Fans line up to get star’s autograph

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 11/21/05

BY ALEX BIESE
AND DAN KAPLAN
STAFF WRITERS
RED BANK — Joe McLane began waiting in line at 5:15 a.m Sunday for a chance to meet one of Monmouth County’s biggest celebrities who doesn’t play the guitar.

The Hazlet resident was the first of an estimated 500 people who lined up to meet filmmaker and Highlands native Kevin Smith. He was in Red Bank Sunday to sign copies of a new DVD featuring appearances by him and comedic sidekick and actor Jason Mewes in three episodes of the critically acclaimed Canadian dramatic teen series “Degrassi: The Next Generation.”

Judging from the line that extended from Smith’s Broad Street store — Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash — and wrapped north around Mechanic Street, rocker Bruce Springsteen may have some competition for the Shore’s biggest draw. By 4:30 p.m., the line still was going strong.

“I think that Kevin Smith is a genius,” said Angela Kemper, 20, who drove five hours from the Boston suburb of Weymouth, Mass., to attend the autograph signing. “It’s kind of pathetic, but he’s my idol. I started writing because of him.”

Even Smith couldn’t explain his and his movies’ popularity.

“I don’t know what it is, man,” Smith said. “Since it’s all based locally, I guess that’s a big factor when you’re here, because you get a lot of Monmouth County folks showing up. But I don’t know, I guess it connects with them on some level, thank God.”

Not everyone was there to see Smith, though. He was joined at a table in the back of the store by Mewes and “Degrassi” stars Jake Epstein and Stacey Farber, both 18 of Toronto. The cable series, based at a high school, deals with important teen issues, such as pregnancy and AIDS, and has generated a loyal fan base in America.

“It’s different than other shows,” Mallory Szymczak, 16, of Toms River said. “It deals with real issues.”

Mewes and Smith’s DVD titled “Jay and Silent Bob Do Degrassi: The Next Generation” is a recording of their three-episode guest appearance on the show.

Smith admitted he was taken aback by having “Degrassi” fans in his comic book store.

“There’s mostly 16-year-old girls in the store,” said Smith, who is used to seeing young male adults at his appearances. “That’s not normal at all.”

Smith, whose last Red Bank autograph signing session lasted until 5 a.m. following an appearance at the Count Basie Theatre last April, said it is a thrill getting to meet the fans.

“It’s always nice,” Smith said. “It’s always a pleasure, but it’s kind of nerve-racking because we’re like, “God, I hope we get to everybody.’ But still it feels fantastic.”

Despite his massive popularity, Smith said he has never encountered a negative kind of fanaticism, thanks at least in part to the large amount of time he spends with fans.

“I don’t really have crazy fans,” Smith said. “I think a lot of that has to do with accessibility. We do things like this all the time, always hanging out on our Web site, posting and stuff like that.”

Smith has been in the area filming the sequel to his low-budget — it cost $28,000 to make — but wildly popular 1994 cult classic independent film “Clerks.” The sequel tentatively is being called “The Passion of the Clerks.”

Katie Martinez, 15, of Holmdel, who was in Red Bank with friends waiting in line for more than four hours, said Smith’s movies “are so funny. They’re the movies you never get sick of.”

Elliot Berard left his Rhode Island home with his friends around midnight, and arrived in Red Bank just before 6 a.m.

“This is the first time that I’ve ever been to a signing, and we just figured the line was going to be wicked long, so we left around midnight, wound up getting lost a couple of times, arrived here, and we ended up beating the crowd by a lot more than I thought we would,” Berard said.

Chuck Ruggiero of Middletown summed up the appeal of Smith’s films: “They’re just really funny. I don’t want to say they’re an escape necessarily, but it’s just a good time. All his movies are really good.”

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