I’m past hating on Kevin Smith. To be hated means holding onto some modicum of relevancy, something Smith hasn’t had in several years now. Instead, the once celebrated maker of films seems to have been assimilated into his own Twitter feed (or his ass, whichever you prefer) opting to take his ball and retreat into a fervent fanbase that counts stunted development as their signature trait.
Where Smith once helped usher in a rather fruitful era in indie filmmaker, he now seems to exist solely in new media, boasting about films that become web series that then become TV miniseries and for now flourish only as vaporfilm (see, Hit Somebody).
Smith appeared on Deadline’s What’s Trending (included in its entirety below) to chat it up and give an update on another of his ever-changing prospects – Clerks 3. He rambles a bit, saying that he wanted to turn the idea from a film into a play, or perhaps a web series. Now, his latest whim has him writing Clerks 3 as a novel, releasing it in installments on the internet and taking fan feedback into account as he works on forthcoming chapters.
Yeah, do it, Kevin. Whatever. Just stop talking about it. People hang onto Quentin Tarantino’s words when he talks about projects that never happen, too. The difference being that Tarantino’s an artist with merit and people are interested in his thought process regarding his output.
Tomorrow Smith will decide he wants Clerks 3 to be a radio play, the day after he’ll announce a puppet show, day after that Clerks 3 will be a film again only for Smith to change course at the last minute deciding that it works better as Twitter’s first graphic novel written and drawn by Jason Mewes and dictated by the tune of Kevin Smith’s farts.
Source: Vulture
26 comments
I think “Clerks 3” will ultimately take the form of a crossword puzzle book, or perhaps a collection of haikus.
Nope… it’s gotta be POGS.
Color-by-the-number graphic novel?
I was originally going to say “coloring book” before I saw the graphic novel part. I’m crossing my fingers that “Clerks 3” evolves into an interpretive dance.
You’re just a tracer.
You’re past hating on Kevin Smith but this whole piece was nothing but a tirade against him. It’s clear you dislike him, so why then give him the space when there wasn’t even any real news there to begin a thread? Just seems callous and bitter.
Good thing you are past hating Kevin Smith. It really shows.
I gotta say though, when I see him AMC, you can tell the guy has a real passion for film, sci-fi, comics, someone to argue with at 4am about Batman vs Superman while eating at Denny’s. And you know what? I love that about the guy. Smith can be great film maker. I just think he’s got Lucas syndrome. Yeah it’s real, look it up on webMD. It’s where someone has a hit film, falls in love with his own image , and then gets snotty when their fan base hates their latest “vision.” Instead of stepping back and taking a look themselves, they turn against the very people who helped put them where they are to begin with.
If a writer dismisses a filmmaker I like I don’t waste 1s and 0s calling them callous and bitter. But then again I’m not a child.
My earlier post was sheer coincidence. The other wasn’t there when I was logging in. Didn’t mean to repeat.
But insulting an entire fanbase because you don’t like him or his movies is kind of Devinish.
I agree Smith can be really, really annoying, but most people I know actually enjoyed Clerks 2 for what it was, but I guess we’re all stunted in our development. We must not have learned that all movies should be sophisticated and that Tarantino is apparently some sort of deity.
You’re putting words in my mouth insinuating people who watch and enjoy Clerks 2 are stunted in their development. There’s no shame in enjoying occasional toilet humor.
And Devin’s a fine writer, so thanks, I guess. I know this comes as a shock to people who’ve never visited CHUD before, but we do tend to editorialize here.
I too love Clerks 2. Kinda rolls off your tongue doesn’t it? Anyway, hell we live a world where BEN FUCKING AFFLECK has become a deity. Tarantino has become par for the course.
And you a fine writer, too.
But this pointless, mean article actually justifies what Smith says about film critics.
Are a…
Sigh. This text system really blows for mobile devices.
Pointless: At some point Renn or I would likely have to cover the Clerks 3 story. The point of the article is Clerks 3 as a novel, which I think will never happen and is another in a long line of examples of Smith taking a piss for publicity. Because we editorialize, I covered it and included my own opinions. So I’ll cop to maybe burying the lead (not purposefully), but I’m human and it wouldn’t be the first time. Which brings us to…
Jesus, I hadn’t realized I went THAT LONG. Giving PK a run for her money.
Part of having a comments section on a website is accepting that people are going to criticize what you’re doing, the same way you criticize what your subjects are doing. Argue with them, sure, but don’t act like they’re breaking some unwriteen rule about respecting web writers. Trying to set boundaries to protect yourself is pointless, and you’d be better off disabling comments entirely if that’s your goal.
What’s wrong with me having a dialogue with a reader? I write for CHUD, this isn’t brain surgery. What am I protecting myself from?
Dear lord, does PK still exist?
Nothing, except for the part where you tell the reader he’s not dialoguing right because it’s not about what you want it to be about.
(P.S. The article was dead on, except for the part where you’re past hating Kevin Smith. You’re not, and I don’t think anyone really can be as long as he keeps existing and saying things.)
It looks like the audience for “Comic Book Men” has completely disappeared after it was moved away from “Walking Dead”, so I’m sure we can hear Smith bitch about it’s inevitable cancellation soon.
I’ve been reading Chud for years, and it’s become more and more apparent recently just how negative the tone has become. From the calling Soderbergh a bitch because he has a beef with the film industry(a broken industry if ever there was one) article, to the let’s-top-this roundtable of anti-Kevin Smith articles from various, let’s call them “contributors.” I don’t know if it’s because of the rather limited appeal of the Chud produced feature films, or that this has just become a movie troll site, or what,
Years ago, I was a frequent reader of Coming Attractions, because they would print any movie rumor they heard, no matter how legitimate and that was fun. Once the site changed hands, I moved on to Chud, which tended to aggregate more than break stories, but had a feel that they at least enjoyed what they were writing about.
There’s a difference between editorializing and just being plain bitter, and this site seems to have crossed that line. Nobody seems to enjoy what they’re writing about, and it all has a tinge of pissy film major bullshit that I dealt with in school. The unabashed joy of writing about bad, trashy films is gone, and now every article feels like a lecture from some hipster who wants me to understand why everything I like is wrong.
So, with that said, I bid Chud a fond farewell.
I see now what u meant, and thank u for responding, sir.
Given your “fond farewell,” I don’t know whether you’ll actually read this, but I’ll say this if only because I don’t really feel I can pass by your comment in silence. I can’t tell you how to feel about CHUD or its content, of course, but I honestly don’t know what website you’re talking about when you say “Nobody seems to enjoy what they’re writing about.” From that I take it you don’t read Franchise Me, Movie of the Day, Collecting VHS (there’s your “bad, trashy films” right there!), or any number of other regular columns that practically overflow with enthusiasm for cinema, both high and low. But all that is negated because Tim takes some justified jabs at a once promising, now complacent (and frankly, rather sad) filmmaker who’s best work appears to be well behind him? Loving film as an artform doesn’t necessary mean you love every film, or filmmaker. Despite (or because of?) criticism of Kevin Smith or any other particular filmmaker, CHUD remains a site for, and by, film lovers.
Some will disagree, but I find this to be truth.
I’m 100% okay with people taking me to task on stuff. So long as they’re respectful, which you most certainly were, I’m happy to offer transparency. We can agree to disagree, but at least you’re cool about it and for that I’m grateful.
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