In 2001's "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," Smith wrote himself into a light-saber duel with Mark Hamill. So he was happy to offer his take -- "A Nerd's Plea for Star Wars" -- on what the just-announced "Episode VII" should be. Or, rather, whom it should be about.
Kevin Smith is planning to take on Jesus — with an upcoming movie, that is.
Smith shared details about that project and updates on other movies in the works, and also revealed how he’s going to approach his film career going forward, in an extensive Facebook post on Monday.
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The filmmaker wrote that he’ll soon start writing a movie about mankind teaming up with Hell to fight a rapturing giant Jesus.
Similar to his latest film, Tusk, his new movie is based on an episode of his SModcast podcast. Despite soliciting suggestions for a title, Smith said he’s going with the title Helena Handbag, which he says comes directly from the plot and is somewhat of a nod to David Lynch‘s unproduced One Saliva Bubble screenplay, “which was also about the end of the world and also carried a title that didn’t really prepare you for what the movie was about,” Smith wrote.
The filmmaker indicated he was encouraged by how well Tusk turned out, calling it “the best flick I’ve ever made,” so he wanted to see if he could do it again. But, given the plot of the film, Smith pointed out that the budget will have to be low, “because NOBODY’S gonna wanna make that movie,” he wrote.
Smith also revealed that he’s hoping to shoot Clerks III in May, so while he’s going to start writing Helena Handbag now, the film likely won’t be completed for a while.
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Smith, who has previously discussed retiring, also expounded on his new approach to filmmaking, writing that he’s only going to make movies that he feels like only he would or could make, particularly after doing the low-budget Tusk in less than six months and having spent the last three years supporting his family without “movie money.” Smith realizes he only needs to make movies he wants to make when he feels like doing so.
“JERSEY GIRL, ZACK & MIRI, COP OUT — while I love them all, these are movies anybody could make,” he wrote. “Like ’em or hate ’em, nobody else but me could’ve (or would’ve) ever made CLERKS. Or CHASING AMY. Or DOGMA. Or RED STATE. Or CLERKS II. Or MALLRATS. Or JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK. I let my view askew get standardized for awhile there — so much so that I was happy to walk away from it all for three years and do other shit. But after conceiving and shooting TUSK in less than 6 months (with the help of a shit ton of amazing professionals and a budget smaller than that of RED STATE), I realized that film isn’t in my blood… MY films are in my blood. And some of ’em are still in there, so I better get ’em out! And now that I’ve spent the last three years clothing/feeding/housing me and my family without a dime of movie money, I know that I don’t NEED film to pay my bills anymore. So I can make a movie when I feel like it, and if I’ve got nothing to say in a screenplay, I can just f— off for awhile and do other shit until I do have a movie in me.”
He ended his post by urging his fans to follow his lead and take a chance on a risky idea.
“Put a whimsy on wheels today,” Smith wrote. “No pressure and it doesn’t have to result in anything: it is, after all, just a whimsy. Tend to it in your spare time but really give it care and nurture that f—er – just in case it actually turns into something. And it can turn into something, no matter who you are or how much money you have: I burned my film career to the ground, went and did other shit for three years (mostly for free), started from scratch again from a salted earth — and … I wound up making the best flick I’ve ever made with TUSK. So go give it a shot, kids: push a little whimsy yourselves. Unless that whimsy involves hurting people. Never kill anything unless it’s trying to kill you. Today, you can waste lots of time posting your thoughts about what other people are doing/saying in life — or you can use that time more wisely, to create something from nothing that’s all yours. One path is easier, but the other path is way more fun …
Read Smith’s full Facebook post below.
