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When Kevin Smith shot "Clerks" for $27,575, he'd received a small amount of film school training but was a babe in the woods when it came to the crucial aspect of directing actors. It shows in the movie, which is so stiffly performed that I've never been able to connect to it. The screenplay is undeniably hilarious and wise in the ways of the workaday convenience store world, but Smith's actors seem so oddly strangled. It's not the kind of acting you get in a poorly rehearsed community theater production where you can see the actors struggling to remember their lines; it's more like you're watching people who've been unnaturally directed. Their performances are really those of their director, not their own.

The off performances in "Clerks" and "Mallrats" began to make sense years later when I heard that Smith had a penchant for committing the cardinal sin of directing. Be it theater,...

Forget the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the View Askewniverse is where it’s at. From the mind of director, actor, producer, and podcaster Kevin Smith, what started with the iconic 1994 film Clerks has branched out into nine feature-length movies, comics, and even video games. And soon, fans will be welcomed back to the fold courtesy of the third installment of Smith’s comic series, Quick Stops. Collider is excited to not only exclusively break the news about the latest set of the black-and-white anthology project, but also give viewers a first look at some of its gorgeous artwork. This one is for all the Askewniverse fans out there, with each issue offering another chapter to those who long for a continuation of stories from the movies Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Mallrats, with Smith also framing one as a way to pay homage to his late friend and Mallrats star, Shannen Doherty.

For the past few years, it’s been near impossible to watch Kevin Smith’s 1999 religious comedy Dogma because Harvey and Bob Weinstein personally owned the rights, and they’ve faced more pressing matters in recent years than finding a new home for it. But The Hollywood Reporter reports that Smith has finally regained the rights to his film, and it’s returning to theaters on June 5. Prior to that, Smith will appear at special Dogma screenings all across the country, kicking off April 20 at the Grove in Los Angeles.

Archie Comics recently made major news when it announced that it was doing a crossover comic that will pair Archie and the Gang with Kevin Smith's classic characters, Jay and Silent Bob, from Smith's films like Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Smith will be writing the one-shot, Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob, and the comic will be featuring a number of special variant covers. In a Cbr-exclusive reveal, we are sharing two of the variant covers for you today.

The two variant covers that we are revealing today are done by Francesco Francavilla, who has done a number of excellent Archie covers over the years, and by Ty Templeton, a three-time Eisner Award winning artist himself for his work on Batman and Robin Adventures and Batman: The Gotham Adventures..The Francavilla variant cover, and the main cover will both be available as foil covers,...

The 25th anniversary theatrical release of Kevin Smith’s religious satire Dogma, which starred Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, has been set for June 5.

AMC Theatres and Iconic Events Releasing plan a national tour in 25 cities for the limited release after Smith regained the rights to Dogma from one-time owner and producer Harvey Weinstein. Smith, a writer, director and Silent Bob actor, did multiple films under Weinstein’s Miramax banner, including both Clerks films, Mall Rats, Chasing Amy and Dogma.

Dogma, which was first released in 1999, follows Affleck and Damon as fallen angels who discover a loophole in Catholic doctrine that could allow a return to Heaven. But they face unlikely heroes, including a faith-struggling woman (Linda Fiorentino), the erased 13th Apostle (Chris Rock), Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) to prevent the apocalypse.

Smith will kick off the 25th anniversary theatrical tour for his subversive take on...

Ben Affleck remains one of the most recognizable actors working in Hollywood. Some of his most notable early movies include Dazed and Confused (1993), Chasing Amy (1997), and Good Will Hunting (1997), the last of which won him and Matt Damon a Best Screenplay Oscar. With the release of Michael Bay's Armageddon in 1998, though, Affleck became more than just a talented actor – he became a movie star.

Following Armageddon, Affleck played the lead in Pearl Harbor (2001) before playing iconic Tom Clancy hero Jack Ryan in The Sum of All Fears (2002). That led to the infamous Daredevil in 2003, which was not well-received, but Affleck remained a compelling leading man, appearing in hits like The Town (2010), Argo (2012), and Gone Girl (2014). He even went on to earn praise for his performance as Batman in several Dcu movies. Not long after his debut as the iconic Caped Crusader, though, Affleck appeared in an action thriller that...

Ben Affleck has had a long career in Hollywood, but you won’t see him surrounded by hundreds of friends as he is more interested in keeping a small, tight-knit circle of friends for a reason. While appearing at SXSW to promote The Accountant 2, Affleck reflected on the close relationship he shares with frequent collaborator Matt Damon, who turned up to add his support to the movie’s premiere, and how he really feels that quality of friends is more important than quantity.

There are many stars in Hollywood who often frequent big lavish parties, or are always seen with a whole posse of followers wherever they go. Affleck is not one of them. He doesn’t really care either. Admitting that one of his only friends in his life is Damon, Affleck told Business Insider:

“I’m really lucky to have had a friend in Matt. It's a beautiful thing.

Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob characters are famous for popping up in movies like Clerks, Mallrats and Dogma. But the stoner duo also exist within the fictional worlds of Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Scream franchise, as evidenced by the most baffling moment from Scream 3.

But now Jay and Bob are set to crossover with a most unexpected pop-culture property: Archie. Per The Hollywood Reporter, an upcoming “double-sized” comic book titled Kevin Smith Presents: Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob will find the Riverdale gang crossing paths with the residents of the View Askewniverse — and presumably learning some new four-letter words in the process.

Weirder still, the book takes place after the events of Clerks III, in which (spoiler) protagonist Dante Hicks dies of a heart attack. According to Smith, who penned the comic, “Archie plays a role in the healing (process),” adding, “not only...

Ben Affleck The Accountant 2 ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Ben Affleck is back in the spotlight and soon on cinema screens, thanks to the South by Southwest premiere of the keenly awaited sequel The Accountant 2, set to grace theaters via Amazon MGM Studios.

Off-screen, the multihyphenate filmmaker resurfaces amid a plethora of self-contradictory rumors surrounding his romance with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, fresh off his split from Jennifer Lopez, a juncture keeping tabloids busy. On-screen, Affleck’s career shifts with this follow-up to the beloved 2016 actioner. While it has a large set of devotees, the original Accountant didn’t exactly meet expectations, something the sequel seems to have circumvented.

Co-starring Jon Bernthal, The Accountant 2’s first screenings have incited quite a stir among general audiences, especially for a film featuring Affleck as a lead. On Rotten Tomatoes, it sits at a certified “fresh” 86%, with 22 critics having taken a swing at it.

Riverdale is colliding with the View Askewniverse.

Filmmaker Kevin Smith is writing a double-sized crossover comic in which the wholesome Archie Comics characters meet the edgy protagonists of his film oeuvre. This mature title takes place in the continuity of Smith’s filmography, with the book set after the events of 2022’s Clerks III, which (spoiler alert), included the death of Dante (Brian O’Halloran).

“Archie plays a role in the healing,” Smith tells The Hollywood Reporter of the story, which features Archie landing a summer job at the Clerks Quick Shop and striking up a friendship with co-worker Randal Graves.

“Not only is this my stab at a classic American franchise that existed long before me that I read as a kid … It’s a midlife crisis project about death and learning to deal,” Smith adds.

Kevin Smith Presents: Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob arrives July 9, and is decades in the making for Smith,...

Ben Affleck’s Hollywood career is a fascinating case study in terms of its erratic rise and fall over nearly 3 decades. Since his Oscar-winning debut in Good Will Hunting, Affleck has been a golden property for the industry despite his intermittent stretches of bad moviemaking choices mingling with the good.

Ben Affleck in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) [Credit: Warner Bros.]

The success of Good Will Hunting and Chasing Amy was followed by a drastic downfall due to Gigli and Daredevil. This, in turn, was once again turned into a success with Gone Baby Gone, Argo, The Town, and Gone Girl before Affleck’s career fell into a rut with Batman v Superman and Live by Night.

However, the 2010 film, The Town almost turned one of Affleck’s stretches of success into a bad call for all the actors involved.

Ben Affleck’s The Town was almost an erotic thriller...

With the much-anticipated Oscars night quickly approaching, it's only natural to look back on some significant winners from the past. Since the esteemed ceremony's inception in 1929, plenty of filmmakers, actors, and movies have set several long-standing records. The most awards won by a single film is a three-way tie between Ben-Hur, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — each earning a remarkable 11 wins. Katharine Hepburn set the record for Best Actress with four Oscars, Parasite was the first non-English film to win Best Picture, and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki has taken home three consecutive awards for his work in Gravity, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), and The Revenant.

While these artists and their films are undoubtedly award-worthy, there are some winners audiences may not realize have maintained their records for decades. One of those Oscar-recipients is Batman v. Superman actor Ben Affleck. In 1997, alongside co-writer and actor Matt Damon,...

Over the years, Hollywood has delivered an abundance of memorable on-screen partnerships -- Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, Paul Newman and Robert Redford, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, among many others. Over 30 years after their first collaboration, it's probably safe to add Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to the list. 

Together, the dynamic duo have produced memorable entertainment aplenty, putting their remarkable chemistry to good use in everything from Kevin Smith's "Dogma" to Affleck's "Air." These guys have teamed up on nearly a dozen projects, even for a brief cameo or minor supporting role. Recently, their partnership has intensified with the aforementioned "Air" and Ridley Scott's "The Last Duel," it's a shame they haven't found more films to work on together over the years, because these boys are wicked smaht.

To celebrate this long-running partnership, we decided...

The big winner of this year’s Super Bowl, once again, was gratuitous pop-culture nostalgia. In addition to a Muppets-themed travel ad, and Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan’s horny condiment commercial, ‘90s stoners Jay and Silent Bob popped up in a Ben Affleck-centric spot for Dunkin’.

Affleck once again donned an orange tracksuit to perform with the “DunKings,” his Dunkin’-branded boy band (although the word “boy” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there). The DunKings now also include Ben’s brother Casey, Bill Belichick, and Jeremy Strong, who we briefly see emerging from a vat of coffee grounds like a more svelte Baron Harkonnen.

Forget about Jay Leno, who does Ben Affleck owe money to?

The extended version of the ad features Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes as Silent Bob and Jay, respectively. They show up at Java Jam, which is some kind of coffee-themed fan convention.

Ben Affleck hasn't rid himself of Jay and Silent Bob just yet. After appearing in multiple View Askewniverse movies, Affleck reunited with the pot-dealing duo once again, this time for a Dunkin' ad.

On X, Dunkin' shared a new ad featuring Affleck signing autographs for fans while wearing bright orange clothing, representing the brand. He is approached by Jay and Silent Bob, with Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith in character. Affleck greets them by saying, "I thought they banned you from these things." Jay and Silent Bob then inquire about a "DunKings $6 meal deal" before then asking the actor for some autographs.

RelatedClerks: What Happened to the Jay and Silent Bob Cartoon?

Kevin Smith's first work in the animation field came in the short lived Clerks animated series, which became a cult favorite.

Ben Affleck reunites with Jay and Silent Bob for a new Dunkin’ ad.pic.twitter.com...

Exclusive: Chevy Chase (Community), Bruce Dern (Palm Royale) and Joey Lauren Adams (Greedy People) are set to topline CATnip, a thriller with comedic elements from writer-director Nyle Cavazos Garcia (Clean). Anna Clols, an executive producer on the project, will also star.

Set to begin shooting in Los Angeles in February, the indie watches as a struggling family’s fresh start in a run-down apartment building turns into a fight for survival as a horde of feral cats unleashes terror, revealing the dark and deadly horrors lurking within its walls.

Other in the cast include Jake Busey, Geoffrey Arend, Keli Price, Lorelei Linklater, Charlotte Kirk, Brooke Bundy, Kylee Levien, and River Jose. Price is producing under his Price Productions banner, along with Garcia under his Small Town Pictures banner, with Javier C. Ortiz and Amado DeHoyos executive producing. Price also negotiated deals on behalf of the production.

An original Saturday Night Live...

In “Chasing Chasing Amy,” Sav Rodgers takes a journey that goes beyond fandom, examining the complex web that Kevin Smith’s 1997 film woven. This documentary acts as a mirror, reflecting the film’s narrative and the intricate emotional landscapes of its viewers, particularly those from disadvantaged groups.

The coming-of-age story of transgender filmmaker Rodgers is connected to Smith’s work. Rodgers has dealt with bullying and isolation in the past, and “Chasing Amy” has been both a lifeline and a cultural reference for her. This isn’t just a personal investigation; it’s an attempt to question representation—how a film can comfort some while reinforcing damaging stereotypes for others.

The documentary asks what it means to find yourself in a narrative that wasn’t entirely written for you through candid interviews with Smith and Joey Lauren Adams. Rodgers invites viewers to engage with the ramifications of a straight male...

Ben Affleck established himself as a profitable Hollywood leading man, and this would never happen if it wasn’t for the help of Kevin Smith. He credits the director for his success following their meeting and collaboration on 1997’s Chasing Amy.

Ben Affleck in Good Will Hunting / Credits: Miramax

It is so crazy to think how Good Will Hunting – the drama starring Affleck and Matt Damon – would have been different today had both actors never met Smith. The script was written by the duo, but it was Smith who convinced the studio executives that they should lead the movie.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon owe Kevin Smith their Hollywood careers

Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting was the film that put Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s names on the Hollywood map. They weren’t supposed to star in it as the first studio that picked up the project,...

Quick Links What is Gone Baby Gone About? Gone Baby Gone Has a Stacked Cast and Crew Ben Affleck Has Unlimited Artistic Range

Ben Affleck has long cemented himself as one of the premier performers of his generation. From Argo to Gone Girl to the Kevin Smith-directed Chasing Amy, the man continues to prove over and over that he has limitless range. Ben Affleck even donned the cape and cowl to play Batman in the DC Extended Universe, and while the results were controversial, his performance was a notable bright spot. Affleck has even tried his hand at screenwriting and has reached the highest heights in the industry. 1997's Good Will Hunting was not only the writerly debut for Ben Affleck, but it also won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Time and time again, Ben Affleck has reinvented himself to stay relevant in the film industry, and...

Robin Williams’ geek credentials were well-known, but the late comedian surprised comic book creator Michael Allred when he wore a Madman T-shirt during his appearance on HBO’s Comic Relief. This appearance cements Williams’ comic book fandom for all time and shows how deep his love for the medium really went.

Posting to Instagram, Allred relates how Williams was a big fan of Allred’s signature character Madman, to the point where he wore a T-shirt of the character during the Comic Relief V benefit show on HBO in 1992.

View this post on InstagramA post shared by Michael Allred (@allredmd)

Writing that he had previously heard Williams was a big fan of the character, Allred was still thrilled to see the comedian rocking some Madman apparel on TV. Wearing a T-shirt of a cult character like Madman shows how deep Williams’ fandom really went, as Allred’s character had only...

Long before he donned Batman’s cape and cowl, Ben Affleck was part of a wave of young stars appealing to a Gen X audience. His breakout performances in Chasing Amy and Good Will Hunting established the Oscar-winning screenwriter as a handsome, powerful presence with a relaxed sense of humor. Affleck’s fast rise to A-list status in Hollywood put him in the sights of one of cinema’s most influential filmmakers: John Frankenheimer.

Writer/producer/director/actor Kevin Smith is behind the cult classic movies like Clerks, Dogma, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy, an LGBTQ+ film. Smith, in the documentary Chasing Chasing Amy, revealed that one famous talk show host walked out of a screening of Chasing Amy, per People.

“The biggest blowback, God’s truth, that I heard, felt, and was told about was when they told me that Ellen (DeGeneres) and (then-partner) Anne Heche went to see Chasing Amy, and it was reported that they walked out in the first half hour,” Smith revealed in the Sav Rodgers documentary. DeGeneres came out as a lesbian the same year Chasing Amy was released.

“And us being like, ‘Well, that’s the most famous lesbian in the world. We just lost her. That means we’re never getting on The Ellen Show,'” Smith said. People reports that representatives for DeGeneres did not immediately return requests for comment.

“Chasing Chasing Amy” filmmaker Sav Rodgers has signed with Sandstone Artists for management representation.

Rodgers enters the partnership as he looks to expand into scripted content while continuing his documentary work. “Chasing Chasing Amy” explores the complex legacy of Kevin Smith‘s 1997 cult classic movie “Chasing Amy” on LGBTQ+ people and its life-saving impact on Rodgers, who made his feature-length directing debut with the documentary. It premiered at Tribeca 2023 and went on to play at some 75 film festivals including London and BFI Flare.

Kevin Nicklaus, head of production and partner at Sandstone, will serve as Rodgers’ primary representative. Nicklaus’ current slate includes anime adaptation “The Beginning After the End” (Crunchyroll/Fuji TV) and a trilogy of horror features based on Junji Ito properties.

“Anyone who has seen ‘Chasing Chasing Amy’ can attest to the overflowing talent, artistic bravery, and soulfulness of Sav Rodgers. We are eager to help him bring...

Sav Rodgers’ documentary Chasing Chasing Amy premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Festival and has been making the festival rounds ever since, screening at 76 festivals around the world to date. Level 33 Entertainment gave the film a theatrical release last month, and now we’ve learned that Chasing Chasing Amy will be available to rent or own on VOD as of next Tuesday, December 17th!

MediaPlayNews reports that in the documentary, filmmaker Sav Rodgers takes a journey of self-discovery while making a documentary about Kevin Smith’s 1997 film Chasing Amy and its polarizing reputation among LGBTQ+ people. They go on to reveal that Chasing Chasing Amy explores the transformational impact of the ’90s cult classic on a 12-year-old queer kid from Kansas, coming of age and to terms with his identity. For young Sav Rodgers, the Kevin Smith cult classic became a life raft. As Rodgers examines the film and its making...

“Dogma 2” needs Matt and Ben to get made. Fortunately, Kevin Smith has leverage over them.

During an appearance at the Vulture Festival over the weekend (via Deadline) celebrating the 25th anniversary of Smith’s cult favorite fantasy comedy “Dogma,” the writer-director revealed that he’s working on a sequel to the film, which remains one of his most successful, critically and commercially.

“Some people will be like, ‘Don’t f—ing touch it. You’ll ruin it,’” Smith said at the event. “And I’m here to tell you: I will. I’m f—ing tickled. I found a way in.”

Smith said he is confident that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who starred as fallen angels Bartleby and Loki in the original film, will return for the sequel because they owe him for helping their breakthrough film “Good Will Hunting” get made and then forgetting to thank him when...

Director Kevin Smith clarifies new comments about an unexpected follow-up to his successful $43 million 1999 comedy classic. Smith rose to prominence as a wunderkind director who wrote, directed, produced, and edited his debut movie Clerks, based on the day-to-day lives of New Jersey store clerks. Shot for $27,575 in the convenience and video stores where Smith worked in real life, the movie was bought by Miramax, who spent an additional $230,000 on editing and music licensing. The movie was released theatrically in 1994 and became a success, grossing $4.4 million, and launching Smith's career, and spawning two Clerks sequels.

Considered one of the most influential figures in American independent cinema of the 1990s, Smith went on to have a checkered, but largely successful career, directing financially successful movies such as Chasing Amy and Cop Out, as well as box office bombs like Jersey Girl and Yoga Hosers. In later years Smith's filmography pivoted from comedy into movies containing darker elements,...

Kevin Smith has confirmed he's working on a sequel to 'Dogma'.The 54-year-old filmmaker wrote and directed the 1999 fantasy comedy film starring Ben Affleck, 52, as Bartleby and Matt Damon, 54, as Loki and he is hoping the pair will appear in the new movie.Speaking at the Dogma Confessional to mark the flick's 25th anniversary on Sunday (17.11.24) at Vulture Festival, he said: “Some people will be like, ‘Don’t f****** touch it. You’ll ruin it.'“And I’m here to tell you: I will. I’m f****** tickled. I found a way in.”The 'Mallrats' director quipped that he could bribe the pair into filming a cameo because he revived their 1997 film 'Good Will Hunting', but admitted the sequel relies on Ben and Damon reprising their roles as the fallen angels.Kevin said: “I have been able to hold that over both their heads for 25 f****** years,...

Kevin Smith is working on a sequel to Dogma 25 years after its original release, and he expects Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to make at least cameo appearances.

During his “Dogma Confessional” at Vulture Festival, Smith shared his excitement about the project, joking about potential backlash:

Some people will say, ‘Don’t mess with it—you’ll ruin it.’ And I probably will. But I’m thrilled because I’ve found a way to make it happen.”

Smith is confident that Affleck and Damon will return as fallen angels Bartleby and Loki. He humorously added that after helping them with Good Will Hunting in 1997, they owe him.

The panel marked Dogma’s 25th anniversary, reflecting on the original film’s story about two angels trying to find a loophole to get back into heaven. The 1999 movie starred Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, and Alanis Morissette,...

After 25 years, Kevin Smith is reconnecting with the man upstairs for the unholiest of sequels.

During his Dogma Confessional on Sunday at Vulture Festival, the View Askewniverse creator revealed that he’s working on a sequel to the 1999 film, and he expects Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to return for cameos at least.

“Some people will be like, ‘Don’t f—ing touch it. You’ll ruin it,'” said Smith. “And I’m here to tell you: I will. I’m f—ing tickled. I found a way in.”

He sounded confident that Affleck and Damon would reprise their roles as fallen angels Bartleby and Loki. After Smith helped save the pair’s 1997 film Good Will Hunting, without so much as a thank you in their Golden Globes and Oscars speeches, they owe him.

“I have been able to hold that over both their heads for 25 f—ing years,...

When Kevin Smith made Clerks, he was on top of the indie comedy scene. With that, he had some clout to get his next movie going without much of a wait. Unfortunately, it was about as well-received as a stink palm, forcing Smith back to the drawing board — or the comic book panels, returning with Chasing Amy in a go-for-broke move.

Chasing Amy still remains one of the bravest films of the 1990s, not only for its content but for how Kevin Smith used it as a way to show he still had a place in the business. As he remembers in the new documentary Chasing Chasing Amy (via People), “Clerks began my career. Mallrats killed it. So you got me needing to do something to stay in this business, or else we were out. That’s a big part of where [the movie] comes from.”

With Chasing Amy, Kevin Smith concluded...

Film audiences may have first recognized Ben Affleck for his appearance in the 1992 film "School Ties," where he played the main sidekick of the film's central bully. In 1993, Affleck was already behind the camera as well, having made a rather notorious 16-minute short film called "I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney." Affleck played a boorish womanizer named Shannon in Kevin Smith's 1995 comedy "Mallrats," and he teamed with Smith again in 1997 to make the stirring queer romantic drama "Chasing Amy." At the end of 1997, Affleck and his friend Matt Damon became awards darlings thanks to Gun Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting" which they both wrote and starred in. 

Affleck has remained a superstar ever since, having appeared in terse studio dramas, mainstream romances, and numerous action films. He played the superheroes Daredevil and Batman and continued to work with Kevin Smith.

Nerdly’s interviewer extraordinaire fills a bucket list dream by sitting down and chatting with one of his all-time favourite directors Kevin Smith about his new flick The 4:30 Movie – a love letter to the glory days of the cinema.

Kevin Smith is an American director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film Clerks (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted in as the character Silent Bob of stoner duo Jay and Silent Bob, characters who also appeared in Smith’s later films Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Clerks II (2006), Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019), and Clerks III (2022) which are set primarily in his home state of New Jersey. While not strictly sequential, the films have crossover plot elements, character references, and a shared canon known as the “View Askewniverse”, named after Smith’s production company View Askew Productions,...

In the spring of 1997, Chasing Amy hit theaters, serving as a comeback for writer-director Kevin Smith. Earlier in the decade, the New Jersey filmmaker had launched onto the scene with Clerks, a low-budget comedy about some foul-mouthed buddies who worked at a convenience store, earning rave reviews and announcing Smith as a promising new indie talent. But he tarnished that reputation with his follow-up, Mallrats, which was a commercial bomb and critically derided. It’s no exaggeration to say that Smith’s career was hanging in the balance when he released Chasing Amy, a bittersweet love story about a comic-book artist, Holden (Ben Affleck), who falls in love with a fellow artist, Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams). They seem to click, but there’s a problem: She’s gay, thinking of him only as a friend. But the more time they spend together, the more she starts to develop romantic feelings for him.

Could the 1997 romantic comedy Chasing Amy be made today? Depending on who you ask, you'll probably get many different answers. Directed by Kevin Smith and functioning as a loose continuation of Clerks and Mallrats, Chasing Amy sees lovestruck comic book artist Holden (Ben Affleck) fall head-over-heels for the confident and smooth-talking Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams). There's just one problem - Alyssa is an outspoken lesbian who, despite wanting a genuine friendship with Holden, has seemingly no romantic interest in men. What follows is a journey of self-exploration and sexuality that will undoubtedly surprise both of them. As for whether Chasing Amy could be made today, my answer is a resounding "absolutely not," but that doesn't mean the film doesn't have value, largely as Kevin Smith's most emotional movie by far. While it's a product of its time with some outdated terminology and plot points, it still feels ahead of its time in exploring fluid sexuality,...

Revisiting cinematic legacies has become a genre unto itself.   In 2021, the Tribeca Film Festival showcased Eddie Martin's documentary The Kids, a behind-the-scenes expose of Larry Clark's cult classic, revealing a web of collective trauma, exploitation, and victimhood. This year's edition shines a similar spotlight on Kevin Smith's cherished yet problematic rom-com Chasing Amy, all through the lens of director Sav Rodgers.   Rodgers gained viral attention following a Ted talk where he credited the film with saving his life as a queer kid. His talk resonated widely, even prompting Kevin Smith to reach out.   The same film, however, has been criticized for presenting a cishet white man's conception of queer life that lacks genuine representation. Elizabeth Sankey's docu-essay Romantic Comedy critiques the...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

A new documentary exploring the influence of Kevin Smith’s 1997 independent film “Chasing Amy” on a transgender director is set for release next month. Titled “Chasing Chasing Amy,” the film looks at how the movie personally affected Sav Rodgers during his youth and helped shape his identity.

Rodgers discovered “Chasing Amy” as a 12-year-old when he was questioning his sexuality and gender. He says seeing open discussions about sexuality in the film provided him support during a difficult time. While some critics saw problematic portrayals, Rodgers found it helpful in understanding himself better.

“To me, ‘Chasing Amy’ was a film where smart, funny people talked openly about being gay without ever questioning their right to exist,” Rodgers stated. His journey creating the documentary began six years ago after a viral talk he gave about the film’s personal significance.

The original “Chasing Amy” followed a comic book writer who falls...

27 years after its initial release, Kevin Smith’s “Chasing Amy” remains a Rorschach test for questions of representation, authorship, and identity in film.

The 1997 film, which served as a comeback for Smith after his studio flop “Mallrats” threatened to derail the indie wunderkind status that he built with “Clerks,” is a distinct product of its time that offers a Gordian knot of messy questions about sexuality filtered through Smith’s distinctly male gaze. Ben Affleck stars as Holden McNeil, a New Jersey comic book writer who falls in love with Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams in a career-defining performance), a pansexual woman who primarily identifies with the lesbian community. But their whirlwind romance can’t overcome his insecurities over her promiscuous past and the blatant homophobia of his writing partner Banky (Jason Lee), who lashes out at the relationship as a means of dealing with his own repressed homosexuality.

But while...

Before it was commonplace in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the idea of a shared universe across movies was a delight for audiences. It was exciting that the characters in Chasing Amy, Clerks, and Mallrats all seemed to know each other, in part through Jay and Silent Bob. Michael Keaton reprising his role as Ray Nicolette from Jackie Brown in Stephen Soderbergh's Out of Sight was a fun surprise for people who read the Elmore Leonard novels which inspired the two movies. Quentin Tarantino was especially obsessed with this idea, with characters sharing connections across movies like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, but even his faux brand of Red Apple cigarettes being advertised by Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood.

Sav Rodgers’ documentary Chasing Chasing Amy premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Festival and has been making the festival rounds ever since, screening at 76 festivals around the world to date. Now, Level 33 Entertainment is gearing up to give the film a theatrical release on November 1st, and we have the trailer embedded above.

MediaPlayNews reports that in the documentary, filmmaker Sav Rodgers takes a journey of self-discovery while making a documentary about Kevin Smith’s 1997 film Chasing Amy and its polarizing reputation among LGBTQ+ people. They go on to reveal that Chasing Chasing Amy explores the transformational impact of the ’90s cult classic on a 12-year-old queer kid from Kansas, coming of age and to terms with his identity. For young Sav Rodgers, the Kevin Smith cult classic became a life raft. As Rodgers examines the film and its making as a cornerstone of LGBTQ+ cinema, he finds himself at a complicated crossroads.

The arrival of the 30th anniversary of Clerks would likely be more shocking had writer and director Kevin Smith not used this film as a springboard for his own cinematic universe, the View Askewniverse. While the legacy of this movie is important context for any modern review, it's also important to remember it as an independent filmmaker's standalone statement during a time of cinematic change. Clerks is equal parts a timeless ode to "bad" jobs and a time capsule of life in the '90s that simply can't be replicated today.

One has to wonder how artists defined by a single role or film feel about their immortal legacy. From the likes of Star Trek's William Shatner and Captain Kirk to any actor to don Batman's cowl in the past or future, it's a gift and a curse. They are immortalized for that role, but it comes to the...

Its been a long road for Sav Rodgers and his documentary, Chasing Chasing Amy, but the film is officially set for its release on November 1, just a little bit over one year since it celebrated its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Since then, word has spread about the LGBTQ+ centered doc that focuses on Rodgers undying love for Kevin Smiths Chasing Amy, the movie that helped him connect with his community. Today, Collider is proud to exclusively unveil the first look at the films poster, which features the up-and-coming filmmaker chilling in an ice rink alongside his partner in a shot that calls back to one of the original movies most memorable scenes. The title swiftly became a festival favorite, wearing its badges of honor proudly, with the logo of each screening location stamped at the bottom of the poster.

As the controversial Kevin Smith movie celebrates its 25th anniversary, Dogma is getting a re-release.

The View Askewniverse director revealed that his 1999 religious satire is returning to theaters and getting a new home release after another company purchased the distribution rights from Miramax.

“The movie’s been bought away from the guy that had it for years and whatnot,” he said on That Hashtag Show. “The company that bought it, we met with them a couple months ago. They were like, ‘Would you be interested in re-releasing it and touring it like you do with your movies?’ I said, ‘100 percent, are you kidding me? Touring a movie that I know people like, and it’s sentimental and nostalgic? We’ll clean up.'”

Smith continued, “Right now, 2024 is our 25th anniversary, this year. November is when we came out. So, I think 2025 it looks like is when the movement’s going to happen there.

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Kevin Smith has been at an interesting point in his career post-heart attack. He's been revisiting the past with films like "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" and "Clerks III" while also pressing forward into originals once again with his most recent film, "The 4:30 Movie," which has been met with decent reviews thus far. Now though, it seems Smith gets to reclaim a bright (yet controversial) part of his past in the form of 1999's "Dogma." The rights to the film have been wrangled away from Harvey Weinstein, with Smith recently revealing that he and the new owner have big plans beginning next year.

In a recent interview with That Hashtag Show, Smith was promoting "The 4:30 Movie," which is available now on VOD. However, the filmmaker was asked about the status of "Dogma," as it has been largely unavailable for years,...

Kevin Smith spoke about his friendship with the late actor Alan Rickman after making Dogma, which was Smith's fourth film. In the 1999 movie, Rickman played an angel named Metatron, who helped guide Bethany Sloane (Linda Fiorentino) to stop the fallen angels Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon). The film also starred Chris Rock and Salma Hayek, as well as Jason Mewes and Smith as Jay and Silent Bob.

While speaking with GQ, Smith talked about already being a fan of Rickman for his work in the original Die Hard film, where he played the villain Hans Gruber. While Smith was getting prepared to cast Dogma, he was told by an executive from Miramax that Rickman asked about what the director of Chasing Amy was doing next. Smith then cast Rickman as Metatron in the film. Read his account below:

Now, when I watched Die Hard for the first time,...

Just because they serve you... doesn't mean they like you.

Currently, Clerks is streaming for free on Pluto TV. The film, which was the first movie directed by Kevin Smith, was originally released in 1994. Due to its low budget, the film was shot in black and white and primarily takes place in and around a real-life convenience store in New Jersey. It is also the first movie to introduced Smith as Silent Bob alongside Jason Mewes as Jay, launching what would come to be known as the View Askewniverse.

Related Kevin Smiths Clerks: The Animated Series Deserves a Reboot

Clerks: The Animated Series was never given a fair shake during its initial run, but it would undeniably make a perfect fit in the age of streaming.

While the film came early in Smith's career and was hindered by a low budget, it was nevertheless a hit due to its critical acclaim.

With his decades of work in the movie industry, Richard Linklater brought several coming-of-age movies and shows. Out of the lot, Dazed and Confused would definitely stand the tallest given the huge ensemble it boasted. The film was released in 1993 and featured the likes of Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, and Renée Zellweger, to name a few.

A still from Dazed and Confused | Credits: Universal Pictures

While these A-listers were very new to the acting scene at the time, all of them have gone on to have some of the most illustrious Hollywood careers. In this article, we will take a closer look at what the original cast of Dazed and Confused are up to today.

11. Ben Affleck as Fred O’Bannion Ben Affleck in still from Dazed and Confused | Credits: Universal Pictures

In Dazed and Confused, Fred O’Bannion played by Ben Affleck is the closest character to a villain,...

When Kevin Smith made "Clerks" in 1994, he was only 23 and ignorant of the ways of filmmaking. Smith was inspired to make a movie by Richard Linklater's "Slacker," figuring he could write a fun screenplay based on the way he and his friend conversed. Made for only $27,575, "Clerks" was about witty but directionless twentysomethings as they struggled through their romantic angst while trapped at their dead-end jobs. "Clerks" struck a nerve with Gen-Xers, introducing a certain type of pop culture chatter that hadn't really been heard in movies before. It was a huge hit.

Smith returned in 1995 with "Mallrats," another single-day movie about twentysomethings wrestling with their romances and emotional immaturity. His 1997 film "Chasing Amy" was an unconventional romance about a straight man who falls in love with a lesbian, and how the lesbian may be developing feelings for him in exchange. Ultimately, however, the straight man's sexual insecurity causes their relationship to implode.

In 2015, writer, director and podcaster Kevin Smith was lucky enough to play a voice in a Star Wars film, but Smith admitted he wasnt sure which stormtrooper he actually voiced. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Smith talked about doing voice work in J.J. Abrams The Force Awakens.

J.J. was kind enough to let me do a voice for a stormtrooper. And he had a bunch of lines written, so he was like I dont know which one youre gonna be. Just say all 10 of these, the Mallrats director recalled. Flash forward to when the movie was released, Smith said he got a little confused about which part he played.

Related 'I Already Miss You': Kevin Smith Shares Touching Tribute to Mallrats' Shannen Doherty

Mallrats helmer Kevin Smith addresses the loss of his longtime friend Shannen Doherty.

I dont know who it is that I am. I think Im the guy thats like Traitor!

Kevin Smith has worked with Ben Affleck on several movie projects, but it seems that while working on 1997s Chasing Amy, the director became so annoyed by Afflecks constant ad-libbing that Smith told him to put that kind of stuff in your own f*cking script one day. Hilariously, Smith noted that Affleck did just that, leading to great acclaim and an Oscar win to boot.

Chasing Amy was Smiths third directorial effort and starred Affleck as Holden McNeil, a comic book artist who falls in love with Joey Lauren Adams Alyssa, who just happens to be a lesbian. The film, like many of Smiths movies, was a huge financial success, spinning its $250,000 budget into a $12 million box office win.

Chasing Amy RComedyDocumentaryDramaRomance Release Date April 4, 1997Director Kevin SmithCast Ethan Suplee, Ben Affleck, Scott Mosier, Jason Lee, Casey Affleck, Dwight EwellRuntime 113Main Genre ComedyWriters Kevin SmithTagline It's not who you love.

Years later, Kevin Smith reflects optimistically on Jersey Girl. Jersey Girl is a 2004 film written and directed by Smith, that chronicles the story of a widower who has to take care of his young daughter and work on his life and career following a tragedy. Ben Affleck plays the lead role of Ollie Trinke in Jersey Girl, with a supporting cast that includes Liv Tyler, Raquel Castro, Betty Aberlin, and Paulie Litt.

Twenty years after the release of Jersey Girl, Smith discusses the film in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

The director said that "Jersey Girl for the longest time was the redheaded stepchild of all [his] films." In defense of Jersey Girls, however, Smith reminded audiences that Jersey Girl made $25 million at the box office. He also pointed out how hard the release was in the "post-Gigli climate," noting the former film made just $6 million. Check out the full quote...