One of the most unique voices to emerge during the American independent filmmaking renaissance of the 1990s, Kevin Smith was born in New Jersey on August 2, 1970. Smith later attended the New School for Social Research's creative writing program, dropping out after administrators contacted his parents to report that their son had been caught launching water balloons out of his dormitory window. He subsequently enrolled in the Vancouver Film School, but again ended his stay after just four months. Returning home to New Jersey, Smith accepted a job in a local convenience store and began plotting his next move. Inspired by the success of director Richard Linklater's 1991 low-budget hit Slacker, he contacted former film-school comrade Scott Mosier, and together the duo began discussing producing their own feature.

After rounding up just over 27,000 dollars — collected from parents, credit-card advances, and the sale of Smith's beloved comic book collection — they shot Clerks, a hilariously scabrous look at American consumer culture steeped in Smith's own experiences behind the cash register. Shooting each night in the same convenience store where the director worked by day, they completed production in just three weeks and began promoting the feature on the festival circuit. In 1994, Clerks…  » Read more