Thursday
Mar252010
Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 1:51AM Kevin Smith Whines Over 'Cop Out' Criticism
A disturbing stream of Tweets hit the web recently, as Kevin Smith took on movie critics for hating Cop Out, although I think you'll be surprised to read his reasoning. The film took its share of hits, both here and nearly everywhere else, but not because it was Kevin Smith. Cop Out was trashed because it's a bad film. And there are tons of them, so why is he so special?
(Responding to a fan's comment, “I gotta say that every day I hate film theory & film students & critics more & more. Where is the fun in movies?”) "Sir sometimes, it’s important to turn off the chatter. Film fandom’s become a nasty bloodsport where cartoonishly rooting for failure gets the hit count up on the ol’ brand-new blog. And if a schmuck like me pays you some attention, score! MORE EYES, MEANS MORE ADVERT $. But when you pull your eye away from the microscope, you can see that shit you’re studying so closely is, in reality, tiny as fuck. You wanna enjoy movies again? Stop reading about them & just go to the movies. It’s improved film/movie appreciation immensely for me."Seriously: so many critics lined-up to pull a sad & embarrassing train on #CopOut like it was JenniferJasonLeigh in LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN. Watching them beat the shit out of it was sad. Like, it’s called #CopOut; that sound like a very ambitious title to you? You REALLY wanna shit in the mouth of a flick that so OBVIOUSLY strived for nothing more than laughs. Was it called “Schindler’s Cop Out”? Writing a nasty review for #CopOut is akin to bullying a retarded kid who was getting a couple chuckles from the normies by singing AFTERNOON DELIGHT. "Suddenly, bully-dudes are doing the bad impression of him, using the 'retart' voice. The crowd shifts uncomfortably. And you may impress a couple of low IQ-ers who’re like 'Yeah, man! Way to destroy that singing retart!' But, really? All you’ve done is make fun of something that wasn’t doing you any harm and wanted only to give some cats a some fun laughs. It was just ridiculous to watch. That was it for me. Realized whole system’s upside down: so we let a bunch of people see it for free & they shit all over it? Meanwhile, people who’d REALLY like to see the flick for free are made to pay? Bullshit: from now on, any flick I’m ever involved with, I conduct critics screenings thusly: you wanna see it early to review it? Fine: pay like you would if you saw it next week. Like, why am I giving an arbitrary 500 people power over what I do at all, let alone for free? "Next flick, I’d rather pick 500 randoms from Twitter feed & let THEM see it for free in advance, then post THEIR opinions, good AND bad. Same difference. Why’s their opinion more valid? It’s a backwards system. People are free to talk shit about ANY of my flicks, so long as they paid to see it. Fuck this AnimalFarm bullshit." Wow, that's a lot to sift through. Let's try going point by point. Rooting for failure, cartoonishly or otherwise, rarely gets the hit count up, even when the subject is Kevin Smith. Actually, since he's never had a movie that made more than $32 million before Cop Out, I'm not sure why Smith would expect pageviews to jump through the roof. The truth is, I see hit increases only when there is vast public interest - summer movies, the Oscars, the occasional big off-season release like Alice in Wonderland. The majority of moviegoers, even people who see a movie a week or more, don't really give a shit what Kevin Smith is up to because they don't see his films. Secondly, nobody ganged up on Cop Out. I lamented that it was as bad as it was, although I did apparently correctly guess that Smith didn't care while he was making the film:
"Bruce Willis and Kevin Smith shouldn't make a movie this poor. Yes, that can happen accidentally, and many bad films are victims of those circumstances. But Cop Out appears to take pride in how awful, unfunny, and truly wasteful it is. Well done, guys: Go cash those checks. You can tell that neither Willis nor Smith is invested in this process just by watching how lazy it is."It would have been nice, however, if the creative component of the film had paid as much attention to it as Smith claims critics did. "It's called #CopOut," Tweets Smith, trying to artificially enhance his own hits with the hashmark, "that sound like a very ambitious title to you?" No, Silent Bob, it doesn't. And if you had no ambition to make it, I have two suggestions: 1) Stop bitching when people hated it if you didn't give it your best effort, and 2) If all you can do is go through the motions when you're making a movie, stop making movies. If you don't care, why should we? "(W)e let a bunch of people see it for free & they shit all over it?" Not exactly and not always. It only happens when the movie blows, curiously enough. Shutter Island, on the other hand, I saw for free and paid to see two more times on opening weekend. Because that movie was well-made and undertaken genuinely by a filmmaker who doesn't mail it in and who, unlike you, hasn't lived off the legacy of one single creation made nearly 20 years prior. I bust my ass to run my website so it'd be nice if you did the same when you went to work, sir. If Smith wants to conduct private screenings for 500 people, fine. It's clear he's not interested in anything resembling an objective viewpoint; he just wants people to fawn over his movies. Except that there hasn't been any reason to in a decade. What I'd like to offer in exchange is that Smith and his stars and his studios refuse to promote those same movies. You see, that's the other part of the critical arrangement Smith doesn't talk about: Yes, critics see movies for free. In exchange for that, Smith's film receives free coverage online, in the papers, on TV. That's the deal. It's what pisses me off about films that don't screen for the press but only make that decision in the last couple of weeks prior to release. After all, the internet writes about them for months and months with the understanding that this give-and-take is in place. If you make a bad movie, take your lumps. Nobody compromised Kevin Smith into making a film he equates to a retarded child other than Kevin Smith. Be a man about it. Or, you know, be a better filmmaker.
Reader Comments (13)
Wow, what a tool. I liked Dogma and that was about it. I know no one likes to hear their work sucks but that's the industry you're in. Thankfully I'm happy that Colin Boyd, Ebert, and others panned the film. It saved me $10 on your godawful movie. I'm glad Mr. Smith doesn't have to work hard in an awful economy while the rest of us watch our pennies and dimes. Um, so why should I waste them on your lazy offerings?people who love him should really read these words as "I don't care about art (good comedy is an art), being an artist, I just want a new jacuzzi."
He said he wanted to make a funny film? There wasn't even a good joke in the preview! Get bent you spoiled fat nerd. Now I'm going to work in a job I take pride in. Maybe you should try it Mr. Smith.
It's troubling that Smith would compare a comedy film to a retarded child. I'm not PC and I know surely Smith isn't, but come on. You're not doing yourself any favors there with that analogy.
As for what Josh and Colin said, agreed. If you don't take pride in your work, why should I pay to see your less than half ass attempts?
Colin, I was turned onto your site when you were on The Mike O'Meara show, and have been a faithful daily since. It's obvious you do put a lot into your work and that's what makes a person to want to support someone else, be it by reading a blog or paying to see a few laughs on a big screen.
Disappointed in Kevin Smith...
I seconded what Adam said. I found out about this site through Mike O'Meara Show too (Sorry they were always drunk when you called in, Colin). Frankly, I always looked forward to Friday just to hear your reviews. Also, you do put in incredible amount of work into this site. I'm amazed its just you churning out all these articles daily. I often wonder when you actually sleep.
Wow... I've always been a fan of smith's work and for the most part I've always ignored what critics say about a movie, but this is just completely retarded. He needs to cancel his twitter, shut his mouth and try to actually make a good movie, something he hasn't done in a long time. Sadly the person who really turned me on to giving independent movies a chance has turned into nothing but a total attention whore. He's not happy unless there people like you Colin blogging about what a laughingstock he's turned into.(he kept the southwest airlines story in the news as long as he could, while everyone else on the planet would just be fucking embarresed and prey that in the age of tmz, twitter and everyone in america having a camera phone no one ever found out.) If it wasn't for the critics. he'd have no career. They gave him a voice, and post-dogma look how he's used it. Smith's movies have notoriously looked like shit, but what made movies like clerks and chasing Amy stand out, was the passion, the passion that only an average joe from nowhere and nothing can give you. I don't hate smith for trying to get paid. Hell everyone has a price and to critize him for being about the money now is foolish. cause you'd do it too. In Smith's case, the big checks equal finanical security, with that finanical security has come a lack of passion, and when you take away that passion, your back to just an average joe who has no business making movies.
He just hasn't been the same since his cameo in Die Hard 4.0. It's very sad.
Proof that Kevin Smith got lucky with Clerks. IMO, nothing he's done since then has been worth a crap...Dogma was passable at best. Chasing Amy was boring. And Clerks really only got by on its shock value (shocking at that point in time anyway) including its 8th grade level sex/toilet humor, it's appeal to Star Wars fans (myself included) and "indie edge" pop references. He's not funny or talented....period.
And now, we all know that he's also a whiney ass.
Colin's site rocks. He does bust his ass for it, and it shows. I'm a daily viewer as well. Spread the word.
kevin... suck it up.
I think maybe some of the problem with this is that he now has too many outlets. He's always been an outspoken guy, but now he has his podcast (which I actually love) AND a twitter account, which gives him responses to the stuff he says immediately, and that just spurs him on. I'm all for being close to the fans, but there's a certain point where a guy like him just digs himself a hole.
You obviously work hard, Colin, to provide people with a service they appreciate. Your review of Cop Out saved me not just money, but 2 hours of my life. For him to attack a system that benefits everybody just because he didn't care enough to make a good film, makes me respect him quite a bit less than I did before...which wasn't actually that much to begin with.