Kevin Smith Denies He's Being Paid by Marvel to Say Nice Things

Kevin Smith may be a talented creator in his own right with a number of films and comic books under his belt, but for many he is equally well-known for his enthusiastic responses to movies, television, and other things he enjoys. Now, Smith wants people to understand that all the praise and exuberance his own. No one pays him to say it.

In a recent episode of his Fatman Beyond podcast, Smith addressed some of the comments from fans that he must be being paid by Marvel to praise their films and trailers, particularly the recent Captain Marvel trailer.

"I'm just going to say this," Smith said. "I thought it would go without saying, I thought I'd never have to say this, but I saw a tweet today cause I retweeted the f***ing trailer for Captain Marvel and talked about how I dug and sh*t like f**king taking every nickel I have, Marvel and there was like a couple people like most people 'you're f***ing right! F***king Kev well-said, lead us to the promised land!' you know, everyone on the same page. But there was a very small percentage, about five tweets, going like 'how much are they paying you to say this bullshit, man? Are you shilling for Marvel?' And I just want to f***ing record saying you're crazy if you think Marvel has to pay anybody to say something nice about them or to hip people to movies that are coming particularly to an audience that's pre-sold."

When the Captain Marvel trailer was released, Smith took to Twitter to share his reaction and noted that Marvel was "on a mission to take every single last nickel" he has. It seems that some thought that his level of excitement -- and not just for Captain Marvel but for other films -- had to be compensated, but Smith went on to make it clear that not only does no one pay him, but that they wouldn't have to pay him even if they wanted to.

"I'll just flat out deny it," Smith said. "I'll be honest, nobody f***king pays me to say nice things. If they do, I'll let you know. I just like to talk about the sh*t I like to talk about and that f***ing trailer I dug. I was like 'oh sh*t! F***ing A I can't wait!' and guess like some people if they don't react to it they think like you must be paid by these fools. I'm just enthusiastic, I swear to you I don't get any f***ing money. They don't have to pay me. That's the beauty of f***ing fandom, man. They figured out a long time ago how to harness the fan base, they'll do all the work for us. I'm just a little more high profile and vociferous than the average f***ing bear, but no. Nobody has ever f***ing given me a dime to say any nice things or to say any of the things that I say."

Smith's general excitement for all the movies and things he likes supports his statement as well. It's not just Marvel films that he shares his enthusiasm for. Paramount recently shared the trailer for the Transformers spinoff movie Bumblebee and Smith's said that it made him weep, despite never having been that moved by previous Transformers films.

"I've never really gotten into the Transformers movies, but the Bumblebee movie trailers are changing that!" Smith tweeted. "My God, this looks wonderful! Elias from Clerks II would be in tears (because I sure am)!"

What do you think about Smith's assertion that he's not being paid to praise Marvel films? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.