Kevin Smith: “I can only be responsible for myself”
Few directors can be called masters of self-promotion, unlike Kevin Smith , who has been honing this art for 20 years. Since the breakout success of Clerks in 1994, he has consistently nurtured his public image as a funny foul-mouthed geek, and his films have tended to only reinforce the effect. Today, Smith remains in the public eye less for his films, more for countless public appearances, a regular podcast, two TV series, and media contacts. Now he is more of a media person than just a filmmaker.But he continues to make films. After a rest after self-organized rental of the film "Red State", Kevin embarked on the so-called trilogy of strange Canadian stories " True North ". Following the absurd horror comedy " Tusk " at this year's Sundance Festival, he introduced " The Yoganuts ". Starring the director's daughter Harley Quinn Smith and Johnny Depp's daughter Lily-Rose Depp (her dad also played a small role), the film introduces the viewer to two girls who work in a hardware store and one day enter into battle with the Nazi army -Lilliputians. This is not Kevin Smith's best work , and, in fact, sheer fooling around - he readily admits it. But even when Smith is not at his peak, he retains the ability to talk vividly and meaningfully about the state of the film industry. In a recent interview, Kevin talked about how his attitude towards the film business has changed since the early Sundance festivals and his intention to expand his activities by supporting young talent.  How has your attitude towards the success of your own films changed over the years? Every one of us filmmakers wants his film to hit theaters. Thanks to the festivals, I have such an opportunity. I have dreamed of acting in films since childhood. But, unfortunately, I only do what I personally like, and the audience reacts differently. Sometimes the audience is on my side, then they say: "Great, we like it!" But for the last ten years, it’s like under an ice shower - I constantly hear something like: “I don’t understand what the hell is he doing with his career.” I love films in which the story is not everything, where there is a subtext, an obligatory background. It took several years to work on " Red State ", and I never thought that I would do something like this again. And then he took off " Tusk ", and now - " Yoganutyh ". I am still trying to deduce a working formula for how can I do what I like without relying on someone else's approval, win-win schemes and well-trodden paths. My curse is that I only want to shoot the stories that I myself want to see. I've said a million times that " Clerks " grew out of the same root as " Tusk " and " Yoganuts ". It would seem, what do they have in common? These are the films that I wanted to watch myself. Sounds like you don't have much to lose. As long as your films give people the opportunity to recoup investments at least through foreign distribution and sales on video, you are left with some creative freedom. I read what they write on the web. Everyone whines that there are only remakes and sequels around. Complain that no one is doing anything new. But then you do something new, and they say: “Oh, no, not you. We didn't mean you. " But I also like to create something new. Some people say, "But this is complete crap." Understand. So it was with the "Party People from the Supermarket." With experience, you stop worrying about this. First, every critic mixed the film with shit, then when the box office was finally calculated, Jim Jax, the great producer, called me for the numbers. I ask him: "How much have we collected, buddy?" He replies, "Well, $ 400,000." I say, “Awesome! Which cinema? " And he: “Everything. From all five hundred screens. " I was terrified. What will happen now? Are studios demanding a refund? If we raise only a million, will we still owe them four? It was weird and scary - I thought I would be kicked out of filmmaking. After all, I just worked, but I have never really been in business. Even the “ Party People ” that Universal rolled out were made on Gramercy Pictures , the arthouse department. They didn’t expect the grandiose box office like that of the blockbuster. They are still doing something experimental. but never really in business. Even the “ Party People ” that Universal rolled out were made on Gramercy Pictures , the arthouse department. They did not expect the grandiose fees like the blockbuster. They are still doing something experimental. but never really been in business. Even the “ Party People ” that Universal rolled out were made on Gramercy Pictures , the arthouse department. They didn’t expect the grandiose box office like that of the blockbuster. They are still doing something experimental.  Now, even if you create your own genre in cinema, you are also a hired director on TV. How do you combine it? Filming an episode of The Flash or Supergirl is like diving into a toy box from the DC universe. I have been writing stories for a long time, and I love comics, so in general I like it. But my heart is not there. It's just such a fun job. And yet you have not turned down the offer to make your own series " Supermarket Party People " ... I've heard this many times. People tell me, “You really want to be on TV, man. You can tell fairy tales as much as you like, but everyone is going there. " Well, yes, I understand. When I went into business, I got " Miramax ". Harvey Weinstein was selling my movie. I wasn't really, really indie then. But I entered the business with the dream of an absolutely author's cinema. I knew that it happens, read about it. I remember when I got into that situation with the " Red State " on Sundance and decided to take on his rent, someone said: “He probably imagined himself Henry Jaglom. " Apparently, they wanted to pin me. But Henry Jaglom was my hero even before I started shooting myself. When he came to the cinema, he wanted to tell his stories on his own terms. He put up posters himself, I was busy with the rest of the kitchen. This son of a bitch was like a rock star to me. Even now, in his declining years, when I find myself on Sunset, I periodically see the poster for the new movie Jaglom . He doesn't give up.  But things are more complicated now, right? In the days of the " Clerks " people like John Sloss were driving the process, selling films to those who paid more. Now the scene is much closer, agencies and intermediaries dominate the market. Do you feel like times are different? The balance has changed, but I don't feel like I was kicked out without giving any choice. There is a choice, only worthless. If you want to work, catch this wave, the conditions are the same for everyone. But if they don't suit you, goodbye. That is, I cannot say: “I spent a decent amount and made a stupid film that I and a dozen other people like, and now give me some more money so that all those who never want to watch it will know about it”. This state of affairs has annoyed me since 2011, when I began to seriously think about how I can survive if I am going to continue doing what I want. After the release of " Red State " I did a lot: appeared on TV, released a podcast, used all the opportunities known at that time to advertise it. And when " Tusk " was ready, I had to do all this again. You need to learn to play correctly on this field as quickly as possible. John Sloss knew how to do it. I think he feels on the sidelines because people are now indifferent to indie films. He had his own world, his own territory in the industry. It is clear that since John was the guy who did your promotion from scratch, now he is opposed to agencies that go on behalf of the client. But today it is more and more difficult to find money, you have to work even with intermediaries. Several agencies have volunteered to fund Elk Jaws [ Smith's new movie ]. I asked my people: “Are you sure you understood them correctly? Agencies don't invest in movies. " But now they have investment companies, they finance films, although they sometimes suffer losses. But Moose Jaws will only cost three million, plus Jay and Silent Bob . I think they understand that this money will definitely return. In the film business, there is no former space, and the money is decreasing. The same thing happened with the music business. When everything changed there, everyone tried to figure out how, your mother, to stay in the subject and continue the work. I love making films, and although there are tons of interesting things I could do, but at heart I am a filmmaker. For many years people have been telling me that I'm not that good anymore. But I'm going to keep doing this, so I must learn to survive.  What's the plan of action? The idea at first was to make sequels to my old films because I love to continue the stories of my characters. But money could not be found on the full-length " Clerks 3 " or " Party People 2 ". But " Tusk " - a story about a guy turning into a walrus, and " Yoganuts " - about two girls fighting 30-centimeter Nazis turned out to be more promising. People said, "Oh, in this Johnny Depp movie." At first he was not in " Tusk ". We have already received the money, and he came literally in the last days. With “ Yoganuty ” it was already easier: “I want to make a movie with unknown actors about fantastic cartoon Canada. Can I have four million? By the way, we have Johnny Depp . " It helps. Sequels and remakes are not very popular in the financing of independent films. So you are much more likely to get paid if you want to say something new. People who fund indie films don't do it out of a desire to get rich, but because they are rich. They grew up watching your films and that's why they listen to you. But it’s not me that they want, they want something new. And this door opened for me twice precisely because I had new material. I had to give up the movie sequel to Supermarket Party People , but there will be a series. " Clerks 3 " is still in limbo. In a word, everything is not so hopeless. The world of independent cinema has changed a lot in 22 years, but everything is changing. You just need to understand what rules are played nowadays, find out where the ball lies and approach it from the right side. Elk Jaws "I want to make my own money and drive this son of a bitch to death, twist the whole year until I get back every penny I put in. I know I can do it.  You used your experience as a distributor to promote films of other directors. The most famous case is Matt Johnson's The Bastards. Will you continue this practice? No, unfortunately. We launched such a thing, "Kevin Smith Film Club " , within which we could take films that were unlucky with box office and festivals, and somehow attach them. But the company we worked with switched to a European broadcasting format, and everything fell apart. Every movie we rescued was good, but Bastards is just space. It's so new and original, just incredible! He should have been seen not only because of the importance of the topic of violence and bullying in school, but also because in terms of skill it is aerobatics. After seeing the film, I realized that I must do my best to promote it as much as possible.  When I'm done telling my wacky stories, I want to use this touring scheme to promote someone else's movie. That is, when I come across another Matt Johnson , I will have a working model ready. I can say that I will arrange ten screenings of the film around the country. We find a hall for 300-500 seats, make a show and meet with the director. Then I release an interview with him, and then he drives alone for a while. I now know that I can keep the gym just sitting on my fat ass and chatting about my life. And I know that if I bring a film, as I did when skating " Yoganutyh ", then the sessions will be organized. The question is, will the audience be given if I bring someone else's cinema. I think if I stand shoulder to shoulder with the director, everything will go well. At this stage in my career, all of this is very important to me, because I'm not going to be a storyteller forever. I was a guy who loved listening to stories and immersing myself in them and imagining them coming to life, no matter how silly it sounds. But I know this will end. This has happened before, and it will happen again. And when that happens, I want to start looking and listening again. I would like to do what I know about, and I see nothing more important than helping new good films see the light of day. I'm not rich. I cannot get your money back. I am still trying to learn how to return mine. But I know how to organize a rental, and in the future it may come in handy - not for me, for others. This was taught to me by Harvey Weinstein . Thanks to this skill, I still work. And even if my new films are not as good as my earlier ones, but now I do everything in a new way. You can think of " Yoganutyh " as a dumb, moronic project, but during the production process we tried to understand how to shoot a dumb, moronic movie without outside help, so that later we could do it more efficiently. Now I'm not worried at all. Renting " Elk Jaws " will go like clockwork. After all the trips with Red State , Tusk , and now Yoganuts , I know exactly what to do. The film will pay off even a quarter before its release on video. I've learned a lot during this time. Before, there was simply no reason to learn such things. But I always dreamed of being a truly independent filmmaker. how to make a stupid, moronic movie without outside help, so that you can do it more efficiently later. Now I'm not worried at all. Renting " Elk Jaws " will go like clockwork. After all the trips with Red State , Tusk and now Yoganuts , I know exactly what to do. The film will pay off even a quarter before its release on video. I've learned a lot during this time. Before, there was simply no reason to learn such things. But I always dreamed of being a truly independent filmmaker. how to make a stupid, moronic movie without outside help, so that you can do it more efficiently later. Now I'm not worried at all. Renting " Elk Jaws " will go like clockwork. After all the trips with Red State , Tusk , and now Yoganuts , I know exactly what to do. The film will pay off even a quarter before its release on video. I've learned a lot during this time. Before, there was simply no reason to learn such things. But I always dreamed of being a truly independent filmmaker. Yoganutyi ", I know exactly what to do. The film will pay off even a quarter before its release on video. I've learned a lot during this time. Before, there was simply no reason to learn such things. But I always dreamed of being a truly independent filmmaker. Yoganutyi ", I know exactly what to do. The film will pay off even a quarter before its release on video. I've learned a lot during this time. Before, there was simply no reason to learn such things. But I always dreamed of being a truly independent filmmaker.  Your relationship with critics has developed, to put it mildly, uneven. When "Double KOPets" came out, you fought desperately with them, but now you seem to be more tolerant of their work. However, you must admit that they played an important role in supporting your early work. This is probably for life with me like herpes. I can't say that I hate them all. Many critics have been close friends of mine. But then I began to notice a few things. I never got started with good criticism. I just wanted to see " Clerks ". We went through the school of Harvey Weinstein , and then it was impossible to overestimate the influence of critics. They could uplift or destroy your film. They praised the " Clerks " and gave the green light to my career. But then I became dependent on them. In “ Miramax ” it was something like this: “We do not spend on advertising, so good reviews are needed. If for this you need to suck the criticism - be kind, do it. " So for the first half of my career I was like Pavlov's dog, I did a lot just to please the critics, to get a good grade. Sometimes this is, in principle, acceptable, but should never be put in the first place. For an artist, this is the path to self-destruction. When I was creating " Red State ", at some point I got cold feet and wanted to give up everything, go back and do something simple, familiar, without worrying about who will say what. I panicked, got into a fight and burned every bridge I had built with critics. With the new film, Elk Jaws , I offer the critics a kind of apology. This is a movie about an old Nazi living underground. Rejected, he took up arms against the whole world and turned into a monster. And now, in the form of a clumsy beast, he recalls his old skills, intending to destroy critics. But then the girls appear and say: "No, we will not allow them to be killed." At the beginning of my career, I was too serious. I'm actually a fucking clown. I cannot lead everyone on the right path. I can only answer for myself.  Source: IndieWire The Topic of Article: Kevin Smith: “I can only be responsible for myself”. |
