If you grew up in the ’90s (or have good taste in films that like to break down cinematic barriers), then Clerks III is the movie you’ve been waiting for. Clerks, the 1994 indie film helmed by Kevin Smith, was produced under the View Askew banner, which not only led to the 2006 sequel and the 2022 follow-up, but also gave birth to an entire era of Smith’s signature filmmaking that brought to life other movies such as Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), three Jay and Silent Bob movies (based on the characters which originated from Clerks), and a laundry list of others that have become sentimental favorites in the hearts of fans.
In the View Askewniverse, returning actors such as Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, and Brian O’Halloran (among others) often make appearances, neatly tying together Smith’s vision of a world where his favorite actors get to co-exist and create new experiences together. Smith’s films are often playful with an undertone of social commentary just right for the times.
Clerks III aligns perfectly with the continuous storylines that either directly (or indirectly) tie these characters together. The original Clerks (shot in black and white) was groundbreaking for its time. Written, produced, and directed by Smith, the film starred O’Halloran (Dante Hicks) and Jeff Anderson (Randal Graves). It was shot for just over 25 thousand dollars in the convenience and video stores where Smith worked at the time, highlighting the mundane life in Leonardo, New Jersey – a life that would often lead aspiring filmmakers (i.e., Quentin Tarantino) to dream of escaping the world they knew and trading it all in for a shot at Hollywood stardom. For the few that made it, like Smith, these filmmakers became icons, trading in their nine-to-fives for international festivals, star-studded premieres, and a chance to change the filmmaking landscape for the better.
For those of us who grew up in the ’90s, Smith’s movies have become staples of our youth. Milestone markers of years gone by perfectly capturing the trends and anti-establishment sentiment of the times. In 2006, the Clerks II reboot picked up 10 years after the original took place and, unlike its predecessor, was shot in color. As cinematographer Learan Kahanov pointed out during the Clerks III premiere, the third installation was not only updated with a modern look but as it also portrays a movie within the movie, the mixture of color and black-and-white shots adds another element to this film, separate from the others.
For the returning characters and those who made notable cameos, Clerks III felt more like a full-circle moment for them as well, rather than just another film. After all, it was Smith’s near-fatal heart attack that inspired the movie inside the movie that became the premise of Clerks III.
Marilyn Ghigliotti (whose role as Veronica still calls to mind some of the most vulgar and hilarious lines from the original) says that role was life-changing for her. “Many times at conventions, guys come up to me and tell me that their girlfriend has to live up to Veronica,” the actress chuckled. But when it came to rejoining her castmates on set to shoot the final installment of the Clerks trilogy, she said what stood out most was that “it was like visiting home again.”
Even for Danny Trejo, who makes a cameo in the film, he explained to Hollywood First Look during the premiere that it was like working with old friends.
“Everyone has a friend like Dante who’s just meandering through their life but finds love where he finds it – in beautiful people and beautiful things – and in the end has this great bromance with his best friend, Randal,” O’Halloran noted, crediting Smith’s writing for creating these characters that have been able to transcend generations.
Jeff Anderson, who plays Randal, said this truly felt like a full-circle moment for him, too. “When I read the script and saw that Kevin put in his real-life health issues in this one, it was very moving,” he tells Hollywood First Look. “Being in the third one, it’s no surprise that Randal makes a film, so we go back and recreate a lot of the scenes from the original Clerks. There were so many times Kevin or Brian or Jay, and I would just sort of look at each other and be like, ‘Do you believe we’re doing this again? And we’re wearing almost the same clothes.’ I can’t get away from the acid-washed jeans; they’re haunting me for life,” Anderson laughed.
Anderson said that there were a lot of running jokes on set, but what stood out most was the last day of filming. “We had gone through a bunch of stuff, shot for a month, a month and a half, but the last day of filming it was Silent Bob and Jay dancing, and they’re doing the exact same dance they did from ’94. It was the last thing we shot. The crew was all there. We were all ready to celebrate, but there was a moment [thinking] this could be it, this could be the last time we see these guys. It was very emotional, and I didn’t expect that.”
On the night of the Clerks III premiere, Kevin Smith didn’t hold back on expressing the emotional impact making these films has had on him either. After all, this group has 30 years of history together. “When I wrote the first Clerks, I didn’t write it for them [the cast], except Jay,” Smith said on the red carpet. “Clerks II and III, I knew exactly who I was working with and what they were capable of. In Clerks II, I got to see how much further the boys could take it, and ever since then… I [knew I wanted to do] one more, where they get to be even more dramatic. It’s one thing to make them say funny things, but to show off their acting prowess, to give them a monologue… to show off their dramatic chops, I felt like I owed them at least that much. I also wanted to see the characters head in that direction. And for me, and the story in general, the heart attack that I had a few years ago just seemed like a great place to start. The first Clerks was ripped from my own life. That was literally what I used to do every day… but generally speaking, it was kind of like a snapshot of my life at the time, so I felt like I should use the same format. Borrow from my life again.”
Now that Clerks III has been released, and we know Mallrats 2 is in the works (which could end up being a streaming version called Twilight of the Mallrats) the question remains, what about a Dogma 2?
“I’ve been thinking about a Dogma 2 since we finished Dogma,” Smith admits to Hollywood First Look. “Back when we finished Dogma, I always figured that Dogma 2 would be about Bethany’s daughter because (spoiler) at the end of the movie, Alan Rickman’s Metatron tells her ‘You are not the Last Scion, this is the Last Scion,’ and indicates that she’s pregnant. So, I figured we’d wait 20 years, and then Alanis Morisette, who played God, could’ve played her kid, but that was a long time ago, so I don’t know.”
More importantly, Smith doesn’t own the rights to the movie. Unfortunately, the film is owned by Harvey Weinstein. “So, my movie about angels is literally owned by the devil himself,” Smith tells Hollywood First Look. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get to do a Dogma sequel, or anything like that until he lets it go. We’ve tried to buy it from him, but he refuses to sell it to me – the guy who made the movie. But, let’s be honest, that’s not even nearly the worst thing that Harvey Weinstein has ever done. Let’s keep it in perspective.”
Clerks III is a sentimental comedy that flawlessly rounds out the trilogy that spawned an entire filmmaking movement for Gen Xers. While it’s pretty clear that this is a wrap for Clerks, it’s obvious to everyone involved that the View Askewniverse projects are far from over. As for what the future holds, only time, and Kevin Smith can tell.
Lionsgate and Fathom Events will be premiering Clerks III exclusively in theaters from September 13-18.
