12/27/2024
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On this date in 1994, "Clerks" was released.
The film was shot for $27,575 in the convenience and video stores where writer/director Kevin Smith worked in real life. To acquire the funds for the film, Smith sold a large portion of his extensive comic book collection in 1993, most of which he has since bought back, borrowed $3,000 from his parents, maxed out eight to ten credit cards with $2,000 limits, dipped into a portion of funds he got back from his college education, and spent insurance money awarded for a car he and friend/co-star Jason Mewes lost in a flood.
The Quick Stop convenience store (located at 58 Leonard Avenue in Leonardo, New Jersey), where Smith worked, was the primary setting for the film. He was only allowed to film in the store at night while it was closed (from 10:30 pm to 5:30 am), hence the plot point of the shutters being closed due to a vandal having jammed gum in the padlocks. Because Smith was working at Quick Stop during the day and shooting the film at night, he frequently slept no more than an hour a day. By the end of the 21-day shoot, Smith was unable to stay awake while Dante and Randal's fight was shot.
Smith also originally wrote the part of Randal for himself, which is why he gave Randal all the best lines, according to the commentary on the DVD, but Smith found that writing, directing, working at the store, and playing one of the lead roles all at the same time was too hard and he kept forgetting his lines so he gave the part to another one of his friends, Jeff Anderson, while Smith took on the less-demanding role of Silent Bob.