Silent Bob speaks at Auditorium

Kevin Smith, the famed director of films including "Clerks" and "Dogma," spoke to a crowd of more than 3,200 Friday night in the IU Auditorium. The man, also known for his portrayal of Silent Bob in his films, spent close to four hours fielding questions on topics varying from independent filmmaking to which "Star Wars" character he would like to be.\nSince his 1994 debut "Clerks," Smith and his films have taken on cult status. He has written breakout roles for Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Joey Lauren Adams and Jason Mewes, and has become a star portraying Silent Bob. His acting and direction are both simple and effective, but his real talent lies in his writing. Whenever anyone talks about his films, the words "witty dialogue" always seem to appear.\nThis skill for the sharp remark was apparent as soon as he opened his mouth Friday night. Smith received a standing ovation from the crowd and kept the mood light and festive as he spoke about his first Bloomington experience.\n"I'd never heard of Indiana University -- or Indiana, for that matter," he said.\nAfter some brief opening remarks, he opened it up to questions, allowing the audience to shape the direction of the show. That flow took it to interesting and sometimes inappropriate places, including one instance involving a student's absurd request to give Smith oral sex. The boisterous crowd quickly booed the student away from the microphone, as they did with any other people they didn't like, including one student who was doomed once he admitted that he was from Purdue. \nThe evening was filled with lots of laughs as Smith interacted with the crowd, even yelling at four people for leaving early. \nThe night's two high points involved Smith's cellular phone. The first came when he received a call from a friend of his -- Mewes, better known for his role as "Jay" in Smith's films. In a probably staged but definitely fun moment, Smith held the phone up to his microphone so Mewes could greet the crowd. \nA second great moment came when one student told Smith that he had quit (or been fired) from his job that night so he could attend the speech. At the behest of the pleading crowd, Smith talked to the student's boss and tried to get him his job back. Sadly, he was unsuccessful.\nSmith seemed at ease in the question-and-answer format, and he spoke longer between questions as the night went on, including a half-hour long story about his work shooting a documentary for Prince. On stage, he was a mix of his two most famous characters, Jay and Silent Bob -- his mannerisms were quiet and reserved and his words were dirty and funny. \nHe spoke about the production problems with ABC regarding "Clerks: the Animated Series" and how he and producer Scott Mosier agreed to take certain scenes out of his 1995 film "Mallrats." One scene the higher-ups felt would not be funny or well received by audiences was about a woman's hair standing straight up with the gelling power of some misplaced semen. Of course, a similar scene in 1998's "There's Something About Mary" is widely considered a comedy classic.\nSmith also spoke about the Catholic League's protests against "Dogma," protests that he and friend Bryan Johnson joined while holding a sign that said "Dogma is Dogshit." (One protester made Smith remove the last two letters of the last word.)\nThose in attendance may see themselves in a documentary DVD about Smith's lecture tours that was being filmed at the show. Although Smith left the Auditorium without signing autographs, fans left in high spirits.