If you don't know Kevin Smith by now you are either too old, too young, or you live under a fucking rock. For those of you who have been living under a rock, let us name drop Mallrats, Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob, Chasing Amy, Red State, Dogma, and Jersey Girl to help clue you in. OK, we won't talk about Jersey Girl but as you can see, his list of hit movies just goes on and on.
Kevin has made a career out of being awesomely creative, keeping busy, and these days he still shows no signs of stopping by hosting “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old” with long-time pal Jason Mewes on his Smodcast Internet Radio. With global popularity, the twosome often hit the road with their show and this Friday is your chance to check it out when “Jay and Silent Bob Go Down Under” premieres on EPIX at 10p.m. (EST). Luckily for us (and for you as well), Kevin took some time out of his schedule to chat it up before the premiere and to give us the low down on what's up and what's coming up. No dirty birds, not in that way.
See Also:
*Jason Mewes Talks About Sobriety, Strange Sexual Positions and Going Down Under.
* Hollywood Babble-On with Kevin Smith and Ralph Garmin
*Jay and Silent Bob Get Old
]
I keep reading stuff about your upcoming movie “Hit Somebody.” Any scoop on a release date?
I was hoping we'd start it this year but we're doing it next year. The problem is, I was going to do two hockey movies because it takes place within the span of thirty years, so it's a shit ton of story. I had a conversation with Jerry Bruckheimer one day that made me realize that I was never going to get two hockey movies made. I have a shit load of pages to cut and then we can go forward. Right now, it looks like fucking War and Peace and Watership Down taped together.
Do you like podcasting in studio or do you find having a live audience is better?
It depends. Like for SModcast, Scott Mosier and I first did it at home. Maybe a year or two into it we tried it on stage and it was a completely different version. At home, you go off on tangents because you're not hearing anyone laugh or not laugh. I think the home versions allow you to go to a weirder place since you're not responding to an audience. The dynamic is completely different. Jay and Silent Bob Get Old has always been a live show, it was birthed that way. It's kind of like being asked, “Do you like to fuck or get a blow job?” It's one of those things where it depends who it is. If you get the right audience nothing compares. That's fantastic.
How do you and Jay prep for the show?
My prep is really minimal and he's pretty well prepared on all points. Back around episode eight, he left me hanging once on stage when I turned to him and said, “What do you think about that?” He's like, “I don't know.” After the show I was like, if we're gonna fill space you've gotta carry the fucking weight! You gotta have back pocket shit at all times. He got real serious about it and came back with a notebook and wrote everything down. So I'll say, “Do you have a front piece? Do you have your sex story?” Because Christ knows that he's got a fucking supply of that. And then the last thing will be that he has a drug story because we do a cautionary thing at the end. Then we're off and running. The thing is, we really trust each other. Over the course of the show he's gotten insanely better. So for me, aside from watching my friend literally save his own life by sitting up there and talking about this, we also watch him realize his own self-worth. So much about everything in his life is predicated on his sobriety. It's been amazing to watch him grow up. I mean, it took a long time because he's in his fucking late thirties, but it's been fantastic to watch him become an adult.
[
Awww. I love your relationship with him. I watched “Jay and Silent Bob Go Down Under” and it was fucking hilarious. A job well done!
My job on the podcast is just so easy because I'm really there to guide Jay. Truly, it is his show. Watching him talk himself out of the fucking grave and talking himself out of his addiction in this weird new side career has been really inspiring. It's one of those best case scenarios of getting yourself clean. It couldn't get any better. He was over the moon about doing this EPIX special because they're giving us the whole night with three different specials. Then he and I recorded in-between stuff and he loves shit like that! He's like, “That's what they do on Showtime!” But this is our channel, this is fucking EPIX bitch!
What are your top three favorite movies of all-time?
I'm gonna give you five instead. Jaws, JFK, Do the Right Thing, A Man For All Seasons, and The Last Temptation of Christ.
I can't believe Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood isn't on that list! It's the best ever!
Hey, some people can't believe that Porky's isn't on that list!
Fair enough. Top three favorite sex positions.
[Laughs.] Sex positions, ummm…on my back, on my back, and on my back. I'm a fat man so basically in my relationship it's always a woman of stride. She has to climb the mountain. The mountain can't go to Muhammad. It's cool though because when we met she said she likes being on top.
[
Oh please! Women always say that because we want to seem like overachievers and we don't want to be labeled as a dead fish or something!
[Laughs.] Oh my god that is what she said too! She said, “You know it would be helpful if you did the fucking once in a while!” I was like, “No no! You said that being on top was the best!
Poor gal. OK, top three after-sex snacks.
Currently it's changed because Ben and Jerry's has this Greek strawberry shortcake stuff, it's so good. So if you kill a pint of that and it's not like back in the day where it's like 1,200 calories. Now it's like 700. Hey look, the extra 500 makes a difference! Chocolate covered pretzels are always on the list, and milk. This is crazy but I am a huge skim milk drinker. So right after sex, I'll down a pint of skim milk even though I didn't do any work. [Laughs.]
What are your three go-to CD's? Oh god, not CD's. What am I in the 1990's?
Whoa CD's? What fucking century are we from? [Laughs.] Let me get my flannel shirt and acid wash jeans! OK it's embarrassing. One is The Best of Hall and Oats. A song I listen to on repeat is “Reminiscing” by Little River Band. And when it comes to sexing, me and the wife have a soundtrack that we bought at the Standard Hotel like ten years ago. It doesn't happen every time but I'd say like six times out of ten whenever we get down, the CD comes out. It's basically about 58 minutes of music and we get through about six minutes. [Laughs.] Shameful to admit.
Ha! I'll say! Ok last one, with the holiday's coming up would you suggest that people pick up Tom Whalen's print that you are in called, “The Lost Legend of Hitler Claus?”
I would say absolutely! If there is one thing that no one is expecting at Christmas, it's to see the word Hitler anywhere. It's tough to surprise people anymore but chances are no one has that on their list. If you get that for them, it's going to be a magical Christmas. A confusing one, but a magical one.
You can follow Kevin on Twitter @ThatKevinSmith and catch Jay and Silent Bob Get Old on SModcast. You can also check out upcoming tour dates on www.SeeSMod.com, watch awesome videos on their YouTube channel S.I.T. SModCo Internet Television and get their Apps on iTunes. Make sure you tune into EPIX this Friday at 10pm (EST) to catch Jay and Silent Bob Go Down Under and get ready to roar with laughter. Trust us, there will be roaring.
Follow us on Twitter @OCWeeklyMusic and like us on Facebook at Heard Mentality.
Ali Lerman knows much about comedy, basketball, and celebrating Wu-Tang Wednesday. She’s been writing for sixteen years and still calls her mom with grammatical questions.