Kevin Smith Q&A

The writer-director discusses returning to the scene of his greatest triumph with 'Clerks II'.

Sep 20 2006

Having spent 12 years working in and around the View Askew universe he created with cult classic 'Clerks' some 12 years ago, Kevin Smith returns to his roots with the eagerly anticipated sequel 'Clerks II'. Here he tells Chris Tilly what it was like to re-visit old friends, how he feels about critics walking out of his films, and why he is turning to horror next.

Your fans are so passionate about the original 'Clerks' that you must have been slightly worried about destroying the film's reputation with a sequel.

Yeah, but the fear subsided when I was working on the 'Clerks 10th Anniversary' DVD. Though for the fear to subside it would pre-suppose that it would always have been the plan to do a sequel and that was not the case. I thought about it in 1999 just after 'Dogma' but decided not to and did 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back' instead. Then after 'Jersey Girl' I thought it would be a great time to go back to the beginning.

Was it easy slipping back into that mindset?

Very much so, but it's strange because I haven't had a nine to five job since 1994, but my head and my heart has always been there anyway. If you look at the stuff we've done since 'Clerks', the sensiblitly is the same. The difference is now I don't work in retail stores, I run retail stores. This one is set in a fast food joint and I don't think I've ever worked in a fast food joint. Though 'Clerks' isn't a film about working in a convenience store, it's a movie about not working in a convenience store, and that's kind of the same in 'Clerks II'. We barely make any reference to the food.

Is Mooby's a fast food joint that you'd frequent?

Totally. The cow-tipper sounds like an awesome burger and Mooby cow pie seems like an awesome desert.

I guess you knew a bunch of twenty-something wasters when you made the first film…

…Yes, and they're now thirty-something wasters. I still know guys who are rudderless. Unfortunately these are people who hang out with me, and because I've been making movies for the past 12 years, they feel like they should be doing something. Like Jason Mewes – without us making movies for the last few years I guess he'd be a roofer or something today. It was never Mewes going "I want to be an actor". I think if I hadn't made 'Clerks' we'd still be doing the same things we were doing 12 years ago back in Jersey.

That must be a strange thought.

Yeah, but it's comforting. I love my job and I love being able to tell stories and I love my audience. And the money is fucking great. I've seen and done things that I'd never in a million years have imagined. But at the same time, if none of it had happened and I was still working at Quickstop, I wouldn't be complaining as that was a pretty good job too.

You've got some pretty hardcore fans out there – how have they been reacting to the film?

It's been largely positive, which is great because I thought most people would say "Ahh, it ain't fucking 'Clerks' man coz it ain't in black and white.' We have got a few of those people, people who think of 'Clerks' as a different movie to what I intended, but overall people seem to think it was a good idea. That feels great, but it was so unnecessary for me – I just wanted to please myself, I'm quite masturbatory like that. And the weird thing was we even ended up getting really great critical notices from the press. Which I was surprised by as I thought people would come gunning for us.

Joel Siegel from 'Good Morning America' didn't like it much though, and I remember you weren't too happy that he walked out of a screening (click here for that story).

Look, I couldn't care less that the guy walked out of the screening, but if you're going to walk out – which is strange to begin with because your job is to simply watch the film and say if you like it or don't – but if you're going to walk out, do it quietly. Don't call attention to yourself. There were 12 people in the theatre, the dude was sitting in the front and stands up and says 'Well, that's it; I haven't walked out of a movie in 30 fucking years, good night'. Just walk out quietly, collect your shit and go home. If you've got to tell people about it, call your buddies, but don't make the show about you. That's what I objected to. I couldn't care less that he walked out – in fact, with that particular critic, it's kind of a badge of honour.

So what's up next for you?

I'm going to make a complete about turn because now the View Askew universe is closed, for the time being at least, and because I've been doing variations of comedy for 12 years, so I'm going to make a horror movie. I think now's the time to do it and get away with it because the slate's keen and the palette's fresh.

So will this be low-budget horror?

Yeah, it'll be very low budget; a throwback to the late '70s, early '80s slasher films. It's all up in my head right now but once I put the 'Clerks II' DVD to bed I'm going to get working on it.

'Clerks II' hits cinemas on Friday.

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