20 facts you might not know about 'Clerks'

Inspired partly by Richard Linklater’s Slackers, Smith decided he wanted to make a film. Smith had an acting role in the film, which he wrote and directed. On top of that, he co-edited and co-produced with Scott Mosier.

The two men who work at the Quick Stop, Randall and Dante, are played by Jeff Anderson and Brian O’Halloran. Both of them were getting their first movie roles. Meanwhile, Smith cast his friend Jason Mewes as Jay, a decision that changed their lives. Mewes wasn’t an actor but just a friend of Smith’s who he thought was funny and should be in a film.

While more money was put into the project for post-production once Miramax picked it up, Smith shot his film on an incredibly small budget. It only cost the director $27,575, which was super low even by 1994 standards. That’s why the film is shot in black and white.

Even though it only cost $27,575, Smith didn’t have that money. He sold a chunk of his comic book collection to fund his film and maxed out a handful of credit cards. He also used the insurance money he got for a car he lost in a flood.

Initially, Smith considered himself for Dante, a character he based on himself. Instead, Smith took on the smaller, less talkative role of Silent Bob. Smith gave himself a role in the film because, in case the film failed and he never worked again, he could point at himself in the movie and at least have proof he had done it.

Clerks takes place at the Quick Stop in Leonardo, New Jersey. At the time, Smith had a job working at…the Quick Stop in Leonardo, New Jersey. Yes, Smith shot the film where he worked at the time.

Here’s how dedicated Smith was to get his movie made. Every day, he would work from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Once the store closed, Smith had run of the place to film. They would shoot Clerks until 4 a.m. when Smith would get some sleep and do it all over again the next day. This happened for 21 days in a row.

In the film, it is said that somebody has jammed gum in the padlocks that keep the shutters closed, which is why they are closed at the store. This was not true. Smith had to keep the shutters closed because they were filming in the middle of the night. It wouldn’t be dark during the day, and Smith couldn’t afford lights to make it look like it was day outside.

Smith was casting friends left and right; why not throw the family in the mix? His mom Grace Smith plays the character known as “Milk Maid.”

Smith had written a scene that took place at the wake of Julie Dwyer. However, it was too expensive for him to film it. This became known as “The Lost Scene.” Renditions of “The Lost Scene” have now been done in animated form and comic book form due to the movie’s success.

Originally, Clerks was classified as an NC-17 film. Not for violence or sexually explicit material, but solely for language. Does that sound strange? It sounded strange to Miramax and Smith, too. The production company hired lawyer Alan Dershowitz to take on the MPAA, who agreed to knock it down to an R rating without having to change a word.

When Smith shot the film, it had a different ending. Where the movie now ends was followed by a scene of Dante being shot dead by a robber. This ending was screened but was considered too dark. Smith agreed to cut it.

While the film came out in 1994, the events of the movie take place a bit before that. Due to the People and Weekly World News you can see on the magazine rack — remember this was shot in an actual convenience store after hours — we can place the film in April 1993.

Randall, at one point, orders some adult material in front of a woman and her young child. You may notice you never see Randall and the family in the same shot. That’s because Anderson refused to recite the explicit names of the films in front of that woman and the kid. Although, later the list was read to the woman to get her reaction shots.

Despite his name, Smith’s Silent Bob does have one line. That wasn’t originally the case. The line was supposed to be Jay’s, but Mewes struggled with it so Smith decided to say it himself.

Smith put all his money into Clerks not knowing if he’d ever see a dime on it. Instead, Miramax picked it up and released it. Though it never got a wide release, the movie still made $3 million in theaters. Considering that, even with post-production, it only cost about a quarter of a million dollars, that’s a huge profit.

Critics were a fan of Smith’s scrappy little comedy. Even Roger Ebert gave it three stars, and a few critics put it on their year-end top-10 lists. The Independent Spirit Awards gave it three nominations, including for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay. These days, it’s in the National Film Registry.

Clerks was followed by an attempt at a live-action TV show soon after its success. While a pilot was shot, it did not make it to air. An animated series did make it to air, but it barely fared better. Though six episodes were produced, only two aired before the show was canceled.

All of Smith’s films take place in his View Askewniverse, but eventually, he got around to a true sequel to his breakthrough movie. Clerks II was released in 2006, but it was only greeted warmly by Smith diehards. Undeterred, and with those diehard fans in tow, Smith delivered Clerks III in September 2022.

Jason Reitman is the director of movies like Up in the Air and Young Adult. He once told Smith that Clerks is what inspired him to be a filmmaker. Smith was taken aback when he heard this. After all, Reitman is the son of Ivan Reitman, who directed a little film called Ghostbusters.