Kevin Smith's Chicago love story: "Blues Brothers," Blackhawks and ChronicCon
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Kevin Smith signs autographs during New York Comic Con 2024. Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for ReedPop
Legendary indie filmmaker Kevin Smith is bringing back his ChronicCon to Rosemont this weekend.
The big picture: It's the second year in a row that Smith has produced this convention exclusively in Chicago to celebrate his cinematic universe that includes films like "Clerks," "Mallrats" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."
- In fact, ChronicCon was inspired by the fictional convention featured in the 2019 film "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot."
What they're saying: "The idea of taking ChronicCon, the fake con, from the fake movie, and bringing into real life just seemed kind of charming," Smith tells Axios.
- "You know, we've been doing this Jay and Silent Bob silliness for over 30 years, so if you can keep a joke going for three decades, I think you're allowed to have your own convention."
Zoom in: Smith will be accompanied by his famous collaborators, like Jason Mewes and "Mallrats" star Jason Lee. "Mallrats," a cult classic, is turning 30 this month.
- "Mallrats nearly killed my career," Smith said of his first major studio release. "It flopped in the theaters, but became this cult classic years later."
- "If it did well at first, I probably would have had a completely different trajectory and I would have never made 'Chasing Amy," "Dogma" or the 'Jay and Silent Bob' movies.
If you go: Chronic Con starts at 5pm Friday and runs through Sunday at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare.
State of play: Even though Smith is famously from New Jersey, he has spent loads of time in Chicago, including as a child visiting family in McHenry.
We asked Smith to give us his perfect day in Chicago.
🥗 Breakfast: "I'm not a breakfast guy anymore. As a vegan, my selections are so limited. I use an app called Happy Cow to help me find places I can eat that are close to me."
🎥 Morning activity: "I'm a massive 'Blues Brothers' fan. I went downtown this week and we pulled up right outside the giant Picasso in Daley Plaza. Even after all these years, I had never seen it! Literally, my breath was taken away. It's like being a fan of the Bible and then stumbling into Jerusalem."
🥤 Lunch: "Back in the day, I used to eat Giordano's deep dish or get that Portillo's cake in a f*cking cup or whatever. But now, vegan."
🌆 Afternoon activity: "I love that walk down the Magnificent Mile. When I was first with my wife, we were walking around and so many Chicagoans stopped me to say hi. My wife thought I was so famous. So every time we come back, we always go take that walk. She does it because it's romantic and I do it to keep my finger on the pulse of how popular I am."
Dinner: See lunch and breakfast.
🏒 Evening activity: "Blackhawks game at the United Center. For one of our anniversaries, we got tickets to see the Devils play the 'Hawks. I'd always read that the loudest human-made noise ever recorded was during the national anthem before Blackhawks games. It did not disappoint."
- "Also, for years, I lived in an alt-black Blackhawks jersey. People from around the world always came up to me asking where I got it."