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Kevin Smith set for Clerks sequel

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the back-to-dick-and-fart-jokes dept.

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."

65 of 406 comments (clear)

  1. Oh, come on! by ALeavitt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    To me, this represents Kevin Smith taking the final plunge into sheer hackdom. None of his movies lived up to the expectations that naturally came about as a result of the edginess of the original Clerks, so Kevin Smith is kowtowing to his fans' demands rather than making good movies. Jersey Girl both sucked and bombed. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was just a series of in-jokes for the rabid Kevin Smith fans. And wasn't that supposed to be the last movie set in the "View Askewniverse" that contained movies like Clerks and Mallrats? To me, this just makes Smith sound a lot like George Lucas. "I'll never make another sequel in this series. Wait, what? Money? Oh, yeah, I'll do it for money. What do you guys want to see? More Jay, more Randall, and the origins of Boba Fett? Ok, here's exactly what you want! Now pay me!"

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    1. Re:Oh, come on! by falcon5768 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually if you knew ANYTHING.... the movie is more something for Jay.... Smith promiced him one last Jay and Silent Bob movie if he cleaned up his act and straightened up... a year later, hes delivering. Hes not really doing it for the money (the guy is loaded you know, not just cause of his moives, but from his stores and from his comic books) hes doing it more for himself, Jay, and the other original players who are all on board to do it.... Hes ALSO been dropping hints about it for over a year now, ever since the 10th aniversary edition of Clerks was planned.... so hes not just jumping into this.

      --

      "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

    2. Re:Oh, come on! by Jhon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hey! I liked Jersey Girl! Sure it was sappy, but hey -- I'm about the same age as Smith. I was able to relate to what he thought was important/funny way-back when, and I was able to relate to what he thought was important/funny some 10 years later with Jesery Girl.

      The idea of a Clerks sequal is both cool and scary at the same time.

    3. Re:Oh, come on! by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.
    4. Re:Oh, come on! by asoap · · Score: 3, Insightful
      How was Clerks edgey? Watch it again, it is pure toilet humor.

      "Are you wanting to make fuck... BERZERKER!!!!"

      Common.. Kevin Smith's work is toilet humor and mixed in with social commentary. Jersey Girl was different. It was meant to be a cute movie. It's a bloody romantic comedy/drama. Don't be bitter because you watched the movie expecting mall rats, and got a "cute" movie.

      I get annoyed when people bitch about how people like George Lucas keeps on peddeling old shit over and over again, but when he does something different, IE. Jersey Girl. People then still bitch.

      Personally my favourite movie of Kevin Smith's is Dogma. I love it how he plays with Catholicisim. What's cool about Dogma was that Kevin Smith was presenting the Human side of the bible. The main idea behind it was that Jesus at one point in time turned to one of his disciples and said "Hey Buddy, pull my finger!"

      As a Catholic who has parents that are kinda nutty about religion, I really liked the movie. So maybe he made that movie for me and not you. I always appreciated the Golgotha monster.

      When you boil down Clerks, Mall Rats, Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob strike back. They are all based on dick and fart jokes, plain and simple. So it really erks me when people put Clerks on this pedistal. The movies all use the same formula.

      If you consider this the final plunge into "hackdom". Then I would say that clerks was his final plunge into hackdom, and he's only been swimming around in it for 10 years.

      -Derek

      --
      Treat me like a marketing stat, and I'll treat your movie like a series of ones and zeros
    5. Re:Oh, come on! by The+Ultimate+Fartkno · · Score: 4, Informative

      And in the interviews and press he did leading up to Jay and Silent Bob he stressed that fact *repeatedly*. I remember him saying on several occasions that he expected the film to completely tank because he "made it for (himself) and the twelve people who obsess over all the minutiae in (his) other movies."

    6. Re:Oh, come on! by nine-times · · Score: 4, Insightful
      None of his movies lived up to the expectations that naturally came about as a result of the edginess of the original Clerks

      That's because the hype around Clerks was insane. The reason why Clerks worked was because we were sitting around a low-point in movie-making. Everything was big-budget and no one bothered to write a script. Clerks, on the other hand, was nothing but a script. The movie had no budget and the acting stank. Part of the charm was specifically that the poor production values lead to a feeling of sincerity and fun.

      So you take the guy who made that movie, throw him in a spotlight, and give him a huge budget, and, what?... you think the goodness of his movies is supposed to be proportionate to his budget?

      Clerks was never a filmmaking masterpiece. It's more of a fun footnote in filmmaking history than a chapter unto itself. So he goes from making a charming funny little movie that's kinda crappy but pretty funny to making bigger-budget movies that are still only pretty funny, and you complain like he's a sellout because he didn't stick to what he was good at. He tries to go back to his roots, to do something that he might actually be good at, and you complain that he's a sellout again, because he's just trying to recreate his earlier success.

      Get over it. He's just a regular guy trying to make movies, and if you had the opportunity, you'd do it too. Clerks was not Star Wars, so even if he destroys the legacy of Clerks, he hasn't done the cultural damage Lucas has. I doubt he even thinks he's making masterpieces, so I'm not sure what the bellyaching is about.

    7. Re:Oh, come on! by dubiousmike · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I wouldn't say that Jay has had his act cleaned up for a year now. There were many of us who saw him in Jerky's in Providence, RI as little as 9 months ago going out to the parking lot to do heroin and then coming back in all fucked up.

      That said, he wasn't as much of a jerk as I expected. He had plenty of hot bitches milling around, but looking at him, it was all about "star power" and nothing about presenting himself in a way that someone who didn't know him would give the junkie a second look.

    8. Re:Oh, come on! by TheXRayStyle · · Score: 3, Informative
      I haven't seen the movie in a long, long time, but I seem to remember Dante dying at the end. How the heck are they going to make a sequel to that?
      Dante did die in the original ending, but the actual release of the movie did not include that part. The focus groups for the movie didn't like that ending, so the movie really ends with Dante closing the shop and Randall throwing his handmade "I assure you, we're open!" sign inside saying "you're closed now"--(I think...that was from memory)--with them both still very alive.
  2. Thirty-Seven?! by romper · · Score: 5, Funny
    "Try not to suck any dick on the way out of the parking lot!"
    --Dante

    More quotes.

    --
    Right is wrong when left is right.
    1. Re:Thirty-Seven?! by MalaclypseTheYounger · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hey, you.. get back here...

      --
      Check out the best P2P sharing website: MEDIACHEST.COM
    2. Re:Thirty-Seven?! by cb8100 · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Did he just say 'making fuck'?"

      --
      My lack of God, it's Trotsky!
    3. Re:Thirty-Seven?! by afish40 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn for Sega.

      Oh wait, wrong movie.

      --
      Thanks a million. Push Start to replay.
  3. Barely Clerkin? by andyrut · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Currently titled "The Passion of the Clerks"

    At the end of one of Kevin Smith's movies, it stated that the title of the Clerks sequel would be Clerks 2: Barely Clerkin'. Guess they decided not to stick with that.

    I really enjoyed the format and bad acting in the original Clerks ("You ever notice that all the prices end in nine? Damn, that's eerie."). I hope the sequel returns to Smith's roots a bit, instead of being some highly-produced lets-see-how-many-stars-we-can-put-in-this-flick movie like his recent ones.

    1. Re:Barely Clerkin? by gbsmith · · Score: 3, Funny

      Clerks 2: Electric Boogaloo

      --
      There is no off postion on the genius switch. - David Letterman
    2. Re:Barely Clerkin? by el-spectre · · Score: 4, Interesting

      True, altho I have heard him say that he toled Mewes that if he got clean, he'd write another movie as a thank you. Mewes has been clean for a coupla years now, so it's time to pay up.

      --
      "Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
  4. Awesome! by Limburgher · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just don't accidentally suck any dick on the way to the theater! :)

    --

    You are not the customer.

    1. Re:Awesome! by applemasker · · Score: 3, Insightful
      If you haven't integrated Clerks into your personal lexicon, you have no business moderating here. Parent is not offtopic if you've seen the movie.

      In a row?

      --
      Bush Lies On the Record.
  5. Never say Never... by slusich · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Kevin Smith had said that he'd never revisit the world of Jay and Silent Bob after he finished shooting "Strike Back". I'm really glad he reconsidered. This'll be a movie worth seeing. Hopefully Mewes can stay out of rehab/jail long enough to shoot it.

    --

    DeviantArt Page

    NSFW
  6. Man... by kjones692 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Watching this movie is gonna be like having sex with a dead guy. (kidding, Clerks is awesome)

    --

    Love the Third Amendment?
  7. job security by sexygirl.jpg.vbs · · Score: 4, Funny

    ten years later and still a clerk....must be nice to have that kind of job security

    1. Re:job security by lothar97 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Since most of these jobs cannot be outsourced, they've been "insourced," bringing the Indians to the US to work as clerks.

      --

  8. Budget by mfh · · Score: 5, Informative

    > None of his movies lived up to the expectations that naturally came about as a result of the edginess of the original Clerks

    I think the budget is the reason. Clerks made it so the talent had to shine through because they had no money. Fans of Kevin Smith will rejoice at this news. If you aren't a Kevin Smith fan, you could quickly become one if you happen to see An Evening With Kevin Smith, where Kevin does hours of Q&A at universities, covering a multitude of topics including his dealings with the religious nut Prince (~Symbol~). Another topic is the strange dealings Kevin had with the creator of one of the Batman movies who kept talking about a huge mechanical spider (who went on to make WWW).

    It would be likely much funnier to see "The Passion of the Clerks" stay within the same budget as the first one ($27 k), rather than use up a large studio budget. It's not going to happen, but it would be pretty awesome if they kept the budget low enough to let the talent and quirkiness shine through.

    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
    1. Re:Budget by sunking2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Eh? So let me get this straight. We're supposed to respect him more because he's going to make more money off of a probably mediocre movie because he's spending less to make it?

      He probably knows he'll take in around X amount of money whether he spends $250k or $50 million. But somehow we're supposed to like him more because he's going to low ball the production and increase his profits. At least high production movies typically put more people to work creating them. If he really cared he'd take all the production money he's saving and offer half price rebates to see his movie in the cinemas.

    2. Re:Budget by Rei · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It is strange, but the less budget his films have, the better they seem to do. My favorite film of his major films (Clerks, Mall Rats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) was his second lowest budget one - Chasing Amy. I love that movie. It's budget was only 250k$. And while budget-wise it's no Clerks (28,000$), it is anything but a Lord of the Rings trilogy (190m$), Star Wars Ep 1 (115m$), Titanic (200m$), etc.

      --
      I just invaded Grammar Czechoslovakia and duped Grammar Neville Chamberlain; now it's on to Grammar Poland.
    3. Re:Budget by weslocke · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually just as a nitpick, it wasn't Batman. It was when he was talking about his involvement with the then-soon-to-be-file-13'ed 'Superman' effort. The producer of the movie was all excited about doing the picture, but could we have Superman in shorts fighting a huge spider?

      Kevin talked about how he was like, "uh, yeah... sure... it's your movie, man" and the guy was just all freaky over getting this huge spider into the flick.

      Then they brought Tim Burton in to direct it, who turned around and shredded Smith's screenplay. Burton got his own stable of writers in to re-write it until (apparently) it sucked so bad that the entire project got shelved.

      Smith said that what really freaked him out was a couple of years later he went to see another movie that was produced by the same guy. It was The Wild, Wild West (I don't think he ever said who it was, but it sounded like it might've been Barry Sonnenfeld)... and what did he see in there? "A huge f!@#ing mechanical spider!"

      An Evening With Kevin Smith... don't just watch it... go out and buy it. Unseen. Just buy it. You'll be glad you did.

      --

      'Life is like a spoonful of Drain-O, it feels good on the way down but leaves you feeling hollow inside'
    4. Re:Budget by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 3, Funny

      Hmmm... he could alternatively put $50M in the production of trailers. Then people could think they're getting a big-budget film.

    5. Re:Budget by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

    6. Re:Budget by lowe0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Perhaps he just wants the challenge/experience of making another low-budget movie?

      Look at the Indiana Jones 4 project (or what's left of it at the moment). Spielberg has already stated that they'll be minimizing CGI and using old-fashioned stuntwork to make the next Jones film. Why? They specifically want to have to work around stunt apparatus - something about how it makes them more creative.

      It's already proven that Smith gets more creative when he's got less money to spend. And, as someone else already pointed out, when you're spending less money, you're guaranteed to make it back on Kevin Smith's name alone. If he keeps it on the cheap, Miramax is going to let him do whatever he wants. And that's exactly what I want to see.

  9. What ever happened to "Jersey Girl"? by Stevyn · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I've always been a huge fan of Kevin Smith's movies. I read that "Jersey Girl" was going to be his first "real" movie that he hoped would be spectacular and wow the critics. It wasn't, however, so I guess this means he's going back to what he knows best and everybody loves...dick and fart jokes.

    Clerks is a great movie for anyone who hasn't already seen it. If you've ever worked in a convenience or video store, you'll laugh your ass off.

    1. Re:What ever happened to "Jersey Girl"? by Lord+Omlette · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wait wait, I thought it wasn't for critics.

      --
      [o]_O
  10. I'm very disappointed. by garcia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:I'm very disappointed. by garcia · · Score: 5, Informative

      From this forum post by Kevin:

      There are gonna be lots of folks expressing disappointment or downright hostility with the idea of this movie. Let 'em vent. If it's all that bad, Xtian will just sweep it off the board. But the last thing I'm interested in is opinions on what I'm doing this early in the process, if at all. The beauty of making that first flick was being able to do it in a vacuum. Granted, I could've kept my mouth shut about it 'til we were done shooting; but with "Clerks X" coming out, it just felt right to share. Regardless - I don't want folks running here with reports of what's being said about the idea of this film at other boards. Don't waste your/my time with the braying of the jackasses. There's not even a movie to bray about yet. Once there is, if you still still feel the need to tell me what some random, knuckle-headed Talk Backer has to say about the finished product, then God bless. But until then, leave it in the locker room.

      Well since there are no girls on Slashdot I'll consider this the "locker room".

      If it's not terribly related to Clerks other than the cast why can't you come up with some other completely different name for it? Why must it hang on the success of the first one?

      How about you do it on a shoestring budget again? You know the studios will pick it up and they will be especially thrilled if they don't have to shell out millions to the pirates.

      As for the rest of his comment I will keep quiet (as he asks) until I see the final result.

    2. Re:I'm very disappointed. by litesgod · · Score: 3, Interesting

      From the same post that you take your quote from you can see that:

      - The characters are the same- not just the cast. It won't be a rehash, it will be a new storyline for the same characters.

      -He is doing it on a shoestring budget, under 5mil. The first was cheap because he didn't have to pay salary. Now he feels like being nice to these people.

    3. Re:I'm very disappointed. by Bullet-Dodger · · Score: 4, Funny

      Jay and Silent Bob are terrible, one-note jokes that only stoners laugh at. They're fucking clown shoes. If they were real, I'd beat the shit out of them for being so stupid. I can't believe Miramax would have anything to do with this shit. I, for one, will be boycotting this movie. Who's with me?

  11. Again? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 5, Funny

    Am I missing something? I thought I already saw the sequel. It was called Mall Rats . . . No, Chasing Amy . . . No, wait, it was called Dogma. Maybe Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back? I'm so confused.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    1. Re:Again? by falcon5768 · · Score: 5, Informative

      no they where all in the same universe, but not sequals per se. Clerks always advertised a clerks two... as did Mallrats advertise Dogma as its sequal (which infact it wasnt, chaising amy cam after) what it boiled down to was Smith wrote a lot of the screenplays at the same time, but had to build up a rep to put out the one he really wanted to (Dogma) due to its religious nature

      --

      "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

  12. Clerks translated into /. by dnaboy · · Score: 5, Funny
    From the movie... People say crazy shit during sex. One time I called this girl "Mom."

    Or, among slashdot readers, I once called this computer "girlfriend"...

  13. A classic piece of scriptwriting. by The+I+Shing · · Score: 5, Funny
    Apart from the "parking lot" quote, my favorite line was:

    Dante (furious): 37! My girlfriend sucked 37 dicks!

    Customer: In a row?

    I still chuckle at that bit ten years later.
    --
    You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
  14. From the horse's mouth by sane? · · Score: 5, Informative

    Why not go to the source, rather than CNN, on this one.

  15. Aramaic by MikeMacK · · Score: 4, Funny
    "The Passion of the Clerks"

    And I understand it will be filmed entirely in Aramaic.

  16. Think it Will Be Good by puto · · Score: 5, Funny

    When I first saw this I was going to think he was trying to make a quick buck.

    Then I thought about Kevin Smith. And I think he just going to make a movie with some friends, and have a good time. You never can go home, but you can sure as hell visit.

    Things I would like to see in the movie.

    1. Jays cussing Olaf with his Berserker song become a star.
    2. Randall come out of the closet.
    3. Randall as Dantes boss.
    4. Silent Bob having a love Child with Kaitleen bree.
    5. Another Hockey game on the roof" any balls down there, BOUT THE BIGGEST PAIR YOU WILL EVER SEE"
    6. What number of dicks Dantes ex is actually on now.

    Puto

    --
    The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
    1. Re:Think it Will Be Good by thesupermikey · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well we already know Olaf made it big. Jay was wears a Berserker world tour short in Stricks back

      --
      Mikey
      I've always been the kinda guy to fall for the girl dressed like an eskimo.
  17. He should rather finish his comics... by tendram · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How long are Daredevil: Target and Spider-Man and Black Cat overdue now? 2 Years?

    1. Re:He should rather finish his comics... by stratjakt · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'll take Joey Jeremiah and the Zit Remedy over Jay and Silent Bob any frickin day of the week.

      Snake, Wheels, Joey.. The madcap adventures. Remember when they bought that case of beer? (One case for a party with about 50 people at it). Of course, they got busted and learned a valuable lesson.

      Or when Joey sold the fake drugs to that chick who then ran around pretending to be high? "Degrassi Grass". Heh, classic. Yick Yew the disorganized. So many good times, and so many well-deserved naps in "social studies" class when they would show us a repeat of last-nights episode.

      No wonder Smith is a fan. The stuff was lightyears ahead of anything he's ever done, and was produced on a budget that made Clerks look like a Hollywood blockbuster.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  18. Re:Um... by darth_MALL · · Score: 5, Funny

    OH now that's just mean. Mallrats, although a humorous look at nerddom, corrupted the original Jay we all knew and loved from clerks. Jay #1 uttered some of the funniest lines in cinematic history. " Shit yeah, Silent Bob...You know you're cute as hell. I like to take you, suck you, line up three other guys and make like a circus seal. Ya, Fuckin Faggot! I hate guys...I love WOMEN!" Pure genius. :-P

  19. He'll do a Lucas. by Mateito · · Score: 5, Funny

    In the new version, Dante shoots first.

    (If this makes no sense, look for the original "alternate" ending to Clerks.)

    --
    Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
  20. "Quick buck"?! by Anita+Coney · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How exactly do you make quick money on a sequel to a movie that barely made any money?!

    A good example of making quick money in movies is the new AvP movie. You start with a movie that made lots of money. You then create a cheap sequel. Fans of the first will see it even though they know it'll be crap. And because it was made cheaply, it will profit regardless.

    Making a sequel out of Clerks is a HUGE monetary risk. Considering that hardly anyone has seen the original, the sequel will have to make money on is own merit.

    --
    If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
  21. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  22. Huh by stratjakt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I thought Mall Rats, Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob strike back were all "sequels" to Clerks.

    Kevin Smith is a one-trick pony whos films get less and less impressive each time out.

    Clerks wasn't a great movie, IMO, it just sort of struck one of those cult chords. I know a lot of my friends were going on about it like it was genious or something, myself I thought it was just a cheap indy film with a handful of funny moments.

    I'd imagine those who were so in love with it 10 years ago feelings have faded somewhat. Kind of like the Star Wars movies. The fans grew up, got too old to give a shit about SW anymore, and the younger kids couldn't give a shit or get into it at all.

    I wouldn't call Rocky Horror Picture Show a great movie either, but it's obviously a cult hit with a lot of legs left in it. But going to the show in drag on Hallowe'en and throwing toast at the bride is one thing. Paying 10 bucks to see the 10-year-delayed (cash grab) sequel is another.

    I dunno. Smith, Damon and Affleck, these guys are supposed to be so young and hip and scary talented that they're going to take over Hollywood and change cinema forever. I really don't see where all the talent is, myself. Throw Tarantino on that list too. Pulp Fiction was his only flick I can say I really enjoyed watching.

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    1. Re:Huh by MisterSquid · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Throw Tarantino on that list too.

      This is a bit OT, but not if we're talking about overhyped, super "macho," directors. Tarantino is a directorial null device. The only film of his worth a damn is Reservoir Dogs. The writing, the acting, and the grit of the film come together in a way they do not in any of Tarantino's other films. The recent Kill Bill films are a travesty, though mildly interesting from a cinematic perspective (i.e. millions of dollars jettisoned on the whims of an undertalented first-film-was-a-hit director). Tarantino's single virute (and not one to be sneeze at) is that despite being unable to write and direct a proper film, he has perfect cinematic taste.

      He understands John Woo like no other American director. He knows that violence can be ultra sexy in a way that only the Wachowski brothers did in The Matrix (forget Reloaded and Revolutions which are interesting for different reasons). Tarantino did something amazing with Reservoir Dogs and has since been unable to equal that effort. Pulp Fiction is somewhat interesting, ending as it does with an superb and enigmatic subplot. Pure narrative beauty, reminiscent of the Coen Brothers (at their best) and Lynch. (My big question is whatever happened to Atom Egoyan? Soderbergh lost his edge.)

      Swerving somewhat back on topic. Smith's work is somewhat a one-trick pony, sure. His stuff feels the same, but he is much more skilled a story-teller than Tarantino has proven himself to be.

      --
      blog
  23. back to basics after a flop by mcguyver · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Usually people will go back to a guaranteed success after a failure. Kevin Smith does Jersey Girl, comes out with Clerks 2. I'm not a big enough movie buff to comment on other examples but I'm sure they exist in movies such as Jurassic Park 3 and the Batman series. This type of thinking is bringing us such greats as the Star Wars prequals and Indiana Jones 4.

  24. JASON MEWES IN REHAB?! by DumbWhiteGuy777 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Surely you jest. No way would he would indulge in illegal goods.

  25. Million Dollar Question by mconeone · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Will it still be in black & white?

  26. So, um by mcc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not to give any spoilers or anything, but does this mean that the Clerks "original ending" (it's provided on the DVD as a deleted scene) is now officially non-canon?

    (I'M NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TODAY...)

    --
    Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
    1. Re:So, um by zzyzx · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well Dante appeared in J&SBSB so it already would have to be non-canon.

  27. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  28. Kevin Smith's message to you and yours by krog · · Score: 5, Funny

    "All you motherfuckers are gonna pay, You are the ones who are the ball-lickers. We're gonna fuck your mothers while you watch and cry like little bitches. Once we get to Slashdot and find those karma-whore fucks who are talking shit, we're gonna make 'em eat our shit, then shit out our shit, then eat their shit which is made up of our shit that we made 'em eat. Then you're all fucking next."

    --
    Cretin - a powerful and flexible CD reencoder
  29. Snoogins by BRock97 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Dude, seriously.

    It is hard to take your comments seriously when you are so obviously biased against Smith and his films. It's too bad you don't like his work, but give the man credit. He is one of the few responsible for revitalizing the independent movie seen in the early to mid 90's (if you don't believe me, give Down and Dirty Pictures a read, good stuff).

    But, to take some of your comments to point:
    • "None of his movies lived up to the expectations that naturally came about as a result of the edginess of the original Clerks..."

      I have to say you are wrong here. Chasing Amy was even more edgy than Clerks could have hoped to be. The story line was much better defined, the characters had more depth, and the ending was a great punch in the face. Fantastic story. Dogma, besides having a sh!t monster that really didn't belong, was a great look at faith. Not quite as edgy as Clerks, but great characters and story. In both of these examples, Smith excels in two areas: being able to get his point across and great dialog.
    • "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was just a series of in-jokes for the rabid Kevin Smith fans."

      So the hell what? Smith never said it was going to be his most brilliant work (but it was his funniest, IMHO). In fact, he always said it was going to be for the fans, nothing more. How can you hold that against the movie when even the writer/director said it wasn't going to be any more than somethign for the fans?
    • "And wasn't that supposed to be the last movie set in the "View Askewniverse""

      Yes, it was. But, something occurred that Smith didn't expect. Jersey Girl was a failure. It did OK in the box office, but I expect he was hoping it would be his transition from "dick and fart" movies to something more sophisticated. That didn't happen; the audience didn't show up. For anyone that would be a huge blow, mentally. So, he decides to go back to what he knows he can do best. Most people would do the same in his place. I, for one, won't have a problem with that, either. As for the comparison between him and Lucas, that analogy doesn't fit. Lucas is making huge bucks from the Star Wars franchise, and he will continue to do so even if VII, VIII, and IX aren't made. The fact that he probably will, though, indicates a want to milk his creation. In what I have read from the above book, I believe that Smith isn't like that, he makes the movies to make movies, cause he loves doing it.
    As you can imagine, I am a huge Smith fan and my posting was just as biased as yours. But, I think both sides needed to be stated.
    --

    Bryan R.
    The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, or $12.50 as seen on eBay.....
    1. Re:Snoogins by Mr+Guy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For me, the appeal to Kevin Smith is that he looks at Hollywood with an intentional sell out point of view. I feel that his art is that he can "sell out" to such an extent that he manages to lampoon all of Hollywood, internet and pop culture, as well as deep stereotypes all at once.

      I think he has that Python-esque talent of taking a joke too far, then taking farther and farther until it finally wraps around to funny again. An example is the profanity of Jay. He's SO profane I think you start to realize it's just words and the words don't mean anything once they are so over-used. Additionally, the inside Hollywood pandering is evident in all his films, taken to extremes just for the fans in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. I think the humor works because he KNOWS he's being shameless. It's raw, unpretentious, lamblasting.

      To quote Homer, "It's true. It's true, it's funny because it's true!"

      --
      Never confuse volume with power.
  30. uh-oh by bman08 · · Score: 3, Funny
    This story calls for me to summon the mighty and unstoppable might of the all powerful Who Cares.

    Also, didn't he promise to retire jay and sbob after their terrible solo movie?

  31. The Future by JayAndSilentBob · · Score: 5, Funny

    The setting: Krog's mother's front porch early in the morning of January 28, 2005. Me and Silent Bob have just rung his doorbell.

     Jay - Hello. Do you post as krog on Slashdot.org?

    Krog - Yeah. Why?

    Jay - Did you at any time ever claim to be Jay and Silent Bob?

    Krog - Yeah, a while ago. Why?

    Me and Silent Bob beat the shit out of krog

    --


    Love,
    Jay and Silent Bob
  32. Jersey Girl *WAS* spectacular... by raehl · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just not if you were a critic. It lost major critic points for being "formulaic", but for young people, it really was a romantic comedy that was superior to most romantic comedies. Better dialogue, more depth of character, and J Lo dies. What more could you ask for?

    The problem Kevin has is that he can't possibly be as "successful" dealing with fare other people have dealt with before (Mallrats (teen mall movie)/J&SBSB(road trip movie)/Jersey Girl(romantic comedy)) as he can be with dealing with stuff no one has done before. There was no other movie like Clerks when Clerks was made, as there was no movie like Dogma or Chasing Amy either. It's not that some of the movies are "better" than the others, they're just more "successful" because they're not compared to other similar successful movies that happened to have come first.

    People like me, in their 20's to early 30's, appreciate what Kevin makes, "unique" or not, as being more appropriate for our age group. That's not good for box office success, and it's often not good for great critical acclaim, but it's nice to have generation-specific fare for those of us in that age range.

    It's not like the video clerk would give a customer a pity screw in a romantic comedy your parents would go see, is it?

    Great movies can be quite "unsuccessful", especially if you're not trying to make a movie that is only going to be great for a certain group of people. It's sad that so many people only measure a movie's success against the opinion of the general population.

    --
    paintball
  33. Ironic. by dswensen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "It's about what happens when that lazy, 20-something malaise lasts into your 30s. Those dudes are kind of still mired, not in that same exact situation, but in a place where it's time to actually grow up and do something more than just sit around and dissect pop culture and talk about sex," Smith said during an interview at his Hollywood office.

    I find this supremely funny. Kevin Smith, God bless him, has done nothing but revisit the same characters, gags, and environments for the past 10 years. So is this movie about "growing up" supposed to be prescient in some fashion? Because I see no evidence of Smith doing anything of the sort in his body of work thus far.

    Dissecting pop culture and talking about sex is what's made Kevin Smith his fortune, and now, apparently, he's too good for it? What did I miss?

    Don't get me wrong. I love Kevin Smith's movies, and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, arguably his worst film, is actually my favorite. I have no quarrel with being preoccupied with sex, drugs, pop culture, and extremely over-tired Star Wars jokes. But at least be honest about your tastes.

    It will be interesting to see what he does with this material -- I don't care if he makes a buck off it or not (more power too him), but Smith could come off as something of a hypocritical ass if he's not careful. (Not that he will care what critics have to say about him, of course -- another thing I like about Smith.)

  34. 10 years in a store? by Darth+RadaR · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think it'd be interesting if Randall and Dante somehow ended up in IT doing hell-desk or Systems Administration. Just picture Randall, the BOFH.

    Randall: This job would be great if it wasn't for the fscking (l)users.

    Randall: I'm firm believer in a ruling class, especially since I have root.

    Randall: (yelling at retreating luser) You're not allowed on my network here anymore.

    --
    /*drunk.. fix later*/