Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith is a realizer, scenario writer and American actor, born the August 2nd 1970 with Red Bank, in the New Jersey (the United States).

Biography

Beginnings

Born Kevin Patrick Smith in 1970, the future realizer known to incarnate the dumb character Silent Bob, is born and grows in Red Bank in the New Jersey, that of which it is very proud. After having attended the workshop of writing of the Eugene Lang College of the New School for Social Research of Manhattan and the College of Brookdale and the Henry Hudson Regional in Highlands which it leaves graduate in 1989 in the New Jersey, it works for four months with the Vancouver Film School and proves to be student turbulent.

Of return in the New Jersey, it is brought to work as cash clerk in a grocer of the town of Leonardo, which will give him the idea of the film, Clerks, the model employees ( Clerks ), in 1994, an intelligent comedy which approaches serious topics, with the dialogs of great quality and very believed. Indeed, he writes, turns and produced in this small grocer of province at closing times its first film in which he integrates the anecdotes that he collected while working there. It also made there turn his/her sister, Virginia, which also plays in its third film. Left to France in 1994, Clerks, the model employees gains the Price of Youth to the international Semaine of criticism in Cannes, the Price of the Public to the Festival of American film of Deauville and the highest reward, that of the best realizer, with the festival of Sundance, Mecque of the American independent cinema. Turned in 21 days, in black and white for a budget of 27.575 $ that Kevin Smith finances partly by the sale of a collection of cartoons and that it will repurchase with success met, the film, distributed by Miramax, brings back 3,2 M$ to the American boxoffice and 6 M$ on the whole.

The realizer

The success of its first film makes it possible Kevin Smith to obtain Miramax a budget of 5 M$ for its second film, Glandeurs ( Mallrats ) in 1995 which puts in scene two lazy and of which he wants to make a “smart Porkys”. But the film, which is held almost completely in a shopping mall located not in the New Jersey but at Mineapolis for reasons of production, is an artistic and commercial failure. It brings back 2,1 M$ to the box US office and is even not distributed in France, but gains a great success in video and seems to be the favorite of the fans. It makes it possible all the same its realizer to form a band of actors who will remain to him from now on faithful.

Mistakes multiple ( Chasing Amy ), in 1997, for which the love affair which it maintains with Joey Lauren Adams met during the turning of the Glandeurs was to him of a great inspiration, is the third feature-length film of Kevin Smith. Separated from Joey Lauren Adams whereas the film is about to be packed, it meets his future wife, Jennifer Schwalbach which it marries the April 25th 1999, little before going to seek the Independent Spirit Awards that the film gains.

Faithful to his friends and thanks to the success which it gains in the medium of independent film, it starts to produce during the same time films of the buddies, in particular Will Hunting ( Good Will Hunting ), in 1997, in which play Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, also at the origin of the scenario, or Drawing Flies (1996) in which Joey Lauren Adams plays.

In 1999, it turns Dogma which makes scandal in the catholic mediums since it approaches the religious topic under a modern angle with its sauce, and especially because it shows God incarnated as a woman, pulpy the Anna Thomson finally replaced by beautiful the Alanis Morissette who, in spite of her superb voice, does not pronounce there a mot. the film has a prestigious distribution and a abracadabrantesque scenario, very successful and very original. It is at this period that Mrs. Smith puts at the world their daughter, Harley Quinn, who appears with her mother in following film of Kevin, Jay & Bob counter-attacks ( Jay and Silent Bob strike back ) in 2000.

Its other activities

Far from concentrating all its activity, Kevin Smith also writes scenarios of cartoons and cartoons, like the animated version of Clerks, the model employees ( Clerks ), in 1994, of the film scenarios which it does not carry out, in particular that of the future Scary Movie 3 ( Scary Movie 3: episode 1 - Lord off the brooms ), in 2003, qu' it produces, and the scenario of Superman Reborn which seems to have to remain in the drawers, and which was to carry out a time Tim Burton, suggested by Kevin, which transformed this script with its own vision of the film but which finally gave up the project.

Another of its activities is the comedy since one sees it more and more playing in films of the others, in Daredevil (2002) for example, after being appeared in the totality of its films only in the role of Silent Bob, this character quiet out of tandem with his inseparable friend Jay who speaks for 4. This famous tandem is in top of the poster of its fourth film, Jay & Bob counter-attacks ( Jay and Silent Bob strike back ) in 2001, new wink with Star Wars to which it regularly refers since its first film. Besides he likes truffer his films of references, like names of characters of his former films which he integrates in the dialogs, or which enable him to pay homage to films of John Hughes and Steven Spielberg, but also with the cartoon and hockey.

It also assembles a production company in the New Jersey, obviously, which it calls ViewAskew, name which it also gives to its site that it frequently uses to communicate with its many fans.

Its next announced project is Fletch 3, very awaited the United States, heading Fletch Won (2005).

Kevin Smith will write and carry out the first episode of the second series of the popular American series Heroes, Heroes: Origins .

Anecdotes

Kevin Smith also built a reputation thanks to the humor of which it makes share in his various conferences. That it is vis-a-vis the press or vis-a-vis students, Kevin Smith does not hesitate with mimer of the characters, to make fun and to insult other people, to tell personal anecdotes,… the accounts of Smith are so funny that Dvd entitled " Evening With Kevin Smith " leaves in 2002. These interviews make so much speak about them that a second DVD leaves in 2006. Here various interventions of Kevin Smith:

  • Provocation vulgarity : Kevin Smith likes to exploit on vulgarity and delirious dialogs in order to mark the spirits. It is thanks to this provocation and this freedom to be expressed that he manages to make laugh crowd. In a conference, a rather round young man asks Kevin Smith: “When you ace the intention to make films without having to give the same characters who are null”. After a certain agitation in the room, Kevin Smith says that it is a good question, and develops by answer. Then it starts to say “But I will put myself at it once I will have left my cock the bottom of your mother! ”. The young man shouts something to him, Kevin Smith connects “I do not hear you guy, but I can see your large nipples from here! ”. Lastly, it finishes its intervention by “And ouais, it is not an good idea to make shit the guy who has the microphone”.

  • Dogma : He tells that a demonstration gathering 15.000 people was envisaged in front of a cinema, to protest against this being played film of the Catholic religion. Kevin Smith there went with one of his/her friends, Brian Johnson, and made a sign on which was written " Dogma is dog shit" in order to also express him, against its film… Arrived on the spot, it realizes that it there not 15000 but 15 people, and succeeds in being made interview by a journalist. The latter asks to him whether he saw film. He answers that not, but known as that he saw Clerks, and that he had found that very funny… Lastly, when the latter asks him for her name, he claims to be called Brian Johnson, which is the name of the friend who accompanies it…
  • Superman : The producer John Peters had engaged Kevin Smith like script for film. In a conference, John Smith tells with much humor the way in which the writing did without script. The producer wanted that Superman is not in costume in film, that it does not fly, and especially it wanted that the film is finished with a giant spider… It wanted to also place in the Chewbacca film of Star Wars, of the bodyguards of Superman, a battle with polar bears… in short, Kevin Smith was to write a completely incoherent script for Superman. But like he says it in the conference, he wanted to write the script of Superman at all costs, and this is why he accepted all these constraints. However, Tim Burton dealt thereafter with the realization, and engaged another scenario writer, putting at the variation Kevin Smith.
  • Tim Burton : Kevin Smith does not appreciate Tim Burton, if one referred to different the vidéos in which he speaks about him. Kevin Smith explains why it had made a cartoon in whom a page showed monkeys to replace the head of Abraham Lincoln by a head of monkey. Tim Burton, realizer of the Planet of the monkeys also did this in its film. Kevin Smith wanted to tease Tim Burton while making him believe that it was going to make him a lawsuit. Kevin Smith connects then a whole imitation of Tim Burton, making fun of its appearance and its celebrity.
  • the Lord of the Rings . : Kevin Smith, always wanting to polemize, gives its vision of the trilogy of the Seigneur of the Rings. Being a large fan of Star Wars, it takes pleasure to criticize the other trilogies. It describes the lord of the rings as a trilogy where one sees only hobbits walking all the time. Going even further, he says that when the third episode left, everyone knew that this film would bring back money enormously, and everyone wanted to see it. Kevin Smith says that he would have liked that the realizer finishes film by a scene in which Sam would make a fellatio with Frodon, the main character…
Moreover in Clercks 2, one of the characters openly criticizes the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings (while making pass its fans for remained) and declares that there exists Only one trilogy (Star Wars, ép. IV, V and VI).
  • the Passion of Christ : Kevin Smith expresses his opinion on the Passion of Christ of Mel Gibson. Having been very criticized for its Dogma film, this one estimates that its film is however much less shocking that of Mel Gibson. After other imitations, Kevin Smith ends up acknowledging that if he had been the realizer of film, this last would have started with the end, i.e. crucifié Jesus. Two ninjas would arrive then which would massacre crowd and would deliver Jesus, these two ninja removing their mask thereafter and revealing the face of Jay and Silent Bob, characters - keys of the universe of Kevin Smith!

Catalog of films

Boxoffice realizer

Bibliography (nonexhaustive)

  • Daredevil vol.2
  • Green Arrow vol.15
  • Jay & Silent Bob, the animated series vol.1
  • Clerks, the aminated series vol.1
  • Superman: the beyond vol.3

Bibliography franç ease

  • Daredevil T1 and T2 (collection 100% Marvel, Marvel France)
  • Green Arrow T1 and T2 (collection Semic books, Semic)
  • Jay & Motus Bob (collection Semic books, Semic)

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