Checking in with Kevin Smith of ‘Clerks’

“Clerks III” has the most laughs and heart of any Kevin Smith film. The uncompromising writer-director-actor-producer-actor is a valentine for Smith die-hards, particularly those who love “Clerks,” the low-budget indie film that launched the career of the New Jersey auteur.

“Clerks III” revisits such rough-around-the-edges characters as obscene Randal and the good-hearted Dante, who still work at a Jersey convenience store a generation after scoring jobs at the little shop.

“Clerks III” is a meta film, which is kind of like experiencing the making of the original film. Randal has a heart attack and almost dies, just like Smith, who suffered a widowmaker in 2018. Randall realizes he’s been watching films his entire life but never made his own. Randall and his pal Dante write and direct “Inconvenience,” which is essentially “Clerks.”

“To make the movie work properly we had to shoot it at the real deal,” the Quick Stop filmed in “Clerks,” Smith said by phone from his home in Los Angeles. “It all worked out.”

The only downer for Smith was filming during the pandemic.

“I’ve always been like, ‘Hey, everybody watch,’ ” Smith said. “But it couldn’t be that way this time. But it was still such a great experience.”

One he’s happy to share with live audiences. After a recent show, Smith conducted a Q&A, which exceeded an hour. Expect a similar experience after he screens “Clerks III” on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, at the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City.

“I love talking about my work with my fans,” Smith said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be answering questions like I do after my movies screen. I love interacting with the fans.”

While shooting “Clerks IIII” in 2021, Smith, was completely blissed out while working at the Quick Stop, albeit in a very different capacity.

“It was like the fantasy camp of a lifetime,” he said. “I was back at Quick Stop doing my favorite thing, which was hanging out, and this time, making a movie. I loved being at Quick Stop when I was 20. I just hated working there. This time I didn’t have to ring up any customers. It was like having your own Death Star set up.”

Smith, 52, recalled what it was like toiling at the convenience store before the cellphone and internet era.

“I would (complain) about being there,” he said. ‘Then we would close at 10:30 (p.m.), and after we lowered the steel shutters, we would hang out until 3 in the morning talking about movies, hockey and comic books.“

The irony is that Smith is buying the very Quick Stop he complained about working long hours at a generation ago.

“I remember thinking, ‘I hate this place.’ I remember thinking that the job would be great without the customers.”

However, Smith now realizes that those regulars who had the audacity to interrupt his viewing of “Beverly Hills 90120” to buy cigarettes, paved the way for his cinematic future.

“I remember thinking that someone should make a movie about this experience — and that someone was me,” he said.

Smith maxed out a bunch of credit cards and made “Clerks” for less than $30,000.

“It could have been a disaster,” he said. “What if no one was interested in the film?”

But “Clerks” was a critical and commercial success. The film grossed $3.2 million and was selected for preservation by the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”

The quirky black-and-white movie set up Smith as a filmmaker, who has earned acclaim crafting such flicks as “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma.”

His career as a filmmaker has enabled him to purchase his teen home away from home.

“Owning Quick Stop in my old age is going to be great,” Smith said. “Even though a Wawa (a popular Mid-Atlantic convenience store, which is name-checked in ”Clerks 3“) is now down the road, the Quick Stop pulls in about $50K a week. People don’t need movies. They need milk. I have to worry about my future.”

Smith has nothing to be concerned about. With nearly 20 films in the can, he can look back on a storied career.

Working with iconic comic George Carlin is one of his proudest accomplishments. Smith wrote in Carlin’s voice in such films as “Dogma” and “Jersey Girl.”

After listening to the audio from the 2004 interview, the verbose Smith pulled a Silent Bob for a lengthy pause.

“I loved hearing his voice say my name in life — and in death, it’s even more precious,” Smith said. “That's because George isn’t saying anything new anymore. Hearing him reference me was touching and it reminds me of a golden period of my life and career.

“When I had the world on a string, it wasn’t about money or drugs or sex for me. My dream was to work with George Carlin, the world's greatest comedian. While growing up in New Jersey, Carlin was who informed my vocabulary. And I had the chance to write in his voice. I’m very proud of that.”

After surviving a heart attack in 2018, Smith will have the chance to make many more movies.

“I remember thinking when I was having the heart attack, that I can’t go out on (2017’s) ‘Yoga Hosers,’ ” Smith quipped. “I’m healthy. I’m vegan. I want to make ‘Clerks’ movies ’til the day I die.

“It’s my favorite story of all of the stories I’ve told. It’s the most relatable. So many people have crappy jobs. Making a manifesto to the working man isn’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a manifesto for my friends to watch. It worked. If I don’t make ‘Clerks 10,’ then I've failed.”

since he could always book spoken-word engagements. After a recent show Smith conducted a Q&A, which exceeded an hour. Expect a similar experience after he screens “Clerks III” on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, at the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City.

“I love talking about my work with my fans,” Smith said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be answering questions like I do after my movies screen. I love interacting with the fans.”