See Kevin Smith Begin Work On A New Movie Set In The Eighties
Kevin Smith appears to have begun work on a new movie set in the decade that Stranger Things made famous, the 1980s. Smith has apparently been feeling very active of late, as this so-far untitled movie is just one of several projects in the works. The filmmaker/podcaster/raconteur/Silent Bob has two movies coming out in 2022, but there is no indication of when this new film might kick into development. Kevin Smith posted a peek at his new movie on his very-active Twitter account. Check it out:
The opening page of the new Kevin Smith script has no real details of the movie, but it appears to have caught attention by being set in 1986 (on May 24th, specifically). All of Smith’s previous films have taken place in the contemporary times in which they were filmed; in particular, several of his films from the 1990s are considered extremely representative of the decade. This new film has a number of signifiers of the 1980s from the get-go, from a mention of the 1985 hit song “I Can’t Wait” by Portland R&B group Nu Shooz, to a boombox to a rotary phone. Knowing Kevin Smith, he is probably not reluctant to lay on the cultural references pretty thick, so the rest of this script is probably chock-full of mentions of the Challenger Space Shuttle disasters, the meltdown of the Soviet Chernobyl nuclear, and the release of the hit film Crocodile Dundee. Probably some off-color jokes, too.
Kevin Smith first came to prominence with the release of his debut film Clerks in 1994. While it did not receive a wide release, it grossed a surprisingly robust $3 million; according to the legend of the film, it was produced for a mere $24,000, largely funded by credit cards, parental assistance, and the sale of Kevin Smith’s comic book collection. He followed Clerks with Mallrats, which was a critical and commercial failure that has since been regarded as a cult classic; it also launched the acting career of pro-skater Jason Lee. His following films received the highest praise of his career, 1997’s romantic comedy-drama Chasing Amy and the supernatural comedy Dogma in 1999.
Following Dogma, Kevin Smith’s career took odd turns. He infamously ran afoul of Bruce Willis with the buddy cop movie Cop Out and made the odd walrus body horror film Tusk. Throughout the course of his career, Kevin Smith has repeatedly returned to the View Askewniverse, the shared universe of films in which Clerks (and its sequels), Mallrats, Dogma, and others take place. It is unclear whether this new, untitled film will also be set in the View Askewniverse. Kevin Smith himself portrays Silent Bob in the films, the nearly-mute companion of Jason Mewes’ more verbose and profane stoner character Jay. We will just have to wait and see if this new project actually gets made, unlike his abandoned Superman project and a long-gestating sequel to the Chevy Chase comedy Fletch.
