this is more for Robb and I
Clerks, the no-budget 1994 paean to slackerdom that launched Kevin Smith from no-name fanboy to Hollywood player, is getting the sequel treatment.
Smith's View Askew Productions has confirmed that the writer-director is cranking out a script for The Passion of the Clerks, picking up a decade later and again focusing on the non-adventures of trash-talking Quick Stop convenience store employees Dante and Randal, now forced to deal with life as thirtysomethings.
In a press release, Smith says he was inspired to put pen to paper after assembling a new anniversary DVD set titled Clerks X.
"After working on the Clerks 10th anniversary DVD for the better part of the last year, I fell in love with the characters all over again," Smith says. "The whole process reminded me why I got into the film biz in the first place: to make talky, low-budget comedies. So I wrote this script about the older and not-so wiser Dante and Randal, as they try to deal with a decade of further disillusionment, even less sex, and eroding pop culture."
Original stars Brian O'Halloran (Dante) and Jeff Anderson (Randal) are set to reprise their roles for the sequel. Also putting in appearances will be Jason Mewes, who plays the loitering motor-mouth stoner Jay, and Smith, as sidekick Silent Bob.
The Passion of the Clerks is scheduled to start filming in January and be released by Miramax Films.
As film-geek lore has it, Smith made the original Clerks for the paltry sum of $27,000 ($230,000 counting post-production), shooting it in the middle of the night at the New Jersey convenience store where he used to work.
The film was a surprise smash at Sundance, where it was snapped up by Miramax. Despite being slapped with an NC-17 rating for its graphic language (the film had no sex or violence), it became an instant cult hit, generating more than $3 million in domestic box office. Its success established Smith as a smart-alecky purveyor of pop culture references and a hero of sorts to wannabe filmmakers.
But the big question is whether Clerks fans view the The Passion as a noochie-no-no. Smith--who went on to make Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma and, what was supposed to be the swan song for the whole "New Jersey Chronicles," Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back--certainly hopes not.
"While we can't pull off the $27,575 budget of the first, we're gonna make it damned cheap," he says. "When all's said and done, God willing, this won't be a Two Jakes, Texasville, or Jaws: The Revenge kinda follow up."
Smith says he was hesitant at first to resurrect the franchise, but after running the screenplay by Anderson and O'Halloran and getting positive feedback, he forged ahead.
"I'm sure there will be naysayers who say, 'Oh my God, it's an opportunistic grab at a buck,' but it's not. We're doing it for nothing," Smith told the Associated Press last week. "We're going to do it insanely inexpensively. The budget will be somewhere between 250 grand and $5 million."
Of course, Smith might have reason to return to his roots after his last big-screen effort, Jersey Girl, barely made back its money after being overshadowed by the breakup of stars Ben Affleck (news) and Jennifer Lopez (news).
This isn't the first time Smith has revisited Clerks. Four years ago, he oversaw a cartoon version of the show, featuring the voices of the original stars, for ABC. But the network canceled the 'toon after just two episodes. The entire series was eventually, and successfully, released on DVD to appease Smith's rabid fans.
Aside from penning new jokes for the Clerks sequel, Smith has been tapped to write a feature film adaptation of The Green Hornet and a new Fletch movie called Fletch Won, due out sometime in 2005.
The three-disc Clerks X DVD set is scheduled for release Sept. 7, while The Passion of the Clerks will likely hit theaters sometime in fall 2005.
Smith's View Askew Productions has confirmed that the writer-director is cranking out a script for The Passion of the Clerks, picking up a decade later and again focusing on the non-adventures of trash-talking Quick Stop convenience store employees Dante and Randal, now forced to deal with life as thirtysomethings.
In a press release, Smith says he was inspired to put pen to paper after assembling a new anniversary DVD set titled Clerks X.
"After working on the Clerks 10th anniversary DVD for the better part of the last year, I fell in love with the characters all over again," Smith says. "The whole process reminded me why I got into the film biz in the first place: to make talky, low-budget comedies. So I wrote this script about the older and not-so wiser Dante and Randal, as they try to deal with a decade of further disillusionment, even less sex, and eroding pop culture."
Original stars Brian O'Halloran (Dante) and Jeff Anderson (Randal) are set to reprise their roles for the sequel. Also putting in appearances will be Jason Mewes, who plays the loitering motor-mouth stoner Jay, and Smith, as sidekick Silent Bob.
The Passion of the Clerks is scheduled to start filming in January and be released by Miramax Films.
As film-geek lore has it, Smith made the original Clerks for the paltry sum of $27,000 ($230,000 counting post-production), shooting it in the middle of the night at the New Jersey convenience store where he used to work.
The film was a surprise smash at Sundance, where it was snapped up by Miramax. Despite being slapped with an NC-17 rating for its graphic language (the film had no sex or violence), it became an instant cult hit, generating more than $3 million in domestic box office. Its success established Smith as a smart-alecky purveyor of pop culture references and a hero of sorts to wannabe filmmakers.
But the big question is whether Clerks fans view the The Passion as a noochie-no-no. Smith--who went on to make Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma and, what was supposed to be the swan song for the whole "New Jersey Chronicles," Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back--certainly hopes not.
"While we can't pull off the $27,575 budget of the first, we're gonna make it damned cheap," he says. "When all's said and done, God willing, this won't be a Two Jakes, Texasville, or Jaws: The Revenge kinda follow up."
Smith says he was hesitant at first to resurrect the franchise, but after running the screenplay by Anderson and O'Halloran and getting positive feedback, he forged ahead.
"I'm sure there will be naysayers who say, 'Oh my God, it's an opportunistic grab at a buck,' but it's not. We're doing it for nothing," Smith told the Associated Press last week. "We're going to do it insanely inexpensively. The budget will be somewhere between 250 grand and $5 million."
Of course, Smith might have reason to return to his roots after his last big-screen effort, Jersey Girl, barely made back its money after being overshadowed by the breakup of stars Ben Affleck (news) and Jennifer Lopez (news).
This isn't the first time Smith has revisited Clerks. Four years ago, he oversaw a cartoon version of the show, featuring the voices of the original stars, for ABC. But the network canceled the 'toon after just two episodes. The entire series was eventually, and successfully, released on DVD to appease Smith's rabid fans.
Aside from penning new jokes for the Clerks sequel, Smith has been tapped to write a feature film adaptation of The Green Hornet and a new Fletch movie called Fletch Won, due out sometime in 2005.
The three-disc Clerks X DVD set is scheduled for release Sept. 7, while The Passion of the Clerks will likely hit theaters sometime in fall 2005.