2 Unforgettable Kevin Smith Roadshows

I’ve loved Kevin Smith since my 8th grade birthday party. I received Mallrats as a gift and it instantly made me a fan. Luckily, I have been able to attend two Kevin Smith Roadshows. One for Red State in 2011 and, more recently we got to see Jay and Silent Bob Rebooted. Yay!

Kevin Smith Roadshow: Red State

Adventure, excitement? A Jedi craves not these things.

Good thing I’m no Jedi! Because I do crave these things. This event was no exception! In March of 2011, I got to meet one of those people who I never thought I’d actually meet. One of those people I have been admiring ever since I received Mallrats at that birthday party. The man who made me laugh and think philosophically about such things as God, Star Wars, and relationships in such movies as Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks.

How did this long-time dream come true? It is all thanks to my better half.

A Night with Kevin Smith as a Valentine

Red State was Mr. Smith’s first venture into the horror genre. He decided to do a 15 city tour to promote/screen the movie before the actual wide release date, and lucky me, he decided to bring it to New Orleans. I was so excited when I found out he was coming down here, doing a Q &A, screening the movie, but I wasn’t sure we could go, as tickets were $60 a piece.

Did I really want to spend that much money? Especially since our wedding was coming up? As I debated, Valentine’s Day rolled around. Mr. Nola Nerd Couple and I exchanged gifts, and one of my gifts was a manila envelope. Che cos’è?!  (What is it?!)

KEVIN SMITH TICKETS! I was so excited. My baby knows me so well.

Before the Show

On March 26. we headed to the AMC Elmwood at around 5:15pm to wait in line, even though it didn’t start until 7pm. No, we were not the first people in line, but we were in the first row. My husband’s friend that we see at every “nerd” event we go to was there with his wife, about 5 people in front of us. It’s kind of scary how alike the two of them are!

After waiting until about 7:30, with the line out of the front door of people waiting for this sold out event, we were finally let into the theater. I knew that if we wanted to be directly in front of Kevin Smith, we should sit in the front row; however, we wanted to actually see the movie.

We decided to just sit in the middle, about 8-10 rows up. About 8 o’clock, the side door opens and in walks some of the stars of the movie. Stephen Root! Melissa Leo, the Academy Award winning actress for The Fighter! Kevin Smith’s wife, Jenn! As they are walking up the stairs to sit in the back of the theater, Jenn assures us that Kevin is right outside the door.

And so he was. He quickly introduced the movie (well, not that quickly…he’s a talker!), then we sat back and enjoyed the show. He truly loves making and presenting his movies. He is a showman in the classic sense of the word.

Red State: Our Thoughts

The movie was toted as a “horror” film, but honestly, it is more thriller. I would call it “unsettling.” It is not predictable and it doesn’t have any “otherworldly” elements in it, meaning you could imagine something like this actually happening.

The actor who played Abin Cooper, Michael Parks, was outstanding. I completely believed him as one of those Christian pastors who feel like it’s their duty to rid the world of what they consider “abominations” such as sinners and gays. You never really knew what the next step would be, and I truly felt that everyone was believable.

I thought Kerry Bishé was so horrible in the updated Scrubs that they tried to put out in that last season, but she was very good in the movie as the sweet, naïve Cheyenne. At the end, I thought it you could see the Kevin Smith in the movie, especially with the quirky jokes, style of writing, and subtle digs on politics and religion (even though in the Q & A, he said he didn’t think people would know it was him if they didn’t already know).

I enjoyed the movie thoroughly and would definitely recommend it.

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Red State Q&A

Afterward, to thunderous applause and a standing ovation, Kevin Smith came down and answered random questions from the audience. Can that man talk! If you ask a simple question, such as, “How did you get started in the editing process?”, it would be a full on ten minutes and 15 tangents later before he’d be finished talking.

Of course, no one minded, and everything he said was interesting. He spoke for over an hour, much to the chagrin of his assistant that kept trying to get him to wrap it up. Melissa Leo and Stephen Root joined him down there about halfway through and answered questions as well. I really enjoy Melissa on Treme and on The Fighter, and Stephen will always be ingrained in my brain as the red stapler guy.

When they finally had to go, they left out the side door and the audience is slowly making its way out, an idea occurs to me. The people selling the merchandise outside of the theater before the show had said that Kevin would not be signing any autographs or taking pictures.

I was bummed, so I bought a Red State poster for $20 that came signed by Kevin. What if Kurt and I went around to the back of the theater, where Kevin Smith’s bus was? I bet that not many people would have thought to do that, so many he might come out. I told Kurt my plan, and he quickly agreed.

What was there to lose, right? We go out the front and start to make our way around back. As we get to the side of the building, we see a couple of people in a circle ahead of us, taking pictures.

We notice that it’s Melissa Leo! The only reason why she was at this screening is because she’s filming Treme in New Orleans right now, so it was very easy for her to come over and participate. She had her family with her and they were just walking to their own car.

She was so nice and since there was only about 7 people there, so she had no problem taking pictures. I felt so bad because I took the picture with her as Kurt snapped it, but he assured me he didn’t mind not being in the picture. He just told her how he’s admired her since Homicide, which she gave a big smile for and thanked him.

Meeting Kevin Smith!!!

Then, we walk to the back of the theater. There is a group of about 12 people who thought just like me. We decide to all walk to the bus together. The cops and couple of official people standing outside the bus looked nervous at us all walking over there, but we politely asked if Kevin wouldn’t mind coming out. Because there weren’t that many of us, the assistant said Kevin would come out and take a group picture. When he got of the bus, we all clapped and thanked him.

He was honestly one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He insisted on signing all of our merchandise that we had, which included my copy of Clerks that I brought with me. He then took individual pictures with everyone. I’m not one to push people out of the way to meet someone, so even though I was standing right next to him, other pushy people kept jumping in front of me.

My husband eventually caught his attention and told Kevin how he bought me the tickets for Valentine’s Day, and it would mean so much to him if he could “seal the deal” and have us take a picture together. Kevin laughed and said it’d be his honor. I had the camera so just took a selfie, which even though it is the tiniest bit blurry, you can totally see the happy not only on my face, but on his as well.

After that, we left. I still can’t believe I got to meet one of my idols.  Such a great evening, one that I won’t forget for a long time.

Kevin Smith Roadshow: Jay and Silent Bob Reboot

A lot has happened since we saw Red State

Fast forward nine years, and we are back seeing Kevin Smith present his latest movie. This time it was for Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

A lot has changed since then. For us, we got married and had a kid. Kevin Smith had a heart attack and made a complete lifestyle change.

This movie came after his recovery for his heart attack. You can tell it was a real labor of love project for him. Also, one, according to him, in which he used his heart attack to guilt people to work in the movie, which is a classic Kevin Smith move.

Before the Movie

As soon as my mother in law arrived to babysit, we headed out. It was a frigid and windy night (well Louisiana cold anyway). Even though we got there early, there was a little of a wait to get in. Once inside, I purchased a film poster that was signed by Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes.

Before the movie, Kevin came out and talked to the crowd. First thing you can tell how much weight he has lost. He has gone vegan and good for him. May he live long and prosper!

One thing that made this night special for Kevin and the audience was that the movie was shot in New Orleans. Having the tour end where it started was special for everyone. He asked how many people were in the film, and enough people raised their hands to make it feel like a cast and crew screening.

The primary members of the cast were in attendance. Mewes, who had missed quite a few shows of the tour to be a dad, was there. Harley Quinn Smith and Shannon Elizabeth were in attendance as well.

One of the things he talked about was how he wanted to make sure all the extras were recognized in the movie. We had a friend that dressed like Silent Bob and was in the film. While that was cool, it was amazing to see his name in the credits.

Jay and Silent Bob Reshoot: Our Thoughts

The movie is a love letter from Smith to his fans. It was as shocking as Red State, as philosophical as Dogma, as personal as Chasing Amy, nor as funny as Clerks.

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The film was fan service in the best way. If you paid what we paid to see the movie, you know Smith’s body of work, and you know it well. He honored that. He threw in so many moments from this Askew Universe, that it couldn’t help you smile.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Did I love every second of watching it? Yes.

The most surprising thing about it was how much growth Jason Mewes has had as an actor. He does a lot of heavy lifting in the movie and an not just as a comedic actor. Before you were always kinda laughing at Jay. Here, Mewes makes you care for him and root for him. For him to do the right thing. And Jay doesn’t always excel at that.

Mewes is entirely believable as someone coming to grips – in a Kevin Smith way – with his past. Ms. Smith is also great at figuring out her fate in the world. While the comedy is excellent, when these two have dramatic moments, it is some of the most touching scenes in Kevin Smith’s body of work.

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After the Show

After the show was a QA. We didn’t stick around for more than one question, so we stayed for about twenty minutes. That’s how long it took to answer the question. However, that moment also included a touching memory for Smith.

The question was about if Smith and Stan Lee ever had an herbal refreshment together. They hadn’t. However, it took him a long time to figure out the Lee was more than a mentor. He was a friend. Lee truly loved Smith (let’s face it, he was the first to put him in the movies), and loved seeing him do well. It was a tribute to the fact that sometimes, it is great to meet your mentors.

We wanted to stay longer like we did for Red State. We really wanted to stay and get him to sign our Mallrats poster. But again, a lot has changed. We have a kid now. We were tired, and we missed her.

I’m sure Kevin Smith would understand. He makes sure he gets to work with his daughter as often as he can. This film is about the importance of taking out time for yourself and those that love you.

Chasing the Nola Nerd Baby is the most important thing in our lives and this movie reminded us of that.