That’s All, Folks: Kevin Smith On Leaving Filmmaking

When 21-year-old Kevin Smith decided he wanted to be a filmmaker, his sister gave him some advice: “Don’t say you want to be a filmmaker; just be one.” So he did. He made his first film, Clerks, on a shoestring, shooting at the convenience store where he worked.

Smith has gone on to have a long and quirky career; his films, including Chasing Amy and Dogma, bear his unmistakable imprimatur — the black humor, the verbose slacker genius characters. But Smith, who has already garnered a huge following with his podcasts, says he is taking his ideas — and career — into “other arenas.”

He explains his decision to leave directing in a new book, Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good. Morning Edition‘s Steve Inskeep talks to Smith about the book and about the evolution of his filmmaking career.