Well Into the Morning with Kevin Smith
Unlike all my other posts, this one is not timestamped "9:00 am." Why? Because I just walked in the door after going out to see one of Kevin Smith's talks entitled "An Evening with Kevin Smith."
Honestly not knowing what to expect, but being big fans of Kevin Smith, Janet and I were ushered to the front row of a sold out show (we bought our tickets back in February) and waited for what we thought was going to be a 1 1/2 - 2 hour show, after which we would go out for a nice dinner somewhere. Upon hearing one of the employees of the theater telling someone the show could last as long as 4 hours, we looked at each other and said, "Maybe dinner is out of the picture."
Kevin himself said at the beginning he expected the show to run about 4 hours -- his previous record of 7 hours being set just the night before in New Jersey -- as he was tired and jet lagged but he was doing this particular show as a benefit for the small Raue Center for the Arts in part as a favor for his Aunt who helped in the restoration and reopening of this 1929 theater back in 2001. As the show went on, it was clear that he was a bit spent from a long night of traveling (at one point he assumed a prone position to tackle a series of questions) but he was also energized by the mostly college age crowd. After all, who doesn't like being the center of attention in a room full of young, aspiring writers and directors who -- and I think I say this factually -- worship the ground you walk on? (One kid and his friends drove from Louisville, Kentucky to Northern Illinois to catch the show.)
Just a hair over 6 hours later -- at 10 minutes after 1am and after Kevin got a phone call from his brother (who was sitting in the balconey) reminding him how late it was -- we walked out of the theater into the early morning air.
If you don't know who Kevin Smith is, you may recognize some of his films: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jersey Girl. Kevin Smith is a writer, director and producer who has, throughout all his success, remained accessible to his fans and true to the spirit of independent film making.
His talks, typically given at college campuses around the country, are not "lectures" so much as "listen and answers." When being introduced, we were told that Kevin would give a little talk and then the floor would open up to a question and answer session. But when Kevin came out he said "I don't know what that dude was talking about, this is all a f*cking question and answer session!"
Soon the aisles filled with those eager to hear the answers to their questions. What I found most fascinating about the night was Kevin's ability to take what otherwise might be considered a stupid question and make that person matter - even to the extent of allowing (maybe "allow" is too loose a word) one rabid fan to come on stage and recite a soliloquy from the movie Dogma before getting to the young man's question. What could otherwise have been quite boring in the wrong hands was made interesting as Kevin wove stories -- often not even related to the question -- for minutes on end until he would end with "What was your question again?" Every question was answered though and everyone who wanted to got a chance to ask, even if they had to endure a little derisive ribbing by Kevin or the audience in the process.
Just like his movies, Kevin's talks are filled with cursing, fart and dick jokes -- often at his own expense. But don't let this dissuade you from going if you get the chance because, if you're an aspiring writer, comic artist, director or producer you will come away from the talk with new appreciation for your art -- and you might even get a chance to ask a question of someone who's been down that road before you.
Oh, and our plans for "dinner out?" Well, Janet nuked a hot dog and I had two bowls of Rice Krispies -- then we both went to bed.
Honestly not knowing what to expect, but being big fans of Kevin Smith, Janet and I were ushered to the front row of a sold out show (we bought our tickets back in February) and waited for what we thought was going to be a 1 1/2 - 2 hour show, after which we would go out for a nice dinner somewhere. Upon hearing one of the employees of the theater telling someone the show could last as long as 4 hours, we looked at each other and said, "Maybe dinner is out of the picture."
Kevin himself said at the beginning he expected the show to run about 4 hours -- his previous record of 7 hours being set just the night before in New Jersey -- as he was tired and jet lagged but he was doing this particular show as a benefit for the small Raue Center for the Arts in part as a favor for his Aunt who helped in the restoration and reopening of this 1929 theater back in 2001. As the show went on, it was clear that he was a bit spent from a long night of traveling (at one point he assumed a prone position to tackle a series of questions) but he was also energized by the mostly college age crowd. After all, who doesn't like being the center of attention in a room full of young, aspiring writers and directors who -- and I think I say this factually -- worship the ground you walk on? (One kid and his friends drove from Louisville, Kentucky to Northern Illinois to catch the show.)
Just a hair over 6 hours later -- at 10 minutes after 1am and after Kevin got a phone call from his brother (who was sitting in the balconey) reminding him how late it was -- we walked out of the theater into the early morning air.
If you don't know who Kevin Smith is, you may recognize some of his films: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jersey Girl. Kevin Smith is a writer, director and producer who has, throughout all his success, remained accessible to his fans and true to the spirit of independent film making.
His talks, typically given at college campuses around the country, are not "lectures" so much as "listen and answers." When being introduced, we were told that Kevin would give a little talk and then the floor would open up to a question and answer session. But when Kevin came out he said "I don't know what that dude was talking about, this is all a f*cking question and answer session!"
Soon the aisles filled with those eager to hear the answers to their questions. What I found most fascinating about the night was Kevin's ability to take what otherwise might be considered a stupid question and make that person matter - even to the extent of allowing (maybe "allow" is too loose a word) one rabid fan to come on stage and recite a soliloquy from the movie Dogma before getting to the young man's question. What could otherwise have been quite boring in the wrong hands was made interesting as Kevin wove stories -- often not even related to the question -- for minutes on end until he would end with "What was your question again?" Every question was answered though and everyone who wanted to got a chance to ask, even if they had to endure a little derisive ribbing by Kevin or the audience in the process.
Just like his movies, Kevin's talks are filled with cursing, fart and dick jokes -- often at his own expense. But don't let this dissuade you from going if you get the chance because, if you're an aspiring writer, comic artist, director or producer you will come away from the talk with new appreciation for your art -- and you might even get a chance to ask a question of someone who's been down that road before you.
Oh, and our plans for "dinner out?" Well, Janet nuked a hot dog and I had two bowls of Rice Krispies -- then we both went to bed.
| ASIDE: If you're a fan of Kevin Smith's work and don't live near a college campus or other venue where he is likely to give one of his talks, don't fret because you can purchase a DVD version of his show which, through editing, is likely to weed out the "lame" questions to give you a much cleaner and polished performance than going to see him live. At four hours, the DVD is not as long or as dynamic as seeing the man in person, but since every show is dictated by the questions he gets, it won't spoil anything for you should you get a chance in the future to catch his performance live. Click here to purchase "An Evening with Kevin Smith" from Amazon.com. |
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