Smith

I've been a big Kevin Smith fan for a long time. Back in the day I was a really obsessed person with the trilogy. I have action figures, T-shirts, etc. Dogma was the first movie that I went to an advanced screening to (now I go all the time) and it required two trips to Dallas and convincing my father to take me as I didn't drive at the time.

That said, I was pretty excited about Kevin coming into town. I'd seen him speak before at the Jersey Girl premiere two years ago and had a blast there (It was the best screening the movie had. After that screening we'd say "Well... it was the best movie of that type. The best 'father learns to love his family' movie".) And I was really excited to see him again.

From the logistical standpoint things went pretty smoothly, the master class students and ACL studio people were in charge of making sure things went smoothly, and people were excited, but not unruly. Kevin's reputation as a fan-friendly filmmaker precedes him as people brought posters and DVDs just in case they had a chance to get his autograph.

The class went well, John and Kevin have a very nice rapport and elaborated on the oh-so-famous story of Kevin's origins (true to his comic book heros, he does rely a bit on his origin). We went through his movies and how they came about and how he felt about them. It was all really interesting.

Then came his famous Q'n'A. Kevin's really taken to this sort of ultra-honest, ask me and I'll tell persona, but I have to wonder how much is real and how much is a character. That said, it's still a blast to see. It's pretty much like the Evening with Kevin Smith DVD live.

Then came the highlight of the evening - the Clerks 2 clip. I've had my doubts about Clerks 2, and just wasn't sure that it could work. I no longer have doubts. Granted it was a high selected scene, but it had everything I wanted in a Clerks sequel. I'm actually really excited about that now (and the upcoming Clerks cartoon feature).

From there came the second highlight of the evening - House Party. I had to pull a bit to get in, but it was worth it. House Party is a movie that I've seen 10 times at least, but this was the first time I'd seen it with cursing in it. Previously it'd always been a mid-Saturday UPN showing. The movie is fantastic. Kevin did a 40 minute Q'n'A session before, I think the two together adds up for a great evening.
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