Getting kicked off a flight for being too fat was one of the lowest points in Kevin Smith's life, the director reveals in a new book.
Smith's fourth book, Tough Sh*t: Life Advice From a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good, focuses on the last five years of his career. He also talks about why he intends to retire from directing movies and other future plans.
Director Kevin Smith says getting kicked off a flight for being too fat was a low point in his life.Credit: AP
In the book, the director of Clerks reveals his spat with US carrier Southwest Airlines in February 2010, which saw him booted off a flight for being too large, was a low point in his life. While Smith admitted at the time he was "way fat" he said he could buckle his safety belt and put his arm rests down in the seat.
After he was escorted off the plane, he unleashed a barrage of complaints about his treatment on social media website Twitter and Southwest eventually apologised. But not before the press picked up on Smith's "too fat to fly" tweets. And while many of those venting on the internet supported Smith, others supported the airline's decision and railed against overweight flyers.
"You had about 5000 news articles on Google based on the tweet that I wrote, using my own words against me. That was hands down the low point," he said.
Some US airlines, including Southwest and United Contintental, ask large passengers to pay for an extra seat if they cannot buckle their seatbelt or put their armrests down. If no spare seat is available, they can be bumped from the flight.
Smith, 41, made his first film Clerks for under $30,000 at the local convenience store where he worked. The movie went on to win awards, was acquired for distribution by Miramax Films and pulled in over $3 million in theaters.
Since then, the New Jersey-born Smith has written and directed films including Dogma, Chasing Amy, and Zach and Miri Make a Porno. Some were critically acclaimed, while others, like Mall Rats, and Jersey Girl, were panned.
He vowed he is working on only one more live-action feature: Hit Somebody, a story that follows the life of a Canadian hockey player from 1950 to 1980. After that, he plans to focus mainly on podcasting and his Internet radio station, SModcast.
"Podcasting is the democratisation of entertainment. It really blurs the line between the entertainer and the entertained," he said.
with Reuters
Follow the Traveller section on Twitter @FairfaxTravel