Kevin Smith’s riding a creative high – literally. And not at all figuratively. While talking about his newest book Shootin’ the Sh*t with Kevin Smith, he told the New York Post he had been down in the dumps over a creative slump, and smoking pot got him through it and helps his creativity. Of course he also admits he’s no longer a good director of his own work, which is why I say he’s not figuratively riding a creative high. But he encourages kids to smoke pot – after Seth Rogen encouraged him to. Now he says he lights up at least three times a day.
The king of stoner moviemakers, Kevin Smith, never really smoked much marijuana until Seth Rogen talked him into it last summer, he says. Now he sparks up at least three times a day and credits pot for helping him to dig his way out of a creative slump.
Not the sort of advice responsible parents, doctors or educators are likely to embrace, Smith told The Post’s Don Kaplan, “I know you’re supposed to tell kids not to do drugs, but, kids, do it! Do weed! Don’t do the other stuff, but weed is good . . . What you want to do is what I did, build a movie empire and, at age 38, smoke it all away.”
Smith is pushing his new book, “Shooting the S – – t With Kevin Smith,” a project he claims he didn’t even write because it’s a transcription of SModcast, his regular podcast with pal Scott Mosier. “I did so little work to put this book together, but I did everything to make the podcast happen, so by virtue of that I am the author,” he says.
Smith rode a wave of popularity in the early 1990s with movies like “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy.” He later stumbled with a string of bombs like “Jersey Girl,” and weed-centric “The Adventures of Bluntman and Chronic.” He then spent his down time agonizing over negative comments about his work on the Internet.
Now, thanks to a steady diet of marijuana, Smith says he’s moved on to greener pastures — writing a new “Batman” comic and directing films he didn’t write, including the upcoming cop buddy flick, “A Pair of Dicks,” with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.
Smith says he’s “just not good” at directing his own stories anymore: “Judd Apatow is way better at being Kevin Smith now than Kevin Smith ever was. So Judd Apatow should do it for a while, and I should figure out something else, and weed has been [bleeping] helpful with that.”
[From the New York Post]
“‘What you want to do is what I did, build a movie empire and, at age 38, smoke it all away.’” I love that. The last paragraph really bummed me out though. I’m not really a huge fan of his movies – I think you need to have a certain type of humor to appreciate them, and I just don’t have it. But I respect that he’s put out some great films that other people love. So hearing him talk about how he’s not good at doing what he used to be great at is a bit of a bummer. Especially saying that Judd Apatow is better at being him than he ever was.
Now Smith is going to have one hell of a time keeping his own daughter from smoking a ton of pot. Though he strikes me as likely being one of those parents that would light up with their kid. It seems to me like most people smoke pot mostly when they’re younger, and then taper off to a bit here and there. It’s funny that Kevin Smith has done the opposite. Whatever works for you I guess. Though something tells me he won’t be getting invites to speak at schools anytime soon.
I’m with Mr Smith on this one. Not a huge smoker in my youth but I find it really sparks the creativity now. I think the whole idea he is trying to get across is achieve your basic goals first and then use the weed as a way to reignite the creative flame which inevitably dies down some as you age and get caught up in the realities of life. *sparks one up*
Yea, Kevin Smith really needs to become a major pothead now because he is not fat and slovenly enough! The THC gumming up his brain will only make his screenplays that much more brillant….yea, we’ll see.
Oh yeah! He’s really creative now. The problem with pot is, it makes you THINK you’re creative, when you’re not. I had a roommate who used to claim it made them more a more creative and better thinker and they challenged me to a game of chess. I beat them in 4 moves, 3 times in a row. Normally we would play one game for hours. Yeah, it really makes you more creative, in your own head.
Motherfucker should burn in hades, die then burn in hell for all eternity.
I am so sick of these moronic individuals glorifying the use of marjiana, even going so far as to lighten the actual term callign it pot like it’s ‘cool’. Granted it’s not as harmful as a stimulant but it’s a drug that harms the brain nevertheless and is the tricycle of drugs.
This man has never had relitives who were drug users, nor has he seen a crack baby to understand where I am coming from. Ive seen enough of what drugs do to a person that Im liuterally terrified of even herbal meds now and bare even my cycle withotu any relaxants. I also pray to God that I never find myself in a hospital bed too.
What an evil, low and deplorable man.
Waitaminnit. Kevin Smith. Creator of Jay and Silent Bob.
He WASN’T smoking BEFORE? Is he sure about that?
Well, that would explain the morbid obesity.
I smoked pot, gave me overwhelming munchies, hickups and made me very, very sleepy. I switched to scotch..now I’m lucky if I can manage a dark roast coffee..
So marijuana is now at fault for “crack head/babys?” Geez, from that stand point, one would assume that this country is riddled with crack-head/babies every where you look……considering millions of people smoke marijuana in the US.
Wow, Viper. Pot is not crack. Lighten up. I know creative, motivated, talented people who smoke daily and get a shit ton done.
The use of weed and its attributes or pitfalls is purely objective. It has different effects on everyone and may indeed motivate some to great creative work. As for BW and your rambling about your roommate and your chess games–no one cares. So it didn’t help his chess skills, this speaks for the rest of the cannabis enjoying community? Viper-jump off the crazy train you paranoid idiot. Yes marijuana can be a gateway drug, if you don’t know how to control yourself or desire a stronger high-which many people don’t. Drawing parallels between marijuana and crack babies is ridiculous. You obviously have to go lock your self in a room somewhere and avoid all those evil herbal meds, and take care we don’t want you to end up in a hospital where they might drug you and turn you into an addict! Finally, crash. Sure, he smokes weed so hes obese. Right, that wouldn’t have anything to do with poor eating/exercise habits since ALL pot smokers are obese. Great logic.
Viper, you sir are a deplorable ass hat, the scourge of humanity and the wreckless abandon of both reason and logic. We’re all subject to our own social orientation and of course your perception shapes your reality but I find myself asking, what color is the sky in your world? It’s blue in mine…
Please tell my you won’t be breeding!
@ crash2GO2 – again, if he is to be believed, he WASN’T smoking weed in the 90’s. When he was even more obese. Your logic just failed a little bit.
Oh you thoughtless potheads, you can’t even begin to see just what mindless drones you all are. I’m a medical student and I can flat out tell you all that you need to stop. It doesn’t unleash creativity; it’s a hallucinogen not a stimulant. It KILLS brains cells, brain cells are not blood cells you don’t get an endless supply of those, once you lose them – they’re GONE. There is even a study now on whether pot smokers are more at risk of Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases. As a granddaughter of an Alzheimer’s sufferer, I cannot express enough how important it is to preserve every brain cell you can. ( staying healthy is a huge part of that too mind you my grandmother didn’t really take care of herself- and she was a smoker ) The same can be said of stimulants such as nicotine. The brain is the most fragile part of us all and it’s so easy to lose it. Alzheimer’s is not something I would even wish upon an enemy, so I do not understand why people are so adamant on destroying their minds. YES I do categories the ‘weed’ in the same category of any other drug because in medical terms it falls under that category. To us, your weed is just one element in the category of hallucinogens.
I have seen the parents of crack babies and they all had one thing in common- they all started out on pot. Hence why I said pot was the tricycle of drugs. You guys need to understand some people really do take what these types of people say quite literally. To the point where they’ll actually start smoking pot to ‘unleash’ their creativity, when in actuality they aren’t doing any better than they would without pot. Worse some people stop taking actual stimulant meds for their psychological disorders to smoke pot and all it does is creating a very difficult situation worse. There is nothing to gain from pot at all- just like nicotine doesn’t really work as a diet supplement.
on a side note dont mind my spelling and grammer im typing in the dark, it’s 12 am and I have a splitting headache from my AC! …of course I cant shut it off because Im not alone in this apartment UGH!
Logic???? You mean people here have logic??? Not too many, that’s for sure!
JDa – you said it best! *muah*
Wow, I thought I was pretty conservative. I really don’t see weed as being much different than alcohol other than the issue of legality.
I do not smoke weed and only occasionally drink and even then not to drunkenness (only drunk once ever). People say the same thing about alcohol being a gateweay. In my opinion, people who are going to become addicts will do it to a variety of different substances by whatever means. For some people that is food, sex, illicit drugs, prescription drugs, golf, internet usage,etc.
While I am not totally on the “let’s blaze up 3 or more times a day” bandwagon, I don’t see why weed is placed in much the same category as heroin and meth,etc.
I thought KS made some sort of statement that after his last big project, he was going to go away and loose weight, reemerging after he got back in shape. I seem to remember something about an embarassing incident where he broke a public toilet?
Well, I can kinda see Viper’s point on this a bit. Most of the kids I used to know in the Cassiano Courts were potheads then, I got out, but they stayed. When I went back to visit someone, we spent the whole day gossiping about how most of them turned out prostitutes, negligent parents, still in the courts,poor, and flat out crackheads. Weed ain’t for every one.
But not every one turns out that way, myself included. My man came from the same tracks, he did fine. I guess its just based on your personal character and morals. Whatever. I don’t want weed to become legal, but I also believe people who do smoke shouldn’t be demonized.
@viper..med school doesn’t mean your correct about anything except weed is a cannibus… I have smoked weed for years and guess what i do not smoke crack and it has lead me to nothing, i am a law abiding citizen with a good job and continuing my education…. alchol is much worse and many people who do hard drugs don’t even smoke weed, and don’t forget to mention the studies that oppose your view from other established doctors not students…
VIPER: The truth is, no study has ever demonstrated cellular damage, stupidity, mental impairment, or insanity brought on specifically by marijuana use — even heavy marijuana use. This is not to say that it cannot be abused, however.
A study attempted to show that marijuana smoking damaged brain structures in monkeys. However, the study was poorly performed and it was severely criticized by a medical review board. Studies done afterwards failed to show any brain damage, in fact a very recent study on Rhesus monkeys used technology so sensitive that scientists could actually see the effect of learning on brain cells, and it found no damage.
PS – I hope I never show up in Viper’s hospital….
Yeah, i remember pot-smoking in My Boring-Ass Life, so it’s not non-existant in his past at all. Smith’s not prim and proper by no stretch of the imagination so this is no big deal in his world anyway.
I am a little amused by the fact that he says this is increasing his creativity and yet he hasn’t been able to direct anything in a while. And given Mewes’ struggles with drug abuse over the years, it’s a little odd on his part.
Viper, I won’t entirely discredit your point but please stop making such gross generalizations. I’ve been an Active Pot Smoker for thirty years. I’m successful, healthy (and thin), highly motivated, and most importantly, I’ve never been drawn to crack or any seriously addictive drug (sans caffeine) for that matter. Crack (from what I’ve read) is nothing like pot. When a crackhead has no crack, all hell breaks loose. If I have no pot, I’m fine. I’d prefer to have it, but alas, I deal. Of course, I need not tell you that, your supposed expertise has enlightened you with the knowledge that psychological and chemical addictions are entirely different animals.
I also appreciate that there might be long term effects with my usage, but as a resident of Milwaukee (the capital of Alcoholism) I’d rather take the risk of being a pot smoker than ever start down the path of alcohol.
You probably see that as a cop-out, but as it is, you need to wake up and realize that you’ll never get humans to stop self-medicating. As a medical student, you of all people should be aware of this. There is archeological evidence that humans have been doing some form of self medication since they showed up on this planet.
Of course, there’s always religion. Look what it’s done for Tom Cruise.
So, what’s the solution? Doctor prescribed chemicals? They’ve been proven in many cases to be more unsafe and even more addictive. Really, I believe it comes down (like most things) to the individual. I know plenty of lazy pot smokers. I know even more useless drunks. I also know just as many who are responsible no matter what their choice of drug.
You may think you’re trying to help, but it seems the people you’ve “seen” would probably be messed up without the weed. It’s been my experience that most of us have issues. Anyone seeing a professional is using drugs to deal with them. The drugs aren’t necessarily the problem, it’s the people and what is driving them to use.
I apologize if I shattered your small world with my use of large words, cohesive sentences, and proper grammar. I guess all that brain-killing pot hasn’t found its way to that part of my cranium yet. Oh, and any time you want your a** kicked at Jeopardy, you let me know.
So, my advice to you would be to get off the horse. It’s a little to high for you.
He’s still wearing the same tired outfit, he needs to grow up, the cute has worn off, now he’s just old and fat.
RavenMadd: I love you!! ~ and also appreciate your candor and brilliance. I think this little shit is a fake, but something needed to be said. thanks!
I’ve always loved how down to earth Kevin Smith is. Thank you, RavenMadd, for bringing some rationality to this discussion. Viper is obviously one of those “Debby Downer” type people who is pathologically incapable of enjoying life.
STARK RavenMadd!
I just love it when an informed, intelligent, productive member of society who also happens to smoke up gives a verbal smackdown to the self-righteous “I-know-everything-because-I’m-studying-medicine” ignoramuses.
Well said!
I had to give up smoking due to the contract I signed with my job. I am so tired of people telling me how to live my own life. I dont give a rats ass about your code of ethics. Live your life as you see fit just stay the hell out of mine. Pot makes crack babies? You are a freaking joke. Did you ever think that some one close to you that moved on to stronger drugs was weak?
Good Day to you all, you seem to be a general delight as a whole (on this discussion board) and have provided me with endless minutes of enjoyment at the total rip-page of one Viper. I take the majority of the cites on this page reside in the one and only States of A merrier America. I myself am a 17 year old young man born and residing in the Down under (as told by the song) of Australia.
I commit to the smoking of the good herb when the time seems right and the homework is not too high. (lets not beat around the bush)
but i must say what a positive delight it is to read threads like these where personal opinions and experience rule over the (lets say) dogmatic view of conservative medical practitioners, the self righteous and the ‘hey look at me society, i follow the rules put down by those who probably would dare not follow them, themselves in a workaday world’ kind of people.
as you all care to imagine, the Australasian capitol of the Northern Territory; Darwin, has its fair few smokers but it also has its fair few thousand alcoholics and the proven teenage pregnancy capitol of the entire Nation if not the world (so I’ve heard).
marijuana from my stand point in my part of the world, at this time in my life with society’s many flaws; seems to me, to be the least of humanities problems, “ooh, ahh! it kills brain cells! (mock voice of Viper) well woop-dee fucking Doo! being tapped ever so lightly on the cranium kills braincells too, I know this BECAUSE a Doctor told me SO!
what doesn’t kill braincells? if you don’t mind me asking? I’d say a lot in life can kill you, and sometimes its not always the obvious physical things like Alcohol and drugs, sometimes its; depression (brought on from non drug related situations) stress; school and teen life has its weights, especially in this knew world we live in with internet bullying and cyber warfare. it is so much easier to do things in the year 2009 than it ever was 20 years ago. and that goes for all walks of the imagination, convincing someone to commit suicide via internet is apparently quite easy, but no. here we are talking frivolously about how bad or true the statements of one man are. you want something to talk about? how about life. life in general, whats our purpose? shit like that, which nobody has time to stop and think about, but i myself have found more time; through the use of marijuana (oh SNAP!) so please, to all those out there.
this is my statement, interpret as you will. oh btw, my name i submitted for this little comment: ReepWiest0449 is a code i came across in my head on one particular grass trip. and as i interpreted it, my imagination and life experiences suggest it is the interpreted human version of a much more complex neuro-code being sent from brain via synaptic pathways informing my neck to turn to one side thus turning my head.
but of course that’s all bullshit, so don’t tell me that grass does not widen your creativity. how the fuck could i have possible thought of that without the use of an illegal substance?
just saying kevin i really liked your movies better when you didn’t get high all day.