Kevin Smith: His Films and Fans

by David Gati

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780764363931
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Publication date:	02/21/2023
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.10(d)

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.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2023

Gati, a film editor and short film director, sifts through Kevin Smith interviews, stories, and podcasts to track the envelope-pushing movie director's evolution. The book follows the director from his teenage years in suburban New Jersey and a sojourn at the Vancouver Film School to surprising acclaim for his first feature Clerks. Descriptions of Smith's subsequent films are also included. 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. VERDICT Given the profanity-laced text and graphic sexual descriptions, this is not intended for all readers, but it provides a diverting, insider-y thrill ride for Kevin Smith fans and those interested in the mechanics of the movie business.—Barry Zaslow

Library Journal