Kevin Smith And Jason Mewes Are Getting Handprints On Hollywood Walk Of Fame

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes are leaving their mark on the entertainment industry — literally. The iconic indie film duo is out promoting Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, and on Thursday Smith confirmed that they are putting their handprints on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Smith became a DIY darling in the 1990s for writing and directing Clerks. There, he introduced the world to Jay and Silent Bob, played by his best friend Mewes and himself. After a long career, they are now being honored among Hollywood’s greats by cementing their handprints on the Walk of Fame.

Smith revealed the news in an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday. He described the national tour he and Mewes are about to embark on in typical self-effacing fashion. The two will attend screenings of the movie around the country, giving interviews and Q&A sessions along the way. After that, they will go home to Los Angeles for a big premiere of the movie, and that is when they will leave their handprints, Smith said.

“Something really magical happened to us,” he said. “On the day of the premiere, we get to go to TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles and put our handprints in the cement. Me and Jay are bringing Jersey!”

The crowd cheered for this landmark, and Colbert — another New Jersey native — cracked a wide smile. He then showed the audience a photo from Smith’s childhood, from his first visit to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“Years ago, 1979, my whole family went to the Romans Chinese Theater courtyard. That’s me and my brother kneeling in front of R2D2 and C3PO’s footprints and stuff. And now, 40 years after that photo, like the R2D2 and C3PO of New Jersey are gonna be in the courtyard as well.”

This is a big moment for Smith, who has had a long and storied career in the entertainment industry. The filmmaker brought Jay and Silent Bob to life in his independent, slice-of-life movies starting in the early 1990s. The duo are over-the-top caricatures of suburban drug dealers, portrayed in increasingly ridiculous standards as they years have gone on.

Unlike his character Silent Bob, Smith is a prolific speaker, so it is no surprise to see him taking his beloved movie out on this Q&A tour. In recent podcasts and interviews, he has been self-effacing in describing the tour, saying that he is excited to be self-indulgent and chat about his work with his most die-hard fans.

“I look forward to this, man!” he said on the most recent episode of Fatman Beyond. “I’m gonna be watching [the movie] with the most receptive f-ing audience to that s- on the planet! It’s not like I’m going to be showing it cold to a bunch of people who are like ‘well, I was going to see this or the Joker.’ There are people who are like ‘I’ve been waiting to see this my whole life!’”

The Jay and Silent Bob Reboot tour begins on Oct. 19.