Is their a director you’d like to work with and how was it being a guest critic with Roeper?

Kevin Smith: It was pimp when they asked me to be on Ebert and Roeper, and then I saw the other people they asked and I was like, ‘Sh*t, they’re asking everybody.’ But, it was still cool; I grew up watching that show, back when it was – before it was Ebert and Roeper, before it was Siskel and Ebert, when it was just ‘At the Movies’ on PBS, and before that when it was Sneak Previews. So when I was a kid, I watched that show, and they were always referred to as ‘the fat guy and the skinny guy’ in our house, and I grew up to be the ‘fat guy,’ so it was kind of cool. But it was nice, and it’s a lot more work to it than you think; cause you actually have to write a review, which I never really thought about. Cause they do kind of sit there and deliver to the camera before they get into cross talk, and they never mess up – and that’s because they’re reading from a teleprompter. And it’s your opinion, so no one can write the review for you, you have to write it; and that was the challenging thing. You have to write a 200 word review, and as you can tell, I’m not good at keeping it short. So, that was tough, writing a 200 word review.

What did you think about ripping on your fellow actors and directors?

Kevin Smith: Did you ever see the shows I did? I never ripped into anybody. But really, it’s because there was nothing I saw – I go into it with a different perspective; that’s something I learned, too, when I was sitting there with Richard. I saw The Guardian, and I was like, ‘I liked this, it’s the kind of movie my old man would have loved.’ So I had a different sentimental attachment to it; and also I looked at it going, ‘I could never make this movie,’ so f*ckin’ props! And Richard’s like, ‘I’ve seen 10 of these this year; you’ve seen one, so f*ck you.’ So it’s different for them, cause they’re forced to watch every f*ckin’ movie, and they’ll see multiples of the same tired plot. Where as, I don’t go out to see movies like The Guardian; when I got to see it for free, I was like, ‘I liked it.’

Sam Jaeger: And Kevin has a different criteria when watching movies; he’d be like, ‘Hey, did you see that movie last night? Totally watchable movie.’ That you could sit through it, that was –

Kevin Smith: It’s watchable.

Sam Jaeger: That was ‘thumbs up.’

Having reviewed, does that change your perspective on making movies?

Kevin Smith: No, not really; I’ve been watching movies for years and I’ve gotten no better as a filmmaker. Why, in terms of reviewing movies, would it really make me think about it twice?

Do you understand now what the critics are doing?

Kevin Smith: I really did walk away with more of an appreciation for critics, cause it’s very easy to demonize them in my position, to villainize a critic and be like, ‘f*ckin’ asshole’s responsible for f*ckin’ my 63% on Rotten Tomatoes when I could have been 70; why am I not certified fresh?’ But, it is a f*ckin – it’s not like curing cancer or laying brick, but it’s a tough job; you’re forced to go see movies you have no interest in seeing, and you have to come at it fairly, so to speak and then write something about it clever in a way that nobody else before and sh*t like that.

How many did you see?

Kevin Smith: For Ebert and Roeper, I did 2 shows, so I saw 8 flicks – but 2 separate shows.

Was there a movie you saw that you wouldn’t have seen?

Kevin Smith: I wouldn’t have gone to see – I’ve got a kid, so I probably would have wound up seeing Open Season, especially because it’s a Sony Picture. I feel like such a whore. But some of them I would have went to see; but I would have never gone to see The Guardian, but I wound up liking it. But there was stuff I wanted to see and got to see early like The Queen and The Last King of Scotland – that was kind of a cool day; yeah, great, easy sits, though.

Hey Kev give us an update. What’s going on with your horror film, what’s going on with view askew and what about Mark Steven Johnson talking to you about directing an episode of Preacher?

Kevin Smith: Yeah, he asked me if I wanted to direct an episode of Preacher, which I thought was very kind of him; but, I don’t know if I’m up to that. I love that book so much, and being able to translate one of those books to the screen, that’s just daunting to me. Cause you don’t want to be the guy who f*cks it up, and so I was like, ‘Well, I don’t know, we’ll see.’ But I’m certainly not committed to do it, only as much of I don’t want to drop the ball cause I like it so much. But if it was some show I didn’t like; I mean, I’ve never really directed TV anyway, so it’s kind of difficult getting my head around it, but since it’s an hour-long drama, presumably, I’d be more keen to directing a movie rather than TV – I don’t know, maybe, maybe. The thing that would keep me from doing that would be I’d be afraid of ruining what I like so much about Preacher – so we’ll see if that happens. What was the other question?

What about the horror film you’re supposed to be directing?

Kevin Smith: Horror flick is all up here (points to brain); I just have to put it down here (pretends to type). I’ve just been using acting as an excuse to not sit down and not write.

Did you guys rehearse your fight at all?

Sam Jaeger: Yeah, and somehow, I still got kicked in the balls. I don’t know how that happened.

Kevin Smith: That’s the only fight I’ve ever been in in my entire life.

Sam Jaeger: Really?

Kevin Smith: Yeah, I’ve never been in a real fight.

Sam Jaeger: Wow

Kevin Smith: Yeah, that’s why I look so f*ckin’ bad; it really is a few of these (makes slapping motion) away from being a ‘slapdown.’

Sam Jaeger: It really was. They even gave us a rubber mallet, so we didn’t actually kill each other in the process, or shave something off each other’s faces.

Hey Kevin, Scott Mosier has been very involved with Kyle Newman’s Fanboys and I know you have sort of been involved, like you have filmed something.

Kevin Smith: Yeah, me and Mewes did a little cameo when they were doing re-shoots, and what not.

What’s your opinion of the film?

Kevin Smith: I’ve watched half of it; it’s a rather sweet movie. I haven’t watched the other half of it; I watched my half up until my part, cause we were doing that little scene, and I wanted to throw some stuff together for it. And I was like, ‘So what’s the movie about?’

Sam Jaeger: You shut it off after your part, didn’t you?

Kevin Smith: My part wasn’t in it yet, but I turned it off after where my part would be. Cause (Scott) Mosier’s like, ‘We’re still in the midst of cutting it; watch the finished version,’ and what not. But I like it, I think it’s a really sweet movie, and right up my f*ckin’ alley; so I’m kind of programmed to kind of dig it. That dude, Dan Fogler in the movie’s really funny, the chick from Veronica Mars, who I absolutely love, whose name escapes me –

Kristen Bell

Kevin Smith: Thank you, who I must not love that much; she’s in it, and she’s really good. That dude who plays Windows in the movie is the guy from Million Dollar Baby –

Sam Huntinton?

Kevin Smith: No, not Sam Huntington; he’s in the movie. But it’s the other dude. (Jay Baruchel). He’s from Million Dollar Baby, who was kind of the wimpy fighter; he’s in the movie and he’s really pimp, and really funny. He was on Freaks and Geeks.

What’s next for you?

Kevin Smith: For me, I don’t know; it’s kind of coming down to me wanting to do this comedy and me wanting to do this horror flick. And I feel like I should do the horror flick because I’ve done seven comedies in 12 years, and I don’t feel like a filmmaker most days; I just feel like a guy who makes those movies set in that universe. So if I really want to test myself or push myself, I’d try and make something completely out of my safety zone, completely out of my genre – that said, I’ve never tested myself, so why would I start now.

How are the hate emails with Ben Affleck going?

Kevin Smith: Honestly not that much; he’s been buried in Gone, Baby, Gone, so we really haven’t traded that many emails. I saw him the other night cause he’s got some awards heat on him, and what not, and they had one of those award cocktail party get togethers kind of thing where I showed up; I was like, ‘Dude, you don’t have to lobby for my vote, I’m voting for you.’ But he’s been buried in his movie; and I keep asking him, ‘Dude, show me your flick.’ And he keeps saying, ‘Nah, not yet, I’m not quite ready yet.’ I just don’t think he wants my loser stink anywhere near it. I think he’s gearing up; he’s like, ‘You wouldn’t understand it, but there are no ass-f*cking jokes.’

Anymore Q&A’s?

Kevin Smith: Q&A’s, I’ve got one at Kent State, and then I’ve got one in Denver; but no, I’ve been kind of saying ‘no’ to a lot of stuff this year. Just because last year was so busy, I’m looking forward to just laying low; also, if Manchild gets picked up, I think we start shooting in March again, and that’s 12 episodes, 4 months, so I had to leave that open, so not too much. Everyone’s kind of seen my dog and pony show at this point.

About Die Hard, you’re the one who reveals the terrorist?

Kevin Smith: No, well, I know a lot about him.

It’s Timothy Olyphant.

Kevin Smith: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they kind of get bits and pieces, and I kind of fill them in.

What was it like working with Jennifer? And did you have a personal relationship with her due to Ben?

Kevin Smith: I was saying to someone earlier today, cause they were like, ‘You’re friends with Ben, and it must have been great, and his old lady’s in the movie.’ And back then, it wasn’t quite his old lady just yet; it became his old lady while we were making the movie. One day, she showed up with a ring, and I was like, ‘Why wasn’t I invited?’

Sam Jaeger: A ring and a belly.

Kevin Smith: She showed up with the belly first, ironically – which I kind of respected. Affleck hedging his bets. So I had met her a handful of times prior to that; we were on an episode of ‘Dinner For Five’ a while ago when they were promoting Daredevil. Somebody dropped out, so at the last minute, they were like, ‘Can you fill in?’ And I was like, ‘Absolutely.’ So, during the show, you sit around, you bullsh*t, and what not; I did the same thing I do with Ben all the time, and just made fun of him and picked on him, and sh*t like that. And she would get really tight about it; at one point, she was like, ‘I’m going to kick your ass,’ in that way where you’re like, ‘Is she joking or not?’ You just couldn’t quite understand it; it was like, ‘Alias is taking me seriously.’ And I should have realized then she was being a little bit protective of that dude. So, then I ran into her at The Tonight Show, and somewhere else; but I had no relationship with her. The most time I spent with her was on this movie; and totally lovely girl, and what not. But it’s funny, cause you know a person from working with them, and their body of work, and you also know about them from what a friend tells you about them, and sh*t like that. So the whole time I’m looking at her thinking, ‘Oh, I know things about you!’

Like what?

Kevin Smith: Ask him, ask him.

That kind of parallels your character in this movie?

Kevin Smith: A little bit, and Affleck was around as much as the Grady character was around; he didn’t spend a lot of time on the set. He would come by and say hi to her and sh*t; but generally, because it was up in Vancouver, he didn’t – it sucks being on a set you’re not, you have nothing to do with. It’s kind of boring, so it’s not like he hung out all the time; but when he did hang out, he was f*ckin’ hanging out with her, naturally, in her trailer. I was like, ‘Come to my trailer;’ he was like, ‘Dude, you don’t f*ck me.’ I was like, ‘Right on; I’ll go to Olyphant’s trailer.’

Did you have any input into your wardrobe of your character?

Kevin Smith: I wish I f*ckin’, I wish I had input into my wardrobe; I lobbied to get that f*ckin’ jersey on. I was like, ‘Give me one thing to cover up with; you keep putting me in these skin-tight, fuckin’, tie-dye shirts leaving nothing to the imagination.

Sam Jaeger: Sex sells.

Kevin Smith: I do have a character in the movie where people look at me and feel better about themselves; they’re just like, ‘As bad as I got it, I don’t look like that.’ It’s weird cause I just wear this (long trench coat) in generally every movie I’ve been in; and suddenly, I had to wear what they told me to wear. And I remember Susannah was always going for less; at least with the tie-dye shirt, I got to wear a shirt under it, so it gives you the illusion of ‘well, there’s one more layer, so they can’t tell I’m fat yet.’ Susannah, when we were doing the massage scene, she was like, ‘Well, of course you’ll have your shirt off in this scene.’ I was like, ‘F*ck you, I will not.’ She was like, ‘So you’re going to have a massage with your shirt on?’ I was like, ‘I get a massage in a closed room, not with 40 people on set staring at me, and the world’s going to see it afterwards.’ So I was like, ‘I don’t take my shirt off for my wife, why am I going to do it here.’ So, yeah, that was a weird thing to work with then, just kind of having to wear what they told me; I haven’t worn what I was told to wear since I lived at home with my mom. So it was kind of like that. In terms of Celestial Seasonings, I have not gotten a single box of tea. You’d imagine; maybe once the movie comes out, they’ll be like, ‘Oh you’re our hero.’ But I don’t know if I’m the image they want on the tea box.

Sam Jaeger: Yeah, probably not.

Kevin Smith: Yeah, ‘This dude drinks tea.’ They’re like, ‘No, no.’

Would you categorize yourself as a difficult actor?

Kevin Smith: Only as much as wardrobe; it’s the same thing on Manchild in the opening scene in the show, we’re on surfboards in the middle of the Pacific, and I’m wearing a wetsuit, and I look like the f*ckin’ Penguin, just round, with a little head on top. So I said, ‘I really feel like my character, Paul, would probably wear a shirt over this; and they were like, ‘You don’t wear a shirt in the ocean.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, Paul would; and Paul’s gonna.’ And they were like, ‘Alright.’ So they let me where a (Los Angeles) Kings jersey.

Sam Jaeger: This guy’s a method actor.

Kevin Smith: Yeah, and the method is I don’t wanna see how bad I am.

Sam Jaeger: Another thing you did that I thought was method was Kevin showed that his character would not know how to fly fish; and I thought that was so bold. I spent three months trying to cast every day; he showed up to the set and was like, ‘Yeah, Sam doesn’t cast in this picture.’

Kevin Smith: Poor Jaeger, man; Jaeger really learned how to – Jaeger walks away from this movie with a skill he can take into real life – fishing.

Sam Jaeger: That’s right; forever practical.

Kevin Smith: You can earn a living off it if you have to; me, we sat down with the teacher and I was just like, ‘Eh, I think my character would just whip it around a lot.

Recent Collider Interviews