I had the privilege last night to see writer/director Kevin Smith (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) live at Carnegie Hall for one of his Q&A’s. Though I didn’t get the opportunity to ask a question I did hear a lot of funny stuff so I thought some of you (especially if you are a fan of Smith) might like to know what he talked about. Here is a breakdown of the evening with Kevin Smith at Carnegie Hall.
Read how the Q and A went down below
After a very sweet intro from his daughter, Smith walked out rocking a Yankees jersey, which he ripped off, revealing a Devils jersey to the roar of the crowd. Then, Smith went off on a 20-minute speech about the events leading up to the night and how nervous he was and that he hadn’t felt that nervous in a long time.
Then the questions began. The 1st question of the night came from a person who was clearly nervous. Those nerves only increased when he got up on stage with Smith. The second question was one a lot of people wanted an answer to. It was regarding his new film “A Couple of Dicks.” The director talked about his feelings towards his latest project. He said that he felt a bit strange directing something he didn’t write but at the same time he said it felt like he could be more collaborative, the reason being he’s only directing and not forcing his own vision. He said that at times during filming he refers to the Cullen Brothers, who wrote the film, for guidance on a scene. He said that, on this film, he is the guy who is just bringing everyone together and answering yes or no to everything, catering to the actors to get a good performance out of them.
He proceeded to tell of an incident with the film’s star Bruce Willis (Live Free or Die Hard). It was a funny altercation where according to Smith, “he just got them John McClane eyes going on me.”
Perhaps the thing that made me a little sad to hear was that Jason Mewes (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) will not be featured in the latest film. But it isn’t because he isn’t wanted. Smith said that they tried to get him in for a day but the scheduling didn’t work out. The rest of the night was pack full of life stories like Smith meeting his good friend Malcolm Ingram (Small Town Gay Bar) and breaking a wall-attached toilet in half.
It was also nice to hear Smith talk a bit about his relationship with good friend Ben Affleck’s (He’s Just Not That Into You) wife Jennifer Garner (Catch & Release). Apparently Garner really doesn’t like his humor all that much and just tolerates him. Smith revealed that the late George Carlin and how he was actually a method actor at heart.
Smith clearly brought his A game to the show and I can only hope that he returns to the big apple soon for another helping of NYC Q&A.
What do you think of Kevin Smith? How does he compare to other directors from his generation?