It’s been 20 years since Kevin Smith released his first film, Clerks. Comedy clerks 3 starts filming on August 2, the same day as his 51st birthday and the 30th anniversary of being inspired to become a director.
It follows Quick Stop convenience store employees Dante and Randal as they pass the tedious workday with humorous discussions on everything from movies to relationships. Released in 1994, clerks were a surprise financial success and is now widely considered a landmark film for both its humble, shoestring production value and incisive depiction of everyday life in early 1990s New Jersey.
The filmmaker eventually checked back in on Dante and Randal’s professional malaise with Clerks II, which picks up 10 years after the original with the duo now working at a Mooby’s fast food restaurant after Randal accidentally burns down the Quick Stop. Like the first film, Clerks II proved successful at the box office and received positive reviews, with critics admiring Smith’s balance of the original’s raunchy humor with Dante and Randal’s new, increasingly complex middle-age crises.
About Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith is an American screenwriter, director, actor, and author. He first came to prominence as a film critic in the late 1990s on AOL’s former online magazine “Siskel & Ebert,” alongside mentor Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News. Smith authored Silent Bob Speaks: The Illustrated Commentary for Clerks (1994), Chasing Amy (1997), and Dogma (1999). He also wrote the scripts for Jay, and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), and Zack And Miri Make A Promo which have both been directed by Kevin Smith himself.
Updates on “Clerks 3”
Kevin Smith starts filming on August 02, his 51st birthday. Released in 1994, the original Clerks follows Quick Stop convenience store employees Dante and Randal as they pass the tedious workday with humorous discussions on everything from movies to relationships.
Clerks was a surprise financial success and are now widely considered a landmark film for both its humble, shoestring production value and incisive depiction of everyday life (especially clerks). “Clerks” turned out to be an instant classic that made stars out of director Kevin Smith and actors Jeff Anderson (“Dante”), Brian O’Halloran (“Randal”), and Marilyn Ghigliotta (Veronica), who all reprised their roles for this sequel.
Clerks 3’s production coinciding with his 51st birthday truly illustrates how much Smith has evolved over the course of his 30-year career. After suffering a near-fatal heart attack in 2018, Smith has been extremely public about his health struggles and dieting habits, proof that he’s come a long way from the edgy, cynical filmmaker he was when he made Clerks. With Clerks III set mostly at the original Quick Stop, it’s sure to be the perfect epilogue to mirror Smith’s own career, as he transformed from a real-life convenience store clerk to one of the signature filmmakers of his generation.
