Clerks II - Kevin Smith interview
Compiled by Jack Foley
CLERKS II writer, director and star Kevin Smith talks about returning to some of his favourite characters after 10 years and why Jason Lee stepped in to help out when Matt Damon couldn’t appear…
Q. Why did you decide to come back to this?
Kevin Smith: I ran out of ideas. [Laughs] I wanted to tell a story about what it felt like to be in my 30s. So I thought: “Since Clerks is a story about what it’s like to be in my 20s, why not just use Dante and Randal as the way in again?” And there’s a built-in poignancy in showing those guys 10 years later, especially if you open up your head: why not use the dudes who helped you the first time around?
Q. Did anything surprise you while making this?
Kevin Smith: Really it was more in the writing, because I was trying to figure out when, and if, I ever crossed the threshold to adulthood. I work in a business that’s afforded me a very extended adolescence. I make pretend for a living. It’s not a real job. You look at the mailman, that dude has a real job. You look at a doctor, he has a real job. But for me, it’s always been kind of weird. Because I had my first movie picked up when I was 23, I was just never sure. I would ask myself: “Did I have that moment when I became an adult?” Yes, I’m married, and, yes, I have a kid and I have my own house but you never quite feel like an adult. So, writing Clerks II was me trying to figure out if, and when, I became an adult. And I did figure out that I crossed the threshold to adulthood the moment I decided to make Clerks in the first place.
Was it tough to get Jeff and Brian back?
Kevin Smith: There was something of The Empire Strikes Back in the movie, in as much as they’re not always together – they’re separated at certain points of the movie and Randal winds up spending a lot more time with Elias. But those two dudes, their chemistry didn’t go away, and from the moment we started rehearsing it was apparent that it wouldn’t take much work to get back to where we left off. But getting those dudes to say yes was a different matter altogether. I remember when I told them both that I was thinking of doing a Clerks sequel I really expected two different reactions than the ones I got.
Q. You’ve worked with a lot of the same actors over the years. Were there any people that you wanted to cast but couldn’t?
Kevin Smith: Matt Damon and, to a degree, Ben Affleck. Jason Lee wound up kind of pitch-hitting for Matt Damon, who was originally going to play the Lance Dowd internet millionaire character. So I called up Jason and said: “Dude, can you do it?” He was, like: “Totally.” And he was gracious enough to make time in his very busy My Name Is Earl schedule to come out and shoot on a Saturday.
I called up Ben Affleck and said: “We’re doing Clerks II. Do you want to be a part of it?” And he was like: “You know what, I’m trying to stay out of movies right now. I’ve had a bad couple of years and I need some time down.” He was also getting ready to direct his movie, Gone, Baby, Gone. So I said: “I get it, dude. It’s just weird, though. This will be the first movie that I’ve made in 10 years that you’re not a part of.” And he agreed and said: “Maybe I should come out. OK, I’d like to come out and be somebody in the background. Can I be an extra?” So he came out and we shot his little piece, which was just a reaction shot. We did it twice but then he said: “Dude, I feel like I should say something.” So I replied: “Of course you do. Here’s a line of dialogue for you, sir.” [Laughs]
Q. Do you ever feel like your audience is scared of losing you? Do you think they need to have you in a place where they feel comfortable with you?
Kevin Smith: I think so. And I think where they feel comfortable with me is at this very under-the-radar level of success. Which is great, because that’s where I’m comfortable being, and also I don’t think I’m talented enough to break beyond that radar onto the mainstream map. It’s like being a garage band when you have your hardcore fans. People feel like they discovered you, they’re responsible for you and you’re theirs. There’s a sense of ownership. And when there’s a risk of you being embraced by the mainstream, suddenly they feel like they’re losing their grip on you – which is weird, because if they really stepped back and looked at it, there is no more mainstream or underground.
Is this the last Clerks? Would you go back?
Kevin Smith: We’re certainly done for the time being. I’ll never say never again after Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. If in some weird, twisted bizarre universe we do Pirates-type business and Harvey Weinstein is like: “Dude you gotta start Clerks 3 tomorrow,” I’d be hard-pressed. I’d be like: “I’m sorry, Harvey, I’ve got nothin’. I can’t do it.” If I hit my 40s and I feel like I might have something to say I would immediately think of Dante and Randal. But right now it feels like Clerks to Clerks II is a nice way to bookend those View Askewniverse movies.