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For a certain sector of Jersey Shore film and pop culture fans, there are few better ways imaginable to spend a Sunday evening than hanging out with Monmouth County's own Kevin Smith in Red Bank. Last night, a couple hundred folks got to do just that.
For the 95th episode of their online podcast series titled SModcast, writer, director and performer Kevin Smith and his longtime collaborator and friend Scott Mosier broadcast a conversation from in front of an audience live at the Two River Theater on Bridge Avenue.
Over the course of a free-wheeling two hour conversation, Smith and Mosier frequently had themselves and the audience in stitches, riffing on topics including their high school dating experiences, the appeal of getting intimate in foreign countries and a dirty and detailed retelling of the Academy Award-winning 1980 Loretta Lynn biopic "Coal Miner's Daughter."
The SModcasts's high-point, however, came in a spontaneous moment that was saved for last. Smith is currently on the road in support of the recent Titan Books release "Shootin' the Sh*t with Kevin Smith: The Best of SModcast," a volume collecting some of the funniest moments from SModcast's two-year history, and he explained that there have been folks asking him on Twitter about whether or not the book will be receiving audio book release.
With that, Smith and Mosier decided to read a selection from the book titled "Hero, question mark?" too dirty to describe here, while following an audience suggestion that the two friends switch parts, which Mosier reading Smith's lines and vice-versa. What followed had the audience doubled-over with laughter, and the whole night was probably best summed-up by Smith on his Twitter page following the event: "Live SMod in Red Bank tonight was maybe the most fun I've ever had with my d---- still in my drawers. Thanks to all who were there. And Mos."
Following the SModcast, Smith and Mosier signed copies of "Shootin' the Sh*t" and other merchandise, posed for photos and hung out with fans for more than two-and-a-half hours, after which Smith sat down for a quick chat with Metromix Jersey Shore.
We covered a lot of ground with Smith, including his upcoming films -- the Bruce Willis-Tracy Morgan comedy "A Couple of Dicks" and his adaptation of the Warren Zevon track "Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)" -- and his latest work in the world of comics, "Batman: The Widening Gyre," all of which you'll be hearing plenty about from us in the future.
For now, however, here's Smith discussing his second career as a live performer and his status as a New York Times best-selling author.
So, did you have fun tonight?
Yes, tonight was awesome, it was so fun. I mean, I found Mosier hysterical. That's one of the things I love most about doing SModcast. We kept it going for two hours, never really boring; the audience was helpful when we did start getting like, "Uh, what should we do next?" the audience was really good about jumping in and telling us what to do and came up with great ideas like reading the book and switching parts to do, it was fun shit like that.
When you were starting your filmmaking career, and I know that you're hesitant to use the word filmmaker, did you ever think you'd be the kind of person that people would pay to come hear speak?
Never in a million years. When you grow up fat dude, you don't ever think like, "One day I'll be the guy that they like," never in a million years. But, because I grew up fat I was always kind of working the sense of humor anyway, so I was the easy guy to be around in high school but never once did I say, "Hey, perhaps one day people will pay to see me talk," that's just strange but wonderful.
And how does it feel to be a New York Times best-seller now?
That happened a few years ago (with 2007's "My Boring-Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith"), that was awesome. It absolutely surprised me because we really didn't expect anyone would buy the book ... because it had been a free blog for years, you could read it online for free. So, it was surprising when Titan called up to say, "I don't know how to tell you this, but the book wound up on the New York Times best-seller list," I was like, "Ahh!"
All it does too is number one it was great, but number two it just means when you put out another book now you're like, "Oh God, now I hope we make the New York Times best-seller list," because that never occurred to me on any of the other two books, like, "God, I hope we get on that list," but now that we have been on it once it would be hard to not be on it. But once you're on the list once you can call yourself that thing forever, New York Times best-selling author.
And you can always put it on the cover of the book.
Yeah, even if the last book didn't do that well.
But it happened once.
It happened once.
It's like how you can always say "Academy Award nominee."
Absolutely, even when you're Ben Affleck.
Kevin Smith will be appearing at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 1) at the Union Square Barnes and Noble at 33 East 17th Street in New York City and at 8 p.m. on Nov. 5 at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia.
