Kevin Smith refuses to play media game

Kevin Smith is one of those odd directors. He's responsible for some amazing movies like Clerks and MallRats and Dogma and my personal favorite, Clerks 2. One of the reasons he's so well known and loved is because he, like so many New Jersey people, has no filter between his mouth and his brain, so you never have to worry if you're getting the whole truth from him or not. That being said, his latest battle has me thinking the guy isn't really thinking about what's best for him, despite making some good points.

With Smith's latest movie, Red State hitting theaters in March, most directors would be gearing up press junkets, sending out goodie bags to movie critics and trying to stir as much buzz as possible. Smith, not able to do things the old fashioned way is stirring buzz, alright, but it's because he isn't doing interviews, sending out press junkets or even screening the movie for critics. It stems from a feud Smith had with "stuffy movie critics" when his last movie Cop Out was panned. Now, Smith refuses to work with those critics.

“I’m not press-junketing at all, anywhere,” said Smith, adding that journalists will have to listen to hours of his Smodcast if they want to get any information about his film. He is, however, considering transcribing a Questions and Answers session for “SUPER lazy writers.” Basically, “nobody needs to talk to me anymore anyway, as anyone who’s curious can always know what I’m thinking 24/7 right here on Twitter.”

Now, I understand a certain disdain for some movie critics. There are those critics out there who feel they are entitled to free movies, and crazy amounts of ass-kissery. They think they have the power to make or break a movie, and as such, should be highly respected. Sadly, that isn't the case. While movie critics still wield power, with the internet, and the fact there is hundreds of thousands of people like me, the power is diminished.

That being said, being mad, and refusing to play ball because people said your movie sucked seems overly childish and silly. I hate those stuffy movie critics, which is why I always try to look at how entertaining a movie is. I don't care if it's silly, or stupid, but how good of a time I had at the movie. But, being pissed because the movie critic did their job, and just didn't like their movie doesn't mean you should hurt your next movie by not providing press junkets.

In the end, Smith will have his devoted fans, and they will all flock to his next movie, and they will love his twitter feed, and life will be merry. Meanwhile, everyone else in Hollywood is wondering if Smith is really smart or really dumb, and their leaning toward the "dumb."

Kevin Smith to retire?

Kevin Smith is one of the more known filmmakers in Hollywood. He's known for making some incredible, honest, funny movies, and his outgoing attitude towards his fans. He's currently working on a movie called Red State, and after a brutal battle with critics after his last movie, Cop Out, he's not all that happy with movie critics. He's got some truly interesting ideas for distribution on Red State, though.

Overall, I hope Smith doesn't retire. He's a breath of fresh air with his honesty. Whether you agree with his opinions or not, which I don't, you have to respect him coming right out, sans sugar. So, check out what he told to /Film regarding the whole thing.

This isn’t news. Y’know what is news? That RED STATE podcast – and we give it away every week FOR FREE. Y’know what else is news? That Richard Kelly podcast. That’s one INSANELY juicy and useful document if you’ve ever been interested in making a film, or even if you’ve just wondered about the vagaries of the movie biz.

But THIS “retirement” crap? Not news so much as another sad example of how fucking lazy movie pr ess has become: they cannibalize stories by other writers just to have something to post on their own blogs. Yours was the only website that bothered to go DIRECTLY to the source, Peter – other cats ran articles without even tossing a Tweet my way to check veracity. And I answer Tweets like I answer the dinner bell: often & much. While sweating. And already eating something else.

I’ve always said (since CLERKS, even) that I’ve got about ten films in me (that info might even be on my Wikipedia page). And COP OUT notwithstanding (solely because I didn’t write it), HIT SOMEBODY is the 10th film I’ve got in me. At this moment in time, I’ve got no other flicks I wanna make. The musing about a possible return visit to the View Askewniverse with a third CLERKS is something I’ve been doing since CLERKS II, but I’ve always opened said musings with the disclaimer “If I ever wanna make a flick about being in my 40′s, I’ll think of Da nte & Randal first.” There are no concrete plans for a CLERKS III.

The author of the Boston Phoenix piece did a really nice job of not hyping that throwaway factoid in the article and turning it into the exact piece of specious bullshit “news” the websites you mentioned are trying to create of it.

You want REAL Kevin Smith news? Listen to HOLLYWOOD BABBLE-ON tomorrow morning and I’ll tell you who the lead in HIT SOMEBODY is gonna be. Or download the RED STATE OF THE UNION podcast this Tuesday and find out what actors passed on the flick! THAT shit’s Kevin Smith news, son!

But if you can’t wait ’til then? If you’ve GOTTA have some Kevin Smith news to hold you over? Here’s something that’s not so much news as my stated intentions for RED STATE: if it gets into Sundance, my plan is to pick the RED STATE distributor right there – IN THE ROOM – auction style. Might even bring up a professional auctioneer to make it fun and unintelligible. And if you’re a multi-millionaire who can’t make it to the first screening of RED STATE, fear not: maybe we’ll set up an eBay page for the post-screening bid-calling as well.

See? With a little diligence on a newsie’s behalf, not only did he get to the bottom of his story, he got some exclusive shit nobody else has as well! And it’s not like Peter’s got a secret line to me. I’m WAY reachable. I’m so tired of doing lazy fucker’s jobs FOR them – especially when they’re the same lazy fuckers who’re screaming “YOUR MOVIE SUCKS!” a month later anyway. Some of your peers need to act a little less entitled and a little more Sciretta.

Kevin Smith takes on Film Critics in Twrant

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Twrant (n.) - to go on an annoying rant in Twitter.

Kevin Smith, the director of such acclaimed movies as Clerks, Dogma, and the latest Cop Out is once again in the spotlight for a rant on his Twitter account recently regarding the harsh criticism his latest movie Cop Out received. Just recently, he turned to Twitter to vent his frustrations over an ugly spat with SouthWest Airlines and their two-seat policy. Now, Smith is targeting film critics, and hitting back, telling film critics to get a life.

I have to say I am a huge fan of Smith’s, and I have to agree with part of the rant of his, stating that some critics focus on such tiny details that they often miss the joys of watching film. I also agree that this is not rocket science, and writing film reviews is not saving the world. Some people get so focused on the film and their job, they often forget that we are studying an art, and some critics written words are really just opinions.

I do, however, feel very disappointed with Smith and his rant, and not just because he shows his dislike for film critics, but because he defends his latest movie, Cop Out, by admitting it’s stupid, childish, and “like a retarded child.” This leads me to believe that any passion for film the once great director of Clerks had is now gone, and seems to be simply a form of income, which is hard to take, given we’ve seen such passion out of him with previous films. If you are going to defend something you’ve done, it should be because you did the best you possibly could with what you are given, and that if people don’t like your work, than that is their problem, not because it’s stupid and pathetic. I would think that if that attitude was applied to Clerks back in the day, we wouldn’t know who Smith is.

When Dogma came out, Smith had his loyal supporters, and people who hated his movie. He, meanwhile, stood by the film, which resulted in more than a few comedic stories, but he stood by it, saying this is a great movie, and at the time, the critics agreed. Now, critics hated this movie (it’s at 19% on Rotten Tomatoes), so Smith, in turn, hates critics, which just seems childish to me. I think the best reviews I’ve read (including our own Joe Bardi’s, who actually liked the movie) complained about poor execution, and the un-funny jokes, not the subject matter being serious enough for them. The movie does not have to be Citizen Kane to be a great movie.

Finally, I have to comment on the idea that he wants to take his Twitter followers and get them to see the movie for free and force film critics to pay the money for his movies. While I can respect giving people who want to see film the chance to see it over those who have to for their job, why would I read a fanboy’s reaction to one of his movies? Isn’t that the problem we have been talking about this whole time, poor reviewing? Aren’t they just people with a blogger account?

If you follow movie blogs, you’ve probably heard of CHUD.com, and their editor, Devin Faraci. Faraci wrote an editorial in response to Smith’s rant, lambasting Smith, and more importantly, his fans, which I see no correlation with. Faraci says “Fifteen years ago I thought Kevin Smith was the voice of a generation. It turns out he is - the generation just happens to be lazy, stupid people who are perfectly content going through life without an original, interesting thought in their heads.” Faraci does make a good point, however, when talking about defending a film with the “hey, it’s a stupid piece of crap, back off” mentality saying “If Smith doesn't want to be judged on a filmmaking level let's judge him on a sheer consumer level - does he really believe that Cop Out, a retarded child of a film, is worth a full price admission at a movie theater?” But, he goes right back to supporting some of Smith’s claims saying that he will no longer review Smith’s movies, and he now has two hours of his life for more important things; once again, a film critic who looks at film as a job, not as a source of entertainment.

Here is the full rant, for your reading pleasure:

(1/5) @coked_up_jesus "I gotta say that every day I hate film
theory & film students & critics more & more. Where is the fun in
movies?" Sir

(2/5) sometimes, it's important to turn off the chatter. Film
fandom's become a nasty bloodsport where cartoonishly rooting for failure
getsabout 14 hours ago via web

(3/5)the hit count up on the ol' brand-new blog.
And if a schmuck like me pays you some attention, score! MORE EYES, MEANS MORE
ADVERT $.about 14 hours ago via web

(4/5) But when you pull your eye away from
the microscope, you can see that shit you're studying so closely is, in reality,
tiny as fuck.about 14 hours ago via web

(5/5) You wanna enjoy movies again? Stop
reading about them & just go to the movies. It's improved film/movie
appreciation immensely for me.about 14 hours ago via web

Seriously: so many critics lined-up to pull a sad & embarrassing train on #CopOut like it was
JenniferJasonLeigh in LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN.about 14 hours ago via web

Watching them beat the shit out of it was sad. Like, it's called #CopOut ; that sound
like a very ambitious title to you? You REALLY wannaabout 14 hours ago via
web

shit in the mouth of a flick that so OBVIOUSLY strived for nothing more than
laughs. Was it called "Schindler's Cop Out"? Writing a nastyabout 14 hours ago
via web

review for #CopOut is akin to bullying a retarded kid who was getting a
couple chuckles from the normies by singing AFTERNOON DELIGHT.about 14 hours ago
via web

Suddenly, bully-dudes are doing the bad impression of him, using the
"retart" voice. The crowd shifts uncomfortably. #IfOnlyDaltonWasHereabout 14
hours ago via web

And you may impress a couple of low IQ-ers who're like "Yeah,
man! Way to destroy that singing retart!" But, really? All you've done is
makeabout 14 hours ago via web

fun of something that wasn't doing you any harm
and wanted only to give some cats a some fun laughs. Yes I compared My Flick To A Retarded Kid about 14 hours ago via web

It was just ridiculous to watch. That was it for me. Realized whole system's upside down: so
we let a bunch of people see it for free & theyabout 13 hours ago via
web

shit all over it? Meanwhile, people who'd REALLY like to see the flick for free are made to pay? Bullshit: from now on, any flick I'm everabout 13 hours ago via web

involved with, I conduct critics screenings thusly: you wanna see it
early to review it? Fine: pay like you would if you saw it next week.about 13
hours ago via web

Like, why am I giving an arbitrary 500 people power over what I
do at all, let alone for free? Next flick, I'd rather pick 500 randoms fromabout
13 hours ago via web

Twitter feed & let THEM see it for free in advance, then post THEIR opinions, good AND bad. Same difference. Why's their opinion more valid?about 13 hours ago via web

It's a backwards system. People are free to talk shit about ANY of my flicks, so long as they paid to see it. Fuck this AnimalFarm bullshit.about 13 hours ago via webReply Retweet

So, what do you think? Was Kevin Smith’s Cop Out judged too harshly? Is movie criticism going too overboard on all of this? Tell me all about it in the comments section!