Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Clerks.
director	Kevin Smith
producer	Scott MosierKevin Smith
writer	Kevin Smith
starring	Brian O'HalloranJeff AndersonMarilyn GhigliottiLisa SpoonhauerJason MewesKevin Smith
cinematography	David Klein
editing	Scott MosierKevin Smith
studio	View Askew Productions
distributor	Miramax Films
released	October 19, 1994
runtime	92 minutes103 minutes
country
language	English
budget	$27,575$230,000 (post)
gross	$3,151,130
followed by	''Mallrats'' }}

''Clerks'' is a 1994 independent comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also appears in the film as Silent Bob. Starring Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves, it presents a day in the lives of two store clerks and their acquaintances. ''Clerks'' was the first of Smith's View Askewniverse films and the only one to date to be shot entirely in black and white. It introduces several characters, notably Jay and Silent Bob, who reappear in his later works, such as, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II.

''Clerks'', which had been shot for US$27,575 in the convenience store where director Kevin Smith worked in real life, grossed over US$3 million in theaters, launching Smith's career.

Plot

On April 15, 1994, Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran), a clerk at a local Quick Stop convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey, is called into work on his day off by his boss to cover a few hours for another employee who is sick. Arriving at the store, he finds that the locks to the security shutters are jammed closed with chewing gum, so he hangs a sheet over them with a message written in shoe polish: "I ASSURE YOU, WE'RE OPEN."

Dante’s day is spent in the purgatory of serving a succession of customers while bemoaning the fact that he's "not even supposed to be here today." Interspersed with the demands of his job, Dante passes time in wide-ranging conversations with his slacker friend, Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson). Randal ostensibly works at the neighboring video store, although he spends almost the entire day at the Quick Stop. They converse about many things to pass time, such as whether the contractors working on the second Death Star when it was destroyed at the end of ''Return of the Jedi'' were innocent victims or not. Dante’s current girlfriend, Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti), also stops in and the two talk about Dante's current disposition—in a rut with no motivation to change. Further contributing to Dante's misery is an announcement in the local newspaper that his unfaithful ex-girlfriend, Caitlin, is engaged to be married.

Learning that he is stuck working the store all day, Dante convinces his friends to play hockey on the store roof. The game is short; 12 minutes in, an irate customer shoots their only ball off the roof and into a gutter. Reopening the store, Dante finds out one of his ex-girlfriends has died and her memorial service is today. Randal talks him into closing the store again and going to the wake. The visit is disastrous, with Randal and Dante running out to escape in their car. The audience does not see what transpires during the memorial service. However, a later conversation between the two reveals that Randal accidentally knocked over the casket by leaning on it.

That night Caitlin (Lisa Spoonhauer) surprises Dante with a visit. After she assures Dante that the engagement announcement was premature and arranged by her mother, the two trade banter and Dante becomes torn between her and Veronica. He finally decides to take Caitlin on a date and slips home to change. He returns to discover that Caitlin had sex with a dead man in the unlit bathroom, having mistaken the man for Dante (the man had earlier entered the bathroom with a pornographic magazine and had suffered a fatal heart attack while masturbating). An ambulance takes Caitlin away in shock, along with the corpse.

Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), a pair of stoners who have spent all day hanging out (and dealing marijuana) outside the Quick Stop, enter the store to shoplift. Dante turns down Jay’s offer to party with them. Knowing Dante's predicament, Silent Bob pauses before following Jay outside and offers the following wisdom: "You know, there's a million fine-looking women in the world, dude. But they don't all bring you lasagna at work. Most of 'em just cheat on you." Dante then realizes that he loves Veronica. When she returns to the Quick Stop, though, Randal complicates things by revealing that Dante was in love with Caitlin and is planning to date his ex again thinking Dante still wanted Caitlin. Veronica angrily breaks up with Dante and reveals to him that Randal told her of his plans to be with Caitlin.

When Randal enters the Quick Stop after closing the RST video, Dante loses his temper and fights with him. After the fight, they lie on the floor worn out. Dante claims that Randal does nothing for him but make his life miserable by getting him fined, offending his customers, and ruining his relationship. Randal explodes saying that Dante is the one who closed the store to play hockey, to go to the wake, and to attempt to get back together with his ex-girlfriend without thinking about his current one. He then says that Dante came to work of his own volition and overcompensates for having a monkey's job. He claims Dante thinks he is more advanced than the customers and Randal storms off with "''If we're so fucking advanced, what are we doing working here?''" leaving Dante speechless on the floor.

They reconcile and Dante says he will try to talk to Veronica and visit Caitlin and possibly get some direction in his life. The film ends with Randal walking out of the store, popping back in briefly to toss Dante's sign at him stating, "You're closed!"

The lost scene

The events of Julie Dwyer's wake were scripted by Smith, but unfilmed due to the probable cost of producing the scene. For the tenth anniversary ''Clerks X'' DVD release, the scene was produced using an animation style similar to that of ''Clerks: The Animated Series.'' The "lost scene" was also presented in comic book form of the ''Clerks'' comic book series, with the title of "The Lost Scene".

Dante and Randal, after hearing of the death of Dante's former high school flame Julie Dwyer, go to her wake. At the wake, Randal picks up some death cards from a table and discusses collecting them like baseball cards. Dante also runs into another former high school classmate, Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), from Chasing Amy. Alyssa tells Dante that she was going to see Julie's appearance on ''Truth or Date'' (see ''Mallrats'') before she learned of her death. Randal walks over to the two and greets Alyssa with "Hey, 'Finger Cuffs'!" (see Chasing Amy) prompting her to angrily storm off.

As Dante and Randal wait in line to see Julie Dwyer's casket, Dante recalls the time he was caught by Julie's parents while he and Julie had oral sex. When the two arrive at the casket, they question the choice of Julie's funeral clothing (a tube top), and Randal decides he's bored and wants to go to the car. Dante throws him the keys, but Randal misses the catch and the keys fall into Julie's pants. Dante reaches into the pants to find the keys while Randal rubs his shoulders, making it seem like Dante is upset. Julie's father pushes Randal out of the way and, after seeing Dante's actions, pounces on him. Randal is then pushed by Mrs. Dwyer and bumps into Julie's casket, which topples over, as does Julie's body. Randal catches the keys as they fly into the air, and he and Dante run out abruptly.

Cast

Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks

Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves

Marilyn Ghigliotti as Veronica Loughran

Lisa Spoonhauer as Caitlin Bree

Jason Mewes as Jay

Kevin Smith as Silent Bob

Scott Mosier as Willam Black / Angry hockey-playing customer / Angry mourner

Walt Flanagan as Woolen cap smoker / Egg man / Offended customer / Cat admirer

Pattijean Csik as The Coroner

Ken Clark as Administer of Fine / Orderly

Scott Schiaffo as The Activist / Chewlies gum representative

Ed Hapstack as Hockey player / Angry funeral woman

Frances Cresci as Little smoking girl

Joey Lauren Adams as Alyssa Jones (''The Lost Scene'')

Production

The film was shot in black-and-white and roughly edited due to a very modest budget of $27,575. To acquire the funds for the film, Kevin Smith sold a large portion of his extensive comic book collection in 1993, maxed out eight to ten credit cards with $2,000 limits, dipped into a portion of funds set aside for his college education and spent insurance money awarded for a car he and Jason Mewes lost in a flood. The film was shot in 21 straight days (with two "pick-up" days). Originally, Smith wrote the role of Randal Graves for himself, but after realizing he could not write, direct, work in the store, and take a starring role at the same time, he cast himself in the smaller role of Silent Bob and began searching for someone to play Randal. According to Smith's commentary on the DVD, this is why Randal has the best lines.

A Quick Stop convenience store (located at 58 N. Leonard Avenue in Leonardo, New Jersey) where Smith worked was the primary setting for the film. He was only allowed to film in the store at night while it was closed (from 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.), hence the running gag of someone jamming gum in the padlocks and the steel shutters remaining closed; otherwise, it would seem odd that it was dark outside during all the daytime scenes. Because Smith was working at Quick Stop during the day and shooting the film at night, he slept no more than an hour a day. By the end of the 21 day shoot, Smith was unable to stay awake while some of the most climactic scenes of the film were shot.

Several members of Smith's family played roles in the film due to budget constraints. When Dante is discussing the "Milk Maids", the shopper shown is Smith's mother and the customer whose job it is to "manually masturbate caged animals for artificial insemination" is played by Smith's sister, Virginia. Several of Smith's childhood friends also play roles in the film. Walt Flanagan plays four roles in this film: The "Woolen Cap Smoker" in the beginning (which he reprises in ''Clerks II''), the famous "Egg Man", the "Offended Customer" (during the "jizz mopper" scene) and the "Cat Admiring Bitter Customer,". Walt never intended to play this many roles (Smith would often, in jest, refer to Flanagan as "the Lon Chaney of the '90s"). As one of Smith's friends who was present often during filming as either extra help or just moral support, it fell to Walt to play these characters when the actors Smith originally got to play them just didn't show up.

Dante's beard changes throughout the film because Smith asked Brian O'Halloran to shave his goatee before filming started. After seeing what O'Halloran looked like without it, Smith told him to grow it back. Thus, the scenes earlier in the shoot show a thinner beard, while later ones show Dante with a thicker goatee, as it had longer to grow back.

In the scene where Randal lists the names of the porno movies he needs to order, he and the ''Happy Scrappy Hero Pup'' lady are not actually in the room at the same time. Jeff Anderson refused to read the list of porno films in front of her, and particularly in front of the child (although the reaction shots of the ''Happy Scrappy Hero Pup'' lady were obtained by a crew member reading the same list to her). In fact, Anderson also felt uncomfortable about knowing his mother would watch the film and hear the list and he, embarrassed, gave the list back to Smith to cut it down — mere seconds before shooting, Smith passed the list back to Anderson with a few more added for good measure. The young girl in this scene is Ashley Pereira, niece of Vincent Pereira (Director of ''A Better Place'' and "resident View Askew historian").

Original ending

The original ending for the film was meant to continue from when Randal throws Dante's "I Assure You, We're Open" sign to him. After Randal leaves, Dante proceeds to count out the register and does not notice another person entering the store. Upon informing the latecomer that the store is no longer open, the customer shoots Dante, killing him in cold blood. Afterward, the killer makes off with all the money from the cash register. The sequence ends with Dante's dead face looking off past the camera; after the credits roll, a customer (played by Smith, with his beard shaved off) comes into the store, sees no one around (Dante is lying dead behind the counter) and steals some cigarettes.

The depressing ending was criticized by Smith's mentors Bob Hawk and John Pierson after its first screening at the Independent Feature Film Market, and it was under Pierson's advice that Smith cut the ending short, deleting Dante's death and ending the movie with Randal's departure. Fans have since analyzed the death of Dante as an homage to the ending of ''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'', which is discussed earlier in the film as Dante's favorite ''Star Wars'' movie because "it ended on such a down note." Deleted scenes from the extended cut of the film also implied that the killer would never be caught, as Randal disconnects the security cameras earlier in the day. Smith said it concluded this way because he "didn't know how to end a film." Both versions are available in ''Clerks. X'', the tenth anniversary special edition; the lost ending itself was among the extras on the 1995 Laserdisc and the 1999 DVD release; in his commentary on the 1999 DVD, Smith states that had he kept the original ending, there would have likely been no further View Askewniverse films. The culprit in question was played by Smith's cousin John Willyung, who would go on to appear in later Smith films (most notably as "Cohee Lunden" in ''Chasing Amy'').

The MPAA originally gave ''Clerks'' an NC-17 rating, based purely on the film's explicit dialogue; - it contains no real violence, and no clearly depicted nudity. This would have serious financial implications for the film, as very few cinemas in the United States screen NC-17 films. Miramax hired civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz to appeal the decision; the MPAA relented and re-rated the film with the more commercially viable "R" rating, without alteration.

Reception

The film became a surprising success after it was taken by Miramax Films and grossed over $3 million in the United States despite never playing on more than 50 theater screens in the United States at the same time. ''Clerks'' won the "Award of the Youth" and the "Mercedes-Benz Award" at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, tied with ''Fresh'' for the "Filmmakers Trophy" at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards (Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay and Jeff Anderson for Best Debut Performance). In 2000, readers of ''Total Film'' magazine voted ''Clerks'' the 16th greatest comedy film of all time and in 2006, British film magazine Empire listed ''Clerks'' as the 4th greatest independent film. The film is also number 33 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly ranked it 13th on "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" and 21st on "The Comedy 25: The Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years". Also in 2008, Empire named it one of their "500 Greatest Movies of All-Time" placing it 361st on the list. The film was also one of the 500 films nominated for a spot on AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs but failed to make the top 100. It was also used in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

The film was well received by critics, with an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is considered a cult classic.

Home media

''Clerks'' was first released on VHS on May 23, 1995. On August 30, 1995 a laserdisc version was issued. This version features the original letterboxed version of the film, audio commentary by Smith and various cast and crew members, seven deleted scenes from the film, a theatrical trailer and a music video for "Can't Even Tell" performed by Soul Asylum.

The first DVD incarnation of the film appeared on June 29, 1999. The special features for the DVD do not vary from the laserdisc features. It was then released as a 3-disc, tenth anniversary edition set in 2004.

The film was released on UMD (playable on PlayStation Portable) on November 15, 2005. Special features include "Clerks: The Lost Scene", "The Flying Car" and original cast auditions. In the fall of 2006, a new edition of the ''Clerks'' DVD appeared in Canada, dubbed the ''Clerks: Snowball Edition''. The new release included a photo of a bikini-clad model on the cover and some of the extra features from the 1999 edition. It appears Smith was not involved in this release, as he indicated on his official message forum in August 2006 that he was not aware of its release.

''Clerks'' was released on Blu-ray on November 17, 2009, as a "15th Anniversary Edition". It has the same special features as ''Clerks. X'', below, along with a new documentary, Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party, as well as an introduction to the documentary by Kevin Smith.

Clerks. X

On September 7, 2004, a tenth anniversary edition of ''Clerks'' was released. The 3-disc set is commonly known as "Clerks. X" as part of the Miramax Films Collector's Series. The features for this version of the DVD include:

A 24-page color booklet featuring thoughts on the film from Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier ten years after making it. The booklet also features various reprints of reviews and images of posters and memorabilia from the film's release. Kevin states in the booklet that ''Clerks II'' would be filmed in 2005.

;Disc 1 - Theatrical Feature

The original theatrical cut of the film in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround.

* The original 1995 laser disc commentary track.

* An "enhanced playback track" featuring trivia subtitles and title card descriptions.

"Clerks: The Lost Scene" animated short. This scene was originally written in the screenplay for the film but was never shot. For the DVD, the scene was animated in the same style as ''Clerks: The Animated Series''. The scene can be presented in two different ways.

* The scene can be viewed separately from the film with an introduction by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier.

* The DVD also presents the owner with the ability to play the theatrical cut of the film with the animated scene as if it were part of the feature.

''The Flying Car'', a short film featuring Dante and Randal. The short was shot in 2001 for ''The Tonight Show'' and features the two main characters from ''Clerks'' stuck in traffic having a somewhat similar conversation as the one in ''Clerks'' where the two are driving to a funeral and discussing sexual curiosity. On the DVD, the short is presented in its original cut with an introduction from Kevin Smith.

A series of short television ads that MTV commissioned from Kevin Smith featuring Jay and Silent Bob. Eight of them appear on the DVD (MTV also aired a special that Smith hosted but it could not be secured for the DVD for clearance reasons). The spots are introduced by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier.

An original film trailer for the film edited by Matthew Cohen with a brief introduction from Kevin Smith.

The original music video for "Can't Even Tell" performed by Soul Asylum directed by Kevin Smith. The music video is introduced by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier.

Three short featurettes about the restoration process used to recreate the feature film for the ''Clerks. X'' DVD. In the first featurette, Scott Mosier describes the sound restoration process. In the second, David Klein explains the visual restoration process. The third featurette is hosted by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier as a general introduction to the restored version of the film.

Original auditions for the film featuring Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, and Ernest O'Donnell. The auditions are introduced by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier.

DVD-ROM features.

;Disc 2 - Clerks: The First Cut

The very first cut of ''Clerks'' before it was edited for theaters. This cut of the film features additional scenes and the original ending intact, less sound production and the original soundtrack which featured music by Love Among Freaks exclusively. This version of the film replicates what Smith showed to film critics and journalists before taking the film to Sundance and selling it to Miramax. It was taken from a Super-VHS tape and unlike the theatrical release underwent no apparent restoration. It is included in the 10th anniversary set in lieu of the collection of deleted scenes that had appeared in the previous DVD issue.

* Audio and video commentary for the first cut of the film. The commentary was recorded in 2004 with Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson and Jason Mewes.

;Disc 3 - Bonus Features

"Snowball Effect", a 90-minute retrospective documentary for ''Clerks'' that focuses on Kevin's early inception of the film, the process of making and distributing and finally, the reaction and response to the film from critics and fans.

''Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary'', a short student film that Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier made during their time at film school. It comes with an introduction by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier.

10th Anniversary Q&A; session with Kevin Smith, David Klein, Scott Mosier, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran.

13 deleted scenes and outtakes from "Snowball Effect"

A still photo gallery of over 50 photographs and production images from ''Clerks'' as well as early photos of crew and cast members.

Two collections of journal entries written by Smith. The first entries were written before finishing ''Clerks'' and the second were written while Kevin took the film to Sundance Film Festival.

Eight articles and reviews about the film.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on October 11, 1994. It was composed of various new and previously released songs by alternative rock, grunge and punk rock artists such as Bad Religion, Love Among Freaks, Alice In Chains, and Soul Asylum. The soundtrack also featured various sound clips from the film. It has been noted that ''Clerks'' is one of the very few films in which the cost of obtaining the rights to the music used was greater than the production costs for the entire film.

The Soul Asylum song "Can't Even Tell", which was played over the film's end credits and featured on the soundtrack, peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1994. The music video for the song was directed by Smith and was filmed in the same locations as the film. The video featured Smith, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran reprising their roles from ''Clerks''.

Another song which appeared on the soundtrack was "Got Me Wrong" by Alice in Chains, which had previously been released on the band's 1992 EP ''Sap''. The song was issued as a single in late 1994, due to renewed radio interest from the song's appearance in ''Clerks''. The song peaked at #7 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and #15 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1994.

Vocabulary title cards

Various title cards are used throughout the film (after the title card for the film's title itself, "Clerks," with the exception of Dante). While some are merely the names of the characters that the ensuing scenes introduce, many of them are long vocabulary words that Smith pulled from a dictionary. Though none of the vocabulary terms are defined in the film, the enhanced trivia track on the "Clerks X DVD" defines them as they appear.

On DVD and LaserDisc, the film is split into 18 scenes. Each scene is titled by a corresponding title card with the first being "Dante/Opening Credits" and the last being "End Credits". # Dante/Opening Credits # Vilification - An act of making cruel and insulting statements about a person # Jay and Silent Bob # Randal # Syntax - The arrangement of something in a methodical manner # Vagary - An erratic or peculiar modification, act or thought # Purgation - An act of getting rid of something disagreeable, flawed or unsatisfactory # Malaise - An all-around feeling of illness or bad health without any exact cause # Harbinger - A person or thing that predicts the future # Perspicacity - The intensity of judgment or observation # Paradigm - A typical example of something # Whimsy - A thought that has no apparent explanation to exist # Quandary - A condition of doubt or uncertainty as to what to do in a certain situation # Lamentation - An act or expression of sadness or distress # Juxtaposition - An act of comparing two things, especially in a way that suggests connection between them or to distinguish them # Catharsis - An event or sensation of spiritual cleansing brought on by a powerful emotional experience # Denouement - The part of the ending in which all questions are answered and everything is cleared up # End Credits

Related projects

Following ''Clerks'', Smith set several more films in the same "world", which he calls the View Askewniverse of overlapping characters and stories. Of all of Smith's films, however, ''Clerks'' is the one with the most direct spin-off products.

''Clerks: The TV Show''

A pilot for a live-action TV series was produced in 1995. It was produced by Disney and Buena Vista Entertainment. The pilot only referenced the character names and starred none of the cast from the original film, contained no foul language, did not feature Silent Bob. The character of Jay was featured, prompting Smith to point out that he owned the character rights to both Jay and Silent Bob (for the purposes of featuring them in separate films). The producers' solution was to change the character's name to Ray. Kevin Smith was unaware of the production of the series until casting was underway. Smith had been in production with ''Mallrats'' at the time and attempted to become involved in the series but became disheartened quickly as an episode he had written for the series was shot down. He would later use the script for an episode of ''Clerks: The Animated Series''.

O'Halloran and Anderson both auditioned for the role of Dante (as Anderson's part of Randal from the film had already been filled by future ''SNL'' performer Jim Breuer). After seeing the result, Smith said that it was terrible, and O'Halloran and Anderson said they were both glad they didn't get the part.

''Clerks: The Animated Series''

''Clerks: The Animated Series'' was a short-lived six-episode animated television series featuring the same characters and cast of the original film. Two episodes aired on the ABC network (a subsidiary of the Disney company, which also owns Miramax Films, the studio which released many of Smith's films, including ''Clerks'') in late May/early June 2000 before being pulled from the lineup. The full six episodes were released on DVD in 2001 before being run on Comedy Central in 2004 and Adult Swim in 2008-10. In a trailer for (not in) Smith's 2001 film ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'', Randal remarks on the series, saying to Dante: "If you were funnier than that, ABC wouldn't have canceled us."

''Clerks: The Comics''

''Clerks'' is a series of comics written by Kevin Smith featuring characters from the film. In the series are ''Clerks: The Comic Book'', ''Clerks: Holiday Special'' and ''Clerks: The Lost Scene''. Smith has discussed plans for ''Clerks 1.5'', a comic that would bridge the gap between the original film and its sequel, to be included in a reprint of the ''Clerks.'' trade paperback. The story ultimately was printed in the 2006 ''Tales from the Clerks'' collection, which also included the other ''Clerks'' comics with additional View Askewniverse material.

''Clerks II''

The live-action, feature film sequel to ''Clerks'' was released on July 21, 2006. The working title was ''The Passion of the Clerks'', though the film was released under the title ''Clerks II''. The credits for ''Dogma'' stated "Jay and Silent Bob will return in ''Clerks 2: Hardly Clerkin''"; however, that project "evolved" into ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back''. The sequel features Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran reprising their roles as Dante and Randal. The two now work at a Mooby's restaurant after Randal's incompetence resulted in the destruction of the Quick Stop and RST Video.

''Clerks III''

During press for ''Clerks II'', Smith briefly discussed the possibility of a ''Clerks III''. Stating that "if there's ever gonna be a ''Clerks III'', it would be somewhere down the road in my 40s or 50s, when it might be interesting to check back in on Dante and Randal. But I don't know about Jay and Bob so much, cause at 45, leaning on a wall in front of a convenience store might be a little sad."

This was confirmed further during one of the three audio commentary tracks on the ''Clerks II'' DVD where Smith expressed interest in making a ''Clerks III'' in his 40s or 50s in which Anderson jokingly says "Oh, don't get me started,", referring to Jeff's well known doubts about making ''Clerks II'' when first approached by Smith.

On December 25, 2009, Smith replied to a tweet with a message board post. In it he says "Might be nice to box "View Askew Productions" 'til the eventual look back in on Dante and Randal with ''Clerks III''."

In an interview with MTV, Smith voiced his desire to make ''Clerks III'' as a live-action sitcom.

See also

List of American films of 1994

Trooper Clerks

References

Muir, John Kenneth (2002). ''An Askew View : The Films of Kevin Smith''. Applause Books. ISBN 1-55783-586-1

Smith, Kevin (1997). ''Clerks and Chasing Amy : Two Screenplays''. Miramax Books. ISBN 0-7868-8263-8

External links

(film) (animated series) (sitcom pilot)

''Clerks.'' website at View Askew Productions

Radio Interview with Kevin Smith from FBi 94.5 Sydney Australia

At a Convenience Store, Coolness to Go - New York Times Movie Review - March 25, 1994

Information on the live-action Clerks TV pilot

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Birth name	Kevin Patrick Smith
Birth date	August 02, 1970
Birth place	Red Bank, New Jersey, United States
Occupation	Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Actor, Comedian, Author, Podcaster
Years active	1994–present
Spouse	Jennifer Schwalbach Smith (1999–present) }}

Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob. His films include ''Clerks'', ''Chasing Amy'', ''Dogma'',''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'', ''Zack and Miri Make a Porno'', ''Cop Out'', and the horror film ''Red State''. His first several films were mostly set in his home state of New Jersey, and while not strictly sequential, they frequently feature crossover plot elements, character references, and a shared canon in what is known by fans as the "View Askewniverse", named after his production company View Askew Productions, which he co-founded with Scott Mosier.

He is also the owner of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash comic book and novelty store in Red Bank, New Jersey. He hosts a weekly podcast with Scott Mosier known as SModcast. Smith is well-known for participating in long, humorous Q&A; sessions that are often filmed for DVD release, beginning with ''An Evening with Kevin Smith''.

Early life

Kevin Smith was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, the son of Grace, a homemaker, and Donald E. Smith (1936–2003), a postal worker. He has an older sister, Virginia, and an older brother, Donald Smith, Jr. He was raised in an Irish Catholic household and attended Henry Hudson Regional High School in Highlands.

After high school, he met Jason Mewes, who would later become a recurring actor in his films. He then attended The New School and the Vancouver Film School, where he met Scott Mosier, his producer for almost every movie he has made. He majored in film, but dropped out of school halfway through his studies, electing to take a partial tuition reimbursement in order to help finance his first film.

Career

As a filmmaker

In an interview with Robert K. Elder for ''The Film That Changed My Life'', Smith attributes the film ''Slacker'' as his main inspiration to becoming a director.

It was the movie that got me off my ass; it was the movie that lit a fire under me, the movie that made me think, “Hey, I could be a filmmaker.” And I had never seen a movie like that before ever in my life.

His first film, ''Clerks'', was shot for the sum total of $27,575 in the exact same convenience store where Smith worked. It went to the Sundance Film Festival in 1994, where it won the Filmmaker's Trophy and was picked up by Miramax before the festival's end. In May 1994, it went to the Cannes International Film Festival where it won both the Prix de la Jeunesse and the International Critics' Week Prize. Released in November 1994 in two cities, the film went on to play in 50 markets, never playing on more than fifty screens at any given time. Despite the limited release, it was a critical and financial success, earning $3.1 million. Initially, the film received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, solely for the graphic language. Miramax hired Alan Dershowitz to defend the film, and at an appeals screening, a jury consisting of members of the National Association of Theater Owners reversed the MPAA's decision, and the film was given an R rating instead.

Smith's second film, ''Mallrats'', did not fare as well as ''Clerks''. It received a critical drubbing and earned merely $2.2 million at the box office, despite playing on more than 500 screens. The film marked Jason Lee's debut as a leading man. While it later found its audience on home video, Smith has said of the movie "It was a six million dollar casting call for ''Chasing Amy'".

Widely hailed as one of Smith's best films, ''Chasing Amy'' marked what Quentin Tarantino called "a quantum leap forward" for Smith. Starring ''Mallrats'' alumni Jason Lee, Joey Lauren Adams and Ben Affleck, the $250,000 film earned $12 million at the box office and wound up on a number of critics' year-end best lists, and won two Independent Spirit Awards (screenplay and supporting actor for Lee).

In 1996, Smith worked on a script for a Superman movie. He did a couple of drafts but his script was dropped when Tim Burton was hired to direct. Burton brought his own people to work on the project. Smith still sees the whole experience on working on the Superman project as a positive one however; he has said that he was well paid and it was a lot of fun. In the end, neither Smith's nor Burton's vision for Superman was filmed. In the 2007 Direct-to-DVD animation release of ''Superman: Doomsday'', Smith has a cameo as an onlooker in a crowd. After Superman defeats The Toyman's giant mechanical robot, Smith scoffs, "Yeah, like we really needed him to defeat that giant spider. Heh. ''Lame!''" This was a reference to a giant spider that producer Jon Peters of the Superman movie wanted Smith to put in the movie when he was attached, that was later put into another movie tied to Peters called ''Wild Wild West''.

In 1997, Smith was hired by New Line to rewrite ''Overnight Delivery'', which was expected to be a blockbuster teen movie. Smith's then-girlfriend Joey Lauren Adams almost took the role of Ivy in the movie, instead of the female lead in ''Chasing Amy''. Eventually she lost out to Reese Witherspoon, and ''Overnight Delivery'' was quietly released directly to video in April 1998. Kevin Smith's involvement with the film was revealed on-line, but he remains uncredited. He has said that the only scene which really used his dialogue was the opening scene, which includes a reference to long-time Smith friend Bryan Johnson.

Smith's fourth film, ''Dogma'', featured an all-star cast and found itself mired in controversy. The religious-themed 1999 comedy, which starred a post-''Good Will Hunting'' Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, as well as Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, George Carlin, Alan Rickman, Linda Fiorentino, and Smith regulars Jason Lee and Jason Mewes, raised the ire of the Catholic League due largely to a reference about the Virgin Mary having post-Jesus intercourse with her husband, Joseph. Smith received over 10,000 pieces of protest/hate mail (some of which were showcased on the film's official website) and three death threats.

The film debuted at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, out of competition. Released on 800 screens in November 1999, the $10 million film earned $30 million.

After the controversy surrounding ''Dogma'', Smith said he wanted to make a movie that could not be attacked for its content. Focusing the spotlight on two characters who'd appeared in supporting roles in his previous four films, ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'' featured an all-star cast, with many familiar faces returning from Smith's first four films. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon appear as themselves filming a mock sequel to ''Good Will Hunting''. The $20 million film earned $30 million at the box office and received mixed reviews from the critics. It was meant to be the film that closed the book on the "Askewniverse" – the New Jersey-based, interconnected quintet of movies written and directed by Smith.

In 2004, Smith wrote a screenplay for a new film version of ''The Green Hornet'', and announced prematurely that he had originally intended to direct as well. The project, however died after the film was placed into turn around following the poor box office of ''Jersey Girl''. Smith's screenplay was turned into a ''Green Hornet'' comic book miniseries.

''Jersey Girl'' with Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, George Carlin and Raquel Castro was meant to mark a new direction in Smith's career. However, the film took a critical beating as it was seen as a post-''Gigli'' vehicle for Affleck and his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, who also appeared in this movie. Budgeted at $35 million, it earned only $25 million.

In the 2006 sequel, ''Clerks II'', Smith revisited the Dante and Randal characters from his first film for what was his final visit to the View Askewniverse. Roundly criticized before its release, the film went on to win favorable reviews as well as two awards (the Audience Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival and the Orbit Dirtiest Mouth Award at the MTV Movie Awards). It marked Smith's third trip to the Cannes International Film Festival, where ''Clerks II'' received an eight minute standing ovation. The $5 million film, starring Jeff Anderson, Brian O'Halloran, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Jennifer Schwalbach and Smith himself – reprising his role as Silent Bob – earned $25 million.

That same year, Smith was featured in ''This Film is Not Yet Rated'', a 2006 documentary about the Motion Picture Association of America process of rating films. Smith's interview was in reference to ''Jersey Girl'' receiving an R rating, and ''Clerks'' originally receiving an NC-17 rating.

''Zack and Miri Make a Porno'' was originally announced in March 2006 as Smith's second non-Askewniverse comedy. The film, which began shooting on January 18, 2008 in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, and wrapped on March 15, 2008, stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as the title characters who decide to make a low-budget pornographic film to solve their money problems. The film, which was released on October 31, 2008, ran into many conflicts getting an "R" rating, with Rogen stating: Smith took the film through the MPAA's appeals process and received the R rating, without having to make any further edits. ''Zack and Miri Make a Porno'' was considered a box office "flop" in part because of "tepid media advertising for a movie with the title PORNO", and, in the aftermath of the film's "flaccid" performance, the business relationship between Smith and producer Harvey Weinstein became "frayed".

It was announced in 2009 that Smith had signed on to direct a buddy-cop comedy starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan called ''A Couple of Dicks'' and written by the Cullen Brothers. Due to controversy surrounding the original title, it was changed to ''A Couple of Cops'', before reverting back its original title, ''A Couple of Dicks'', due to negative reaction, before finally settling on the title ''Cop Out''. The film, which was shot between June and August 2009, involved a pair of veteran cops tracking down a stolen vintage baseball card, and was released on February 26, 2010 to poor reviews; it was the first film that Smith has directed but not written.

In September 2010, Smith started work on ''Red State'', an independently-financed horror film inspired by the Westboro Baptist Church and their Pastor Fred Phelps. In February 2010, he talked about his project with Cinssu, Film producers and moguls Bob and Harvey Weinstein who had thus far been involved in the distribution of most of Smith's films, with the exception of ''Mallrats'' and ''Cop Out'', declined to support ''Red State''. The film stars Michael Parks, John Goodman, Melissa Leo and Stephen Root. Smith had indicated that he would auction off rights to the $4 million film at a controversial event following the debut screening of the film at Sundance but instead, kept the rights to the film himself with plans to self-distribute the picture "under the Smodcast Pictures Banner" on a national tour in select cities before officially releasing the movie on October 19, 2011. Kevin Smith listed Mel Gibson as a role-model he looked up to, and his inspiration, for how he planned to distribute this movie, citing Gibson's ''The Passion of the Christ'' as an example of a successfully self-distributed movie. The film was released in January 2011. The premiere drew protests from a half-dozen members of the church, along with many more who counter-protested Westboro members. Smith embarked on a nationwide tour with the film.

Smith will direct a hockey drama-comedy based on the song "Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)" by Warren Zevon. The song, which is about a hockey player famous for fighting on the rink, was co-written by ''Tuesdays With Morrie'' author Mitch Albom, who is working with Smith on the film. Smith announced that Nicholas Braun had been cast in the lead role of Buddy McCracken. Although Smith had previously mentioned other projects he had planned, he announced at the Sundance premiere of ''Red State'' that ''Hit Somebody'' will be the last movie he ever directs, and that he will continue to tell stories in other media.

Comics and magazines

Smith has been a regular contributor to ''Arena'' magazine. In 2005, Miramax Books released Smith's first book, ''Silent Bob Speaks'', a collection of previously published essays (most from ''Arena'') dissecting pop culture, the movie business, and Smith's personal life. His second book, ''My Boring-Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith'', published by Titan Books, was another collection of previously published essays (this time blogs from Smith's website www.silentbobspeaks.com) and reached #32 on the ''New York Times'' Best Sellers List. Titan released Smith's third book ''Shootin' the Sh*t with Kevin Smith: The Best of the SModcast'' on September 29, 2009.

A life-long comic book fan, Smith's early forays into comic books dealt with previously established View Askew characters, and were published by Oni Press. He wrote a short Jay and Silent Bob story about Walt Flanagan's dog in ''Oni Double Feature'' #1, and followed it with a Bluntman and Chronic story in ''Oni Double Feature'' #12. He followed these with a series of ''Clerks'' comics. The first was simply ''Clerks: The Comic Book'', which told of Randal's attempts to corner the market on ''Star Wars'' toys. The second was ''Clerks: Holiday Special'', where Dante and Randal discover that Santa Claus lives in an apartment between the Quick Stop and RST Video. Third was ''Clerks: The Lost Scene'', showing what happened inside Poston's Funeral Parlor. This story was later animated in the TV series style and included as an extra on the 10th Anniversary ''Clerks'' DVD.

Smith then wrote the mini-series ''Chasing Dogma'', which tells the story of Jay and Silent Bob between the films ''Chasing Amy'' and ''Dogma''. He has also written the trade paperback ''Bluntman and Chronic'', published by Image, which purports to be a collection of the three issues of the series done by Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards (of ''Chasing Amy''). It includes a color reprinting of the story from ''Oni Double Feature'' #12, purported to be an early appearance by ''Chasing Amy'' characters Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards. These stories have all been collected in ''Tales From the Clerks'' (Graphitti Designs, ISBN 0936211784), which also includes a new "Clerks" story tying in to the ''Clerks 2'' material, and the story from ''Oni Double Feature'' #1. They were previously collected by Image Comics in three separate volumes, one each for ''Clerks'', ''Chasing Dogma'' and ''Bluntman and Chronic''. In 1999, Smith won a Harvey Award, for Best New Talent in comic books.

In 1999, Smith wrote "Guardian Devil", an eight-issue story arc of ''Daredevil'' for Marvel Comics, which was illustrated by Joe Quesada. Kevin Smith followed this by producing a 15-issue tenure on ''Green Arrow'' for DC Comics that saw the return of Oliver Queen from the dead and the introduction of Mia Dearden, a teenage girl who would become Speedy after Smith's run had ended.

Smith returned to Marvel for two mini-series: ''Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do'' and ''Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target'', both of which debuted in 2002. The former was six issues long, but after the third issue was published two months after the initially scheduled release date, the final issues were delayed for at least three years, prompting Marvel to release an "in case you missed it" reprinting of the first three issues as one book prior to the remaining issues' release. The delay in part was due to Smith's movie production schedule (in this case, work on ''Jersey Girl'' and ''Clerks II'') causing him to shelve completion of the mini-series until the films were completed. In 2007 he was announced as the writer of an ongoing ''Black Cat'' series and ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' in early to mid-2002. However, because of the delays on ''Evil That Men Do'' and ''The Target'', the plan was switched so that Smith would start a third Spider-Man title, launched in 2004 by Mark Millar instead. While ''Spider-Man/Black Cat'' was ultimately completed in 2005, ''Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target'' remains unfinished, with one issue published.

Smith wrote the limited series ''Batman: Cacophony'', with art by friend Walt Flanagan, which ran from November 2008 to January 2009. As announced at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, the series featured the villains Onomatopoeia (a character created by Smith during his run at Green Arrow), The Joker, Maxie Zeus, and Victor Zsasz. The trade paperback of ''Batman: Cacophony'' became a New York Times Bestseller in their Hardcover Graphic Books section.

In 2010 Smith subsequently wrote a six-issue Batman mini-series called ''The Widening Gyre'' for DC, and a Green Hornet story for Dynamite Entertainment, the latter of which was based on an unused script he wrote for a ''Green Hornet'' film project that never came to fruition.

In 2011, Dynamite Entertainment announced they would publish ''The Bionic Man'' by Smith, based on a 1998 script he wrote that was rejected by Universal as being "more like a comic book than a movie."

Television

In 2000, Smith and Mosier teamed up with television writer David Mandel to develop an animated television show based on ''Clerks.'' called ''Clerks: The Animated Series'' that aired on ABC in May 2000. It aired only two episodes before being canceled as a result of poor ratings. The six produced episodes were released on DVD in 2001.

During the mid-1990s Smith directed and starred in a series of commercials for MTV, alongside Jason Mewes, in which they reprised their roles as Jay & Silent Bob. In 1998 he directed best friend Jason Mewes as "Gary Lamb – Ground Activist" in a series of Nike commercials. That same year, he also shot commercials for Diet Coke. Two years later, he directed "Star Wars" toy commercials for Hasbro. He has also directed and starred in commercials for Panasonic. In 2004 he also shot a public service announcement for the Declare Yourself organization. These advertisements brought Jay and Silent Bob out of their "semi-retirement."

On February 27, 2002 Kevin released a short film for ''The Tonight Show'' called "The Flying Car".

Acting roles and other appearances

As an actor, Smith is known for his role as Silent Bob in ''Clerks'', ''Mallrats'', ''Chasing Amy'', ''Dogma'', ''Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back'', and ''Clerks II''. He made a cameo appearance in the horror film ''Scream 3'', and was featured along with Jason Mewes in several ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' episodes, including a special, "Jay and Silent Bob Do Degrassi" (also as a fictional version of himself).

Smith also appeared in an mtvU show titled ''Sucks Less With Kevin Smith''. The show gives college students ideas for things to do on the weekends. Smith also played the role of Paul, a cynical divorced man, in a Showtime television series pilot, "Manchild", filmed in December 2006. However, it was not picked up by the network.

From 1995 to 1997, Smith played small roles in the View Askew movies ''Drawing Flies'', ''Vulgar'', and ''Big Helium Dog''.

In 2001, he appeared in friend Jeff Anderson's ''Now You Know''. After an August 2001 appearance on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' to promote ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'', Smith returned to the show for monthly segments as a correspondent. The "Roadside Attractions" segments featured Smith traveling to random locations around the country and showcased places like Howe Caverns in upstate New York and the Fish Market in Seattle. While five of these segments were included on the ''Jersey Girl'' DVD, at least twelve were aired on the actual show. Smith regularly appeared on the program to introduce the pre-taped pieces.

In 2003, Smith appeared in a cameo role as coroner Jack Kirby in the film ''Daredevil''. In 2006, he voiced the Moose in the CGI cartoon ''Doogal''.

In early 2005, Smith appeared in three episodes of the Canadian-made teen drama ''Degrassi: The Next Generation''. In the episodes, Smith, portraying a fictionalized version of himself, visited the school to work on the (fictional) film ''Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!'' Smith wrote all his dialogue for the shows he appeared in. All three episodes were collected on a DVD entitled ''Jay and Silent Bob Do Degrassi''. Smith and Mewes also appeared in two more episodes the following season, when they returned to Degrassi for the Toronto premiere of the fictional ''Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!'' movie.

From July 2006 on, Smith has guest reviewed on ''Ebert & Roeper'', in place of Roger Ebert, who was recovering from thyroid cancer treatment. These spots have been notable for the arguments between Smith and Richard Roeper over certain films, with Smith often citing Roeper's poor review of ''Jersey Girl'' to discredit his review of the film at hand. On his most recent appearance, Smith compared Craig Brewer's ''Black Snake Moan'' to the works of William Faulkner.

In addition to appearing on ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'', Kevin Smith is an avid fan of the original ''Degrassi'' series, ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High'' and references to the original are present in some of his early films. He also appeared in the 2009 made for TV movie Degrassi Goes Hollywood.

Smith directed the pilot for The CW Television Network show ''Reaper''. TV.com's summary of the show is "A twenty-something slacker finally scores a job as the devil's bounty hunter." He describes it as "less ''Brimstone'' or ''Dead Like Me'' and more like ''Shaun of the Dead'' than anything else". He went on to say that the reason he took the job was that he has always wanted to direct something he did not write, but never had an interest in doing it on the big screen.

At the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Kevin Smith would write and direct an episode of the ''Heroes'' spin-off, ''Heroes: Origins'', but the project was canceled because of the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. That year, Smith appeared in a number of films. He co-starred as Sam in the film ''Catch and Release'', starring Jennifer Garner. Later that year, he appeared as a hacker called The Warlock in the fourth installment of the Die Hard franchise, ''Live Free or Die Hard''. At year's end, he appeared briefly in friend and fellow writer-director Richard Kelly's ''Southland Tales'', in which he played the legless conspiracy theorist General Simon Theory. That same year, Smith also did voicework for the CGI film ''TMNT'' as a diner chef. He was also seen as Rusty (a friend of lead Jason Mewes) in ''Bottoms Up'' with co-star Paris Hilton.

Smith has also cameoed in the second season premiere of the sitcom ''Joey'', where he played himself, on an episode of ''Law & Order'' in 2000 (episode "Black, White and Blue"), ''Duck Dodgers'' (2003 as Hal Jordan, voice only) and ''Yes, Dear'' (2004, as himself and Silent Bob). Smith appeared in the second episode of season two of ''Veronica Mars'', playing a store clerk. He stated on his Web site that ''Veronica Mars'' is some of the best television work ever produced.

In the third season of the HBO series ''Entourage'', Michael Bay and Kevin Smith are directing and writing ''Aquaman 2''. In ''Entourage'', the characters awkwardly react with obvious disappointment at Smith's involvement. Smith has speculated that, that jab and another from season two may have been motivated by a 1995 book in which he criticized Rob Weiss and his movie ''Amongst Friends''.

Smith has also done small roles on television in shows such as ''Law & Order'', ''Veronica Mars'', ''Joey'', ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'', ''Phineas and Ferb''. In an episode of ''Yes, Dear'', he appeared as Silent Bob, standing while smoking a cigarette as the end credits rolled.

Smith has appeared in four Q&A; documentaries: ''An Evening with Kevin Smith'', ''An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder'' and ''Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith''. The fourth installment, ''Kevin Smith: Too Fat for 40'' was broadcast on epix on October 23, 2010. The first is a collection of filmed appearances at American colleges, while the sequel was shot at two Q&A; shows held in Toronto and London. The third and fourth were filmed in Red Bank, New Jersey at the Count Basie Theater on Smith's 37th and 40th birthdays, respectively. The first two DVD sets were released by Sony Home Video, while the third was put out by the Weinstein Company. Smith appears with Marvel Comics guru Stan Lee in ''Marvel Then & Now: An Evening With Stan Lee and Joe Quesada, hosted by Kevin Smith''. The film is similar in tone to the ''Evening with Kevin Smith'' series. Proceeds from the sale of the film benefit The Hero Initiative, a charitable organization that aids ill or aging comic book creators.

Secret Stash

Smith owns and operates Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey, a comic book store largely dedicated to merchandise related to his films and comics. The current location is its second. The store was moved to a defunct ice cream parlor on Broad St. after Smith sold the Monmouth St. property. The New Jersey location is managed by Smith's long time friend Walt Flanagan, who appears frequently in Smith's films. A second Secret Stash in the Westwood section of Los Angeles was opened in September 2004 and was managed by long-time associate Bryan Johnson, who has appeared in Smith's films as Steve-Dave. Smith had announced that he would close after his lease expired and Johnson wanted to resign, but eventually relocated to Laser Blazer, a DVD store in Los Angeles. In January 2009 the West Coast Store closed, leaving the east coast store as Smith's only operating store.

On the Internet

Smith has a website, The View Askewniverse, which opened in late 1995. He also has an online blog, "My Boring-Ass Life", the contents of which were published in a book by the same name. ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'''s fictional website MoviePoopShoot.com became real in 2002. It became Quick Stop Entertainment and was the home of SModcast until it was sold and Smodcast moved to a dedicated website Smodcast.com, which also carries the other Smodcast network podcasts in early 2010.

On February 5, 2007, Smith and Scott Mosier began SModcast (Smith-Mosier podcast), a regular comedy podcast. There have been several episodes with guest stars filling in for Scott Mosier, including Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Jason Mewes, Walt Flanagan, Malcolm Ingram, Bryan Johnson, Jeff Anderson, his mother, Grace, and Smith's daughter, Harley Quinn Smith.

Controversies

2010 Southwest Airlines incident

On February 13, 2010, Kevin Smith was on board a Southwest Airlines flight in Oakland bound for Burbank when he was removed from the plane, allegedly over concerns he was too obese to fly safely. Per Smith, he was able to put both armrests down in accordance with Southwest Airlines policy, and both passengers on either side did not object to his presence. Smith was then removed from the flight after being told he was a safety concern. After being booked on a later flight and being offered a $100 Southwest Airlines voucher, which he turned down, Smith lashed out at Southwest Airlines on his Twitter account.

Southwest Airlines representatives later released two statements regarding the incident via their blog. In the first statement, Southwest claimed that Mr. Smith "has been known to (...) purchase two Southwest seats" and cited its "Customer of Size" policy which requires that customers who cannot put their armrests down purchase two seats. In his podcast, Smith stated that he regularly purchased two seats, and had done so the previous week, because he preferred not having to sit next to anyone, not due to his size. In releasing this statement, Southwest disclosed Smith's personal travel details without his permission. The first statement also claimed that the flight captain has personally determined that Smith was too large to fly. In its second statement, Southwest contradicted this claim, stating that the captain had not singled out Smith.

Smith later released an entire episode of SModcast devoted to the subject, giving a lengthy description of the incident, in which he claimed that he had been able to lower the armrests completely and comfortably and claimed to have been repeatedly lied to by airline personnel. He also referred to the airline as the "Greyhound of the Air" and vowed to never fly the airline again.

In his podcast, Smith stated that on his return flight a large female passenger was told to ask him if it was all right that she was sitting next to an empty seat he had bought between them, and it was suggested by Southwest staffers that she may need to purchase an additional seat due to her size, even though she had been placed next to an already-purchased empty seat. She was also the subject of an episode of SModcast.

Smith also released 24 video statements on YouTube further describing the incident. A year after the incident, he had lost 65 pounds through controlled diet and regular exercise, including walking up and down a hill near his home in the Hollywood Hills.

''Cop Out'' controversy

A talent rep associated with the production of ''Cop Out'' reported conflicts on set between Smith and Bruce Willis, saying of Smith, "He smokes way too much pot. He sat behind his monitor. He didn't interact with the actors. The actors felt they were on their own." Smith defended his use of marijuana while working, claiming "I dealt with every actor who wanted to be dealt with on that set" and pointed to the amount of projects he worked on while making "Cop Out" to counter claims he was unproductive because of marijuana. Smith admitted in an interview that heavy marijuana-smoking had become an integral part of his work ethic after claiming that he watched actor Seth Rogen on the set of ''Zack and Miri Make a Porno'' use marijuana as a tool to become a more creative and "productive" worker, saying "The moment I start smoking, I start working. ... That way, no one could ever take it away from you."

}}In response to the critical drubbing his 2010 film ''Cop Out'' received, Kevin Smith lashed out at the community of film critics on his Twitter account saying, "Writing a nasty review for ''Cop Out'' is akin to bullying a retarded kid. All you’ve done is make fun of something that wasn't doing you any harm and wanted only to give some cats some fun laughs." Smith also implied on Twitter that he may charge critics for advance screenings of his films, a service which has typically been provided free; this subsequently ignited a strong response from some critics condemning his stance as "dishonest" and "disingenuous".

Public appearances

Smith's longest Q&A; session took place April 2, 2005, at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. The sold-out event was over seven hours long, took place from 8 pm through 3 am (which due to daylight saving time, was actually 4 am). Following the Q&A;, he opened Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash for a meet-and-greet with the numerous remaining audience members, which ended around 6:30 am. Smith then hopped a plane and did another Q&A; at the Raue Center For The Arts in Crystal Lake, Illinois, that night. Planned for two hours, it lasted just over five hours, ending a little after 1 am Central time.

On June 17, 2009 Smith made a sold out appearance at Carnegie Hall.

Personal life

Smith is married to Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, and photographed her for the magazine ''Playboy''. Their daughter, Harley Quinn, was born June 26, 1999, and was named after the character from ''Batman: The Animated Series'', who was created by friend and fellow writer Paul Dini. They live in the Hollywood Hills.

Although Smith was raised Catholic, he has said on "Back to the Well", the ''Clerks II'' documentary, that now he only goes to Mass on the day before he starts production of a movie, and the day before it premieres. He never smoked until his debut film, ''Clerks'', in which he used the cigarettes as a prop, but never actually inhaled. In fact, he has said that prior to filming ''Clerks'', he was a staunch non-smoker.

Kevin Smith is a hockey fan and loyal New Jersey Devils fan. Smith is also a fan of the Edmonton Oilers.

Filmography

Recognition

Bibliography

Books

Books by Smith include:

''Silent Bob Speaks''

''My Boring Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith''

''Shootin' the Sh*t with Kevin Smith''

Comics

''Daredevil: Guardian Devil'' (with Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics, 1998–1999)

''Green Arrow: Quiver'' (with Phil Hester, DC Comics, 2001–2002)

''Green Arrow: Sounds of Violence'' (with Phil Hester, DC Comics, 2002)

''Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do'' (with Terry Dodson, Marvel Comics, 2002, 2005–2006)

''Batman: Cacophony'' (with Walt Flanagan, DC Comics, 2008–2009)

''Batman: The Widening Gyre'' (with Walt Flanagan, DC Comics, 2009–2010)

''Green Hornet'' (with Jonathan Lau, Dynamite Entertainment, 2010)

Trade paperback introductions:

''Hitman: 10,000 Bullets'' (by Garth Ennis, DC Comics, 1996)

''Preacher: Until the End of the World'' (by Garth Ennis, Vertigo Comics, 1995)

References

External links

View Askew Productions

Smith's blog

Category:1970 births Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:American bloggers Category:American comics writers Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American podcasters Category:American screenwriters Category:American television actors Category:Harvey Award winners for Best New Talent Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:Living people Category:People from Monmouth County, New Jersey Category:People from Red Bank, New Jersey Category:The New School alumni Category:View Askewniverse Category:Writers from New Jersey Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Science fiction fans

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