I’ve said it before, but Kevin Smith is the #1 Entertainer of My Life. The guy has been entertaining me for nearly thirty years now, giving me thousands of hours of content to enjoy. The films he has directed, the books and comic books he has written, the many podcasts he has recorded. I have listened to almost every podcast he has hosted or co-hosted, I have taken in the information they contained... but it never occurred to me to compile all of that information together into a document. And that’s exactly what David Gati has done with his book Kevin Smith: His Films and Fans.
With this book, Gati explores nearly every movie Kevin has made. The interesting approach here is that the chapters of the book primarily draws the information from things that were said by Kevin and his collaborators across many podcasts, plus some enhancements from “making of” documentaries, the An Evening with Kevin Smith special, and Kevin’s social media posts. Now, I have to admit that there were no new revelations in here for me, but that’s because I have listened to the podcasts, watched the documentaries and specials, and read the social media posts. But for the casual fan or the outsider, the person who hasn’t had the time or drive to keep up with all those thousands of hours of content, this will provide some interesting behind-the-scenes tidbits on how some of the movies were made and where they came from.
Clerks, of course, gets the most thorough coverage. That’s where it all began, and that’s the one that has been talked about the most. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot gets the next longest chapter, because it was the most recent release when Gati was putting the book together, and its chapter contains an interview with Kevin – and, as expected, Kevin doesn’t need much prompting to fill pages with his answers. Clerks III, released just a handful of months ago, is covered, but hadn’t been released yet when the book was finalized. The chapters for Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, Clerks II, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Cop Out, Red State, Tusk, and Yoga Hosers each run eight to ten pages and a couple of them contain surprisingly small amounts of information in those pages, but no feature film is ignored... The one that doesn’t get any coverage other than a quick mention is the one that can almost be considered a “lost film” at this time, the horror anthology KillRoy Was Here. It’s out there, some people have it and have watched it. But it was released, in between Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and Clerks III, as an NFT than can only be purchased with crypto. Not many fans have the time or inclination to try to decipher that stuff, and there’s a limited number of the NFT to begin with, so for now it’s the movie most fans are aware of but haven’t seen. So it makes sense that this book can’t say too much about it. Hopefully it will get a more traditional release down the line.
Kevin Smith: His Films and Fans was a fun book to read, even though the 200 page journey involved me reading things I had heard before. I’m enough of a Kevin devotee that I’m fine with spending my time reading information about him and his movies that I already knew. And, as I said, plenty of this will be new to others. Another interesting aspect of the book is the reason for the “Fans” part of the title. In addition to pictures of Kevin, his family, and the people he has worked with over the years, the pages of this book are also filled with artwork that was created and contributed by fans. So their art is mixed together with discussions of his art. That was a cool idea on Gati’s part.
If you’re an established fan of Kevin Smith and his films, Kevin Smith: His Films and Fans is a nice addition to your collection. If you want to know more about him and his movies, this book provides a good amount of information without being too in-depth or overwhelming. It’s worth a look. Gati did a great job of poring over the information that was available and compiling it here.
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