Kevin Smith revealed that his 1997 film “Chasing Amy” upset “the world’s most famous lesbian” Ellen DeGeneres.
in a clip For the documentary “Chasing Chasing Amy,” Smith, 54, discussed the LGBTQ+ community’s reaction to the film, which follows a male comedian, played by Ben Affleck, who tries to woo a lesbian, played by Joey Lauren Adams. Does.
In the clip, Smith was asked, “Do you understand why some LGBTQ people might not like ‘Chasing Amy’?”
“Yes of course. Of course.” famous director responded to. “Believe me, it took me 22 years to get used to it. I got so used to it that it appeared within the first week. There were some people who were upset.”
“The biggest shock, and God’s truth, that I heard, felt, and was told about, was when they told me that Ellen and Anne Heche went to see Chasing Amy, And it was reported that they walked out in the first half hour,” Smith revealed.
He added, “And we’re like, ‘Well, this is the most famous homosexual in the world. We just lost him. That means we’ll never be on The Ellen Show.'”
DeGeneres, 66, came out of the closet the same year “Chasing Amy” was released. She dated Heche (Joe) died in a car accident in 2022) from 1997 to 2000.
Being a straight man, Smith acknowledged that making a film that some critics said pushed gay identity backwards was problematic.
But Seve Rogers, a queer filmmaker, actually had a positive experience watching “Chasing Amy.” Rodgers also gave a TED talk in 2018 about how the film “saved his life”, which led to him becoming the director of the new documentary.
“the feeling of chasing amy “The trauma I experienced at school kept me alive for years to come despite the suicidal thoughts that followed,” Rodgers said. ted talk“No matter what I was struggling with, I had this one movie to console me.”
The “Chasing Amy” documentary premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, where Smith told Entertainment Weekly He understands that not everyone liked the film.
“This is a film made in a different time,” he said. “I cannot apologize for my complete lack of education. I didn’t go to college to study liberal arts or anything like that. I recently grew up with a gay brother, and pursuing Amy was a fulfillment of a promise I made to my brother.”
Smith also said that she “really enjoyed” the documentary about “Chasing Amy”.
“Look, whatever keeps these films alive for the current generation, I have no objection to that,” he explained. “Even if every documentarian wants to re-watch the movies and be like, ‘Here’s why they’re bad,’ at least it keeps those movies [in front of] Instead of connecting the current audience with the old black-and-white crowd. For someone to say, ‘We’re going to take a look at your work in the modern era,’ it means that, at least for a minute, that film is relevant again.
“Chasing Chasing Amy” is now available on VOD nationwide.
