Kevin Smith

I always wanted to see if I could sell a movie to the public without doing any marketing because my philosophy was like, 'Hey man, I'm reaching my audience everyday. I'm twittering with them. I'm in direct contact with them on the podcast.'

If there was no Internet, my career would have ended in 1995.

There's something to be said for failing. It's not the failure you feel, it's the failure that people project when something disappoints. You're back to ground zero, where there's no expectations, and that's where I like to be.

The first few films I made didn't look good at all, and I wasn't trying to make them look good. People dig 'em because they like the content.

When you're an artist, all you're trying to do is self-express.

If you're lucky, you go from being a movie fan to a movie maker.

And the podcasting - I swear to you - on its worst day, the podcasts are better than our best films. Because they're more imaginative, and there's no artifice, and it's far more real.

I sympathize far more with heavier people than I ever will with thin. I'll never be thin. Let's be honest.

I know what it feels like to carry a lot of weight in a society that's very image-conscious. It's a thin person's world, and we try to navigate within it without being made fun of.

I grew up in a pretty gay world - my brother's gay and he's been married to a man for 20 years, which is like 60 in straight-people years.

I just love movies, so suddenly, you're political about movies, and that's dark. It's just not fun when something you love becomes calculated.

Don't let anybody tell you different, man: The main goal in life careerwise should always be to try to get paid to simply be yourself.