Kevin Smith taken down a peg.

I'm an avid listener of his podcasts, and even a fan of his movies (me, the guy with the Un Chien Andalou avatar) and he's been talking about his distribution plans quite a bit. Never once has he said what he's doing is new and revolutionary. He's said the exact opposite, in fact. I'm surprised aspiring independent filmmakers here would be so quick to crap all over what he's doing. Even if you don't like him, he's trying to not only self-distribute his film, but create a model/label for people to distribute/promote their films through. I work with a local production company that produces comedies in the ilk of Kevin Smith, as well as silly youtube videos. My work is pretty much the opposite of what they do. But they actually have a pretty big local following, and when they hosted a screening of my feature film, and promoted it on their site, a lot of people actually came to see it, and even enjoyed it. It couldn't hurt to have Kevin Smith promoting your film. He has almost 2 million twitter followers. He can rant all he wants. It doesn't change my opinion of him.
 
Jim Brennan said:
In the end, it's impossible to know a guy's motivations, or what they are really like.
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Not impossible. You just need the context.

In our neighborhood, if you had even a modicum of talent, or even just a strong interest in entertainment of any sort...that's what you did. Maybe you made it, maybe you didn't. Maybe circumstances pushed you into being a stockbroker or a used car salesman or housepainter, with only being able to participate in the biz on weekends at the local.

But you did it.

We theorize there's something in the water, because there's a ridiculously large number of folks from our area that appplies to, not even counting the "imports" who've shown up over the years.

Odd.

edit: Oh. I have a pretty good idea what Kevin is really like. I'd have no particular desire to hang out with him, though I wouldn't shun him is he sat down next to me in a bar.
 
Smith's success speaks for itself. The guy has a demographic that he appeals to. There's nothing wrong with that, even if it isn't your taste. He'd probably be the first guy to admit that his stuff isn't for everyone.

I think we would all like to have the convergence of circumstances that launched his career. His skill isn't such that he was bound to be discovered at some point. But the fact is that he was good enough to get get where he's at. He made movies that sold tickets. The guy can do what he wants.
 
deleted several posts. let's keep this about the article without trolling the entire dvxuser membership. thank you.
 
Zak Forsman said:
deleted several posts. let's keep this about the article without trolling the entire dvxuser membership. thank you.
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Lol. You can delete the whole thing as far as I care. I'm kind of regretting posting it in the first place...Sometimes I get a little too bored in the edit bay.
 
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i've seen almost all of kevin smith's movies. to me, watching a kevin smith movie is sort of like eating at taco bell. each time they roll out a new burrito i go and get one. but after eating a few bites i realize it tastes like ****. after throwing up, i feel sad that i've been tricked again.
 
In terms of the self distribution in the next few years, it's going to be really exciting to see who is right. I've seen too many of my friends get absolutely smoked by their sub-distibutors and studios. I've worked on two indie flicks who when the cost reports arrived, the movies had grossed over 1 million dollars over the first 18 months. One of them was told that his direct to DVD movie still hadn't recouped its marketing costs, and the other got a check for 14 grand. I have a hard time bringing those numbers to investors. I'm not bashing the studios, they have to do what they do to make the numbers right for their bosses, but their model just doesn't make sense to low budget filmmakers. Enter the new era of digital distribution, where i don't give away my rights, the percentage splits are fair or in the case of Distribber I pay to license the flick with the cable outlets and itunes and keep 100% of the profits, that i'm down with. Yeah I have to find my audience in creative and inexpensive ways, but at least my fate is in my hands, and not some cooked books of the studios. Kevin Smith, Edward Burns, and who ever else is out there, the new kool-aid tastes pretty good to me.
 
ugafan said:
i've seen almost all of kevin smith's movies. to me, watching a kevin smith movie is sort of like eating at taco bell. each time they roll out a new burrito i go and get one. but after eating a few bites i realize it tastes like ****. after throwing up, i feel sad that i've been tricked again.
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You should be a writer... I can go to work smiling now. Taco Bell also makes me sad.
 
ugafan said:
i've seen almost all of kevin smith's movies. to me, watching a kevin smith movie is sort of like eating at taco bell. each time they roll out a new burrito i go and get one. but after eating a few bites i realize it tastes like ****. after throwing up, i feel sad that i've been tricked again.
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...so why do you eat at taco bell anymore? 'fool me once' et al.
 
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