Is it a TV series? Is it a book? No, it’s definitely a film. Kevin Smith has taken to Twitter and Facebook with the announcement that he has finished the first draft for Clerks III. The writer-director began writing the script at the start of March. Clocking in at a mammoth 137 pages, his initial draft will no doubt undergo a series of rewrites before it’s ready for shooting.
The director exclaimed on his Facebook page: “IT IS ACCOMPLISHED! CLERKS III, FIRST DRAFT!” He went on to say, along with a snapshot of the first slate:
“…it plays like THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of what’s now become the Clerks Trilogy. And I am SO in love with it. Pictured is the script with the clapboard we used on the original CLERKS. Both the old clapboard and the old filmmaker are ready to go back to Jersey for the last time.”
For a time there was talk that Smith would adapt the idea for the final instalment into a TV series. Before Clerks II was a glint in his eye, Smith spun the events following Clerks into a TV show, Clerks: The Animated Series. A hit with fans on DVD, the show was canceled by Fox after just two episodes were aired.
Harvey Weinstein grabbed the rights to Clerks a while back. This almost certainly points to the film becoming a co-production between Smith’s own View Askew label and The Weinstein Company. The two have a pre-existing relationship too, as Weinstein snapped up the distribution for the original Clerks back in 1994.
News of Smith’s first draft has been met web-wide with mixed reactions. Fans of his View Askewniverse are ecstatic, while some critics remain sceptical. This writer, however, could not be more excited at the prospect of a closing chapter to Smith’s series. All the best works of art are divisive and Smith never caters to what critics deem “high culture.” His films have heart, soul and a a shotload of jizz and poop gags.
If Clerks III is to be his last film, it’ll be a bittersweet day when it’s released.
