Clerks director Kevin Smith is coming to Tampa's Improv in Centro Ybor on Aug. 12 to put one of his famous free-wheeling talks in which he tells candid stories about working in Hollywood. The $30 tickets are likely to be snapped up fast for this one-night event, billed as a Q&A. A writer, director, podcaster and the ringleader of AMC's Comic Book Men, Smith is a proud nerd immersed in pop culture with strong opinions and able to spin wildly entertaining tales about famous directors, actors, comic book series — or pretty much anything. The guy likes to talk. So much so that his "Evening With" events have been known to go on for hours and have been sold as DVDs. He talks of how difficult of an actor Bruce Willis was to work with, how weird some Hollywood producers can be and being moved to tears when director J.J. Abrams let him visit the set of Star Wars: Episode VII. The show is at 8 p.m. Aug. 12 at the Improv, 1600 E Eighth Ave., Tampa. See improvtampa.com or call (813) 864-4000 for details. — Sharon Kennedy Wynne, Times staff writer