Writer/Director Kevin Smith is the reason I'm writing anything about movies, let alone anything for this website. His films were the first movies I saw that made me say, "There's more to this than a stoner comedy," or "He's saying something really profound here and packaging it in profane jokes. It's perfect!" His are the films that made me want to study film more and eventually write about it.

My history makes the news that /Film reported today (through ERC Box Office) even more exciting. Smith will apparently be directing A Couple of Dicks with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan in the starring roles. The film, which was part of the famous 2008 Black List of the best unmade screenplays, is about two LA cops tracking down a famous, vintage baseball card.

A Couple of Dicks marks a couple of changes in Smith's career. First, this will be his first film without the support of the Weinstein brothers, whether it be for Miramax or The Weinstein Company. The Weinsteins were the two who pulled Clerks out of Sundance obscurity and made it a cult classic and Smith a major name. Since, then, they've had a hand in every one of Smith's projects and have been as loyal to him as he has been to them. But, with the failure of Zack and Miri Make a Porno, I think Smith was looking to break some of those ties. On his podcast, SModcast, he told the story of the failure of Zack and Miri and named the lack of publicity of the movie as one of the deciding factors.

This project also marks the first time Smith will be directing something for the big screen that he didn't write himself, which was something he used to say he would never do. He directed the pilot for the CW comedy Reaper, which wasn't his script either. As an avid fan, I'm really intrigued in what he will do with a fresh voice and some new, foreign material.

A Couple of Dicks is already slated for a January 29, 2010 release.