Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks

Clerks is a 1994 American independent black-and-white comedy film written, produced, co-edited and directed by Kevin Smith in his debut. The independent film stars Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Jason Mewes, and Lisa Spoonauer, it presents a day in the lives of store clerks Dante Hicks (O'Halloran) and Randal Graves (Anderson) as well as their acquaintances. It is the first of Smith's View Askewniverse films, and introduces several recurring characters, notably Jay and Silent Bob (played by Mewes and Smith respectively). The film was initially shot for $27,575 before its film rights were purchased by Miramax Films, and $230,000 was spent on music licensing and editing. It was shot in the convenience stores and video stores where Smith worked in real life. Clerks had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 1994, and was released in the United States on October 19. The film received positive reviews and grossed $4.4 million, launching Smith's career. Often regarded as a landmark in independent filmmaking, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2019 as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2006, a sequel was released, followed by a third installment in 2022.