So throughout my years of maturing and growing up I have really been influenced on the works of Kevin Smith and I fully realized this tonight while watching his third filmed Q&A that I got on Netflix this weekend.
Seeing how he interacts with fans and meeting him despite the fact he is a millionaire and successful filmmaker, he has an everyday man personality that everyone can relate to on way or another. Hearing him speak on certain topics and situations he has been in, he is reacting very similarly to how I would imagine I would react. For example, the whole getting kicked off the plane situation a few months back. He wasn't really bothered at the fact that he was sort of attacked it was about another heavy-set person was treated in a similar way on the same flight, thats when he got mad and took it personally. I definitely identify with that, because I've been through a sort of similar situation. Last fall, a person, lets call them Marty, made a close friend of mine cry in a public place, and I was more mad at Marty than the friend who was made to cry. My close friend understood why I took it so persnally and eventually I ended the grudge I had with Marty but it was a good 7 months where I wasn't talking to this person because we were friends at one point but we had a falling out before this event but this made me furious.
Basically my point is people can do whatever they so choose to me in terms of ridicule and how they act toward me, because I've been through hellish situations and have just conditioned my mind and heart to go through whatever is thrown at it. But the moment someone crosses a good friend of mine in a negative manner, I become what most would consider overprotective, but I just become irate and furious with the person, I don't really express it to them, but if it comes up in conversation, then my frustrations come out, so lesson is don't mess with my friends.
Where was I...oh yea Kevin Smith
I also relate to Kevin by way of humor, which is a huge part of my life. In fact growing up as a teen, his films helped form parts of my sense of humor, which helps in my great personality that, I feel, people seem to like and gravitate towards when meeting them. His films are hilarious because they are about regular people in not too farfetched of plots, excpet Zac and Miri and Dogma, stuff in his movies is totally possible. His movies seem to be about the human spirit and how people deal with each other. I like that for some reason.
Lastly, out of all the celebrities I follow and keep tabs on, Kevin Smith seems to really care about his fans, his Q&A's are absolutely a blast to be at, they are always classified as stand up shows, but all they are a 5-10 minute opening and then Kevin fielding questions from the audience for 2-6 hours, depending on the venue's allowance of time. I've been to two of them, one in 2006 at St. Cloud State, where I got to meet him and go on stage and explain my bracelets to him and 3,000 people in the arena. It was a surreal experience.
How the story goes is I got in line early and asked a question that he went on for 20 minutes on, which made me glad that my question provided him the opportunity to tell such a long story. Before I asked my question, I gave him props for wearing for also wearing shorts in such a harsh Minnesota winter. Mind you it was -40 outside, one of the coldest nights I've ever been out in Minnesota, and his response was, “you're wearing them too? Yea we're both fucking retarded.” This was one of two moments that made my night because Kevin Smith, one of my favorite famous people, put him and myself in the same category, not the most glorious of categories, but for that brief moment I was the same class as him. I asked my question which was about his involvement with the Green Hornet film and that was that.
Then my new friend Rebecca, who I met on the message boards on Kevin's website, sounds normal now but back in 2006, it was out of the ordinary for me. She asked one of the last questions and after getting an answer asked for me and her to get a photo with him, which he totally obliged.
After that he made a comment to the audience about my bracelets and I was walking away and turned my head back and he was looking at me, and I asked him if he wanted me to explain them to him, and he said yea. After doing, 2 years of journalistic work, I don't get starstruck anymore, but back then I so totally did. Holding up my hands and telling Kevin and the audience what each of my bracelets meant, made my hands shake, it was crazy. I will always remember this moment, partially because I have an audio recording of it, but also because he was the biggest celebrity I had ever met, before then I had met Dan Marino, but Kevin Smith in my mind, is a bigger deal. I just remember sitting down with Rebecca after explaining my bracelets, and just being on cloud 9. So awesome of an experience.
As I was walking off stage and sitting back in my chair, he made a remark that when he was growing up, guys would collect braclets for every BJ they got from a girl, and asked from a distance as I was in my sweet, is that what their also for? I yelled and shook my head no.
I saw him again live in 2009, and didn't plan on seeing him because I was unemployed and had little money to spend on tickets. But the Minnesota Daily had a giveaway for some tickets, and I won a pair so me and my friend Jessica went and had a blast.
For a movie director to interact with his fans, whether it be QandAs or how he used to do it which is on his websites message boards, and nowadays Twitter. Even after all these years he still respects his fans and loves interacting with them. I feel it keeps him straight and helps him enjoy the life he has, because being able to keep in touch with his fans as he does, helps him know where he comes from.
So I guess thats my thoughts on Kevin Smith and why I am a fan of him.
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