ראיון עם קווין מ-97, מפורסם לראשונה

Niff74

New member
ראיון עם קווין מ-97, מפורסם לראשונה

הריאיון לקוח מאתר IDGNet NZ, נערך בשנת 97 ומפורסם עתה לראשונה. המראיין מנסה להבין מה קווין חושב על האינטרנט... חמוד ביותר... Kevin Smith on the web Ria Keenan, Auckland In 1997 the internet was only just penetrating the mass consciousness but already actor Kevin Smith had an ardent online following. Following his accident in China and untimely death, fans have been flocking to the web for information and to express sadness at his demise. Smith´s foreign fan base, which is probably even greater than it is here at home, goes back to his roles in Xena and Hercules. Locally, he is known from numerous television, stage and feature film performances but to overseas fans, he was simply Ares, God of War (in Xena), or Iphicles, Herc´s half-brother. This previously unpublished 1997 interview with Smith by former Computerworld reporter Ria Keenan was intended for an internet magazine which never saw the light of day. Keenan asked Smith about his growing fame and exposure to – and on – the internet. "In Auckland I´ve lost a bit of anonymity because of the pop culture that´s grown up around the show [Xena], so going to America has always been really cool. I´d just relax and be really laid back. But it´s weird — I´m getting recognised over there now. One of the executives at Universal Studios, when I was visiting there recently, came up to me in the cafeteria and wanted me to say a line he really dug from the show. I just kept saying ´how does it go?´. I couldn´t remember." Smith is aware of the many fans he has on the internet and has met a woman who runs a fan club for him. "I met Beth while I was in Los Angeles. She´s called ZepGirl on the internet. She drove up from San Diego to meet me." Smith says the only email he´s ever sent so far is a message to a young fan sick in hospital. The girl had a computer beside the bed and used it to communicate. "She wrote to ZepGirl about it. She was stoked so it was really nice." He sent his email from Auckland internet store LiveWire, because of "technical difficulties" with his home machine. "We got a computer last year but it turns out that I´m so computer illiterate that it´s just an expensive typewriter. My wife uses it for the soccer club committee and I keep scripts on it and that has been the extent of my involvement." However, after looking over the shoulders of several friends while they are on the internet, he has decided to get a connection at home. "There are some things that I want to do, which the internet might be able to help with. There´s a play I want to get the rights to and it can be hard when you´re writing letters around the world. I just found out the name of the production company — I don´t know if emailing might help but it could be quicker to do it that way. I´d also use it for looking at new works, new plays. "My friend Michael Hurst [who plays Iolus in Hercules], downloaded from the internet a version of Othello that we performed on stage. I´ve also got some good buddies in the States that I´d like to talk to because it would be cheaper than phone calls and I wouldn´t have to worry about the time differences. Also, it would be useful for keeping in contact with my agents; I could email them stuff instead of having lengthy conference calls, which get quite expensive." Smith sees the internet as being a tool for actors, singers, writers and TV and film production staff. "I like the idea of a lot of information floating around out there. In this modern age people like Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner are using the internet and communications to control the flow of information around the world, versus the physical challenge they used to have of just getting the news across, say on horseback, to a newspaper office. "I think web pages could be a tool for actors. If you set one up yourself then you´ve got a greater amount of control, obviously. I know a film crew agency site on the internet to which crew post their CVs for overseas production companies to pick and choose from. With actors it would be really handy to put their data books of roles played and so on, on the net — it´s the next logical step."
 

Niff74

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חלק ב´ של הריאיון...

What does he make of the web pages devoted to him? "Occasionally a guy on the Hercules set says ´this is on your web page´ this week. I did go to Pacific Renaissance one time [Hercules´ and Xena´s production company] and saw an entirely weird thing — an image from the show was being used as wallpaper for the website. I thought this is full on, it´s groovy. People are really into the show. It´s just amazing the amount of time people spend on the internet. I´ve got friends who get home at night and spend five hours surfing it." Has he, like Lucy Lawless, ever ventured into a chat room to see what fans are saying about him? "I did it once; it was ill-conceived folly. A friend was in a chat room and the Ares character was mentioned, so he said why don´t you go on? He typed in ´I´ve got Ares with me here right now´. My typing was really bad, my spelling was bad and I was in trouble and my friend says ´what are you doing´ and I said ´I´m looking for the ´H´ key, man!´ so he said ´you talk, I´ll type´. It was kinda weird but kinda cool." Did the chat room people believe him? "That´s the thing — maybe because they knew this guy did work on the Xena crew, they seemed to believe. There was amazing venom; it was amazing just how into it people get. "There were heated conversations and threats. I just imagined a lot of people hunched over, really typing in anger at their keyboards!" So does Smith now realise how popular the Hercules and Xena shows are on the internet? "Yeah, I realise down here we´re insulated from the impact of the show. Over there it´s a big deal. I mean Lucy Lawless is on the cover of TV Guide which is a really big thing in the States; she was on the cover of People magazine when I was there and on the cover of some computer magazines, too. Michael Hurst was on holiday recently and a couple of kids climbed up on a balcony across from his hotel so they could look into his room. It´s the weirdest thing." Smith says overseas he gets a lot of people asking him if he knows so and so from New Zealand. "And I say ´look I´m from a country of over 3 million people´, but it usually turns out that, yes, wouldn´t you know it, I do know that person — especially if they happen to come from Timaru. Everyone knows someone in Timaru. It´s like that Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon thing." I say yes, I do know the web page he´s referring to. "Oh it´s a web page thing is it? I read about it in a magazine, but it had the smell of a computery thing about it. Actually, I´ve got my own Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon story. "I was in a film [Desperate Remedies] with Cliff Curtis, Cliff was in Once Were Warriors with Temuera Morrison, Tem was in a film called The Island of Dr Moreau with Val Kilmer, Val Kilmer was in Top Gun with Tom Cruise and Tom Cruise was in A Few Good Men with — you guessed it — Kevin Bacon!" With that I let Kevin Smith go. He has to make some phone calls to find a local internet provider. He really is getting into this web page thing.
 

Niff74

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דבר העורך - Whoosh 66 - לזכרו. ../images/Emo16.gif

Whoosh 66 - March ´02 - Editor´s page- http://www.whoosh.org/issue66/editor66.html THE KNIGHT OF FOURTEEN THOUSAND DAYS Kevin Smith, 1963 - 2002 For someone who is supposedly good with words, there are times when words alone cannot begin to convey the depth of emotion in a particular situation. The passing of Kevin Smith is absolutely one of those occasions. Not only did Kevin Smith help out Whoosh! and other websites from time to time with an interview or a few contributing words, he always went out of his way to be gracious, accommodating, and otherwise available even at the expense of his own precious personal time. Although we were introduced by his work for Pacific Renaissance and mine for Whoosh!, Kevin and I became friends over the years to the point where we would sometimes socialise when he was in L.A. or I in Auckland. Fans knew Kevin for his graciousness and good will. He was ever the gentleman and always had a kind word for everybody. At convention appearances, he would usually end each question with a "Cheers mate!", a thumbs up, and a broad smile for the questioner. He´d stay to provide an autograph for anyone who wanted one. He greeted everyone he met with warmth and enthusiasm. I´ve seen him phone sick fans in hospital or make special visits to those who could not come to see him. In his private life, he was the same. Fame did not change him. Family, friends, and people in general were his top priorities. One of my great regrets is that so many fans will not know of another talent Kevin had: his writing. He and I exchanged e-mails from time to time, and I was deeply impressed by his command of the language and turn of phrase. He was educated, insightful, witty, and could run rings around most of the so-called literati I was familiar with. Every message from him was a delight and pleasure. I will share some of his prose in an article I´m doing for the April issue. I have so many fond memories of Kevin, but I´ll share one here that is just so typical of him. Several weeks ago, after a performance in Auckland of A Streetcar Named Desire, he and I and a couple of other friends were standing outside the theatre, deciding where to go for a post-performance libation and chinwag. A fellow came up to us and spoke to us as if he knew us, but the chap was so intoxicated I doubt he´d know his own name. We looked at one another briefly, assessing the situation, but Kevin, who had been talking amiably to the fellow, was the first to act. He took out a ten-dollar note from his pocket and said "Here´s a blooie, mate, let´s get you home safe." [NZ$10 notes are blue in colour] We called a cab and did just that. To paraphrase the words of Professor Marvel to the Tin Man in The Wizard Of Oz, a heart is not measured by how much one loves, but by how much one is loved by others. In either circumstance, Kevin Smith had the biggest heart of any other individual I know. May all of us aspire to possess a fraction of the heart he did. Bret Rudnick Whoosh! Executive Committee Hermosa Beach, CA 17 February 2002
 

Niff74

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הספד יפהפה לקווין מאת Simon Prast,

מנהל ה-Auckland Theatre Company. לקוח מתוך ה-NZ Listener של השבוע. KEVIN SMITH, 1963-2002 by Simon Prast I´m looking at three images: the posters for "The Blue Room" and "A Streetcar Named Desire" and the brochure shot for "The Rocky Horror Show". And there he is. The Heart-throb. The Hood. The Mad Transvestite Scientist. Talk about range! But of course, he had range to spare. Artist; athlete; warrior; wag; joker; juve-lead; larrikin; lord. He was all of these and more. Those movie star looks. That rock star voice. And such great legs, even in fishnets and high heels as big as canoes. Kevin Smith. Along with most of New Zealand, I met him first in 1989 when he joined the cast of "Gloss". Producer Janice Finn had scoured the country in search of testosterone with talent and couldn´t wait for us to meet this gorgeous hunk she had found in Christchurch. Could we wait?! Soon enough, in he walks: smouldering definition of "tall, dark and handsome". Sleepy-sex eyes. Improbable lips. Marlon Brando, only younger and taller. How you wanted to hate him. Turns out you just couldn´t. Turns out this eyeful barely glimpsed a man whose content was more beautiful than his form. The brain outboxed the brawn; the humour was sexier than the smile; the heart was bigger than the chest that contained it; the spirit more generous than the lips. Misquoting lyrics from a show he would never sing: "What a guy! Makes you cry! Und I did: KEVEEEE!!" We shared the sad histories of the end of "Gloss" and the end of the Mercury. I can see him at the wake for the Mercury, standing at the back, arm around his bosom-buddy Geoff. Both are swaying with the booze and singing actor-songs of injustice and farewell. A couple of years later, they did this double-act sober as the Handsome Princes in "Into the Woods:" "Agony: how it cuts like a knife!" During the 90s, he grew his hair and became the star. Hercules; Xena; websites; fan-clubs; action dolls; Beverly Hills; swimming pools; movie stars. He was voted New Zealand´s Sexiest Man. Every year! For 10 years! Our paths crossed only a couple of times, but nothing had really changed in him. A little grey around the temples, but he still lived in Ellerslie. His own tribe had increased. Three sons. And he still wore jandals the size of canoes. Millennium comes. Hercules goes. he signs for "The Blue Room" and "A Streetcar Named Desire". I can see him at the poster shoot for "The Blue Room" with his pal Danielle. Both so beautiful and both couldn´t care less. They shriek and shout obscenities and cry with laughter before moving in for the shot that will sell us 10,000 tickets. He was nervous about returning to the stage. It had been a while and the script demanded 10 characters of different status, age and love-predicament. He needn´t have worried. His 10 men have dignity, danger desperation and desire. Fans fly in from around the world to catch him in his Calvins. On one night of unscheduled audience participation, a punter worse for wear snatches them during a scene change. He takes it in his strides. On the final night, I sit with 900 people and watch them dance through it. It doesn´t get any better. Anywhere. When the Calvins hit the floor for the last time he turns. A millisecond flash and it´s gone. There is an audible gasp from the crowd. A swoon. Outrageous. Hilarious. And then "Streetcar". You get to know people when you direct them, their essence and their demons. Some deny access. Elizabeth Hawthorne, Danielle Cormack, Michael Lawrence. And Kevin Smith. Kev. Fearless. In the broken world of this subtle disturbing masterpiece, they take no prisoners. We rehearse the inevitable showdown. In he comes as Stanley Kowalsky, "survivor of the stone age". As the scene plays, his eyes get darker and the veins in his arms swell until it seems they will explode. And then he snaps. Combustion. Over goes the table and there stands the animal ape, an aweful, awesome, raw beauty. He backs her into a corner and is over her. She is pleading for her life, but he is overpowering, the sound coming out of his mouth primal and terrifying. He hoists his prey aloft, carries it to the bed and then forces his savage brutal victory. End of scene. Ghastly silence. Amid the rehearsal room wreckage of tables and crockery lie the two actors. Finally, and with such delicacy, he lifts himself off her. So gently, he offers his hand that eventually she takes. As they put our world back together again, the two consummate actors embrace in love and respect for a job well done. He sang at our 2002 season launch. It was the last time I saw him. I´m on the podium introducing the end-of-year musical "The Rocky Horror Show". I know he´s up next,but I haven´t seen him in costume. The lights snap out. The RKO fanfare plays. Then, suddenly in the spotlight, there he is. A vision. Beads. Corset. Suspenders. Fishnets. High heels as big as canoes. "Whatever happened to Fay Wray, that delicate satin-draped frame?" The voice is satin-draped. Wicked. Beautiful. He segues into "Don´t dream it. Be it", slowly building intensity with each repeated refrain, in total command of his talent and his audience, bidding us to follow him. "Don´t dream it. Be it. Don´t dream it. Be it." Gone now. Precious boy. Rarest of men. He gave more than he took. he was blessed and we shared his blessings. A Prince. Kevin Smith. Kev. I leave it to Shakespeare. Goodnight sweet Prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. Simon Prast is the director of the Auckland Theatre Company.
 
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