Rosario Dawson teases Clerks III and what could have been in abandoned script
Kevin Smith previously revealed that his first draft took place around Hurricane Sandy
Aux News Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson is the queen of the multiverse: she’s a figure in the MCU, Star Wars, and the View Askewniverse. With Clerks III premiering imminently, the actor admits to The Hollywood Reporter that the new film had her “ugly crying”—but it was almost an entirely different story.
“Kevin [Smith] had a version of the [Clerks III] script floating around. He had written it a few years ago, but it ended up not happening, which was devastating,” she recalls. “And then he had a widowmaker heart attack; we almost lost him. And then a year later, to the date, he commenced filming on Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, which I got to be part of. So just to get back with him and the gang again was so, so special.”
Smith has spoken of the first draft of Clerks III, telling THR it took place during Hurricane Sandy, which destroyed the Quick Stop with flooding. Randal had a nervous breakdown and decided to start queuing for the new Ranger Danger film a year in advance, which kickstarted a “weird movement.” “A village sprouts up in the parking lot of the movie theater. Randal builds a lean-to version of Quick Stop, like a bodega-shanty version, and becomes the unofficial mayor of this town. It was a movie about dealing with grief,” Smith explained. “It was so far-flung from Clerks. Mercifully, we never made it. And then suddenly, I had the heart attack and was like, oh, that would be a good backbone for this movie.”
For her part, Dawson says the filmmaker “brought Becky back in a very controversial way, which is not shocking for Kevin, of course.” She continued, “But it was heartbreaking, and it also just felt really special and important and magical. I love that this character became so important over so many years that being brought up to date on the state of things could immediately have such an impact on the storytelling of this film.”
Dawson claims the new Clerks is a “perfect amalgamation of” the previous two films, calling it “poignant” and “emotional” but “still just as funny and irreverent and all of those wonderful things.” She adds, “It also has a lot of humanity to it. So Kevin really delivers, as he has all these years, and it’s why he’s made such an impact on this industry. Only Kevin could make such a self-referential film and get away with it.”
26 Comments
When are we getting an Olaf spin-off?
“Do you want to watch my film Berserker!”
“That’s beautiful, maaan…”
“Would you like some watching film, Berserker!”
“Did he just say ‘raking two-shot’?”
would you like some making fuckBERSERKER
did you say “making fuck”?!
would you like some making fuckBERSERKER
Yes! And just call it “Fuck You Yankee Blue Jeans”
Metal face!
As much as I hate most anything Kevin Smith touches post-90s, I did have a great time with Clerks 2. As a sequel to Clerks, it’s mostly a disaster, but I laughed a lot.
The problem is I think Clerks 2 was the last time I like something Kevin Smith has done. Zack and Miri was okay.
I can’t explain why I enjoyed Tusk. Maybe it was the voiceover, while the credits rolled and I couldn’t believe that they successfully made a weird stoner joke into a horror movie, but I really like Tusk.
Other than that, I pretty much only like Clerks, Mallrats, and the first half of Clerks II.
You ought to check out Red State. Trust me.
Why does Smith smile in every picture like a five year old posing for their first year book portrait?
Low self-confidence. Make a purposely stupid face, and then you won’t be disappointed in how you look in the picture, because it was “on purpose”.
As someone who smiles like that I can explain:
I HATE the way my natural smile looks in photos. It looks awkward so, I overdo it when I know my photo is being taken.
I’ve met him and Jay, took pics and Smith also does that pointing to/indicating whoever else is in the picture like “Look at this cool MFer I’m posing with!” They were really nice. Ok, I paid for the experience, but they were very nice.
Everyone always says Kevin be cheesin’. It just used to refer to something different.
“Ugly crying” is a really evocative saying but it implies the existence of “pretty crying” or “beautiful crying” which aren’t really things.
I don’t know. I bet Rosario Dawson sometimes looks gorgeous when she cries.
The cancelled version sounds like it would be funnier.
than being stabbed
“poignant” “emotional” “a lot of humanity” words used to describe a sequel to a movie where a guy fucks a donkey.
this guy sucks so much
Dude does not look well in that picture. I know he lost a lot of weight, but there’s a hollowness to his face that reminds me of some other celebrities that didn’t have a good outcome.