Kevin Smith Starts Filming Jay & Silent Bob Reboot Exactly One Year After Heart Attack

Philip Ellis
Photo credit: Mike Windle - Getty Images
Photo credit: Mike Windle - Getty Images

From Men's Health

Exactly one year after surviving an acute myocardial infraction (commonly known as a “widowmaker”), filmmaker Kevin Smith marked the occasion by taking a selfie on the set of his new movie; a reboot of the Jay & Silent Bob series.

One year ago today, I almost died. So today, I’m living it up on with @jaymewes and Jason Lee on Day 1 of my new flick @jayandsilentbob Reboot! Thanks to @saban_films and Universal for the loot to make this epic, @jordanmonsanto and @destrofilms for making it happen, @jenschwalbach and @harleyquinnsmith for humoring my goofy bullshit one more time, and #jasonmewes for standing beside me all these years while I do the hardest thing I can personally ever do, either in film or in real life: simply shut the fuck up. I couldn’t think of a better scene with which to start the shoot than the return to the Mall with Brodie Bruce. The three of us gathered for a couple hours last night to run the lines and realized we first rehearsed together waaaaay back in the mid-90’s. It may be 24 years later and we may have 6 kids between us, but Jay, Lee and me partied like it was 1995, giggling while adding jokes and finding inflections. The Oscars were on in the background during our practice and I couldn’t help but feel relief when the “In Memoriam” montage ended and I wasn’t in it. We picked 2/25 as the Reboot start date *intentionally*, to celebrate the fact that I did not become Silent Bob forever 365 days ago. But after a blissful couple hours of making pretend with my friends on the set of my 14th film, I’m starting to think I *did* die in that operating room after all. Because what could be more Heavenly than this? #KevinSmith #jayandsilentbob #jayandsilentbobreboot #jasonlee #jaymewes #neworleans #brodiebruce #wwambassador #movie

A post shared by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith) on Feb 25, 2019 at 12:01pm PST

The 48-year-old director shared the pic of himself and the film’s stars, Jason Lee and Jason Mewes, on Instagram, accompanied by a caption in which he expressed his gratitude at the chance to be able to return to do what he loves, instead of ending up in the Oscars’ recent “In Memoriam” segment. “We picked 2/25 as the Reboot start date *intentionally*, to celebrate the fact that I did not become Silent Bob forever 365 days ago,” he says in the post.

Smith recently spoke to Men’s Health about the life-changing experience, and the new diet and training schedule that have helped him recover. Long daily walks with his “personal trainer,” a dachshund named Shecky, play a big role in his newfound health and fitness routine (he lost 50 pounds in six months). He also revealed that he ended up going vegan; a prospect he didn’t savor, but approached with remarkable pragmatism. “I don’t care how you prepare them; vegetables suck compared to a piece of cake or a steak,” he said. “But I think of it this way: I know what that stuff tastes like. And it’s not going anywhere.”

In that interview, Smith also half-jokingly admitted that the prospect of returning to one of his best-known films helped him pull through, saying: “I was prepared to go. The only thing that I regretted was that we didn’t make the Jay and Silent Bob reboot. I was sitting there going, ‘Fuck! The last movie I will have made was Yoga Hosers. Goddammit, I need to go out on something else!’ ”

But it’s not just Jay and Silent Bob who will be coming back to our screens. Smith also confirmed in the post that the first scene they shot was a “return to the Mall," and that Jason Lee will be reprising his Mallrats character, store owner Brodie Bruce.

Fans of Smith’s films can return to his View Askewniverse later this year; Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is currently slated for a Fall 2019 release.

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