Back in the 1990s, Kevin Smith was the filmmaker who nerds everywhere connected with; he was the guy who sold his comic book collection to make Clerks; he was the guy who loved Star Wars and Batman, and inspired a generation of filmmakers to pursue their dreams - including a young Edgar Wright. Nowadays, hes the guy who made Cop Out, and the guy who suggested that all critics are just failed moviemakers who couldn't realise their own dreams. To some people, he's just not person he used to be; he's become a defensive whiner who lashes out when he can't get his own way. and that puts people off. The story behind the making of Clerks is inspirational. Without any help from studio backers, Smith worked solidly for over a fortnight, even going without sleep, to shoot the film. His actual workplace was the setting and his real-life friends were the cast and crew. Somehow, he made it work; Clerks became a cult classic, and Smith secured the admiration of a sizeable fanbase in the process. Since then however, Smith has alienated the vast majority of his fans with duds like Jersey Girl, Tusk and the aforementioned Cop Out. There are some people who genuinely believe that Smith has forgotten how to make movies, and there's plenty of evidence to suggest that they may be right.
