What's a Smodcast? The Life of Kevin Smith Quiz

Answer: Clerks

These were the first four movies he made. "Clerks" (1994) was the one that started it all. Shot in black and white, Smith financed the movie with credit cards and by selling his comic book collection.

The movie followed Dante and Randall, who stood in for Smith and his friends, as they worked a day at a convenience store. Smith himself played the nearly mute character, Silent Bob in the movie.

Answer: Chasing Amy

"Chasing Amy" (1997), his third movie, was a critical darling, meaning he had to deal with a lot more press than he had on "Clerks" (1994) or "Mallrats" (1995). Jennifer was an entertainment reporter for "USA Today" at the time, and drew the assignment of covering many of the awards shows Kevin was attending.

As Kevin tells the story, he eventually asked her to attend one of the ceremonies with him, the only one she wasn't covering for the paper. It was after he won an award there that they started to get serious.

Answer: True

Harley Quinn Smith was born June 26, 1999. Kevin Smith had grown up a bug fan of Batman, and convinced his wife to name their daughter after the character that was created for "Batman: The Animated Series" in 1992. Harley went on to play her father as a child in "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" in 2001, and later acted in several of his movies during her teen years as well.

Harley Quinn, in the comic book and TV world, was the sometimes girlfriend of Batman villain, The Joker. She's had various backgrounds over the years, sometimes as a henchwoman, other times as a doctor who had treated The Joker before being convinced to join his ranks.

Answer: View Askewniverse

The View Askewniverse was named after the first production company that Smith and producing partner Scott Mosier started, View Askew Productions.

Movies in the View Askewniverse include "Clerks" (1994), "Mallrats" (1995), "Chasing Amy" (1997), "Dogma" (1999), "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001), "Clerks II" (2006), "Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie" (2013), and "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" (2019).

The View Askewniverse also has a couple short films, TV series and comic books that help tell the overall story. View Askew Productions had more movies made outside of the combined universe as well.

Answer: 2007

"Smodcast" uses the first letter from Smith and Mosier in place of the "P" from podcast.

It started as a way to keep the two friends chatting with each other between productions, but eventually led to an entire second career for Kevin Smith. The Smodcast Network started hosting several podcasts, both from some of Kevin's famous friends, and from people he knew that weren't so famous. The network has hosted many other shows over the years, including at least a dozen that Smith himself hosted.

Answer: Batman

Kevin Smith has written many comics over the years, but only one of those characters included a team-up with Walt Flanagan, one of his closest friends from childhood. The two wrote "Batman: Widening Gyre" and "Batman: Cacophony" together as a writer/artist team. Smith created the DC Comics characters of Onomatopoeia, and Speedy (Mia Dearden).

In addition to those books, Smith also wrote: "Bluntman and Chronic", "Chasing Dogma", "Clerks", "Guardian Devil", "Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target Quiver", "Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do", "Walt Flanagan's Dog", "Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet", "The Bionic Man", and many others.

Answer: Silent Bob Speaks

"Silent Bob Speaks" was published in 2005. It was a collection of essays he'd written for magazines, and other sources, along with some original content. It also included some interviews with celebrities such as Ben Affleck and Tom Cruise.

The other three options were all titles of books, movies or podcasts Smith has done over his career.

Answer: False

Smith is a proud "Jersey" boy. He was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, and spent much of his youth there and in surrounding small communities, such as Highlands. After making money and repaying his debt from financing "Clerks" he opened a comic book shop in Red Bank, called Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash. The store was the site of the "Comic Book Men" TV series.

Answer: Degrassi: The Next Generation

Among the options, only "Degrassi" was a Canadian production. Smith was a fan of the original series, and referenced it in several of his own projects.

In 2005 he and Jason Mewes made three guest appearances on the show, where fictional versions of themselves used the school to make the fake movie "Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!" The three episodes were later released as a DVD special called "Jay and Silent Bob Do Degrassi".

Answer: Heart attack

Prior to a live stage show/podcast recording in February 2018, Smith suffered a massive heart attack. He was rushed out of the comedy club and spent several days in the hospital. During his rehab he vowed to lose weight and get healthier. He dropped from his heaviest of over 400 pounds to under 200 pounds by early 2019. Part of the weight loss was due to changed exercise schedules, he also switched to a vegan diet.