edge of the sword that is making personal cinema. So far, CHASING AMY and DOGMA are the only films he has made that try successfully for more depth than the rest of the Jay & Silent Bob oeuvre. Yet, they are clearly based on his personal life and interests. Perhaps he has run out of original material and realizes it, that his little empire has trapped him into either making nothing new or more retreads of past work.

We'll know if the next project is about some director/writer/similiar creative guy who attains early success but finds that it cuts him off from the very inspiration that made it happen. CLERKS II gave me hope that Smith would take the next step that he fumbled so horribly with JERSEY GIRL (shudder). But it's gonna take a lot of courage, because anytime he works away from his established fictional world, he is open to criticism that he can't shield himself from with a pat "well, I made this movie for guys like me and you aren't, so you don't get it" justification.

comment #12

dangovich says ...

Kevin Smith is an intelligent, engaging personality. But for me, the relentless marketing kills all the fun.

Not long ago, he did a guest critic shot on Ebert and Roeper. When they came to the part of the show reserved for DVD recommendations, Smith used the slot to plug his own "An Evening With Kevin Smith 2."

Kevin, seriously, if you're reading this, please, just dial it down a notch or two.

comment #13

Dave Polands Gut says ...

Kevin Smith has crossed the line into a joke.

What other director really gives a shit what critics say or think?

Its not like hes making Citizen Kane type flicks here. Hes making unfunny movies that havent improved in 10 years.