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Here’s part two of my epic Kevin Smith interview.
Just over two weeks ago, I interviewed Kevin Smith in the bathroom of my hair salon. Which isn’t to say that I locked Kevin and I in the can of a public place — not the way you’re thinking, anyway. I was having one of those days where every appointment I’d scheduled was being re-jigged and blending into one another. So, making the best of what I had to work with, I took my digital recorder and my phone and locked myself in the quietest room of the salon, just in time for a 2:30 interview with Kevin. To date, I think it’s the strangest place I’ve done an interview. But it was also one of the best interviews.
Obviously, a large part of this is Kevin’s willingness to talk. He’s not afraid to speak his mind or answer anything you have to throw at him, and anyone who has seen his speaking engagements — either live or taped — knows that he gives you a lot of material to work with. So while my abbreviated interview with about his Red State event at The Wiltern this weekend already ran on AOL, I wanted to print the entire discussion here, because he had some really incredible insights to share. So here goes part one.
My piece on Source Code went up on AOL today (you can see it here.) Alas, they cut much of the input that I got from screenwriter Ben Ripley. He was one of my favorite interviews that day — which happened to be the day of the L.A. Marathon, also known as Monsoon Day. It was raining sideways, and by the time I made my appointment with him, the marathon was starting to draw to a close. We stood out on the balcony of his suite at the Four Seasons and watched all the street cleaners — at least 20 of them — laying in wait for the okay to go sweep up after the runners. But getting the opportunity to get a peek inside his brain and process was one of the highlights of my day.
Anyway, my interview with Ben was both fun and informative, so I’m posting it in its entirety here. Be forewarned — there are some spoiler-ish bits.