I attended the 2015 Produced By conference held at the Paramount Lot this past weekend, and attended lots of interesting panels. One of particular interest to me was a “Conversation with Kevin Smith” panel. While the subject matter of his films aren’t always in line with my own interests, I’ve always appreciated the personal nature of his early works, and how in his second decade of being a filmmaker, he reinvented himself as a podcaster. Through podcasting, he was able to remember what it was about filmmaking that excited and invigorated him, and he is likely more productive now than he ever was.

After the panel ended, I got a couple minutes to chat with him and share my admiration for him and his body of work. He is truly one of the most generous and kind people I have met, and he is ever thankful for his fans and audience, and recognizes that without them, he couldn’t make the films that make him a unique voice.

Regardless of how you feel about his films, his mindset and drive should be inspirations to us all.

Kevin Smith & Kevin Tostado

Kevin Smith & Kevin Tostado