America’s Trade War Just Killed Kevin Smith’s New Movie
The Trump administration’s decision to hit its closest trading partners with steep tariffs has already caused the stock market to tank, will likely lead to an increase in prices for a wide assortment of products in the near future, and now it’s having a major impact on America’s supply of dick jokes and Star Wars references.
On his podcast Fat Man Beyond, Kevin Smith recently announced that he was planning to direct a new movie in April and May “unless everything goes foul in the next few weeks.” Unfortunately, it seems that things, indeed, have gone foul.
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On a more recent episode, Smith revealed that “the movie we have been working on and speeding toward just hit a massive wall,” and now it “looks like it’s going to fall apart.” And the reasons for this are entirely financial and political. “This one was out of my control and has more to do with the state of the world,” Smith explained, “which compounds part of the injury where it’s just like, ‘I see so these tariff wars (are) going to affect this as well.’”
While Smith didn’t offer specific details about how the current turmoil led to his financing being pulled, it’s been reported that the tariffs have led to a lot of uncertainty in the American film industry, which frequently utilizes Canadian tax credits for filming, works with visual effects companies across the world and relies on money from international box office markets. Not to mention, many investors have likely been spooked by the current economic volatility.
Smith also didn’t get into any particulars about the canceled project, whether it was is long-gestating Mallrats sequel, or perhaps another movie about a dude who gets kidnapped and surgically transformed into a large marine mammal.
Smith had previously announced that he was working on another movie starring his go-to stoner duo titled Jay and Silent Bob: Store Wars, as well as a Rosemary’s Baby-esque thriller about a Satanic cult that he was hoping to pitch to Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s company.
“I’ll find something else to do,” Smith admitted, adding, “The older I get, the more I'm like, ‘I can’t believe they ever give me fucking money.’” He also confessed that, at this point in his career, it’s tough not to be hard on himself about losing financing for a film: “At age 54, I process it differently now. And really I just get mad at myself. Like if something falls apart, I’m just like, ‘This is your fault. Because if you were more successful and, you know, wealthier, you wouldn’t need anybody’s help. You wouldn’t be out there with your hat in your hand looking for money to make a movie.’”
Hopefully Smith won’t continue to blame himself, because, seemingly, this really is a situation that was out of his control. And while his movies aren’t for everyone, he does have a legion of dedicated fans — many of whom, presumably, are registered voters.
