2022_09_New_Jersey_Monthly

PEOPLE
have been no problem. “But all of the
magic happened at the real Quick Stop,”
he says. “I had to shoot there. I have a fake
Quick Stop in the back of the Secret Stash.
But there’s nothing like the real [one]. I
had to talk to Rajiv Thapar (the longtime
owner) about buying their Quick Stop.”
“I’ve known Kevin since he made the
first movie when we were all young,” says
Thapar. “I didn’t see the vision back then.
It’s nice to see someone become a success
due to a story that came out of his mind.”
The irony of his Quick Stop devotion
isn’t lost on Smith. “I remember thinking,
I hate this place, and this job would
be great without the customers.” He 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,” Smith says.
Smith maxed out a bunch of credit
cards and made Clerks for less than
$30,000. “It could have been a disaster,”
he says. “What if no one was interested
in the film?” But it 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-andwhite
movie set Smith up as a filmmaker
who earned further acclaim by crafting
such flicks as Chasing Amy and Dogma.
Clerks 3 will make its second world
premiere September 4 at the Count Basie
Theater, after a viewing at the Atlantic
Movie House in August.
“Clerks 3 was the first time since
Clerks that I was able to shoot an entire
movie in the Garden State,” he says. “It
was an amazing experience.”
Clerks 3 is a meta film. Clerks protagonist
Randall has a heart attack and
almost dies, just like Smith did 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,”
Smith says. “It all worked out.”
The only downer for Smith was filming
during the pandemic. “I’ve always
been like, ‘Hey, everybody watch,’”
he says. “It couldn’t be that way this
time, but I had the chance to spend a
lot of time in New Jersey. We have the
weather [in Los Angeles] all year long,
but New Jersey has everything else.”
Smith spent considerable time at his
beloved Secret Stash while shooting
Clerks 3. “I was back at the Stash last
year and this year as well, since this is
the year-long celebration of the Stash’s
25th anniversary,” Smith says. “The
Stash is one of the great side accomplishments
of my career. Who has a
“ We have the weather in [Los Angeles]
all year long, but New Jersey has everything
else.”—Kevin Smith
brick-and-mortar shop that still stands
after 25 years? Not many people.”
“I was thinking back in my 20s that
I would retire and have a comic book
shop,” Smith says. “But back in (1996),
the guy who owned the store (Comicology)
that me and my friends used to
go to all of the time offered to sell me
his store. The guy, who I always called
Steve-Dave, since I didn’t know if he
was Steve or Dave, said he would sell
me everything, all the comic books
and the client list, for $60,000. I said,
“$60,000?” And in that instant Steve-
Dave countered himself by asking for
$30,000. I thought, Man, that’s as much
as I spent for Clerks. I can do this.”
Smith asked his close friend Walt Flanagan,
who turned him on to comics back
in the ’80s, to manage the store. “I thought
it would be a done deal,” Smith says. “But
Walt said he had to stay with his day job
since he had security working there.”
Smith offered him double his pay,
and in 1999, Flanagan finally agreed
to manage the Secret Stash. In 2011,
AMC green lit a reality show about the
store. When Smith asked Flanagan to
star in the series, he once again turned
down his pal. “Walt said he didn’t want
to be Snooki,” Smith says. “I said, “Who
wouldn’t want to be Snooki?”
Flanagan eventually signed on, and
AMC dubbed the series Comic Book Men,
featuring Smith and current Stash manager
Mike Zapcic. The show ran for seven
seasons. “I loved being part of the show,
and I enjoy working at this comic book
shop like you can’t believe,” Zapcic says.
The Secret Stash is akin to Planet
Hollywood thanks to Smith, who showcases
cool memorabilia throughout the
shop. There’s Silent Bob’s wardrobe
from Clerks, the Bluntman and Chronic
pages from Chasing Amy, and best of all,
the Buddy Christ statue from Dogma.
The latter is special for Smith since
he wrote in the voice of his comedy hero,
George Carlin, who was hilarious as the
Cardinal in Dogma. While doing press
for Smith’s Jersey Girl in 2004, Carlin
gave a parting message as the film was
wrapping: “What I said to him at Dogma
was, ‘Kevin, if you ever need somebody
to strangle six children, I’m your guy.’”
In 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
says. “That’s because George isn’t saying
anything new. 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.”
Smith says he has many more movies
to make. “I remember thinking when I
was having the heart attack that I can’t
go out on (2016’s) Yoga Hosers,” Smith
quipped. “I’m healthy. I’m vegan. I want
to make Clerks movies till 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.
And there’s nothing like making the
Clerks films in New Jersey. The root of
my inspiration is in the Garden State.”
Ed Condran is a frequent contributor to
New Jersey Monthly.
40 SEPTEMBER 2022 NJMONTHLY.COM