Ménage Á Pop is a three times a week intimate discussion between two people and a piece of pop culture.

You can’t spell podcasting without D-I-Y (providing you got your letters from IKEA … as there’s always SOMETHING left over). But prior to anyone owning an Ipod, most creative pursuits seemed so far out of reach. That is until a counter jockey from Jersey made his vulgar debut. Filmmaker, podcaster and all around public persona Kevin Smith began his career as the indie darling of do-it-yourself cinema. And without that ramshackle effort of 1994’s Clerks, Molly Bailen may not have pursued her creative path. So forget Navy Seals and check out what she has to say about this.

You can follow MOLLY BAILEN on TWITTER @dharmasodapop, , listen to her minute by minute take on "Cabin In The Woods" on the CABIN MINUTE CAST and check out her galleries of illustration work at www.mbailencreative.com

POP NOTES

CLERKS was released on October 19th, 1994, five days after the debut of fellow Miramax classic PULP FICTION.
Kevin Smith raised the initial shooting budget of $27,500 dollars through 10 maxed out credit cards, a loan from his parents, the insurance settlement from a damaged car and the complete sale of his personal comic book collection. Once acquired by Miramax, a additional $230,000 was utilized to process the film and obtain its original soundtrack.
Filming took place at the same convenience store Kevin Smith was employed at. He would work until close, film from 11pm to 4am and then head home for a few hours before his next 6am shift.
Prior to Clerks, Kevin Smith’s original intention was to make a film comprise of three 30 minute shorts entitled 4:30.
The MPAA originally rated the film NC-17 for its use of profane language. It was only after hiring famed lawyer Alan Dersowitz that Miramax was able to secure an R rating for release.
Silent Bob’s name is derived from both Bob of TWIN PEAKS and Bob the Goon from 1989’s BATMAN.
The character of Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) wound up speaking in the film only because the actor portraying Jay (Jason Mewes) couldn’t remember those particular lines.
Jeff Anderson refused to do a scene where his character of Randal reads off al list of pornography titles in front of a five year old customer. As a result, the shoot was split,with all of Randal’s lines on one day and the girl’s reactions on another.
The film is part of the shared ViewAskew Universe which, chronologically for the story, begins with MALLRATS (1995), then followed by CLERKS (1994), after which is CHASING AMY (1997) DOGMA (1999) JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK (2001), CLERKS 2 (2006) and JAY AND SILEN BOB REBOOT (2019).
Unsure to the canonicity…. characters from the View Askewniverse have also appeared in the CLERKS: THE COMIC BOOK, CLERKS THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL, WHERE’S THE BEEF?, CHASING DOGMA,CLERKS: THE ANIMATED SERIES, JAY AND SILENT BOB’S SUPER GROOVY CARTOON MOVIE and SCREAM 3.
The film originally ended with Dante being shot dead by the last patron of the day. But following a few festival screenings, Kevin Smith was convinced to remove the scene, ending the film on a lighter and more optimistic note.

Tune back next Monday when Kevin Smokler (author o BRAT PACK AMERICA) embraces the ball culture blitz of 1991’s PARIS IS BURNING.

This episode of MÉNAGE Á POP was recorded by CAST, an online audio platform that lets you create and record a multi-guest podcast straight from your web-browser. It was then mastered by AUPHONIC, a web-based post-production service. Check out both sights for trial and subscription information.

MUSIC FEATURED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:

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Try to understand the present while living in the past with Tim’s weekly podcast 20TH CENTURY POP! at www.nahpods.com/20popcast

For questions, queries or, by random chance, press contact Tim Blevins at subcultist@gmail.com.