We at Deco have always said we would make a great behind-the-scenes movie, but not nearly as much as the cast of “Clerks III.” Kevin Smith has come back with another installment of the cult classic and, spoiler alert, they’re older now.
Sixteen years since the sequel…
Jason Mewes (as Jay): “Maybe be an astronaut, be the first to find a new alien life form.”
And 28 from the original…
Jeff Anderson (as Randal): “This job would be great if it weren’t for the customers.”
Brian O’Halloran (as Dante): “I don’t bother them, and they don’t bother me.”
“Clerks III” is open for business.
Character in “Clerks III”: “Now that’s what I call acting!”
It’s the latest in Kevin Smith’s autobiographical Quick Stop story about a group of friends and co-workers, including Randal, played by Jeff Anderson.
Jeff Anderson: “We’ve seen three different movies that take place in sort of three different specific time periods in these characters’ lives, and I think one of the things that we found is, they do get a little more emotional.”
But let’s take a trip down memory lane for a minute with Brian O’Halloran, who plays Dante. The first “Clerks” was all…
Brian O’Halloran: “‘We’re in our early 20s; we have our whole lives ahead of us. What are we going to do with our lives?’ The second movie was, ‘Oh, my God. I’m not young anymore; what am I going to do with my life?’ And the this was, ‘Oh, my God. What happened to my life that I wanted so badly?”
Dante’s love, Becky, was killed before “Clerks III,” and he quietly continues to process that grief now.
Brian O’Halloran: “I have loss in my life, and to tap into loss for someone that you loved for a very long time, that was easy for me to tap into.”
But the movie is really centered on Randal, who suffers a near-fatal heart attack — which inspires him to shoot a movie about his life.
Jeff Anderson: “Randal finally confronts himself and says, ‘What am I going to do with myself?'”
Director Kevin Smith, who stars as Silent Bob, has also written these characters, in the “Clerks” movies and other flicks, around his and all of the actors’ real lives.
Brian O’Halloran (as Dante): “I always thought you could have made a cool movie.”
Jeff Anderson (as Randal): “You’re right.”
Including Jason Mewes, who plays Jay, half of the iconic Jay and Silent Bob duo.
Jason Mewes (as Jay): “That’s how we did it in the ’90s, son!”
Which have spawned their own spin-offs.
Jason Mewes: “I watch how he ‘s adapted, and has me say something that I had said maybe two years prior or last year, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God! You remember me saying this?! And you wrote it in here.'”
So, it’s a pretty safe bet we’ve got a “Clerks IV” on the way, too.
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