Kevin Smith just directed The 4:30 Movie, which all but worships the movie-going experience – something that those caught up in today's world of streaming might not be too familiar with.
The film takes place in 1986 and follows Austin Zajur's Brian David, who invites his crush, Melody Barnegat (Siena Agudong), to see a movie with him at 4:30.
The story unfolds almost entirely in the movie theater as Brian and his friends hang out and watch other films while waiting for the fateful date.
Kevin Smith on How His New Movie Might Relate to the Streaming Crowd
While speaking to The Direct's Russ Milheim, The 4:30 Movie director Kevin Smith spoke about how his latest film might connect to a younger generation.
The project truly worships the movie-going experience, something that not everyone today partakes in due to the prevalence of streaming and at-home entertainment.
Smith admitted that initially, he had "no clue" how the younger streaming generation might connect with The 4:30 Movie:
"No clue. In fact, before it came out, I was like, 'Who the fuck is this movie for?' Clearly, it's for someone my age who grew up with that experience and whatnot. But I worried that teenagers would be like, where's the cell phone? Why is nobody talking?"
Despite those worries, having now seen the movie with audiences, the filmmaker has heard from younger folk who can connect to the experience of constantly going to theaters:
"But at the end of the day now, it came out, and I've got to watch it with audiences, and a lot of people brought their kids. So I've heard from teens who are like, 'Same as us. Like, yeah, we don't, you know, have cellphones and stuff. And, yeah, we don't spend as much time with other human beings."
Smith did point out how the one thing that did "[seem] to be an [enigma] to them" was the "seven-minute phone conversation" that opens the movie:
"The one thing that seems to be an [enigma] to them is the movie opens with [a] seven-minute phone conversation. Nobody talks [to people on the phone anymore]. But other than that, they seem to be vibing on it, not like this is what a what a bizarre historical document. They seem to understand it, whether they like it or not, is a different thing. But there was no generational divide that I was worried might be there at all."
The director pointed out how "now's the time to do [this movie," since "there's a generation coming up that won't have this experience at all:"
"And I guess now's the time to do it, too. Because there's a generation coming up that won't have this experience at all, so if I made this movie in 10 to 20 years, it would be really hard to follow. Some of these kids got taken to the movies when they were kids before they were siloed up in their social media. So, maybe there's some recognition there."
Smith compared the experience of a different generation watching The 4:30 Movie to that of his own when he watched The Flamingo Kid:
"I was talking to my wife the other day, and I was like, maybe they watch it the way that, like, I watched 'The Flamingo Kid' when I was young. 'The Flamingo Kid' was that Matt Dillon movie and it was a teen movie, but it was set in the fucking 50s at a pool club. And it's like, none of these things relate to me at all. But still, I was able to [enjoy] this movie."
The full interview can be seen below:
The 4:30 Movie is now available to buy digitally.
