Among geeky film fans, Kevin Smith needs no introduction.
Back in July 2016, I got the chance to talk with Smith about the film.
He was in a very chipper mood, considering….
So I was going through YouTube for research yesterday…
Right, I do that too.
I also go through porn channels for research as well.
I just watchedJay And Silent Bob Strike Back, thats hysterical!
Theres really no movie Ive made that Id keep from your kid.
I cant think of anything.
So a) shed be like aww, there was a donkey there?
and b) Why did you do that to that donkey?
Like Im still meeting people and theyre like oh I just sawClerks, that was neat.
Im like, oh my god that was 22 years ago.
So I listened to theSModcastepisodeYoga Hoseron my train in today.
And I was a bit surprised: its not likeTuskwhen its the exact same story.
Yeah, it wasnt like theTuskpodcast, I just like took the title, and that was about it.
Was it ever gonna be the story of the guy with ancient artefact thing?
No, I think that wouldve gotten me sued, you know?
And that birthed the movie.
There were parts of the movie taken right from that posting.
He was a producer onTusk, because without him that movie doesnt exist.
But Simon Metski, I think his name was, was the dude in Edmonton.
I think that dude probably couldve come after us, and been like hey, fucking, thats me!
or something like that.
So instead we just kind of took the inspiration of a Canadian yogi and ran with that.
I didnt know that the Colleens were yoga enthusiasts.
When we madeTusk, that wasnt a part of that brief scene they were in.
So, originally I think I was gonna call the film likeCanadian Girl Clerks.
No,Girl Clerks Of The Canadian Wilderness.That was the original title.
Like a slasher movie.
So, it came down to logistics I think.
Like thats their world, right?
Like why be like this is their world!
And then we take them to another world altogether, where they go to camp!
But what if they werent, like, good at it?
What if they had a bad yoga teacher that taught them offensive yoga, or something like that?
So it kinda shaped that way, whereTuskwas shaped completely by the podcast.
you might hear the whole movie in that podcast.Yoga Hoserswas like a different sort of Frankenstein monster.
Originally, they were gonna be called Hitleuns [like Hitler little uns].
One foot tall clones of Hitler.
Just looked like him, and they were little, and Jason Mewes was going to play them.
He says what is it?
I say you play Hitluns.
He says Whats that?
I say one foot tall clones of Adolf Hitler.
And he goes whos that?
And I said Come on.
And he goes um…Call Of Duty, the bad guy?
[Laughs] Im like, Is that how you remember history?
Like, thats gonna offend somebody.
So I guess I got kinda cold feet about just making it Hitler.
I felt it should be something.
And so, then it became [lots of spoilers redacted].
Shouldnt we like put some rubber on them?
Make them effects so its not just Jason with a Hitler moustache wearing a fucking flag suit?
And he goes what are you thinking?
Ive seen that in movies and that looks cool.
Do me a favour, send me a rendering of Jason Mewes as a Nazi bratwurst.
And he goes give me two minutes.
We had to scan him in a computer.
And thats when we then realised Jason had a problem being in prosthetics.
Um, I did it, it was fine.
Hes very claustrophobic, going like I dont like that.
It was beautiful body suit.
So I was like I cant make you do this, dude, youre a wreck.
I was like, its justYoga Hosersdude, this aint worth it.
So dont do it, man.
And Im like dont worry about it and boom, Jason was no longer the Bratzis.
And I called him up and Im like hey man, Jason aint gonna play the Bratzis anymore.
Do you wanna play the Bratzis?
And he goes fuck yes, Ill do that.
I go youre very enthusiastic and hes like are you kidding me?
If I play the Bratzis people will finally stop saying there goes the little boy fromThe Sixth Sense.
And hes got a big Nazi symbol on his arm, and hes doing the salute and shit.
So I go, you know what?
Its probably for the best.
And then Im like, who am I gonna go to?
And Bob had to modify it a bit as it was made for a much thinner dude.
And I wound up just wearing the head instead of the entire body.
Um, so boom, suddenly I was the Bratzis.
I didnt intend to be in the movie at all.
Oh my god, I would love that so much.
Um, but not from teamArrow.
Still havent heard anything back fromArrow.
Um, but I know theyre doing what is it?
Thatd be fun as fuck.
I remember you were saying once you didnt think Onomatopeia could work in live action.
What changed your mind on that?
Yeah, Ive figured out a way to do it that is kinda bad-ass.
And also connects to comics more or less.
Business cards that have typewritten words of whatever the fuck.
Which I think is a little more chilly, you know, for doing it in live action.
So yeah, Ive obviously thought about it a little bit, but it would be cool to do.
Hopefully, hopefully they tap me.
Theres a couple of shows there!
So what is it next, are you trying to find a place theMallratsTV show now?
Right now, the deal with Universal is locked.
So, I feel pretty good about it.
Universal, they have a pretty good track record at placing shows and whatnot.
So it seems like weve just now moved massively closer to it being a reality.
Err, and once pitch week happens, its quick, man.
So that happened very fast.
HopefullyMallratswill come together equally as fast.
But the moment it became like a series, suddenly everything worked so much easier.
And also for me, the storyteller, it gives me more time to like tell that goofy story.
Um, and kind of bring them in gradually over the course of the show.
So I look forward to it.
A different kind of storytelling.
It feels like working on aMallratscomic book, an on-going series.
It just happens that youre getting to use live actors at the end of the day.
So, it should be fun, for me at least.
Itll be kinda likeMallratsbut stretched longer.
And I was kinda looking back to try and figure out whereMallratscame from.
Because it wasnt like, I didnt really find my own voice I didnt feel like untilChasing Amy.
LikeClerkswas me trying to do Richard Linklater.Clerkswas me trying to makeSlacker.
AndMallratswas me trying to make a John Hughes movie.
And those are the building blocks of what I became today.
But thats what fedMallratsthe movie, and thats whats gonna feed the series as well.
And Harleys going to be in that one as well?
Harleys going to play Brodie Bruces daughter, Banner Bruce.
Yeah, I like that.
It makes me smile.
Kevin Smith, thank you very much!
Yoga Hosersis out now on demand in the UK.
