Chasing Kevin

Welcome back readers!

Apologies on delaying this adventure, but this it!











It's no big secret that my wife and I, are huge fans of Kevin Smith's films. We have all of the director's movies on DVD, and are considering upgrading them to Blu-ray...one of these fine days. What's equally enjoyable to us, are his "Evening with" series, in which Smith hosts interactive forums at universities...concert style. If you've never seen any of these hilarious and in-depth shows, you're really missing out! Smith's film credits include; Clerks 1 & 2, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, and most recently Zack & Miri Make A Porno. It's tough to pick an absolute favourite, but if I had to...I kind of lean towards 'Dogma'.

Let's get to the point of my blogs...autographing.

About 6 weeks ago, Corinna mentioned to me that she heard Kevin Smith was coming to Brantford or something. I basically dismissed it as rumour-mill stuff. Why would "Silent Bob" go to some small town in Ontario, like Brantford?! After doing some investigating, I found out some interesting news. Corinna was correct, Kevin Smith was coming to Brantford, to do an "Evening with Kevin Smith" at the Sanderson Centre. I was a little shocked to say the least. After further investigating, I found out more information about his visit to Gretzky's hometown.

Apparently, Walter Gretzky (Wayne dad's) was hosting a street hockey tournament in Brantford, and Kevin Smith heard about it. Smith, a major Gretz fan (like myself...I call him 'my dad') found out about Walt's tourney, and decided to put together a team of celebrities to take part! With the proceeds going to charity, it was a win-win for all envolved! Smith put together a ball-hockey team that was to include; Jason "Jay" Mewes, Scott Mosier (producer of all Smith's films), and other actors from his films. First thing I thought as I read the potential line up was..."Holy crap...Jay and Silent Bob are coming to Brantford!!...and it's only 25 minutes away!!"

I had decent time to prepare, but the real question was...what do I get signed? I thought of getting one of our DVD's signed, but then thought of how many people I could get on such a small item? My mind quickly shifted to getting a poster done. But there was two problems with the idea; What movie poster, and would it be okay to haul around to get signed? After seeing the roster of celebs that Smith was bringing to Brantford, and comparing them to the Smith movies they've appeared in, I decided to get an "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" poster. I decided to bring a flat board to put under the poster for everyone to sign, hoping it wouldn't get too wrecked!


















I surprised Corinna with tickets to Kevin Smith's show in the Sanderson Centre. I told her that I'd like to go the street hockey tournament, as I wanted try to get his autograph, that's happening earlier in the day. She said sure. She was really looking forward to his speaking engagement. We found out that Smith was going to record a Podcast that night. Apparently Smith and Scott Mosier record "SModcasts" weekly, and this was to be the first live recording! I can't believe Brantford's luck! If Kevin were to ever read this...COME TO GUELPH! We have a University and a great auditorium called "The River Run Centre"!

Anyways, with plans set in place for the Saturday, I decided to begin my hunt for a JSBSB poster. After searching eBay, Craigslist, and Kijiji, I found a website & company called 'Movie Poster Warehouse'. After checking out their site, and seeing 1000's of movie posters, I found out they're based in Toronto. Awesome, now I can drive there, instead of paying for shipping and getting a possibly damaged poster. I sent an email requesting a price, and got an excellent offer. After driving to Toronto and back, I finally had my full sized JSBSB poster. Now, I'm ready to go to Brantford.

Saturday finally arrives, and we get up and get on the move. We arrive at Walter Gretzky's Street Hockey Tournament, in Brantford, around 10 am-ish. Kevin Smith's first game was at 11:30am. We located the rink his team were scheduled to play at, then found a good spot to wait for Smith et al. After checking out the schedule, we found out that Smith had sponsored 3 more teams, for his website fans to play. We thought that was terrific that he would do that for his fans, and for Walter's tourney. Thumbs up.

Around 11 o'clock, Kevin's van pulled into the parking lot, and we made our move. Breaking out the poster, I went directly to Kevin Smith as he popped out of the van and was checking out the surroundings. He asked which rink he was supposed to play at, and of course I responded, directing him to the proper area. I followed that up with "Kev, could I please get your autograph?" holding out my poster and Sharpie, that was ready to go.

I got shot down.

He said "Could you give me abit to see what's going on?", and I said sure, smiling. It wasn't rude or anything like that...he just seemed excited to be there, and wanted to see what was going on. The cool thing was, he was dressed in his "Silent Bob" full-length trench coat! It's refreshing to see, a guy who likes his schtick!

I quickly departed that situation, to try to bounce back with the other celebrities that were scheduled to be here. Next person I recoginized was Jennifer Schwalbach-
Smith. Jennifer is Kevin's wife, whom is an actress. She appeared in JSBSB, as one of the quartet of jewel thieves. She also had a major part in Clerks 2, as Dante's fiancee. I re-approached the van, where she was unloading her gear, and politely asked for her autograph. She said "Sure!" and stopped what she was doing, and kindly came over and was the first to put pen to poster that day! She has a great autograph, by the way! I asked her, while she signed, if she was going to be in Smith's new movie (which is filming in NYC, with Bruce Willis), and she laughed and turned to both Corinna and I, and stated "I'm acutally done with speaking roles! No more acting for me!" I thanked for her time and autograph, not really sure how to react to her comment. Both Corinna and I said, afterwards, we thought she was a good actress and wondered why she said that. Regardless, Jennifer was very kind and approachable, and we were happy to have met her.

After that, we went to the make-shift dressing room for Smith's team to try to get Kevin Smith, as he kind of made it seem that he would sign. We arrived to see him watching the current game, surrounded by security. Damn it! He went from watching the game, to go inside the dressing room. Missed him again. I realized getting Kevin Smith's autograph today, was not going to be easy. As I turned to go back to the parking lot area, Scott Mosier appeared with (actor) Bryan Johnson. Both went inside the dressing room, saying they'll be out in an minute to sign autographs. Mosier, the producer, appeared first. I nicely asked him for his autograph, and he replied positively. I rolled open my poster, and he quickly signed it near Jennifer's autograph. I asked if I could a picture with him too, unsure if he would...as he was dressed for ball-hockey! He said no problem, and stood for a cool picture with me!














He seemed kind of shy, but was great with the fans. I could tell, he was nervous about the upcoming game! Bryan Johnson came out after Mosier. Johnson is a writer/actor, who has made cameos in all of Smith's films. He really looks like a biker, rather than an actor however! I wasn't really sure, if he'd be into signing autographs, but I asked anyway! He immediately said yes, and dropped his hockey gear to sign my poster! I asked him if Walter Flanagan, his friend (and actor), was here yet? He responded with a F-bomb about Flanagan's non-appearance in Brantford! He was joking with me, but seemed genuinely upset that his friend didn't make the trip. Bryan was very kind with his time, and I thanked him for his autograph and wished him well in the tourney. Johnson is a cool dude.

I happened to turn away from Johnson to see Mosier walking towards me, on his way to the rink's entrance. I asked him if Jason Mewes, the actor who plays 'Jay', had made the trip to Brantford? Mosier responded with "No Mewes man, Mewes didn't make the trip". This was a big time bummer! But oh well, I had my hands full in trying to get Kevin Smith to sign my poster! I told Corinna about Mewes not making the trip, she said she figured as she didn't see him go inside. Smith's other teammates started coming out, as we patiently waited for Kevin's appearance. Strangely, adult movie star Katie Morgan (whom acted in Zach & Miri Make A Porno) came out of the dressing room, ready to play! I didn't bring anything for the porn-star, and didn't think Corinna would like it too much, if I asked her for an autograph! Anyways, Smith finally appeared...in full goaltender gear! There was NO way I getting an autograph.

Security + Goalie Equipment = No Autographs!














Kev made his way to the rink, and took to the game. Corinna and I got seats in the stands and watched Smith's team play. There was a few highlights, Mosier owing the ball when he had it. Smith making a few important stops. Johnson making it incredibly difficult for opponents to get into the defensive zone. Overall, they did okay, despite being rusty. However, they did lose their first game.

When the teams started to make their way off the rink surface, I positioned myself along the boards near the exit...to try to get Kevin to sign my poster, again. And again he didn't sign for me. Actually, he didn't sign for anybody. He and his team, went back to the dressing room, and went inside. Smith did re-appear to sign an autograph or two for a wheelchair-bound fan, whom had been waiting. Afterwards, Smith quickly went back inside. Man, this was going to be very tough. Both Corinna and I, started to worry if we could be successful with Smith. A few teammates started to come out, and mingle with the small crowd that had gathered. After chatting to Corinna about my odds, I noticed Katie Morgan was around the rightside of the dressing room building. I asked Corinna to take a picture of us, if Katie would agree. Corinna wasn't too thrilled at the idea, but agreed. As I approached Katie Morgan, I heard a commotion happening behind me. I turned to see about 4 security guards approaching me, and in the middle of them...was Kevin Smith. Standing right beside the building, I moved the fastest I did all day, and whipped out my Sharpie and rolled down my poster. The security group walked right past me, almost right through me, bringing Kevin Smith and I...face to face. I noticed he was carrying his luggage bag, and I figured it was going to be another "no". I quickly spoke; "Kev, could I get your autograph now?". I guess he remembered me from earlier that morning, and said "Yeah, sure".

In the middle of a pack of security guards and being followed by a crowd of fans, Kevin Smith stopped. He let go of his luggage bag, and took my blue Sharpie and signed my 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back' poster. He handed my Sharpie back to me, and I thanked him. A second later, he and the entire posse of people moved another 15 feet forward to the van, and was gone 30 seconds later. A security guard came up to me afterwards and said I was lucky. No kidding buddy.

Corinna and I were all smiles, as it seemed he signed for nobody else. Now, from doing some investigating on Smith's signing habits, he's an excellent signer for his fans. However, this particular morning, he was challenging...to say the least. After talking about what just happened, and how DAMNED lucky I was to be in the right place at the right time, Corinna and I decided to get going. Other than Jason Mewes and Walter Flanagan, we had gotten everybody's autograph we had set out to get.














Later that afternoon, we lined up outside the Sanderson Centre, to get in to see Kevin Smith's gig. After waiting almost 3 hours outside, we finally got in, only to wait another 20 minutes to get into the theatre! Once inside, we got great seats about 8 rows back from the stage. It didn't take long before Corinna had to go potty! She went to the washroom, only to return really excited! Out in the lobby she spotted her favourite radio dj/personality Dean Blundell, from 102.1 The Edge! Now, if you know Corinna, you'd know she's a extremely loyal Blundell fan! She's constantly listening to his show, and talking about it afterwards...for days! I asked her if she wanted a picture with him? She said do you think he would? Of course he will, I answered! We made our way, back to the lobby...just as Dean was about to come into the theatre. After Corinna confirmed who he was, I approached him. I said; "Hi Dean, my wife is a big fan...can she get a photo with you?". I couldn't of wished for nicer guy! He was super nice! His face lite up and said; "Yes, no problem!" He then turned to Corinna, asked her name and thanked her for listening! She said that she listens to his show everyday...which is NOT a lie! I took the picture, and thanked him for his time. Then, he actually thanked me! He shook hands with Corinna, who was smiling ear to ear, and then asked me my name and shook my hand. It was a short, but great experience for Corinna (and I)!














Once back in our seats, Kevin Smith appeared on stage and the place went nuts!














His show was absolutely hilarious! It was worth every single penny spent, as Corinna and I almost peed our pants for almost 2 hours straight! When it was all said and done, it was a terrific day! Thanks to all the celebs for their time and kindess. Special thanks to Walter Gretzky for having a tournament, that made it all possible. I hope he raised alot of money for charity!

By the way, Kevin Smith swears he'll be back next year...if so...so will we.

Thanks for you time,

Chris

Ps- Next up...my adventure going to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and attempts with getting Larry Walker's autograph.