Kevin Smith explains the funny inside joke behind Ben Affleck's cameo in Clerks III in a new interview. Released in 1994, Smith's first Clerks movie, made on a shoestring budget, has since become a cult classic. The film is the first in what has since been dubbed Smith's View Askewniverse, introducing characters that have become staples of the filmmaker's projects moving forward, including Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith). Clerks was followed by Clerks II in 2006, a direct sequel, but Jay and Silent Bob also appear in a number of Smith's other films, including Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and, most recently, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot in 2019.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
Clerks III was first announced back in 2019, with Smith stating that the film would conclude the saga. The upcoming movie is confirmed to feature the return of a number of characters from the original Clerks and Clerks II, including Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Trevor Fehrman, and Marilyn Ghigliotti. After befriending Smith and appearing in cameo roles in several of his earlier films, including Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II, and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, it's been confirmed that Affleck will return for a cameo in the upcoming Clerks sequel.
Now, in a new interview with Variety, Smith explains that there's actually a very funny inside joke behind Affleck's cameo in the upcoming film. The director explains that, back in the 1990s, Affleck always used to question why Smith spent so much time interacting with fans on the Viewaskew website message board. Affleck's character in Clerks III, Smith explains, is actually a direct reference to one fan, known only as Boston John, who was particularly outspoken about the board's declining quality. Check out Smith's full comment below:
“He was like, ‘I’m there. It’ll be great.’ It was so blissful. He came in for an hour. I had written a part for him that was predicated on this old message board that we had at Viewaskew[dot com]. He was always fascinated by how much time I spent on it, and he was like, ‘Who are these people? Why do you talk to them?’ I was like, ‘Because they’re my bosses; they actually buy the tickets. Never mind what a critic says. This is the person that paid to see the movie.’
[Boston John] goes, ‘Kev, the board sucks. It ain’t what it used to be. Shut it down.’ And Affleck found that hysterical. He was like, ‘This guy named Boston John is literally telling you what to do with your life!’
So when we were coming out to do the audition scene, I handed him the pages and he looked [at his character’s name] and he was like ‘Boston John, the pimp!’ He got to slide into his accent, use his Cambridge as well.”
Affleck became a major movie star with films like Armageddon and Pearl Harbor and would go on to star in the likes of The Town and Gone Girl, in addition to his fan-favorite turn as Batman in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder's Justice League. Affleck and Smith were quite close for many years during the 1990s and early 2000s, but the two became estranged as their respective careers took them in different directions. Now, however, it seems like Smith is happy to once more be working with Affleck and that the latter star was eager to appear in Clerks III.
Although many viewers may experience the franchise for the first time with Clerks III, Smith's story regarding the Viewaskew message boards is sure to please those who have followed the filmmaker's career from its earlier days. Affleck's Boston John won't feature prominently in the film, considering it's a cameo role, but Smith's reveal that the character is a pimp suggests that he might be a memorable addition to the film. With Clerks III now only a few weeks away, audiences don't have long to wait to see what exactly Smith and Affleck have cooked up with the character of Boston John.