CLERKS ENDED JUNE 9
Wizard No. 103 / March Issue Filmmaker launches TV career, plans end to Jay and Silent Bob The only place old-mannered Kevin Smith can actually stand out in a crowd? The beyond-swanky RitzCarlton hotel in Pasadena, Calif. As the 29-year-old filmmaker lounges at a table and sucks down a cigarette in a luxurious garden courtyard, Ritz guests stroll by dressed in the latest from the runways of Milan. Smith? He's dressed in the latest from the racks of Kmart-a trademark blue zip-up hooded sweatsliirt and baggy shorts. It's indicative of how far Smith has come since he started making movies. "There's a TV show based on a movie that did only $3 million in theaters?" he asks himself. "More people will see the first 'Clerks' episode than have seen all my movies combined. That's the power of TV." Smith just finished a press conference on "Clerks, " the prime-time animated series based on his 1994 independent film. Smith toyed with the press, providing plenty of smart-ass quips ("Being a mid-season replacement is a network's loving way of saying, 'This crap didn't work. Maybe your crap will.'"). "Clerks" will take the same tone when its initial six episodes debut in March on ABC. "Our only job is to be as funny as humanly possible," Smith says. Each episode will feature a 21-minute story, and a short "tag" at the end. "If you liked those weird things on 'Super Friends,' you'll love these," Smith says. In the tags, Jay and Silent Bob, the famed stoner duo from Smith's films, will teach such things as magic tricks and campground safety. And surprise, surprise! Former NBA star Charles Barkley will appear in every tag. "He may be the best actor in the show," Smith says. "The guy's a natural." If Barkley's the best, he's beating tough competition. Prime talent such as James Woods, Chris Rock and Gvryneth Paltrow all provide guest voices in the first six episodes. And Alec Baldwin stars as recurring character Leonardo Leonardo. "He's our Lex Luthor, the billionaire tyrant of Leonardo, New jersey," Smith says. Clerks Dante and Randal (voiced by original movie actors Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson) will frequently have to stop the evil machinations of Leonardo. They'll also get locked in the Quick Stop freezer and prevent a dome from sealing off Leonardo, N.J. when a plague hits. And hopefully, much more. "If 'Clerks' does well, we could be back by December," Smith says. "We're ready. We have seven more scripts behind the initial six being animated." And Smith promises the cartoon will remain true to its roots, despite network lin-dtations. "The show won't bite the hand that feeds it, but it will nibble," he says. "Language will be toned down, but that doesn't bother me. It just makes me more creative. I don't n-dnd having to work for the laughs. It's not going to be a Disney-fied 'Clerks.' What would be the point?" At any rate, the "Clerks" cartoon will directly impact Smith's next feature film: "Clerks IT." "I figure it can only help," Smith says. "More people will get exposed. The only practical bearing is that if the show doesn't get picked up, we'll start the movie sooner." "Clerks II" could be out by the summer of 200 1, in black and white, just like the original. "We have the same comniitment to crappy format we've always had," Sn-Lith laughs. But Smith adds that "Clerks II" will also be an ending. "It's time to close out the View Askew-niverse," Smith says. "It'll be the last Jay and Bob movie, the last movie for all these characters. I guess it's just time to grow up and try different stuff." Smith did a lot of growing up with "Dogma," his 1999 movie release about fallen angels trying to get back into Heaven. The movie met with protests from Catholic groups, but was also Smith's most conunercially successful, with a $30-million gross. "A lot of audience for a movie about religion, " says Smith, a devout Catholic. But as a piece of work? "At the end of the day, after the year we've had with it ... I'm still too close," Smith says. "Ask me in a year. That's when I'll watch it again and figure out how I feel about it." But fans won't have to wait a year to see the flick at home. The DVD version of "Dogma" will be released May 2, and features an hour of previously cut footage. Spealdng of getting cut, Smith, who plays the seldom-heard Silent Bob, has been nunored to cameo along with Jay in "Scream 3. " Smith remains coy when asked. "I've heard that, too," he says, smiling. "I guess we'll all see in February. We'll see how bad we can sell out." And of course, Smith will voice the occasional line in "Clerks" as Silent Bob. "Yeah, I get to collect a second paycheck for rarely speaking, " he says. "That's cool-only in TV! FEBRUARY 21, 2000 CLERKS STARTS ON MAY 31 ABC has announced that Clerks, the animated series based on the movie from Kevin Smith, will begin on the network on Wednesday, May 31 at 9:30 p.m. (ET/PT). JANUARY 18, 2000 FIRST LOOK - CLERKS ANIMATED SERIESABC has released the first images from Clerks, the animated series based on the movie from filmmaker/comic-book writer Kevin Smith.Clerks, from Miramax Television in association with Touchstone Television, is expected to premiere in March. Here's how ABC describes the series: "In 1994, a low-budget, black-and-white film called Clerks walked away with the Filmmakers Trophy Award at the Sundance Film Festival and two prizes at Cannes. The movie launched the career of writer/director/producer Kevin Smith and introduced the world to a quartet of ambition-free, foul-mouthed, unkempt but frequently hilarious young men who have become true cult icons. And what better format for Dante, Randal, Silent Bob and Jay than an animated series that lets them rise from the drudgery of their daily lives to comic-book hero status ... sometimes. "Dante Hicks (voiced by Brian O'Halloran) disdainfully mans the cash register at the Quick Stop in Leonardo, New Jersey, while his friend, Randal (voiced by Jeff Anderson), is the equally unmotivated clerk at RST Video next door. They manage to keep an impressive verbal dialogue running during the bizarre parade of customers and their daily dealings with whatever else arises. Seemingly continuously loitering in and out of their stores are Jay (voiced by Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (voiced by Smith), who give literal meaning to the phrase, 'high jinx.' "In this animated series, Dante and Randal find themselves involved in such predicaments as heroically battling the greedy and evil billionaire, Leonardo Leonardo (voiced by Alec Baldwin). In another action-packed, yet touching, episode, Randal wrongly believes the town is in the midst of an outbreak of the Motaba virus, forcing Dante to fly a helicopter and confront his own homophobia to prevent the U.S. army from destroying Leonardo. Additionally, another episode centers on the two locking themselves in the Quick Stop freezer. Meanwhile, all the heroics fail to attract even a single female to visit them at work."  O'Halloran, Anderson, Mewes and Smith are all recreating their roles from the film for the animated series. In addition to Baldwin, other celebrity guest-voice appearances have been recorded, including James Woods, Gwyneth Paltrow and Charles Barkley. Others are in the planning stages. |
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