Kevin Smith recently directed the upcoming hit "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. Features Editor Chris Gearing got the chance to talk to Smith about the film industry, co-star chemistry and why people just don't like the word "porno."
VS: What's with the controversy around the word "porno" being in the title of the movie?
KS: I don't know, man, I'm still trying to figure it out. I knew it was going to turn off some people, but I assumed that the people who would be turned off by the title weren't going to see the movie anyway. I assumed that with the (Motion Picture Association of America), I assumed that would be the last of our travails. But in the past month, cities have been popping up that won't let us advertise. Philadelphia won't let us put up our billboards. Forget that there's a zillion and nine erectile dysfunction and beer ads, but the word "porno" was the be all and end all of civilization. I felt that we had used the cutest word possible for that industry. We hadn't gone with "Zack and Miri Make a F*ck Tape" or "Stag Film" or "Skin Flick." It's got that "o" at the end that makes it cuddly and cute to me. The thing that puzzles me and bugs me the most is just how stupid people can be. When was the last time you saw a porno with "porno" in the title? At the end of a TV spot, you always have the rating from the MPAA. Clearly we're rated "R," and I don't know how people are confusing a comedy with hard-core pornography. You can't object to the term. How else are we going to describe it?
VS: As mentioned on "An Evening With Kevin Smith," I know your friend and one of the stars of the film, Jason Mewes, made a porno and gave it to you. Did that affect your ideas or directing at all?
KS: I don't think Mewes ever thought that anyone would see that first one and why he gave it to me is still a mystery. Also keep in mind that the guy was still probably knee-deep in the horse at the time - he was still using then. So a guy on heroin isn't going to perform well at all, as I understand. What I thought was like, "Damn, you might want to focus the camera." It kept framing between him and the girl he was with and a framed X-Man poster behind him that was catching the reflection of an MTV Music Awards. I think it was N*Sync on screen at the time. So the image keeps focusing between Mewes and his girlfriend and N*Sync on a TV in the background as reflected by this glass frame. Not stroke-worthy in the least. In terms of it being influential, I just didn't want to do that. That was below the amateur standards, it was kind of shockingly bad - and more depressing than anything else.
VS: How do you think this "romanticized" idea of porn will affect college students?
KS: I think most people will take this movie for what it is. I'm not looking to convert people; I'm just looking to entertain them with this fun story. I'm not putting this out there as a viable way of making cash, although it certainly is, but I don't think that it's going to change anyone's mind on the subject. A lot of people out there find it to be offensive, I get that. But there are a bunch of people out there (mostly dudes), who see it as an essential part of their day. So I don't think the movie will change anyone's mind.
VS: How did growing up in New Jersey affect your film making style?
KS: The area in Jersey in which I grew up certainly affected the dialogue that I write - rather frank and candid dialogue peppered with a lot of vulgarity. It's the just the way I grew up and how we all speak. Having the friends that I've had over the course of my life has certainly influenced me and the things I like to write about and the stories I like to tell. I can't say that the great state of New Jersey influenced that so much as the people I hung around with. You grow up in New Jersey and you always grow up in the shadow of New York and what not. There's still that kind of necessity to prove yourself to people, to prove you're worthy of applause - I think we tend to try harder. Growing up in Jersey is like growing up fat - you just try harder. You just always try to outdo the thin people.
VS: Where did the plot for the movie come from?
KS: I know most of the stuff I do is about two dudes who pine for each other but never kiss - they're intensely involved but don't consummate it. So it seemed like a logical progression that a guy and a girl as the protagonists who are in a relationship heading to some other kind of relationship. I'm afraid that maybe on the page it would've read different like two dudes, but Elizabeth Banks was wonderful - she completely feminized Miri. She was able to infuse her and flesh her out as a believable woman.
VS: How did the cast come together on the film? Did they work well together?
KS: They really combined rather well. At the end of the day, everyone's a consummate professional that loves to act, and they all honor the script. We did everything in the script. Seth is kind of a genius at adlibbing material like it's organic to the film, or more specifically to the character. Nine times out of ten, adlibbing isn't bringing the story forward. Seth is brilliant at adlibbing material that brings the story forward. When he adlibs a line, it seemed like it was coming from the character of Zack as opposed to Seth Rogen. It propels the story forward. You welcome a guy like that because he's not just executing but elevating. You love a guy like that around.
VS: How was the chemistry between Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks?
KS: From the moment we sat down to do the first table reading of the script, it was apparent that their chemistry was sickening. It was so good, it was so insane. You would have thought that they had known each other for years. They had worked very briefly together on "40 Year Old Virgin," but I don't even think they shared a scene. It was very natural for both of them. So, all credit to them - the chemistry was there. Sometimes you work with actors that just have that sick, wonderful chemistry where you don't have to do anything as a director other than stay out of the way.
VS: How was it to work with Craig Robinson?
KS: Craig was fantastic, man. He underplayed that role to perfection - he was so subtle with that part. As I was putting the movie together, his brilliance emerged in the editing booth. Underplaying it to a fault, he kind of sticks out in a good way. He's a really great guy and really funny. He kind of steals the movie in many places.
VS: How did you get into filmmaking?
KS: Yeah, when I was a kid I never really thought about being a filmmaker. It just never seemed like an option. It wasn't until my 21st birthday when I saw Richard Linklater's "Slacker" that kind of opened me up to the world of independent film, and I just immersed myself. That's what made me want to get into film. I was always a movie-goer as a kid and there are definitely film makers like John Hughes - I loved all of John Hughes as a kid. The one that got me off my ass was Richard Linklater's "Slacker."
VS: How has your job as a director changed over the years?
KS: For me my job hasn't really changed move to movie. I write the script and I rehearse the actors and make sure they give a performance close to how I heard it in my head when I wrote it. It's not better or worse. Whether I've got ten bucks or a million, that job doesn't change all that much.
VS: Do you have any advice or tips for amateur filmmakers?
KS: Make "Clerks." That totally worked for me. Short of that, everyone should tell the story that they want to tell. Don't be influenced to change it. At the end of the day, you have to live with that movie the rest of your life. That's your flick. If you sell out or something to reach a larger audience, then it stops being yours. You could have that moment where you look back and say, "That's not what I wanted at all." So, stick with your own voice.
