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Kevin Smith set for Clerks sequel
bckrispi writes "Director Kevin Smith has announced an official sequel to his indie cult classic, Clerks. Currently titled "The Passion of the Clerks", the film will pick up with Dante and Randal ten years after the original as our two heroes trudge through the malaise of their thirties. Jason Mewes, now out of rehab, is back on deck to play Jay across Smith's Silent Bob."
You know, Kevin Smith *was* a great movie masterpiece creator until recently. I don't know if it is because of his direct link to Bennifer, or that he has just decided to sell out after 10 years, or that Jay and Silent Bob made the jerk-off teens thrilled with his work, but I am overly disappointed with the news of this movie being made.
It's bad enough that we have 5 or 6 different DVDs for every movie ever made (Digitally Enhanced, Collectors Edition, Gold Edition, Platinum Edition, Boxed Platinum, ad nauseum) but do we really need to make a fucking sequel of every god damn movie that found even partial success either in the theatre or cult/home markets? Baby Geniuses 2 (I didn't even know this movie had a first installment but I was informed that the first one was terrible) comes out and they wonder why a movie shelved for two years (Hero) rakes in unexpected dollars and a lame fucking sequel sucks it up with 3.3 million total?
Let me guess the pirates are to blame for the theft of money AND decent movies. They are the reasons we have to make duplicate copies of everything playing off the same old lines that the first one had and only adding jokes relating to their ages in the next? Baby Geniuses 4, BG's Grandchildren go to Montessori?
I loved Clerks and it was the first movie I seriously remember being sore from laughter after seeing. I think I have watched it more than any other movie I don't own. Do we really need its status as a cult classic scarred by some overpriced, overhyped, overaged wannabe sequel? If he really loves the fanbase he created he would listen to us on this one. It's a bad idea for all those involved, seriously.
To me, this represents Kevin Smith taking the final plunge into sheer hackdom.
Whatever. It's not like Kevin Smith (or most of the other folks that get this criticism) ever pretended to anything other than hackdom. He wanted to make movies that entertained people, & he wants to get paid. I swear, someday someone's going to say that Adam Sandler, or Affleck & Damon "sold out" and I'm going to spontaneously combust in frustration. It can't be "selling out" if their original goal was popular success & money.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
Look, making movies involves risk. The more money you spend, the less risk you are allowed. When the studio puts lots of money on the line, they MAKE you do things a certain way because they want to lessen the risk to their money.
If he does Clerks 2 the low-budget way he wants to, the studios will leave him alone and let him do whatever he wants. He can do any damn thing and its okay. This is a good thing.
As for whether we are supposed to respect him or not, I don't remember him saying "respect me now because of my l337 l0w-budget skillz." He just announced the movie.
And he doesn't really "know" he will make any particular amount of money. If he spends peanuts on this movie he has lessened the risk, not guaranteed huge profits.