Tell ‘em, Steve-Dave!
Posted on January 2, 2004 @ 4:03 pm
As I mentioned a few entries ago, my trip to New Jersey included a brief stop in Red Bank to visit Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, the comic book shop owned by writer/director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Jersey Girl).
I swore off visiting comic shops years ago, but the Secret Stash is the home to several one-of-a-kind props, costumes, and other memorabilia from Kevin’s films, and I’m a sucker for memorabilia (just point me toward a Hard Rock Cafe, and I’m there). For instance, here’s a shot of the original Bluntmobile–complete with Bluntman and Chronic mannequins–from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
That’s not the important part of the trip, though. While I was at the Secret Stash, I met one of the “stars” from Kevin’s films.
No, no–it wasn’t Ben Affleck (sigh). It was Walter Flanagan, part time actor and Kevin’s longtime friend. You might remember him as the Egg Man or one of the offended customers (”Cute cat. What’s his name?”) in Clerks, or from his slightly more prominent recurring role as Walt the Fanboy in Mallrats, Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob. When he’s not busy doing bit parts in Kevin’s films, Walter works behind the counter at the Secret Stash, slinging comics, posters, and t-shirts.
Seeing him there working in the store, however, raised a rather perplexing question: what is the proper reaction to meeting a D-list celebrity?
I’ve often seen teenage girls on TRL squealing when meeting someone like Justin Timberlake or grown men and women inexplicably crying like babies when coming face to face with Michael Jackson (of course, that could be chalked up to fear), but what do you do when you encounter a quasi-celebrity like Walter Flanagan? Tell him how much you enjoy his work? His entire filmography amounts to about three minutes of screentime. Take a picture? Over 99 percent of the population isn’t going to recognize him. Ask for an autograph? “Hi, Walt! Since you’re marginally more famous than I am, would you mind signing this?” Eventually, I settled for just saying “pardon me” and moving out of the way when I was standing in front of some merchandise that he needed to bring up to the counter. Somehow, that seemed like enough.
Besides, he wasn’t the only celebrity there. The infamous Buddy Christ statue was in the house, too (dig that groovy lens flare).
On an unrelated note, the Secret Stash also sells action figures of Walter’s fanboy character. How weird would it be to sell someone an action figure of yourself, knowing that they’re going to take it home to (best case scenario) display it or (worst case scenario) play with it? Creepy.
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Life in a Nutshell, Photo Ops |
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I got my picture taken with Walt. even though most people look at it and ask “who the heck is that?” It still makes me happy. Yeah, I’m a fanboy.
Blogroll Update - Apropos of Something
Jess over at Apropos of Something is back on my blogroll. Jess was one of the first people to link me and I put him on my blogroll over at Blogrolling but when I moved to the MT blogroll, I…
I actually considered asking for a photo, but the store was fairly crowded, he was busy, and and nobody else seemed particularly inclined to gawk at him, so I just decided to play it cool.
I’m curious; were there replicas of the “Bongsaber” available?
Well, I know that the Jay mannequin was wielding one, but I don’t recall if they had replicas for sell. Then again, the store was packed from floor to ceiling with props and merchandise, so there’s always the possibility that I overlooked it.
Holy crap. How did I not know this place existed? I love all of Kevin Smith’s films, and would sell my brother for a chance to meet Walt Flannigan, much less the other, more recognizable castmembers.
Were there any life-size Buddy Christs on sale?
I think the only life-size Buddy Christ is the original prop from the film. They do, however, sell the dashboard status at their online store.
Anyway, if you’re a fan, it’s definitely worth planning a trip if you happen to be in the area. In the grand scheme of comic book shops, I think it’s the nicest I’ve ever visited. When you add all the great Kevin Smith memorabilia, it makes for a fun afternoon.
you are weid. hi haha.