Kevin Smith and The Weinsteins have a long and storied relationship going back to Miramax releasing the original CLERKS back in 1994. Since then, almost all of Kevin Smith‘s films have been financed and released by the various companies the Weinsteins have been a part of. That is, until now it seems.
Smith told Screen Daily that after turning in the completed screenplay to Harvey Weinstein, he was given the bad news.
“[The Weinsteins] passed. I went in with a $6m budget and they were, like, ‘Oh no Kevin, this is too high’. Bob offered us distribution but they weren’t going to finance it,”
While CLERKS was a surprise hit made on a micro-budget and CLERKS II grossed $24 million on a $5 million budget, Smith’s other recent films have not fared well at the box office. Smith surely has the ability to go the IndieGoGo or Kickstarter route like fellow filmmakers Spike Lee and Zach Braff, but otherwise he may not get it made. Fans hoping for a cap to the CLERKS series may be in for some disappointment as the Weinsteins have exclusive rights to release CLERKS III and could prevent it from seeing the light of day.
Smith’s next film, TUSK, however is moving towards a release date and Smith already has a spin-off prepared. Titled YOGA-HOSERS, the spin-off will follow a pair of tangental characters seen only for a few minutes in TUSK as they get their own film. Smith described the pair as a very Rosencrantz and Guilderstern pairing, referencing the famous Shakespearean comic relief.
TUSK currently has no release date but expect it to hit theaters late this year or next year. As for CLERKS 3, who knows?