Kevin Smith reveals tariffs derailed Jay and Silent Bob movie
Kevin Smith has explained how trade tariffs have recently impacted his own plans.
Kevin Smith was ready to begin production on a new Jay and Silent Bob movie until trade tariffs derailed his plans.
The 55-year-old actor plays the character Silent Bob in the comedy film franchise, but Kevin's efforts to make a new movie fell apart earlier this year, after a trade war in North America hit the film's financing.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Kevin explained: "Yeah, we lost out.
"We had Canadian money, and the Canadian money went away. It was just as people were getting aggressive with our friends up north. But beggars can’t be choosers. I can never be mad. I can’t b****, even existentially, and scream into the wind.
"Why? I’ve been so f****** blessed up until now, and I also don’t have the money. If I’m taking somebody else’s money and they’re like, 'Well, I don’t want to give you the money anymore,' I’ve got no right to b****. The only person I was mad at in that moment was myself for not concentrating on being more of a financial success.
"Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done well. I’m very happy. But there’s a version of me that could have had more access to money."
Kevin acknowledged that Ben Affleck, his former co-star, has been much more industry savvy than himself.
The actor observed that Ben is "such a grown-up" compared to himself.
He shared: "I went and saw Ben recently at Artists Equity, and he’s such a grown-up. He’s a man. He’s always been built like an action figure, but he’s now captain of industry. He’s in the right place.
"It’s not vanity where an actor wants to run a studio. He’s the f****** smartest guy in the room. But he appears to me as such a grown-up, and I just never feel like that."
Kevin admits that he's never treated his own movies, or the film industry more broadly, "very seriously".
He said: "I don’t treat myself very seriously, and I don’t treat the movies very seriously. I love them, don’t get me wrong. It’s a serious business that I’ve committed a f****** lifetime to, but I have a hard time justifying a Kevin Smith movie to people. So I try to keep the time that you have to engage with one as limited as possible for that reason.
"I’ve always been painfully self-aware like that. The audience also has been dwindling from day one. They’re not going to stay forever, and some people have moved on or died because I’ve been around long enough at this point."
