"I prefer the Punisher!"

The Friday before last I was lucky enough to go see one of my heroes, Kevin Smith, speak in person at University of Hartford. It's a very entertaining few hours (try 5!) for both film students and fans of his films alike.

Kevin took the stage promptly at 7PM, which may seem early for a Friday night show, but trust me, he can talk for a LOOOONG time! Wearing his trademark hockey shirt and his famous "Silent Bob" overcoat, he said hello and started taking questions from the audience.

The college crowd was enthusiastic, asking him questions about past and future films, comic book heroes (Kevin's a HUGE comic book guy!), and of course, actors he's worked with (can anybody say Bennifer?)

Kevin obviously is in his element onstage, and he delighted in taking jabs at some of his famous friends...Ben Affleck being his favorite target for ribbing. He also did his cell phone bit, where he calls someone and holds the phone up to the mic so everyone can hear who's talking. He called Jason Mewes ("Jay" of Jay & Silent Bob) who's working on a film in CA. Jason's voice mail message is "Whassup BEEEEE-OTCH?" and Kevin left him a message to call back, which he did about 30 minutes later.

Smith loves to take a question and turn it into a twenty minute discussion. Several students asked about "Clerks II" and other projects, and the comic book crowd was represented by someone asking the question, "Who do you prefer, Batman or Superman?" The high point of the evening happened a little later when a kid asked a question and went on to state "Between Batman and Superman, I prefer the Punisher!" Kevin laughed loudly at that, and for the rest of the evening, every time someone asked him anything he began his answer with "I prefer the Punisher".

After nearly four hours the questions became a little redundant and increasingly inane, and I decided to call it a night when Kevin did a 20 minute lecture on the finer points of Spongebob Squarepants. Oh, and be sure to see "Degrassi High:The Next Generation" which starts soon in syndication...Kevin guest stars as himself for several episodes. I don't know what it's aboot, but I'm sure it's going to be funny!