Clerks
Just because they serve you doesn't mean they like you.
Clerks (1994)
Production
Budget
$27 000
Revenue
$3 156 071
Director
Scenario
Producer
Short description
Clerks follows Dante Hicks, a convenience store clerk in New Jersey who is called in to work on what was supposed to be his day off. Across the day, he deals with difficult customers, his girlfriend's confession, and his ex-girlfriend's plans to visit. His friend Randal works at the neighboring video rental store and spends much of his time at Dante's counter, trading arguments and insults instead of working. The two men move through a single day that includes a hockey game on the store roof and various other interruptions.
Kevin Smith wrote, directed and produced the film, his first as director. It is the earliest entry in his filmography and the first of seventeen films he has directed in chronological order, followed by Mallrats in 1995. Brian O'Halloran plays Dante and Jeff Anderson plays Randal. Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonauer, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith also appear among the cast of 48 credited performers.
Clerks was produced by Miramax and View Askew Productions and took about 3 million dollars at the worldwide box office. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.7 from roughly 240,000 votes, while on TMDB it has a 7.4 from around 2,900 votes. A film critics' rating of 7.9 from 60 reviews places it close to the audience scores, with critics and viewers landing in similar territory.
What's left behind the scenes
- In one scene, Jay exclaims: “I’ll fuck everything that moves!” The exact same phrase is spoken by a character in Dennis Hopper’s *Blue Velvet* (1986).
- Dante's car is a 1976 Buick Century.
- Silent Bob isn't all that silent. In "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy" (a.k.a. "Supermarket Sleuths") (1995), he speaks in only one scene, and in "Dogma" (1999) – in two. In "Chasing Amy" he has a rather lengthy speech, and in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" he becomes almost talkative.
- No cigarette brand names are mentioned in the film. This was done to avoid lawsuits from tobacco companies.
- According to a deleted scene that was animated and included in the anniversary DVD edition, the events shown in the film take place on April 16th. Notably, the events of 'Clerks' (1995) take place on April 15th of the same year.
- Originally, Kevin Smith wanted to play Randall.
- Dante's beard constantly changes length. The reason is that before filming began, Kevin Smith asked Brian O'Halloran to shave off his goatee. After filming started, Kevin asked Brian to grow the beard back.
- The film was originally supposed to be called *Inconvenience*, then the title was changed to *Rude Clerks*, after which it was shortened to *Clerks*.
- The cost of the rights to use the various musical compositions featured in the film ($27,000) exceeded the remaining budget ($26,800). This is the first film in history to exhibit such an anomaly.
- In the final scene of the film, one of the newspapers has the following headline: “The Fattest Man on the Planet Marries the Skinniest Woman.”
- Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier edited the film in a video rental store located next to a small shop.
- When Dante and Randall discuss 'Star Wars,' the song 'Chewbacca, What A Wookie' plays in the background.
- Jason Mewes was so embarrassed during the filming of Jay and Silent Bob's dance that the rest of the crew had to leave the set so Mewes would feel more comfortable.
- The scene of the conversation between Dante and Caitlin about her wedding was filmed in one take, which lasted about five minutes. This scene was the first scene filmed for the movie.
- Jason Mewes (Jay) was missing from the film's poster because studio executives considered his appearance too strange and unusual for inclusion in the advertising campaign.
- Kevin Smith's name is missing from the cast list in the opening credits.
- The role of Dante was specifically written for Ernest O'Donnell, but during the film's production, Kevin Smith became increasingly convinced that Ernest was not suitable for the part.
- The abbreviation “RST” on the video store sign stands for Rajiv, Sarla, and Tarlach. These are the names of the son, mother, and father who are co-owners of the video store.
- The film was shot on a sixteen-millimeter Arri SR-2 camera using Kodak Plus-X film.
- In the scene where Randal lists the names of porn films in front of a woman with a child, Jeff Anderson and the actress who played the woman filmed separately, as Jeff refused to list the names of porn films in the presence of a woman and a child.
- The film was supposed to have a scene where Randall talks to a clerk at the 'Big Choice Video' video rental store, but the sound recording equipment failed during the filming of that scene.
- After Randall first appears on screen, he goes back into the video store and says to the man who forgot his keys at Dante's shop: 'Dr. Jones, there's no time for love!' This is a quote from 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' (1984).
- Randall is watching a pornographic film called 'The Best of Both Worlds.' This title is actually that of an existing porn film. However, the real film is about bisexuals, not hermaphrodites.
- To find funds to finance the film, Kevin Smith sold his comic book collection. He later bought almost all of it back.
- Jeff Anderson could have played the role of Jay, later portraying Randall.
- In the original script version, Dante was supposed to die during a store robbery at the end of the film. This scene can be found in the 'Deleted Scenes' section on the DVD.
- The smoker's lung shown by the chewing gum company representative is actually calf liver.
- The 'Clerks' logo is assembled from letters taken from the titles of well-known magazines and food products: the letter 'C' comes from Cosmopolitan Magazine, L – Life, E – Rolling Stone, R – Ruffles potato chips, K – Clark Bar, S – Goobers box.
- According to Kevin Smith, he played one of the roles because it would be the only one hundred percent proof that he had participated in the making of the film if it had failed.
- The role of Randall marks Jeff Anderson's acting debut.
- Despite the film containing almost no violence (with the exception of a fight between Dante and Randall), it initially received an NC-17 rating solely due to its dialogue. The film's distributor, Miramax, hired attorney Alan M. Dershowitz, who proved that the film deserved an R rating. No additional editing was done.
- According to Kevin Smith, part of the film's budget came from an insurance payout for Kevin's car, which was damaged during a flood.
- "Clerks" is partly based on Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy".
- During the hockey game, Dante is wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey. He is playing against guys wearing New Jersey Devils jerseys. Randall is wearing a USSR national team jersey and a New Jersey Devils baseball cap.
- Statistically, the VHS tape of this film was most often stolen from video rental stores.
- The guy buying cigarettes after the lecture on the dangers of smoking is wearing one of Brian O'Halloran's goatee wigs.
- When Dante asks Randall if he's ever wondered why most prices always end in 99 cents, the prices behind most items end in 95 cents.
- Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier studied at the same film school (Washington State). Even during their student days, they agreed that whoever filmed a movie first would have the other as one of the producers. Smith filmed "Clerks" first, so Mosier became a producer on the film. He subsequently produced most of Smith's films.
- According to Kevin Smith, he decided to become a director and film "Clerks" after watching Richard Linklater's "Slacker" (1991).
- The negative attitude towards smoking present in the film is a result of Kevin Smith's personal viewpoint. This is why Silent Bob doesn't inhale when he smokes. After filming wrapped, Smith began smoking two packs a day.
- Filming took place in the convenience store where Kevin Smith was working at the time. As he was only allowed to film during off-hours, the film's plot includes an explanation for why the blinds are constantly closed.
- The film's production was primarily funded from Kevin Smith's personal savings, as well as money borrowed from relatives and friends.
- The character of Caitlin Ryan was named after a character with the same name in the television show 'Degrassi Junior High'.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
