'Changing Lanes' Gets Box-Office Boost

Ben Affleck's Changing Lanes enjoyed a box office bump in Lexington, Ky., on April 16, thanks to the star's friend and Dogma director, Kevin Smith. Speaking to a large crowd at the University of Kentucky the night before, Smith offered to pick up the tab for a matinee the next day. ''Three hundred people showed up,'' says the auteur. ''Me and my big f -- -ing mouth.'' Especially since the theater wouldn't let him put the $1,000 bill on plastic. (He was allowed to FedEx a check to them the following day.) '''Twas like a bad Visa CheckCard commercial,'' says Smith, who recently shot a cameo as a loose-lipped forensics assistant in Affleck's now-lensing superhero flick Daredevil. Can starving students expect similar generosity when Smith speaks at their school? ''Only if there's a new Ben Affleck movie opening that week.'' Now, that's what friends are for. -- Jeff Jensen