Three Great Things is our series in which artists tell us about three things they absolutely love. To celebrate the release of his directorial debut Madness in the Method — out in theaters now — the man we all know as the verbal half of Jay and Silent Bob told us about some of the stuff (and people!) that he, like, really loves. — N.D.
1. Legos
I could talk about Legos for days! I like to go to the Lego store and look around and find stuff to buy. Not only do I like the concepts and the things they make – Tintin, The Lego Movie, Batman, etc. – I love Lego Ideas, where you can suggest new things that Lego should make. Thousands of people send in ideas – like Legos of the Flintstones, Mickey Mouse’s Steamboat Willie or Voltron – then Lego picks one. A set that’s just come out is the big treehouse. I’m a Lego VIP so I could have gotten it early, but my buddy ordered it so I’m waiting for it to come in.
There’s tons of stuff I can build with my kid. She loves Legos, and she loves all the accessories, like the little newspapers and the Squishees they have at Kwik-E Mart from The Simpsons. We built the Simpsons’ house together, and one of my favorites is the Statue of Liberty from The Lego Movie – it’s apocalyptic, like in Planet of the Apes. Another of my favorite things is how you can build a movie theater and a gas station and then they connect together, so you can make a whole little town. After I’ve built something with Legos, my kid loves playing with it and bringing in either the actual characters that come with it, like from The Simpsons, or Disney ones like Moana or Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She’ll say, “Can I come in?” and then pretend to go into the stores.
2. Video Game Streaming
I’ve always played video games and I started streaming about a year ago when Facebook asked me to join their video game streaming service. I’m now streaming over on Twitch. Being able to stream video games and chat with people for two or three hours is so much fun for me.
Besides playing the game and talking to the camera, I’m starting to get to know people because I’ve consistently had the same 50 to 100 people hanging out and watching for the past year or so, which is really nice. When I started streaming on Facebook, this one dude, Zainiac323, would jump in whenever I was on. Sometimes it was two in the morning, or six in the morning, or two in the afternoon. He’d join me almost every game, so if I was playing even for five minutes, I’d always invite him because I knew he was going to be around. I found out the reason he’s always around is he takes care of his sick grandmother. There was a time in my life when I was looking after my mom and didn’t leave the house much either. I met him recently when I was touring my standup show, Jay Mewes & His A-Mewes-ing Stories, and I got to talk with him in person, after months of talking online. People are also making friends through my Fortnite lobby, through my community. People discover they’re from the same neighborhood and then hang out and become friends, which is really cool. I didn’t think that would happen, but I’m really digging it.
For my birthday, Kevin Smith got me an IRL backpack, which has a whole streaming setup: four networks tied into a box, with a big battery and a camera attached to the straps on the arms. You can walk around and stream to Twitch and it’s very smooth. I’ve been traveling a lot recently, so I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, but I have to go look for Kevin’s birthday present soon, so I was thinking about walking around with my backpack and streaming that.
3. My Daughter
Of course everyone loves their kid, but I didn’t expect how much of a sucker I would become. This morning, I dropped my daughter off at school after I’d been out of town for four days, and she started getting really upset. Most times she’s fine, but this time I could hear her crying through the classroom window. My instinct was so badly to say, “All right, she’s not going to school – I’m going to take her today!” I knew having a kid would change my life – and it has – but I didn’t realize how much I would agonize over what’s right and wrong. I have this overwhelming feeling that all I want to do is make sure she’s happy and healthy, and that nothing’s messing with her.
I always wanted a family, a wife, a kid and the white picket fence, because I didn’t have that myself growing up. I grew up with my grandma, but then she got too old, so I moved in with another family. When my mom got out of jail, she took care of me for two years, but then she went back to jail. I was all over the place, and I always wanted that stability.
I’m 45 now and so excited to be a father. It’s amazing and I love it. I can’t believe how much I love my kid and want to spend time with her. My wife is the smart, organized one who makes all the doctor’s appointments and deals with all the paperwork (who knew you had to sign up for kindergarten a year beforehand?!); I’m the one who says, “Let’s go food shopping and spend time together and have fun and play.”
