Kevin Smith

His Films and Fans

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by David Gati

Type: Biographies
Subject: Director > Kevin Smith
Keywords: Kevin Smith, director
Publishing date: 2023
Publisher: Schiffer
Language: English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Hardcover • 200 pages
11 x 8 ¾ inches (28 x 22 cm)

ISBN

978-0-7643-6393-1

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Book Presentation:
This fun and photo-filled biography celebrates the life, films, and fans of the director responsible for such indie cult classics as Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Movie-industry veteran David Gati has compiled and edited a humorous and insightful look at Smith’s nearly 30-year filmmaking journey. Through Smith’s own funny, honest, and uncensored stories—taken from podcasts, Q&As, and documentaries—readers get to know him as a person, the struggles he’s been through, and the people he’s worked with, as well as his process for writing, directing, casting, shooting, editing, and showing his films to the public.
• The book is arranged chronologically with each chapter exploring how an aspect of Kevin’s life is reflected in one of his 14 films.
• Not to be overlooked is Smith’s outsized fan base, who relate to the director’s down-to-earth persona and his geeky, sometimes juvenile, often-nostalgic regular-person characters. Gati uses their fan art to add a visual facet to the book’s colorful narrative gems.
• Rounding out this scrapbook presentation are on-set stills, candid personal photos, and memorabilia.

The result is an exploration of how films affect and reflect the popular culture of their time, with a light-hearted analysis of the phenomenon of fandom. This unusual biography is a must-have collectible dedicated to a member of the ’90s independent filmmakers—which includes Quentin Tarantino, Allison Anders, Robert Rodriguez, Hal Hartley, and Spike Lee—whose relevance and popularity will only continue to grow.

About the Author:
David Gati studied film at UC Santa Cruz and earned an MA from Cal State Los Angeles in communication studies, specializing in film criticism. He works in the film industry and lives in Los Angeles.

Press Reviews:
"David Gati has contrived a book as lively, voluble, and hilarious as the filmmaker and raconteur it pays tribute to. Gati's generous affinity for Smith, his work, and his rollicking fan base make him an ideal guide both for mavens and for admirers of Clerks who don't know what to make of the eccentric corners Smith's recent movies situate themselves in. Highly recommended." — Glenn Kenny, author of Made Men: The Story of 'Goodfellas'

"A fun and fascinating frolic through the life, mind, career and cultural impact of one of modern cinema's most quirkily indelible independent filmmakers and storytellers. Whether you think Kevin Smith is the Second Coming of Geekdom or the Antichrist of Bloviation (or both), the visually-bursting Kevin Smith: His Films and Fans is an uncovered secret stash of well-investigated nostalgic goodness that proves the man behind Silent Bob will always have something to say ... and an endless supply of dedicated fans to listen to him." — Mathew Klickstein, author of See You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom and the Triumph of Geek Culture and SLIMED! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age

"As a (not so very) closeted Kevin Smith fan, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book length interview with the filmmaker and others in his circle as he sheds light on the production, distribution, and marketing of his various films. Smith's wicked, subversive wit and his countercultural perspective makes me laugh even on the page. And his works are essential for anyone who wants to understand contemporary American cinema. Add a wealth of illustrations from various fan artists. What's not to like?" — Henry Jenkins, author of Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

"As a member of Gen X and an honorary slacker who finds constant comfort and spiritual support in the slacker movies of the 1990s, I relished the content and the visual appeal of Gati's book, the latter being reminiscent of Douglas Coupland's groundbreaking classic." — Katarzyna Małecka, author of Death in the Works of Galway Kinnell

"David Gati has painstakingly compiled this impressive collection of anecdotes, photos, and fan art to celebrate the catalogue of cult icon Kevin Smith's films as well as the (genuinely) record-setting fervor of the fans he's garnered throughout his thirty years in the business. After exhaustively combing through hours and hours of Smith's own words from spoken word concerts, Q&A's, interviews, and podcasts, David has cherry-picked the best bits about each of Kevin's films to give wider context to their conceptualization, casting, filming, and reception." — Eric McClanahan, Ain't It Cool News

"When it comes to putting this book together, with all the different interviews and artwork, Gati's research is something to be admired. It took a lot of deep diving into the many episodes of Smith's podcasts, the social media posts by Smith and others, and whatever other resources that were utilized. This book is a must for any fan to add to their View Askew collection." — David Wangberg, Cinema Sentries

"Gati sets the stage for each film with a short preface and then lets Smith and those around him take over with unflinching honesty as they comment on both the process and the content of the films. A changing cast of supporting characters ranging from Smith's mother to superstar actors like Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis populate the narrative as Smith's erstwhile indie credentials are validated by Miramax and other Hollywood power studios. A panoply of candid photos and drawings help bring the various subjects to vibrant life." — Barry Zaslow, Library Journal

"This beautiful hardcover book includes images pulled from archives, social media and fans themselves to tell an interesting version of the story of Kevin Smith's moviemaking. Fans of Smith and his movies should add this to their collection." — Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash

"David Gati compiled and edited all of Kevin's off-the-cuff jokes, insights and anecdotes into a handsome book — interspersed with art and remembrances from some of Smith's fiercest fans: the fervent admirers whose dedication helped turn Clerks into a multipart saga and gave Smith a 30-(very)-odd year career." — Stephen Whitty, NJ Arts

See the publisher website: Schiffer

See the complete filmography of Kevin Smith on the website: IMDB ...

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