On Twitter, Filmmaker Kevin Smith Is a Superstar
(From WIRED Magazine, Issue 18.03)
At first glance, things seem to be going rather badly for Kevin Smith. The actor, screenwriter, and director scored a critical success with Clerks during the indie film boom of the 1990s, but he’s never been able to repeat the feat. Several efforts to reinvent himself — like the romantic comedy Jersey Girl and the bromantic comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno — tanked. With his latest film (Cop Out, due at the end of February), he’s directing someone else’s screenplay for the first time — a stretch for a guy who admits that he’s not much of a visual stylist. But if Smith’s film career is sputtering, his career as an off-color online raconteur is booming. He has a popular podcast and Twitter feed and a well-traffickedWeb site with a lucrative merchandise portal. And he has parlayed that online celebrity into a best-selling book and a successful speaking tour. We talked to Smith about his two-pronged career.
