Kevin Smith and Jeff Anderson talk Clerks 3; set to shoot in June

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

CLERKS 3 has been all over the place in terms of what medium it might end up on. From novel to stage play to . . . well, nothing at all. It seems it will find a home in theaters as writer/director Kevin Smith was finally able to procure a budget. Any fan of Smith knows that the man makes a serious living talking. A LOT. On the SModcast that he shares with producer Scott Mosier, guest star Jeff Anderson (Randal of CLERKS fame) decided to take part and after discussing some great anecdotes from making the first two films, they finally got to talking about CLERKS 3. As previously mentioned, it was initially going to play and Anderson was the first to discuss the absurdity of that.

Jeff Anderson talking about Kevin Smith wanting him to do the play and get a Tony:

Who the f*ck is Tony? Why do I want him?!? There was a lot of things going around. I was hearing stuff. It's gonna be a play . . . last I heard it was gonna be a diorama. The only way it would work as a play is if Neil Patrick Harris plays Randal and Glenn Close plays Dante.

Anderson on the story for CLERKS 3:

I like the script. It's being introduced to these characters that are friends. Friends of mine. Friends of ours. Whether or not I was going to do the movie, I wanted to read the script. Just for closure for myself! F*ck the fans, I just wanna know! Yeah, it's a very different movie and that's what I like about it. CLERKS 2 was a very different movie from 1, but it wasn't THAT different. CLERKS 3 . . . still not THAT different, but different in a different way. Different, different, different, different.

Regarding the tone of the film (in comparison to CLERKS and CLERKS 2):

CLERKS to me was a gritty movie. CLERKS 2 became this brighter movie. CLERKS 3 to me feels somewhere between 1 and 2. It feels a little gritty and we go back to the beginning stages, but we do see the progression.

Kevin Smith on whether or not there's any black and white scenes:

The first ten minutes are in black and white. We do enough black and white that kinda makes sense. But I like where [the story] f*cking goes so much. It's my favorite soap opera now. It's kinda like THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of the CLERKS movies. It doesn't tell the middle story, but it has that kinda feeling.

Smith on how much Jay and Silent Bob are in the flick:

They're in the movie as much as they were in Clerks and Clerks 2

I haven't gotten around to seeing TUSK, but I'm happy that Smith is back on the horse and that CLERKS 3 will be a reality. As Anderson mentioned previously, CLERKS 2 was a great way to catch up with some classic characters and I hope 3 will do the same. The original CLERKS changed my perception of what a movie could be completely (so much foul language!), and while it doesn't seem all that much compared to pictures nowadays, it will always hold a special place in my cine-heart.

CLERKS 3 is aiming to shoot in June of 2015, but Kevin Smith's next picture, YOGA HOSERS, will hit theaters sometime in 2015.