It all played out last evening as Kevin, via the twitter service, revealed that he was asked to leave a plane in his attempt to get home to Burbank from his weekend of gigs in San Francisco (he’d flown up there without incident on the same airline earlier in the week). In a very public forum, as the event played out on Twitter, Southwest Airline’s own PR department kicked into high gear on the service themselves, trying their best to do as much damage control as possible. But it was just too late.

Some select Kevin tweets from the incident:

Dear @SouthwestAir, I flew out in one seat, but right after issuing me a standby ticket, Oakland Southwest attendant Suzanne (wouldn’t give last name) told me Captain Leysath deemed me a “safety risk”. Again: I’m way fat… But I’m not THERE just yet. But if I am, why wait til my bag is up, and I’m stated WITH ARM RESTS DOWN. In front of a packed plane with a bunch of folks who’d already I.d.ed me as “Silent Bob.”

And, hey? @SouthwestAir? I didn’t even need a seat belt extender to buckle up. Somehow, that shit fit over my “safety concern”-creating gut.

Hey @SouthwestAir! Sometimes, the arm rests are up because THE PEOPLE SITTING THERE ALREADY PUT THEM UP; NOT BECAUSE THEY “CAN’T GO DOWN.”

Hey @SouthwestAir? Fuck making it right for me just ’cause I have a platform. I sat next to a big girl who was chastised for not buying an extra ticket because “all passengers deserve their space.” Fucking flight wasn’t even full! Fuck your size-ist policy. Rude…

A brief editorial from us on the matter: It goes without saying, this is a complete mess. Let’s count the ways Southwest did wrong here. First off, and probably the biggest one, is the fact that they took Kevin’s pass and allowed him to board the flight. Even if Kevin made a flight change, the airline didn’t have to board him if they didn’t want him on the plane. In looking at Kevin’s earlier tweets, his initial anger stemmed from the fact that they took his ticket, got him seated, settled and buckled in, luggage stowed, THEN wanted him to leave the plane? Ridiculous. The proper way to handle that, if they truly felt he was a “safety risk”, was to not take his ticket and get him on a different flight. Still an inconvenience, but a LOT less inconvenient than what happened last night.

Let’s talk about the whole twitter situation as well. Companies around the world have embraced the use of Twitter as a way to track customer satisfaction. That’s good. However, Southwest has really hurt themselves by trying to handle this situation in such a public way. If they MUST say something, a simple tweet would suffice. Their continued reassurances of trying to handle the situation just makes it look worse. Why? Let’s say you or I had the same thing happen and tweeted it. Would the SWA twitter account bat an eyelash towards us in public? Not a chance. Would they contact us in private to try and resolve? Maybe. But that’s the way to do it. It doesn’t matter if your client is Kevin Smith, Joe Schmoe, or Bill Gates — Don’t go out of your way to try and impress us with all this public concern because the customers’s got a platform of 1.6 million to talk to. I’d like to think that if I had a gripe with Southwest, they’d do something to help me out as well. You just get the feeling they’re doing this for him, but for John Q. Public, there wouldn’t be nearly as much attention given. As of presstime, they’ve even issued a blog about the incident which completely ignores the most essential aspects of the story — Kevin flew on their planes, both ways, in a single seat of the aircraft, without incident. They also neglected to mention the most imporant part – They BOARDED him, SEATED him, filled up the plane, THEN asked him to get up and leave? Come on.

So in short, and this goes to all of those companies monitoring a twitter feed – It’s great if you want to use twitter to monitor customer concerns, but take your actions to resolve them private. We’re sure that customers who get stuff straightened out would be just as happy to tweet their positive experiences back as well. Let the customer do it — Don’t try and make an example of how far you to help people, unless you do it for EVERYONE, not just those of us with millions of fans on twitter.

Tonight, Kevin takes to the air with a SPECIAL EDITION of SModcast he’s calling SWodcast. In this episode, he’ll detail the entire experience in his own words. We can’t wait to hear the full details. Kevin’s not out for any sort of restitution, or any sort of legal matters, he just wants everyone to hear what’s going down. For others who have had similar treatment, here’s your justice. As for Southwest, they’ve got a lot of apologizing to do to make up for this one — And they’d better be on top of other tweets regarding customer service issues, and give just as much attention as they’ve attempted to give this situation, or you bet we’ll hear about that, too.

For another summary, hit up the New York Daily News who ran a story about it all.

Check back with News Askew later today, as we continue to cover this developing story.

Let’s take a look at some of the press articles from the event along with some choice snippets. You can click the headlines below for the complete text of any article.

Macworld.com: Kevin Smith’s Expo Q&A is vulgar, obscene, and hilarious

“..While the questions he answered were almost all related to his life experience and his films, one audience member did manage to ask him a question about Apple: “What do you think about the iPad?”, to which Smith jokingly replied “the i-What?” When asked if he thought the iPad would change filmmaking in any way, Smith responded that he’s sure it will be used to kill somebody in a movie at some point, and that Steve Jobs will be displeased with this.

Other highlights include Smith being propositioned by an audience member, Smith giving words of hope—none of which I am allowed to print—to an audience member’s 14 year-old son, and learning that Smith had erotic feelings for the lead female alien character in Avatar.

Tasteless? Yes. Completely unrelated to Apple? Pretty much. Immensely entertaining and sidesplittingly funny? Absolutely.”

Even Forbes picked up on the hilarious iPad comments.

Wired: Kevin Smith Rains F-Bombs on Mac Nerds

“…Filmmaking students in the audience asked Smith what they should do to succeed as film creators after college.

“I’d make one,” he said. “Make one that everybody likes. What do you think happened? Think I was standing over a virgin holding a necronomicon? The trick is to make something everybody digs.”

However, Smith, whose mainstream movie Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, is due in theaters Feb. 26, acknowledged that the independent cinema scene has fallen on hard times. He mourned over Disney’s recent shutdown of art-house production company Miramax Films.

“I was very sad when Miramax shuttered,” he said. “It shows you the state of the business right now. Hate to throw that out to the independent filmmakers, but the market is fucked.”

Wanna see some video from the show? YouTube’s your friend. Kevin tweeted this clippage from Crunchgear which showcases around 10 minutes from the event. We particularly dig the story on Kev’s “Cop Out” directing techniques.

We’ll do ya one better, though. Scooper Brian was there with his hi-def camera and shot some footage as well. It’s all now up on YouTube in 3 chunks which will show you more than the Crunchgear video above.

Later today (Saturday), Kevin has announced that he’ll remain in San Fran for Bear SModcast, back on the schedule after his attendance was on a little shaky ground there for a while.

Kevin’s a good soldier, and continuing to do his part to promote his role in directing the film as much as possible. He’s also revealed that he’s just given Warner Brothers the OK to use his name in ads for the film if they choose to do so. When in Toronto, he conducted this 18-minute sit down with Tribute which they’ve graciously just made available online.

In other press, in case you missed our earlier story with the beautiful stills from the “Cop Out” press kit, /Film has taken it a step further and included a very long-form article on the production along with the photos from the press kit as well. There’s a LOT of detail in this one, so if you’re trying to avoid plot and theme spoilers, you might wanna take a pass on that one, though. Up you. It’s a LOT of detail, but if you’re looking for stuff on some of the minor characters, that’s your place to find it.

Finally, in round three for “Cop Out” today, AskMen.com talks with Kevin about becoming a director for hire, as well as the future. Here’s a peek:

KS : …What I did was different. I would rip open my chest, pull out the fatty chunks of heart and put it on the platter and project it. That to me is making a movie, that’s film, that’s the only way I know how to do it. Some people will see that and identify with that and feel it like religion. Other people will say it’s not standard: “This doesn’t count! This can’t possibly count!” They’re right, man. I was not fundamentally born to direct. But I’ve been doing it for 15 years and I’m sorry, I’ve gotten better at it. If you can stay in that long and work on your craft and sh*t, you get to the point where it’s like: I’m sorry, man, I got a legacy behind me now. I may have been chasing a $100 million gross for my whole career, but there are eight movies in my wake that have impacted the culture, impacted people [who] love those movies.

AM : So you think you had it all wrong?

KS : I did. And weed helped me out of it. Weed and hockey, and that’s why the next flick I’m doing is a hockey flick. It’s based on the Warren Zevon song “Hit Somebody” about a goon — a guy who shouldn’t be playing hockey because he’s not very good at it, but they make him play the one role he doesn’t want to play.

Here’s a full list of Wizard World cons where the Propworx tour is scheduled to appear:

March 26-28, 2010, Toronto Comic Con, Direct Energy Centre
April 16-18, 2010, Anaheim Comic Con, Anaheim Convention Center
June 11-13, 2010, Philadelphia Comic Con, Pennsylvania Convention Center
August 19-22, 2010, Chicago Comic Con, Donald E. Stephens (Rosemont) Convention Center
October 7-10, 2010, Big Apple Comic Con, Pier 94
October 15-17, 2010, New Jersey Comic Con, New Jersey Convention and Expo Center
November 12-14, 2010, Austin Comic Con, Austin Convention Center
Atlanta Comic Con, TBD
Cincinnati Comic Con, TBD
Cleveland Comic Con, TBD
New England Comic Con, TBD

Click above for some looks at these shots, and click on over to Film School Rejects for their look as well.

Most Of Kevin Smith’s Filmography

Yes, they’re crude, obscene, and occasionally disgusting, but most Kevin Smith’s movies are also, at their root, romantic comedies. Think about it: the key conflicts in both Clerks films is Dante’s inability to decide whether he should be with his current girlfriend or be with another. Mallrats is about two guys who have been dumped and, while using the mall as a coping mechanism, try and repair their relationships. Zack and Miri Make A Porno is about two friends who discover that they have long had feelings for one another. Do I really have to explain Chasing Amy? These are all classic romantic comedy storylines, just hidden behind hermaphroditic porn and interspecies erotica. There’s no shame in that.

The project I wanted to ask you about was one that’s popped up on the IMDB called The Science Of Cool, which seems to hark back to the John Hughes films of the 80s? Is it finished?

No, it’s not. And you know what? A lot of those movies aren’t even started. The Science Of Cool is a movie that a friend of mine, Billy, is producing. And he asked me if I wanted to jump on board, and I read it and I thought it was good. It was a different character for me and stuff. And I don’t know how these people even get it up on IMDB like that.

There’s three other movies up there, but none of them are in actual production right now. They’re all in that stage where they’re getting characters, people attached to the script and some people are interested in financing, but nothing solid. That’s where that’s at. They have some people who want to do the movie and are interested, but they’re waiting to get financing.

…

Have you got any involvement in Cop Out?

No. I was supposed to do a small part in there, and it didn’t work out because the day they were shooting, scheduling, didn’t pan out. It was just a small part anyway, which still would have been nice, don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t worth adjusting the commitments I already had for a small part.

There’s a lot more interesting stuff, so we recommend you check out the entire article for a decent little read. Job well done by the folks over at DOG.

This sale’s being done a little different. They’re calling it a “soft” sale, meaning you don’t need a special password or code to get tickets…But the only way the show’s been promoted, so far, has been via twitter, us, other sites, etc. So, let’s just see how many seats we can fill before they’ve even got to take this any further, shall we? An audience full of web fans? Gotta love it.

So what do ya say? Get ‘em while the best seats are still available, and let’s sell this sucker out. It all goes down April 10th, 7:00 PM, at Phoenix’s Orpheum Theater. Be there, Arizona.

“…Last year, as well as playing in the tournament, Smith put on a live show at Brantford’s Sanderson Centre. The $10,000 proceeds were donated to the Brantford Sports Facilities Infrastructure Legacy Fund.

This year, money raised from the show at the Sanderson Centre will be split between the infrastructure fund and the CNIB Walter and Wayne Gretzky Scholarship Foundation for the Blind Youth of Canada.

The money for the CNIB will be donated on behalf of Smith’s late grandmother Ann Schultz, who was blind.”

Ticket and time info not yet released for this one, but once it is, we’ll let you know how to get your seats.

Via @mpauley1 “so what is the proposed budget for Red State?” That’ll depend what we raise. If it’s 40k, done. If it’s 1mil? Done.

Via @YankeesJets2310 “Time to sell the comics again” No, I’ll sell a bunch of Askewniverse props instead. Sell the past to shoot the future.

@murray1134 “very George Lucas of you, reinvest your profits to make your own movies outside the system” Not my movies: your movies. If this works, I’m one-&-done w/RED STATE: building the infrastructure if we can, so others who aren’t established yet can follow.

Want the full gory details from Mr. Smith? Check out his blog update which explains the entire process in the best detail you could hope for. Some snips:

If we did fan-finance and actually make the film, let’s say it sold: what then? There will be profits? Would people get their money back? Where would that money go? Our plan is to put anything we make into a fund that would, in turn, finance other (cost-sensible) flicks fans want to see. And from that? Build a People’s Studio. Simply have any interested/frustrated/desperate party put their script on our website, open for all to read, during a “pilot season” of sorts. Script that gets the most votes, gets the loot. That flick gets made and sold, all the loot goes back into fund for next round. If there’s enough loot from RED STATE sale to do so, idea would be to fund two low budget flicks a year. Ultimate dream: Indie Movement, v.3. Because with the shuttering and impending sale of Miramax comes the sober realization that the specialty business has just died completely. The 90’s are long over and Indie Movement v.2 has come to a sad close. Until that market is vibrant and thriving again, maybe this is a small way to keep the home-fires burning. I know we’re supposed to let all things run its course, but can’t help it: I don’t wanna see the indie film world I knew go away forever. I’m an idealist and a silly-heart, and I’ve got a dream.

But that’s all it is right now: a dream. Sure it sounds Utopian… but Utopia was written by a lawyer – and the law is what we’re looking through now, seeing who’d be responsible for taxes up front, what happens if the fund collapses, what if a total of $12.36 is raised, etc. LOTS to go through before (and IF) this might take shape.

So, there ya have it — This isn’t a money beg idea. It’s a way to start a fund for struggling filmmakers to get their stories told. And as a bonus, we’ll kick it off with a nice big bag ‘o profits from the inevitable coolness that is “Red State”. A win-win for all. Between the street hockey entrant goal and this idea, 2010 could be a landmark, record-setting year.