Peter James Mann
They Are Supposed to Be Here!
Welcome back to more panel coverage from Rhode Island Comic Con! Today we have a double feature for you: The Jason Mewes Q&A followed by the Clerks Anniversary Panel.
JASON MEWES Q&A
Jason Mewes, better known as Jay from the classic duo Jay and Silent Bob, was as energetic and excited as you might imagine him to be. And after the panel was over, I had a large amount of respect for the man. As of the writing of this article, Jason Mewes has been sober for over 11 years and 4 months. In the late 90s, in between Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy, he still had a day job delivering food. Jason made it very clear he loved what he was doing, but being in film is not always the most extravagant affair.
“In three films,” Jason said, ”I made less than fifteen grand.”
But that wasn’t to garner sympathy. Rather, it was simply to show the attendees that most of the people they’re talking to are very much like them. In many ways, these cons sustain a lot of these performers on top of their day jobs. It made me think hard on my own perceptions and prejudice I might have had on “movie stars” outside of major Marvel or major Blockbuster releases.
Clerks and other View Askew films were very much front and center at the panel, so he started at the beginning. As it turns out, Kevin Smith knew Jason Mewes by watching him as a volunteer at the local Community Center. Over time, Kevin got to know Jason more and found him to be hilarious. Jay is one hundred percent based on Jason when he was aged 14-17. All of the characters in Clerks, one way or another, were based on the actor themselves or another person in Kevin’s life.
When asked about improvisation, Jason was quick to point out Kevin Smith’s hatred of improvisation. He wants the words on the page to be on the screen. It makes sense, especially since Kevin is writing his own scripts for his own films. The script is truly his vision. So when Ben Affleck improvised on Chasing Amy, Kevin got very upset.
“If you want to say your own words,” Jason quoted Kevin as saying, “write your own script.” Ben Affleck would go on to write and star in Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon. However, since working with Seth Rogan, he has loosened up on his improv rules.
Chris was able to get to the microphone himself and ask a question about Jason Mewes’s directorial debut, Madness in the Method. I could see the excitement in his face to speak about his own film, much in the same way he speaks about Kevin’s movies.
“It was awesome, man,” Jason said. “Of course I was a little worried because the pressure is on and they’re giving you money to make a movie and stuff.” He went on to explain that while they were able to get some money, he was an unproven director, which made it more difficult.
“And I wasn’t just directing, I was acting in front of the camera too,” he continued. “But I think I’d enjoy it more if I was just behind the camera because it was a lot to switch back and forth.” Sitting next to Kevin Smith, getting to direct PSAs, music videos, and short films all helped him build the skill set to execute the project. “But I loved it, man,” Jason concluded.
THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE: THE CLERKS REUNION
Brian O’Halloran (Dante) couldn’t be happier that the cast reunited for RICC. He had come to Rhode Island for the last six years and pitched it to the cast and crew each time. Finally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, they had said yes. This is also Trevor Fehrman’s (Elias) first Comic Con.
Scott Schaffio (Chewlie’s Gum Guy) answered the first question, which was did they think they would be here 28, 30 years later? He said he had no idea, especially since back then Comic Con was for just comics. He then threw out packs of Chewlie’s gum to the crowd.
Marilyn Ghigliotti (Veronica) had never been to Rhode Island Comic Con, and also didn’t think conventions were actually a thing until she was approached by a promoter and she got a second opinion from Brian O’Halloran. It made her excited that people would pay for her autograph! That concept was wild!
Jeff Anderson (Randal) auditioned because his friend was so bad at the scene and Kevin asked him to try. And originally, he auditioned for Jay as a backup in case Jason Mewes couldn’t do it. But this was before Kevin met Brian. Brian originally forgot about the auditions, but he did so well on the 2nd day reading that Kevin invited him back anyway. He decided to cast him as one of the leads instead, along with Jeff, and Kevin “took care” of the fact that the other principal actors were already cast.
For Trevor’s character, it was very unique for Kevin’s universe. Most are very fast talking and witty, where Elias’ delivery is slower and he frequently doesn’t pick up on some of the jokes. Trevor also said his character was developed to be meaner in the beginning, but he morphed into what he called, “an abused dog,” where you feel sorry for him and what the other characters are doing to him. You want to rescue him from the situation in a lot of ways.
For Scott and Marilyn, they also had pieces of them that were a part of themselves, but in more odd occurrences. Scott loathes smoking in real life, and Marilyn is very loyal to her partners as well. However, Kevin didn’t know that about them when they were cast.
A fun question from the audience was if the cast members could be any superhero, what would it be? Kevin Weisman (Hobbit Lover) chose The Flash, while Scott and Marilyn picked Batman and Woman Woman respectively. Jeff went with Underdog, which got a huge round of applause. Trevor and Brian went over to Team Marvel with Trevor choosing Professor X and Brian picking Black Panther.
The View Askew crew love playing pranks on each other. Brian and Jeff told the crowd about their favorite prank from Clerks 2. While they were shooting on the roof of the QuickStop, Jeff was playing with a table saw. After a couple of minutes, he screamed and Brian ran back to Kevin saying he cut his hand.
Kevin arrived on scene, not knowing that even the medics were aware of the joke. Jeff had his hand wrapped and covered in ketchup. Odds are, Kevin wasn’t able to smell it due to the fact that, even while helping Jeff, he couldn’t go without a lit cigarette dangling from his lips.
Jeff pointed out several times that he does not consider himself an actor. He only does these films for View Askew basically after being pestered enough to leave his home in the woods (to which the cast gleefully confirmed that he does, in fact, live deep within the woods of Colorado). Brian could not pass up the opportunity to talk up Jeff’s artistic abilities as a writer, director, and mosaic artist.
While they were unable to offer any plot details of the upcoming Clerks III, they did offer us some behind-the-scenes details. All of the cast members of the original Clerks film said it was like going back in time. And when asked by the audience if the cast members took anything from the original set as souvenirs, it was revealed that Scott still has the Pickle in a Bag from Clerks at his house, thankfully unopened.
That’s it for today, but be on the lookout for the rest of our coverage from our time at RICC! See you soon!
