Chasing Amy
Short description
Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards are friends and partners who draw a successful independent comic book. At a convention they meet Alyssa Jones, another artist, and Holden is drawn to her right away. He learns that she is gay, and although the two become close friends, his feelings for her do not go away. Banky, who dislikes Alyssa and everything she seems to represent, makes his disapproval clear, and the strain between the two men grows as Holden's attachment to her deepens. The story moves through comedy and romance toward a difficult choice about friendship and honesty.
Kevin Smith wrote and directed the film, his third of seventeen features in chronological order, following Mallrats and preceding Dogma. Scott Mosier produced it for Miramax and View Askew Productions. Ben Affleck plays Holden, Joey Lauren Adams plays Alyssa, and Jason Lee plays Banky, with Dwight Ewell, Jason Mewes as Jay and Kevin Smith as Silent Bob in supporting roles. The film took in about 12 million dollars worldwide, a modest return against its independent budget.
Audience response has been favorable without being enthusiastic: it holds a 6.7 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 1,600 votes. The film belongs to Smith's View Askewniverse, the shared world of his New Jersey comedies, and its three leads had appeared in his earlier work.
What's left behind the scenes
- "Chasing Amy" became the third film in the so-called View Askewniverse. Other films include "Clerks" (1994), "Mallrats" (1995), "Dogma" (1999), "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001), and "Clerks II" (2006). All these films are linked by shared characters, plotlines, and events, and contain numerous hints and references to one another.
- The characters Holden and Banky appear in J. D. Salinger's book "The Catcher in the Rye."
- Banky's "Baby Dave" comic is a reference to David Klein, the cinematographer for "Clerks" (1994), "Mallrats" (1995), and this film.
- Silent Bob tells Jay, "What you don't know about me could fill the Grand Canyon." In the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), Robert Redford says the same thing to Paul Newman.
- During "Manhattan Comiccon," a sign can be seen stating that the exhibition is organized by "Flanagan Events," which is a reference to Walter Flanagan, who played several roles in "Clerks" (1994) and "Mallrats" (1995). He was supposed to appear in this film, but his scene was removed during the final edit.
- Alice is wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs t-shirt.
- Carmen Lee, who played Kim, was married to Jason Lee at the time of filming. Joey Lauren Adams, who played Alice, was Kevin Smith's girlfriend.
- During the scene where Holden and Alice are playing darts, men can be seen in the background entering and leaving the women's restroom, while women are doing the opposite, entering and leaving the men's restroom.
- The scene in the nightclub between Alice, Holden, and Banky, where they discuss oral sex, was originally written for 'Mallrats' (1995). The conversation was intended to take place between T.S., Brodie, and Gwen.
- Holden mentions that he attended Hudson High School. This is a real school that Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes graduated from.
- Kevin Smith's relationship with Joey Lauren Adams served as the inspiration for the screenplay.
- Joey Lauren Adams wrote the song she sings in the movie herself.
- All the main characters in the film write comic books.
- Kevin Smith wrote three issues of the comic 'Jay and Silent Bob' and released them through Image Comics. In each issue, Banky Edwards and Holden McNeil were listed in the credits.
- The club scene, where Banky and Alice talk about scars received during cunnilingus, parodies the scene in 'Jaws' (1975) between Hooper and Quint aboard the boat.
- The number 37 is very frequently mentioned in Kevin Smith's works. In this film, numerous references to the number 37 can be seen in the opening credits.
- When Kevin Smith pitched the movie idea to Miramax Films, he emphasized that he had specifically written the lead roles for his friends Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, and Joey Lawrence Adams. However, the studio wanted more famous actors in the lead roles, such as Jon Stewart, David Schwimmer, and Drew Barrymore. Largely because of the actors, the film's budget was originally intended to be $3,000,000. Smith proposed the following: he would film the movie with his own money, and his friends would play the lead roles. After that, Miramax could buy the distribution rights. The studio liked this idea, and Kevin Smith received $250,000 to shoot the film.
- The film's budget was $250,000, which is 1/24 of the budget of Kevin Smith's previous film, 'Mallrats' (1995).
- Despite his name, Silent Bob delivers one of the longest monologues in the film.
- The name of Banky and Holden's studio is 'Bank-Hold-Up'.
- The music store where Holden and Hooper X buy CDs is "Jack's Music Shoppe," located on Broad Street in New Jersey. Across the street from it is "Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash," Kevin Smith's comic book store; and a little further away is the apartment of Holden and Banky.
- The film's screenplay was written even before the release of "Mallrats." Originally, the main characters were meant to be teenagers, and the action was set in a high school. However, after "Mallrats" (1995) failed at the box office and received a lukewarm reception from critics, Kevin Smith rewrote the script, "aging up" the main characters.
- According to the script, Silent Bob's monologue in the cafe was supposed to be delivered by Jason Mewes; however, on that day, he arrived on set drunk, and Kevin Smith had to speak instead. For this, Kevin Smith later became very resentful toward Jason Mewes.
- In the scene where Holden and Alyssa are driving away from the cafe, it is visible that the speedometer in their car is frozen at 0 km/h.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
