By Kevin Smith recently announced his upcoming retirement, citing that he might make a Clerks 3 in the future if he has “something to say in [his] late 40s about being in [his] late 40s.” He recently announced that he was very keen to the idea, but not as a regular movie. Since he’d never been too inclined to do much with the camera in his movies, why not go with the medium that best highlighted dialogue and interpersonal relationships without the bother of the camera? Yes, that’s right: Kevin Smith would like to make Clerks 3 as a play.
The idea came to him, unsurprisingly, while he partook in some of his favorite gardening activities, and he immediately called Jeff Anderson (Randall in the films) to see if he was interested in doing a six week live run of the show. Anderson hasn’t given a definite answer yet, but if he agrees, Smith with go forward with the project.
Smith cites Book of Mormon as inspiration for the possible success of live theatre, but he doesn’t plan on making a musical. This, I think, is where he falls a little short. On the plus side, Smith has a ton of fans who will see anything he does, and since he likely won’t be spending much on effects or anything like that, he’ll probably make a decent amount on the play. On the other hand, the live theatre productions that get the most attention are all musicals. Book of Mormon has a decent story, but the thing that really makes it stand out are the songs. It likely would not have received the attention it got if it were just a straight stage show.
Smith also says that the only directing experience he’d had before making movies was high school plays, but I think the words “high school play” are an immediate red flag. Plus, given how wordy Smith can tend to be, a medium where most shows are at least three hours long might not encourage him to make the cuts he should. Maybe I’m overreacting, but I just can’t see this being too good.
[Via /Film]