Kevin Smith is making a hockey movie. This makes a certain amount of sense, as Smith’s favorite subjects seem to be (in ascending order): comic books, hockey and himself. The writer/director has been working on the project, called Hit Somebody, for a little while, but apparently it wasn’t until Seann William Scott came into his life that Smith cracked the thing.
“Seann, for me, was the key into the character,” Smith told NHL.com. “I had all the elements in place, and the one thing I was missing was the personality. Generally I like to write to a voice, but I didn’t know who that voice was or what that voice could be. And then after spending all the time with Seann on this movie, he’s pitch perfect. He is that guy.
“This dude has something in him that you can just see hangs so well on Buddy [the lead character of Hit Somebody]. He’s got some pain that’s going to work out well. More importantly he has so much love in his heart. Seann Scott is such an ebullient, happy person who’s just happy to be there. And on (“Cop Out”) you could see it. On our set the guy is just so delighted to be working, to be making people laugh. But he’s always dismissed as Stifler. … This is his chance to shine.”
Combined with Scott’s downbeat thoughts on forever being tied to Stifler (read them here), those last sentences just make me feel terrible. I was going to say that maybe Scott was Smith’s new Ben Affleck, but it reads more like he’s his new Jason Mewes – a guy Smith is just trying to help out. Spinning the casting of your lead as charity may not be the best thing.
But wait! It gets grandioser:
“I look at this as Seann’s opportunity to go to the (Tom) Hanks level,” Smith said. “Hanks for years and years did this (lesser) role and then he became that (blockbuster movie) guy. This is Seann’s chance to do that as well, not just be Stifler. And it’s my chance to not just be the “Clerks” guy. It’s my chance to do something big, epic in scale. Stories I tell span one day. … This spans 30 years. You’re talking a period. You’re trying to bring people to a time in your life that hasn’t existed in 30 years. The look of it, the feel of it, the sound of it — everything I have is going to be in that movie.”
Even after everything – bad movies, inane Tweets, an ill-conceived publicity grab through being fat – I can’t help but root for Smith. I don’t think he’s a bad guy, he’s just a guy who doesn’t know how to climb to the next level, or maybe he doesn’t know how to work the level he’s stuck with. It’s been interesting watching Smith go from an indie darling to an almost Insane Clown Posse level of cultism. I do think that the guy has something in him to say – he’s been able to do it before! – and maybe a decades spanning hockey movie is the way for him to do it.
19 comments
Cop Out still looks like shit.
That's fuckin' harsh. As a not-so-skinny person yourself, you should know better than most that Smith was not using the whole "too fat to fly" thing as a publicity stunt.
I've been listening to his SModcasts the past few weeks (before this Too Fat To Fly storm blew up) and he really seems to be genuinely passionate about this ice hockey thing, so I'm keen to see how it handles it. I'm kind of looking forward to what Scott Mosier's been working on also. Both guys seem to be in the process of reinventing themselves now that Harvey W isn't there to pick up the tab anymore. Maybe that was holding them back from moving forward.
I agree with #2. It seemed contrived and comedically disingenuous. I'd take a two sentence article with the relevant info over all those hackneyed jabs. I don't think Smith is a great director, but he's got my respect for being seemingly genuine and honest, and sometimes hilarious. Glass House Devin.
SModcast OWNS
Kevin Smith is more genuine and entertaining to listen to than you could ever hope to be Devin. You're just too snide.
My only issue with this is that he wants to film this in Detriot, because Mitch Albom said he wouldn't agree to do it if Smith wanted to film anywhere else which is kind of bullshit. Any other original six team would be better than Detroit. Fuck those guys. Plus, it's too obvious, with the current state of the nation, to set an underdog story in a place where you can buy a house for $4.
Devin you are exactly like Kevin Smith only with a lot more hair, a lot less talent and nothing to say. Kevin Smith is one of only a handful of directors whose movies people follow and anticipate. He has made it to the next level you tubby fuck. Once you get off the ground floor then you can start talking about who is making it to other levels. Other than that big fan!
When did housing prices quadruple in Detriot?
@ #8 The box office would indicate very few people follow and anticipate Smith's work. Just a modest collective of fat guys with beards (seriously, go to one of his shows, its pretty much wall-to-wall Silent Bob lookalikes). He's playing to a small crowd, he's no Tarantino or even James Cameron.
I had a life drawing model that met Smith during his "indie darling" years. She was working at the Disney store, he came in to buy some stuff. Long story short he pulled the, "I'm Kevin Smith." card. She had no idea who he was and he was pissed. Boo hoo.
Here's my big question: What ever happened to "Manchild", the Showtime series that he was gonna star in? Kevin's got so much charisma and he's so easy to root for – why not abandon the director's chair (which he clearly has little talent for) and just be a good-guy actor?
He NEEDS to talk this up as his "now's my moment" movie because it's clear to everyone he's in danger of dropping off the face of the earth, especially if he wants to film his own scripts.
Also, I'd argue that "everything I have" is one of his problems. Sometimes Smith needs a guy to put a hand on his shoulder at the scripting stage and say: "Look, that's just gonna make people blush for you come show time." Chasing Amy and even Dogma are vaguely interesting ideas, utterly destroyed by what Smith made of them in both writing and direction.
"Smith's favorite subjects seem to be (in ascending order): comic books, hockey and himself." So, replace hockey with Harry Potter and it's Devin.
Actually, #14, replace comic books with "horseshit indie comic books that only doucebags trying too hard to be hipster read" as well and you're dead on.
No mention of the Zevon song, I can't tell if that's Smith's fault or yours. Or mine for poor reading.
#12 The "Manchild" pilot was not picked-up by Showtime but it did air at 4AM once about a year back. Look for it online, that's how I saw it (it is pretty funny).
As far as Smith playing up the whole plane thing for publicity, I really don't think so. Listen to Smodcast #106 (it's free). That's just a fat guy with a forum genuinely expressing his pain. Give it a listen; great radio.
I've always found Kevin Smith to be a completely hilarious public speaker……his movies on the other hand……not so great, but he keeps trying. It's nice to hear you genuinely root for him Devin.
This article has some good (and fair) points but is ruined by the "ill-conceived publicity grab through being fat" part. Chud spends a lot of time bashing writers, blogs and sites that don’t do the proper research before posting stories and yet you published that despite the fact that Smith turned down the chance to appear on several TV shows (Larry King Live, Good Morning America, etc.) to discuss the situation.
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