Moviemaker Kevin Smith grew up, got a new dogma

Kevin Smith is focused on this life.

That became apparent when I asked the moviemaker who wrote the screenplay to "Dogma" if he believed in God. His answer was by far the heaviest part of a generally lighthearted interview with the director who grabbed attention with his first movie "Clerks" and who shot the movie "Mallrats" in Eden Prairie.

He loves to talk about that movie and is excited about preparing to shoot "Mallrats 2." Smith was in Minneapolis for two appearances connected to the influx of geeks and nerds who provide such interesting people-watching at the Minneapolis Convention Center where Wizard World Comic Con comes to a close Sunday.

Q: Do you still attend Mass? I was reading an interview where you recalled your childhood was spent going to Mass.

A: No. It's so weird, I was just thinking about that the other day. During "Dogma" I was still a pretty hard-core Catholic, still struggling to hold on to my Catholicism, hence the movie's existence in the first place. But now, no. My dog passed, his name was Mulder, a month and a half ago. He was 17, and I think when he went there went the last vestiges of my childhood faith.

Q: Do you believe in God?

A: Honestly, when the dog died I kind of realized … rather than focus on AFTER this, I'm going to focus on THIS. Put all my energy and faith and spirituality into life, not worrying about or wondering what happens after death and listening to anybody who has a story to tell you about angels and whatnot. There's a plaque hanging at my house, a yoga thing, and I passed it for years and never really read it. It says, "May you realize your divinity in this lifetime." It's not about living in service to some being you can't see. It's about living in service to everyone here. Aren't we supposed to be beings of our own little universes, make things better, not rely on somebody in the sky to help us out? I have zero compunctions about having been raised Catholic. It was great stuff to tell a kid, who didn't know what would happen to him after he died. You just realize, "Hey, I'm ready to handle more than I did when I was a child." I would hope I could handle more.

A: I'm not good at it. That's what I wish I had known when I shot "Mallrats." I wasn't self-aware. That's why making "Mallrats 2" will be a joy. Now, I have self awareness. I know I'm not making Shakespeare, I'm making a mall movie with a 2 in the title.

Q: If Bruce Willis is at the same party, do you speak or ignore each other?

A: I would go over and give him the biggest hug on earth. That way, if he hauled off and punched me, I could just stand up and be like, SEE! In "Cop Out" he and I didn't get along that well. But enough time has passed where I feel like I could, as they say, hug it out with Mr. Willis.

Q: Who's tougher on actors, you or Shonda Rhimes?

A: [Laughter] Shonda Rhimes, she works with more actors. She's constantly working. I work like every three years.

A: You never say never in life. I've worked with some cats, who maybe I wasn't mature enough to handle it, or whatever. So I always say, "Hey man, down the road maybe." "Mallrats 2" gives me the perfect opportunity to cast anybody. It's a movie like "The Cannonball Run"; it has so many cameos. I could literally jump back through my filmography and pop people in. I just don't think Bruce would do it. I think he would pop me in the mouth before he'd pop into the movie.

Q: How many movies do you watch at home in a week?

A: Not a lot, man. I haven't been in a watching mode lately, I've been in a maker mode instead. I've been watching a lot of "Mad Men" and "Veep," which to me have been like creative crack. Before I go write something, if I want to be inspired I'll watch one of those.

Q: Any chance Jay and Silent Bob will make an appearance together, perhaps try and take down Michael Rooker one more time, for old time's sake?

A: Absolutely. Now Michael Rooker is a movie star, and on "The Walking Dead" [where] he had a huge part; he was in "Guardians of the Galaxy." Expect Michel Rooker to have a much bigger part in any "Mallrats" sequel, and Jay and Bob will definitely be back.

A: They called up and said, "Do you want to come do your voice?" And I was like yeah. I've got a body built for just doing voice work.