View Askewniverse
Fictional universe and media franchise by Kevin Smith From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fictional universe and media franchise by Kevin Smith From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The View Askewniverse is a fictional universe created by writer/director Kevin Smith, featured in several films, comics and a television series; it is named for Smith's production company, View Askew Productions. The characters Jay and Silent Bob appear in almost all the View Askewniverse media, and characters from one story often reappear or are referred to in others. Smith often casts the same actors for multiple characters in the universe, sometimes even in the same film; Smith himself portrays the character of Silent Bob.
| View Askewniverse | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Kevin Smith |
| Original work | Clerks (1994) |
Smith's recurring characters, settings, and motifs first appeared in his debut film, Clerks. Since then, the main canon has consisted of nine feature films, in addition to several short films, comic books, and a short-lived animated TV series. The View Askewniverse is centered on the towns of Leonardo, Highlands, and Red Bank, all located in Monmouth County, central New Jersey.[1] Chasing Amy also takes place partly in New York City, while Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot involve road trips.
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clerks | October 19, 1994 | Kevin Smith | Kevin Smith | Kevin Smith & Scott Mosier |
| Mallrats | October 20, 1995 | Sean Daniel, James Jacks & Scott Mosier | ||
| Chasing Amy | April 4, 1997 | Scott Mosier | ||
| Dogma | November 12, 1999 | |||
| Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | August 24, 2001 | |||
| Clerks II | July 21, 2006 | |||
| Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie! | April 20, 2013 | Steve Stark | Jason Mewes & Jordan Monsanto | |
| Jay and Silent Bob Reboot | October 15, 2019 | Kevin Smith | Liz Destro & Jordan Monsanto | |
| Clerks III | September 13, 2022[2] |
The first film in the series of the View Askewniverse, Clerks follows a day in the lives of two store clerks, Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson). Dante is called into work at the Quick Stop convenience store on his day off until the boss can relieve him at noon. As Dante serves a succession of customers, he repeatedly complains that he is "not even supposed to be here today". Randal works at RST Video next door, although he spends almost the entire day relaxing at the Quick Stop. Dante learns he will be working all day, and decides to close the store for brief periods to play hockey on the roof and to attend a memorial service for his ex-girlfriend. An old flame now engaged surprises him with a visit. The two had been talking on the phone for months and after seeing each other again they are keen to reunite and leave their current relationships.
Two young men, Brodie Bruce and T.S. Quint, hang out at a mall after being dumped by their girlfriends, while also trying to avoid the wrath of Shannon Hamilton. The film occurs one day before the events of Clerks.
A heterosexual man, Holden McNeil, falls in love with a lesbian woman, Alyssa Jones, causing conflict with his homophobic best friend, Banky Edwards, with whom he has created a comic book called Bluntman and Chronic based upon their friends Jay and Silent Bob.
The world ends if two angels enter a church in New Jersey and Jesus' last scion, Jay and Silent Bob, and the thirteenth Apostle have to stop them.
Jay and Silent Bob embark on a road-trip to Hollywood to try to stop production of a Bluntman and Chronic movie. Within the film, the Bluntman and Chronic movie was to be based on the comic made by the protagonists of Chasing Amy.
Roughly ten years after Clerks, after an accident destroys the Quick Stop, Dante and Randal are now employed in the fast food industry.
The animated film depicts the events within the Bluntman and Chronic comic written by the protagonists of Chasing Amy, which was to be adapted into a movie in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Kevin Smith adapted the script from the Bluntman and Chronic comics story he had originally written as a companion piece to the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
After losing the legal rights to their names over a film reboot of Bluntman and Chronic, Jay and Silent Bob travel across the United States to try to prevent the reboot from being made.
Following the release of Clerks II, Smith reported that, for several years after, a script was finished but production was delayed in favor of other projects.[3] By February 2017, he announced via his social media page that development had stopped, and the film would not be made, when Jeff Anderson dropped out of the project.[4]
By September 2019, Smith announced that he had scrapped the previous draft, and had begun working a whole new script for the project. The filmmaker confirmed that many of the creatives from the previous films would return, including Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran.[5] The new Clerks III would follow Dante and Randal, after surviving a heart attack, making a movie at the store.[6] The plot was initially conceived for a film adaptation of Clerks: The Animated Series titled Clerks: Sell Out. Principal photography began on August 2, 2021, in Red Bank, New Jersey.[7][8] Filming wrapped on August 31, 2021.[9] The film was released on September 13, 2022, by Lionsgate and Fathom Events.[10][11]
On March 12, 2015, Kevin Smith confirmed that Mallrats 2 was being written and was slated to begin shooting in May 2016.[12][13] In April 2015, Smith announced that Mallrats 2 would be his next film, instead of Clerks III as originally intended, and would begin production the following year.[13] In January 2020, Smith announced that development on Mallrats 2 has started up again, under a new title Twilight of the Mallrats.[14]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drawing Flies | November 24, 1996 | Matt Gissing & Malcolm Ingram | Kevin Smith, Matt Gissing, Scott Mosier & Malcolm Ingram | |
| Scream 3 | February 4, 2000 | Wes Craven | Ehren Kruger | Cathy Konrad, Kevin Williamson & Marianne Maddalena |
| Zack and Miri Make a Porno | October 31, 2008 | Kevin Smith | Scott Mosier | |
| Madness in the Method | August 2, 2019 | Jason Mewes | Dominic Burns & Chris Anastasi | Rob Weston, Jason Mewes, Dominic Burns & Mickey Gooch Jr. |
In 2018, STX Entertainment announced that their Surreal division was working with Kevin Smith on a VR series that would star Jay and Silent Bob.[17]
Smith often casts the same actors for multiple characters in the universe, sometimes even in the same film. This is most notable in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, in which several actors play multiple characters from earlier View Askewniverse films.
Smith and Jason Mewes are the only actors to appear in every film as the same characters. Two other actors have appeared in every film, as different characters: Walt Flanagan and Brian O'Halloran, with O'Halloran always appearing as a member of the Hicks family (most notably Dante).
The more notable recurring actors include:
| Actor | Clerks | Mallrats | Chasing Amy | Dogma | Clerks: The Animated Series | Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | Clerks II | Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie | Jay and Silent Bob Reboot | Clerks III |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Mewes | Jay | |||||||||
| Kevin Smith | Silent Bob | Silent Bob Himself |
Silent Bob | |||||||
| Walt Flanagan | Woolen cap smoker various unnamed characters |
Walt the Fanboy | Walt the Fanboy (deleted scene) |
Walt the Fanboy (Protester #2) |
Walt the Fanboy | Woolen cap smoker | Shower Bully 3 Giagra ad narrator |
Walt the Fanboy Himself |
Hockey player Egg checker | |
| Brian O'Halloran | Dante Hicks | Gil Hicks | Jim Hicks | Grant Hicks | Dante Hicks | Dante Hicks Grant Hicks Himself |
Dante Hicks | |||
| Scott Mosier | Willam Black angry hockey-playing customer |
Roddy | Tracer collector | Bus passenger | Willam Black (uncredited) |
Willam Black Extras Wrangler |
Concerned Father | The General Quick-Stop hipster guy |
Willam Black (Auditioner 14) | |
| Jeff Anderson | Randal Graves | Gun shop clerk | Randal Graves | Randal Graves | ||||||
| Ernest O'Donnell | Rick Derris | Bystander | Reporter (deleted scene) |
Cop | Himself | Hockey player Rick Derris | ||||
| Vincent Pereira | Various unnamed characters | Startled pinball player | Quick Stop customer | |||||||
| John Willyung | Dante's killer (deleted scene) |
Cohee Lundin | Passerby | Himself | Cohee Lundin | |||||
| David Klein | Various unnamed characters | Bald comic fan | ||||||||
| Virginia Sheridan (née Smith) | Animal masturbator customer | Comic-Con woman | Alyssa's Wife | Caged animal masturbator | ||||||
| Grace Smith | Milk Maid | Milk Maid | Chronic Con Attendee | Auditioner 18 | ||||||
| Marilyn Ghigliotti | Veronica Loughran | Herself | Veronica Loughran | |||||||
| Scott Schiaffo | Chewlies Rep | Himself | Chewlies Rep | |||||||
| Lisa Spoonauer | Caitlin Bree | Caitlin Bree | ||||||||
| Kimberly Gharbi (née Loughran) | Heather Jones | Woman in elevator (uncredited) |
Heather Jones | |||||||
| Ed Hapstak | Sanford | |||||||||
| Joey Lauren Adams | Alyssa Jones (2004 special edition) |
Gwen Turner | Alyssa Jones | Alyssa Jones | Alyssa Jones | |||||
| Bryan Johnson | Steve-Dave | Steve-Dave (deleted scene) |
Steve-Dave (Protester #1) |
Steve-Dave | Shower Bully 2 Travis the Comic-Hating Bully |
Himself | Hockey player | |||
| Jason Lee | Brodie Bruce | Banky Edwards | Azrael | Brodie Bruce Banky Edwards |
Lance Dowds | Brodie Bruce | ||||
| Ben Affleck | Shannon Hamilton | Holden McNeil | Bartleby | Holden McNeil himself |
Gawking guy | Holden McNeil | Boston John (Auditioner 11) | |||
| Ethan Suplee | Willam Black | Fan | Golgothan (voice) |
Teen #2 | Willam Black (Auditioner 13) | |||||
| Shannen Doherty | Rene Mosier | Herself | ||||||||
| Renee Humphrey | Tricia Jones | Tricia Jones | ||||||||
| Malcolm Ingram | Creepy staring guy | Creepy staring guy | Pissing customer | |||||||
| Stan Lee | Himself | Himself | ||||||||
| Dwight Ewell | Hooper X | Kane the gang leader | Hooper X | |||||||
| Matt Damon | Shawn Oran (TV executive #2) | Loki | Himself | Loki | ||||||
| Guinevere Turner | Singer | Bus station attendant | ||||||||
| Carmen Llywelyn | Kim | Daphne look-alike | ||||||||
| Dan Etheridge | Priest | Plug | Deputy | |||||||
| Chris Rock | Rufus | Chaka Luther King | ||||||||
| George Carlin | Cardinal Glick | Blowjob-giving hitchhiker | ||||||||
| Alanis Morissette | God | God | ||||||||
| Paul Dini | George Lucas | Bluntman & Chronic Loader Clapper |
||||||||
| Shannon Elizabeth | Justice Faulken | Justice Faulken | ||||||||
| Jennifer Schwalbach Smith | Missy "Miss" McKenzie | Emma Bunting | Blunt-Girl | Missy "Miss" McKenzie | Emma Bunting | |||||
| Jason Biggs | Himself | Himself | ||||||||
| James Van Der Beek | Himself | Himself | ||||||||
| Jake Richardson | Teen #1 | Teen #1 | ||||||||
| Harley Quinn Smith | Baby Silent Bob | Kid in window | Millenium "Milly" Faulken | |||||||
| Nick Fehlinger | Teen #2 | Teen #2 | ||||||||
| Rosario Dawson | Becky Scott | Reggie Faulken | Becky Scott | |||||||
| Trevor Fehrman | Elias Grover | Elias Grover | ||||||||
| Ming Chen | Shower Bully 1 | Himself | Hockey player | |||||||
| Mike Zapcic | Bank Robber Cop 2 | Himself | Hockey player | |||||||
| Marc Bernardin | Mayor of Asbury Park | Sleepy Blunt-Fan | Lando | |||||||
A beat 'em up video game titled Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch was funded in April 2016, and has yet to be released. The game began production after being successfully crowdfunded on Fig.[19]
Another beat 'em up video game titled Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl released to the backers of Chronic Blunt Punch for free on Steam in 2020. It is available to purchase digitally on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. Limited Run Games released a physical edition, with pre-orders becoming available for purchase on April 20, 2021. An NES port was also released shortly after its launch on modern platforms.
Jay and Silent Bob appear as cameo characters in Randal's Monday, a point-and-click adventure game published by Daedalic Entertainment . Jason Mewes reprises his role as Jay. The main character of the game is named Randal Hicks (a name combining both Randal Graves and Dante Hicks, the protagonists of Clerks), and is voiced by Jeff Anderson, the actor for Randal Graves in the View Askewniverse films. However, the character and plot of the game bear no relation to Clerks or the View Askewniverse.
| Film | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer(s) | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing companies | Running time | ||
| Film series | |||||||
| Clerks | Benji Gordon | David Klein | Kevin Smith Scott Mosier |
Miramax Films View Askew Productions |
1hr 32mins | ||
| Mallrats | Ira Newborn | Paul Dixon | Alphaville Films Gramercy Pictures (I) View Askew Productions |
Gramercy Pictures | 1hr 34mins | ||
| Chasing Amy | David Pirner | Kevin Smith Scott Mosier |
Too Askew Prod., Inc. View Askew Productions |
Miramax, LLC | 1hr 53mins | ||
| Dogma | Howard Shore | Robert Yeoman | STKstudio View Askew Productions |
Lions Gate Films | 2hrs 8mins | ||
| Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | James L. Venable | Jamie Anderson | Miramax Films Dimension Films View Askew Productions |
Miramax, LLC | 1hr 44mins | ||
| Clerks II | David Klein | Kevin Smith | The Weinstein Company View Askew Productions |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp. |
1hr 37mins | ||
| Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie! | Josh Earl | SModcast Pictures View Askew Productions |
Phase 4 Films | 1hr 3mins | |||
| Jay and Silent Bob Reboot | Yaron Levy | Kevin Smith | Mewesings Destro Films Miramax Films Intercut Capital Hideout Pictures SModcast Pictures View Askew Productions Skit Bags Entertainment |
Saban Films | 1hr 45mins | ||
| Clerks III | Learan Kahanov | SModcast Pictures View Askew Productions |
Lionsgate Films | 1hr 34mins[10] | |||
| Related films | |||||||
| Drawing Flies | Murray Stiller | Brian Pearson | Matt Gissing Malcolm Ingram |
View Askew Productions | 1hr 16mins | ||
| Scream 3 | Marco Beltrami | Peter Deming | Patrick Lussier | Konrad Pictures Dimension Films Miramax Film Corp. Craven/Maddalena Films |
Dimension Films | 1hr 47mins | |
| Zack and Miri Make a Porno | James L. Venable | David Klein | Kevin Smith | View Askew Productions | The Weinstein Company | 1hr 42mins | |
| Madness in the Method | Si Begg | Vince Knight | Adam Sykes | Malibu Films Autumnwood Media Straightwire Films Hawthorn Productions Red Rock Entertainment Happy Hour Productions Skit Bags Entertainment |
Cinedigm | 1hr 39mins | |
Following Clerks, Smith wrote a film called Busing for Hollywood Pictures, a now-defunct Disney studio. It was described as "Clerks in a restaurant." The film was announced around 1994 and was intended to be part of the View Askewniverse.[20] The film was not made, but the film was featured at the end of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back as a poster parodying the Clerks poster.[21]
A follow-up to Chasing Amy, Smith wrote a new film set in the View Askewniverse starring the trio from Amy that was not a sequel. Smith said "it was kind of porn-bent." Affleck and Adams were interested in doing the project, but plans eventually fell through.[22] Smith's efforts to develop a project about pornography led to the 2008 film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Smith abandoned Name in favor of Dogma.
In late November 2005, Smith responded to talk of a possible sequel to Dogma on the ViewAskew.com message boards:
So weird you should ask this, because ever since 9/11, I have been thinking about a sequel of sorts. I mean, the worst terrorist attack on American soil was religiously bent. In the wake of said attack, the leader of the "Free World" outed himself as pretty damned Christian. In the last election, rather than a quagmire war abroad, the big issue was whether or not gay marriage was moral. Back when I made Dogma, I always maintained that another movie about religion wouldn't be forthcoming, as Dogma was the product of 28 years of religious and spiritual meditation, and I'd kinda shot my wad on the subject. Now? I think I might have more to say. And, yes, the Last Scion would be at the epicenter of it. And she'd have to be played by Alanis. And we'd need a bigger budget, because the entire third act would be the Apocalypse. Scary thing is this: the film would have to touch on Islam. And unlike the Catholic League, when those cats don't like what you do, they issue a death warrant on your ass. And now that I've got a family, I'm not as free to stir the shit-pot as I was when I was single, back when I made Dogma. I mean, now I've gotta think about more than my own safety and well-being. But regardless – yeah, a Dogma followup's been swimming around in my head for some time now.[23]
Over a decade later, there has apparently been no further discussion.[24] But in October 2017, Smith revealed that he no longer desired to make any new religious films.[25]
Near the same time as the cancellation, just weeks before the Weinstein scandal broke to the public, Harvey Weinstein pitched to Smith about doing a sequel. Not much came from this pitch, but it was just a mere idea for Weinstein. According to Smith in an interview with Business Insider, he recalls:
I said, 'Hey, how are you?' And he goes, 'You know, we have Dogma, I just realized, and we got to get it out there again.' I said, 'We do! People online are always asking where they can get it. And he then goes, 'You know, that movie had a big cast, we might even be able to do a sequel.' And I was like, 'Yeah man, right on. I might think about that.' And he was like, 'We'll talk.' And a week later The New York Times story breaks. I felt sick to my stomach.
Smith believes that he only got the call because, as he believes, "It was him looking to see who was a friend still because his life was about to shift completely."[26]
For several years following the cancellation of Clerks: The Animated Series, Smith announced plans to make an animated film. He revealed in a commentary on Episode 6 that it would go theatrical (with the hopes to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature),[27] but later made plans to go direct-to-video. The basic plot involved Dante and Randal making a movie about their lives at the Quick Stop, a reference to the production of the original film. In an interview, Kevin Smith expanded on the delays surrounding the film. He stated that when Harvey and Bob Weinstein left Miramax, owned at the time by The Walt Disney Company, the split was not completely amicable. The rights to the Clerks television series were still owned by Disney, who as a result were reluctant to work with The Weinstein Company, throwing the future of Clerks: Sell Out into question.[28] At the 2007 Cornell Q&A, Smith said due to the Miramax/Weinstein argument "you will see a Jay and Silent Bob cartoon before Clerks: Sell Out."
Despite the fact that Sell Out might not get made, Smith's new script for the long-awaited Clerks III will follow the original plot from the animated film.[29]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
