I’ve found over the years that before undertaking any significant writing project, it is important to do the proper research.  In 9th grade, before I wrote a first person account of The Odyssey told through the eyes of the Cyclopse, I read a ton of X-Men comics.  That paper was so good, my teacher told me there was no way I could’ve written it, accused me of plagiarism and made me write something new.

In 11th and 12th grade, whenever writing an analysis/critique about a book, I thoroughly examined SparkNotes and CliffNotes.  It was important to see what actual people in the literary field thought of the book, to help me form my own opinion.  In college, the same rules applied.  Of course, I expanded the base of my research to valuable sources like Wikipedia and anything that came up in Google results.

It seems Kevin Smith agrees with this proposition.  He has been researching for his newest film for about 30 years.  The quote below is taken from a Newsweek interview about his upcoming film, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”

Newsweek: Did you do any research for your movie?

Smith: I’ve been researching “Zack and Miri” since I was 11. Sometimes three times a day, depending on who was in the house.

Thanks /Film for the find.