Kevin Smith has released a never-before-seen behind-the-scenes video from his debut film, Clerks. The 1994 comedy follows convenience store clerk Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and video store clerk Randall (Jeff Anderson) as they deal with the minutiae of everyday convenience store life, as well as dealing with drug dealers. drugs like Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith). Clerks was a critical and public success, launching Smith’s career as a filmmakerand creating a body of work that has spanned three decades.
The video, posted on SmithThe YouTube channel begins with a montage of the director marking a series of clapperboard shots, followed by a series of cut scenes, bloopers, and unused takes. The footage also includes scenes from the original ending, in which the convenience store is robbed and Dante is shot and killed. After the behind-the-scenes footage, Smith addresses the camera, sharing how filming the video came about, explaining that 56 minutes of footage were found from the original Clerks job printing. Check it out below:
What the BTS video means for Kevin Smith fans
You must continue to please them
Produced for $27,575, Clerks grossed US$4 million at the box office and immediately earned Smith a devoted fan base. Over the next thirty years, the filmmaker would provide his audience with an infinity of Clerksrelated material through its View Askewniverse (named after its production company, View Askew), which is set in the same cinematic universe, including Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II, super cool Jay and Silent Bob cartoon movie!, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and Clerks III.
Smith would also produce the short-lived ABC program, Clerks: The Animated Series, and a series of Clerksfocused short films and comics, all set in the View Askewniverse. Fans of Smith and the universe he created consumed the content he created, so This new video should definitely satisfy you. In the pre-digital, and even pre-DVD world, behind-the-scenes footage, especially in an ultra-low-budget film, was unheard of, making this new video especially meaningful for Smith fans.
Our opinion on the BTS video
This adds to Kevin Smith’s legacy
Although Smith has strayed from the View Askewniverse many times throughout his career in films such as Red State, Prey, and The 4:30 moviehe regularly returns to the world he created. However, between his many podcasts, live performances and social media presence, Smith has gone from being known as a filmmaker to a celebrity, joining the likes of Stan Lee, Mark Hamill and Bruce Campbell. That Clerks video is not just a nice addition to Smith’s body of work but it also increases your overall reputation.
Source: Kevin Smith