Kevin Smith honors his directorial debut Clerks 28 years later by sharing behind-the-scenes images from filming. Smith has become well known over the last few decades thanks to his View Askewniverse, a series of movies and other projects that star many of the same actors. The characters of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) also appear in nearly all of the View Askewniverse works. The franchise began in 1994 with Clerks and continued with films like Mallrats and Chasing Amy.
Clerks starred Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, and Marilyn Ghigliotti, among others. The actions takes place in a Quick Stop Groceries in New Jersey, where lead characters Dante Hicks and Randal Graves work. Clerks was well received at the time of its release and was vital in establishing Smith as a filmmaker. A sequel, Clerks 2, came in 2006 and featured many characters returning from the first movie. Smith has also been working on Clerks 3 for several years. Though the director said the movie wasn’t happening in 2018, he’s since returned to it, finishing the script in January 2021.
Now, Smith is reflecting on the film that started it all. Posting to Instagram, he shared a message about Clerks 28 years after the first day of shooting on the movie. Smith also added several behind-the-scenes images from filming Clerks. Check out his post below:
It’s clear from Smith’s message that Clerks still means a lot to him as a filmmaker all these years later. As his directorial debut, it makes sense it holds a special place in his heart. It served as the perfect introduction to Smith as a director and writer, utilizing many elements that audiences now expect from the View Askewniverse films. The images are also exciting to see together, as they offer a look at what shooting Clerks must have been like.
Smith’s post celebrating Clerks‘ anniversary should only increase anticipation for the third film in the franchise. Though little is known about the project at this time, Smith has said it’s set almost entirely at Quick Stop and was inspired by his real-life heart attack. His post hints filming could begin in the near future, though nothing is set in stone as this time. It seems Clerks 3 will be a very personal film for Smith, based on the connection to his health and the amount of time he’s been working on it. Hopefully, it will also allow audiences to reunite with some of their favorite characters from the original.
