Raving Toy Maniac

KEVIN SMITH TO BE SPOTLIGHT GUEST AT THE CHICAGO COMIC & ENTERTAINMENT EXPO (C2E2)

Midwest Pop Culture Extravaganza Will Play Host To Top Talent

Tickets go on sale Friday, October 26!

Norwalk, CT, October 22, 2012: Show organizers for the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) have today announced that noted filmmaker, comic book writer and internet radio personality, Kevin Smith, will be a Spotlight Guest at the annual Midwest pop culture extravaganza. This news about Mr. Smith, a popular celebrity who regularly attracts huge audiences to his performances and appearances, is the first in a long line of significant guest announcements that show officials will be making in the coming months. Organizers anticipate that this year's C2E2, which will take place April 26 - 28, 2013 at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center, will be by far the biggest and most anticipated event since the show was launched in 2010.

In announcing the news about Mr. Smith, show officials are also pleased to reveal that 3-Day tickets for C2E2 will go on sale Friday, October 26 at 12 noon Central Time and will be available for purchase at http://www.C2E2.com. Single day tickets will go on sale at a later date. Fans are encouraged to purchase their 3-Day tickets early.

"An Evening with Kevin Smith" will mark Mr. Smith's first appearance at C2E2. A multi-talented artist, his distinct brand of humor has earned him a wide following wherever he goes. Kevin Smith's several appearances at New York Comic Con (NYCC) have been marquee events where he has spoken in front of standing room audiences. His special appearance at C2E2 will take place on Saturday, April 27 and tickets to the event will be available only to C2E2 ticket-holders. Tickets for "An Evening with Kevin Smith" will be: Prime Seating, $35; Mid-tier Seating, $20; and General Seating, $10.

"This is an awesome way to kick off our guest announcements for C2E2," notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for C2E2. "Kevin sets the bar very high and his commitment to C2E2 is a sure sign that our programming will be first rate. I know that we have some great guests in the pipeline, all of whom will be revealed in the near future. Kevin Smith is insanely funny and I feel extremely fortunate whenever he agrees to appear at any of our shows... there will be thousands of very eager fans to see him in Chicago. This is a huge announcement and a very auspicious way to get our guest announcements for C2E2 '13 underway."

As noted, tickets for C2E2 and "An Evening with Kevin Smith" will be on sale at http://www.C2E2.com beginning on October 26. Anyone interested in exhibiting at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo should contact Larry Settembrini, [email protected]. Organizers note that many more guests and activities will be announced in the months ahead and fans should keep their eyes on C2E2's website for additional comics and entertainment announcements.

ABOUT KEVIN SMITH:
Smith has spent nearly twenty years as a writer/director making "Clerks", "Mallrats", "Chasing Amy", "Dogma", "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", "Jersey Girl", "Clerks II", "Zack and Miri Make a (bleep)o", "Cop Out" and his newest film "Red State", which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Mystifyingly, Smith also sports three DVD releases of his various college Q&As ("An Evening with Kevin Smith"; "An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder"; "A Threevening with Kevin Smith") as well as an EPIX Original Q&A special "Kevin Smith: Too Fat For 40".

He's published two books full of essays and blog postings ("Silent Bob Speaks and The New York Times bestselling My Boring-Ass Life), as well as "Shootin' the Sh*t with Kevin Smith" - a collection of the best material from SModcast, Smith and producer Scott Mosier's weekly podcast.

Aside from the films he's directed, Smith has served as a producer on indie efforts including Bryan Johnson's Lionsgate release "Vulgar", multiple Academy Award winner "Good Will Hunting", and a pair of Sundance-selected documentaries, including "Reel Paradise" and "Small Town Gay Bar".

One of the first filmmakers to venture into cyberspace, Smith has built his fan base primarily on the web, via the thirteen year old binary village at http://www.viewaskew.com. Smith took the cyberworld by storm when, in February 2007, SModcast debuted online. The back-and-forth banter of Smith and Mosier has kept on for over four years paving the way for the SModcast Podcast Network.

From its January 2010, launch, smodcast.com has grown into a full-fledged network, hosting a full week of original programming featuring SMonsters of Talk, who regularly claim the top slots on iTunes as the Best Podcasts of 2007 and 2010. Audiences around the world have created a following for many other weekly shows which have also gone on to enormous success. In September 2010, SModcast officially began playing on SiriusXM's "The Virus" channel, alongside Opie & Anthony and Ron & Fez.

The success of SModcast brought to life Smith's idea of a black box theater in Los Angeles where he and his team could perform live podcasts whenever they wanted. In July 2010 SModcastle - the world's first live podcast theater - opened. SModcastle quickly became the house that 'Babble-On' built. Garman and Smith packed audiences in weekly, routinely selling out the 50 seat venue - a feat matched only by Mewes and Smith when they launched Jay & Silent Bob Get Old.

Smith's podcasting success did not end with SModcastle. In May 2011 S.I.R.: SModcast Internet Radio, premiered with 24 hour a day, seven days a week programming featuring live and archived Smodcast Network programs. The S.I.R. suite of shows is available through http://www.smodcast.com and Stitcher's free mobile and iPad™ apps.

And if film and digital domination aren't enough, there's always retail: Smith owns a comic book store named Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey.

As for the hood ornaments he's collected, there's plenty of tin on display: the Filmmaker's Trophy at Sundance for "Clerks"; the Prix de la Jeunesse and the International Critic's Week Awards at the Cannes Film Festival, also for "Clerks". He also has an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for Chasing Amy, and a Humanitas Award for "Good Will Hunting". Smith also received the Defender of Democracy Award from Norman Lear's People for the American Way organization for his production of "Dogma". "Clerks II" won both the prestigious Audience Award at the Edinburgh Film Festvial as well as the Orbit Dirtiest Mouth Moment at the MTV Movie Awards. For his writing in the comics field, Smith has received a Harvey Award, a Wizard Fan Award, an Eagle Award and saw his Green Arrow: Quiver named as one of 2003's Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Service. In the fall of 2002, the town of Paulsboro in New Jersey named a street after him: Kevin Smith Way. In 2004, the Video Software Dealers Association gave Smith the DVD Visionary Award, and in 2005, he collected the Independent Spirit Award from Britain's Empire Magazine. In April of 2006, this award-whore was given UCLA's Jack Benny Award for Comedy, and in 2008, Smith was given the Maverick Award by the Woodstock Film Festival, as well as the Vision Award from the DGA-affiliated Filmmaker's Alliance.

But he'd chuck it all for his wife and kid. Smith married wife Jennifer in April '99 and celebrated the birth of their daughter, Harley Quinn, in June of that same year. The wedding was not white, to say the least.

ABOUT REEDPOP: ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions which is exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture arena. ReedPOP is dedicated to producing celebrations of popular culture throughout the world that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences for consumers and fans. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) Prime & East, Star Wars Celebration, Fantasy Football Fest and the UFC Fan Expo. In 2013 ReePOP will add Star Wars Celebration Europe and PAX Australia to its rapidly expanding portfolio of international events. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan based group of professionals producing shows for other fans, thus making them uniquely qualified to service those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.