Kevin Smith has never shied away from sharing his ups and downs in the movie business and his life. It has garnered him not with just casual fans, but instead, he has a relationship with countless like-minded people with an absolute devotion to him and his work. So when he picks a fight with an airline or describes working with Bruce Willis as “True darkness,” his legion has his hockey-jersey-covered back.
The conflicts on set of his 2010 comedy, Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan had pot shots coming from both sides, with Willis’ representatives claiming, “He smokes way too much pot,” speaking of Smith. “He sat behind his monitor. He didn’t interact with the actors. The actors felt they were on their own.”
Kevin Smith vehemently denied the claims. “I dealt with every actor who wanted to be dealt with on that set. If I was smoking so much weed, how did I manage to not only bring the film in on schedule but under budget? If I was supposedly so stoned, how could I shoot all day THEN edit the film myself all night? Yes – what a big, fat, lazy, unenthused stoner I must be.” On podcast ‘WTF With Marc Maron,’ Smith used the phrase “soul crushing,” when it came to working with Willis, adding that the star failed to support the film. “A lot of people are gonna be like, ‘Oh, you’re just trying to blame the movie on him,’ ” Smith said. “I had no f-ing help from this dude whatsoever.”
Well, no need for sunglasses, Smithees, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes and Chris Prince are providing the shade with the memoir, ‘Kevin Smith’s Secret Stash The Definitive Visual History.’ The book is described as such. “Making the leap from convenience store worker to international film icon, Kevin Smith has spent over twenty-five years at the forefront of pop culture. In this hilariously candid treasure trove of artifacts and anecdotes, Kevin tells the full story of his incredible life for the first time, from his early days in Highlands, New Jersey, through to the breakout success of low-budget indie smash Clerks in 1994, and the series of hit films that allowed him to build his own cinematic ‘View Askewniverse.'”
“This deluxe volume is illustrated with a wealth of rare and never-before-seen items from Kevin’s personal archives, including script pages, personal letters, and concept art from beloved movies including Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Red State, Tusk, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, and more. It also features a range of special pullout features exclusive to the book, including Kevin’s application to film school and comic art from Chasing Amy.”
“In addition to a foreword from Kevin’s longtime collaborator and friend Jason Mewes, the book includes contributions from J. J. Abrams, Ben Affleck, Marc Bernardin, Ming Chen, Shannon Elizabeth, Walt Flanagan, Ralph Garman, Mark Hamill, Bryan Johnson, David Klein, Justin Long, Scott Mosier, Brian O’Halloran, Seth Rogen, Jennifer Schwalbach-Smith, and Harley Quinn Smith.”
While we have all been privy to Kevin Smith’s no holds barred opinions and process, the book allows him to take us down his curated memory lane, in what appears to be part love letter to his collaborators, part how-to movie-making manual, and of course a healthy helping of the low down which has made him our hometown underdog everyman who made it big. ‘Kevin Smith’s Secret Stash The Definitive Visual History’ is hot off the processes and waiting for you wherever you get your books. This news comes from Insight Editons.