Kevin Smith gets stung by 'The Green Hornet'

Posted Friday, February 20, 2004 at 3:59 PM Central

by John Couture

Finally. The planets are aligned. All those throw-away wishes are coming true. Someone in Hollywood finally put Kevin Smith in charge of a comic book movie.

Of course, that someone is Smith's longtime collaborator Harvey Weinstein and his studio Miramax Films. The film is none other than The Green Hornet. Harvey explained his decision to hand over his company's most important property to a guy without an action flick on his resume, "Kevin's tremendous work on our upcoming Jersey Girl, has demonstrated his continued growth as a filmmaker and we have no doubt that he will tackle this franchise for us in a compelling and entertaining way. In addition to being a great writer and director, Kevin knows more about comic characters, books and the creative process than anyone else I have ever met."

Kevin added, "Long-time comics geek gets to make comic book movie? This is a dream come true. I'm still reeling! You don't know how in love with Harvey Weinstein I am right now."

For those of you less geeky when it comes to comic books, The Green Hornet follows the adventure of Britt Reid, a millionaire playboy who moonlights as a masked crime fighter, and his kung fu toting chauffeur Kato. Or as Kev puts it, "I dig the fact that he kicked off a run of billionaire playboys who decided to put on a mask and fight crime, and that he was Batman before there was a Batman.

Casting is underway, although none of the principal roles have been filled as of yet. Shooting is scheduled to begin this Summer with an August 2005 release targeted.

Previously, Kevin featured comic books heavily in Mallrats and Chasing Amy. His characters Jay and Silent Bob made it their mission in Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back to thwart a movie that was being made based on their comic book alter egos Bluntman and Chronic.

As a result of this new development, Kev's other two announced projects, Fletch Won and Ranger Danger And The Danger Rangers, have been pushed back a year. In other Smith news, his latest movie, Jersey Girl, has been pushed back another week to March 26th.