I actually got the chills when he said "im not from los angeles... I'm a jersey guy.. nobodys going to like anything I make. What can I say that hasn't already been said in cinema" Those are the things that hold LOTS of people back from aspiring to their dreams... and why most people just end up as boring schlubs working in retail and die without ever chasing their dreams.
I think a big reason why Clerks worked so well is because in the 90s studio comedies had become so squeaky clean and sterile That when Clerks came around it was so refreshing to see a dirty comedy
I watched Clerks for the first time ever and this is one of those movies where everything goes in so many different directions and yet it all felt so real, these were just people living their daily life and we just got to witness one entire afternoon of deep and thoughtful buffoonery. I haven’t resonated more with a film in a while than this one. A coming of age classic, up there with the likes of Dazed and Confused and A Bronx Tale, thank you Kevin Smith and thank you Gavin Michael Booth 🤙🏻
He inspired me as a high school student that used to read his blog/site daily for movie news from my small remote town that had nothing... and he was a pioneer at what he did... love him or hate him, he's still a part of internet movie history!
again, great interview. I never get tired of the Clerks story, no matter how many times i hear it. It's not because it's one of my favourite movies either--it isn't, even though i love it--but the whole DIY spirit behind it fascinates me. It's amazing how even got it made and distributed. That Snowball Effect documentary really makes you realise, above all, how important luck is in this business. if that critic hadn't of rocked up to the Clerk's premiere at Angelika, nobody would have seen it
Don... I agree so much. Most of films, although funny, I have only seen one or two times. Clerks was magic for me... inspired me... that's we he was on my list!
Wow, everything he said was powerful. I really loved that reflective moment he has on the end of what it would have been like if he hadn't followed through. It also shows you how important a little bit of credit and small financing in some form can be for the little guy.
Alex Cox's directorial debut was a wickedly funny and willfully bizarre story that became a major cult item once it began making the art-house rounds a year after its release (an initial run in a string of Southern grind houses and drive-ins, where it was billed as an action film, was a resounding failure). Having lost his job and his girlfriend, punk rocker Otto (Emilio Estevez) meets a guy named Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) who offers him $25 to drive his wife's car out of a "bad area."
Me to but the actor Jeff Anderson that plays Randal Graves in Clerks and clerks 2 doesn't want to do it. He didn't want to do the second one either but Smith talked him in to it. Not sure why he doesn't want to do it imo he just being a fucking douchebag.
@KoBeGOATLal24 He did say that he contacted them about his project to meet people who inspired his career choice, Kevin probably responded to an ad or something of his then i imagined they decided to meet somewhere.
I think making part 1 in black and white made it wayyyy better and funnier. Then the part 2 in color was awesome. He's brilliant but clerks1 was something man let me tell ya
@NoSevenProductions then you beg, borrow, steal, save up for, use different equipment... find passionate people to join your production. WHATEVER IT TAKES.
Well he is trying new shit with Cop Out, featuring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan... out in cinemas in like 3 weeks. Take someone with you to go see it!
you missed the point entirely. they weren't terrorists and degenerates - they were rejecting a flawed, formulaic, conformist society. they were trying to avoid being just another proverbial brick in the wall. because they didn't fit into society's plan they were deemed slackers.
Too bad when the money came the quality vanished...."CLERKS 2" sucked........Smith has never made anything yet, in my opinion, that even comes close to "CLERKS" He really has been a big disappointment.....a fine example of how the "Hollywood system" kills authentic creativity...
It's still not a bad movie, it's actually rated well with critics and audiences. Which is more than what can be said about his other films. So you're in the minority on that one.
+Arrested Images Photography and Design I really don't think it has much to do with the system, the problem is really Kevin Smith's lack of growth as a filmmaker over the years. Kev just seems to have relied on the same shit for many years until his schtick dried up and only drew in the hardest of fans, forcing him now to experiment and try something new, which he hasn't been successful at. Beyond his pop culture references, raunchy dialogue, and coming-of-age stories, the guy just doesn't have much under his belt. To me, his only great films are Clerks and Dogma.
Alan Smithee I tend to agree....he has been granted ample opportunity to prove he is not just a one trick pony but unfortunately for him, that is all he seems to be....
Thanks for the support. First film, definitely flawed. Luckily got to go on and make more and try to improve. Still at it so I think I'm good to not do anything else.
What I really love about the Kevin Smith 'verse is Clerks at first glace looks like a completely realistic movie, but the cartoon (is that even canon?), Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike back had fantastic unrealistic things (magic, angels, etc.) It puts Clerks in a surreal light.
It's funny because he's pretty straight up and honest and admits he's not God's gift to filming, he just enjoys it and tries to the best of his abilities. But that's how typical Americans act though, people work hard and succeed and lazy fucks who do nothing complain about the successful.
@memento313 Picky much? moviemaker.... etc etc... it's just become THE term for the person making the movie... film, filmmaker regardless of the changing media and eventual stoppage of shooting actual film won't change that I believe.
o, well i thought steven spielberg and george lucas had kind of the same style because they worked on a few movies together and are real good friends but idk
Friends talked about "friday" not bad IMO"clerks" however was my response everytime. wtg Gavin enjoyed listening to Kevin. It's your story you tell it. Kudos to both of you.
Dammit, Kevin Smith! Do you realize how high I had my volume cranked up to hear the last video I watched with you in it? You almost gave me a ♥ attack at the very beginning.
i thinkthe people who dont go to film school makesome of the best films because we dont have any preconceptions of what we need to do we take cues from the movies that we watch 50 times over and learn the skills from commentaries and special features
