Kevin Patrick Smith is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy film Clerks (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted in as the character Silent Bob of stoner duo Jay and Silent Bob. Jay and Silent Bob also appeared in Smith's later films Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, which are set primarily in his home state of New Jersey. While not strictly sequential, the films have crossover plot elements, character references, and a shared canon known as the "View Askewniverse", named after Smith's production company View Askew Productions, which he co-founded with Scott Mosier.
Jay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, a fictional universe created and used in most of the films, comics, and television programs written and produced by Smith, beginning with Clerks.
Clerks is a 1994 American independent black and white buddy comedy film written, directed, and co-produced by Kevin Smith. Starring Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson, it presents a day in the lives of titular store clerks Dante Hicks (O'Halloran) and Randal Graves (Anderson), along with their acquaintances. Clerks is the first of Smith's View Askewniverse films, and introduces several recurring characters, notably Jay and Silent Bob.
Mallrats is a 1995 American buddy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Shannen Doherty, Claire Forlani, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, Joey Lauren Adams, Michael Rooker, and Smith himself. It is the second film in the View Askewniverse after 1994's Clerks, although, chronologically, Mallrats takes place a day before.
Jason Edward Mewes is an American actor, comedian, film producer, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's films.
Jersey Girl is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written, co-edited and directed by Kevin Smith. It stars Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, George Carlin, Stephen Root, Mike Starr and Raquel Castro. The film follows a man who must take care of his precocious daughter after her mother dies in childbirth.
View Askew Productions is an American film and television production company founded by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier in 1994. Actors Ben Affleck, Jeff Anderson, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, Walter Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Brian O'Halloran, Ethan Suplee and Smith himself are just some of the stars that frequently appear in projects under the View Askew banner.
Scott A. Mosier is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, editor, podcaster, writer and actor best known for his work with director Kevin Smith, with whom he occasionally co-hosts the weekly podcast, SModcast.
Clerks II is a 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, the sequel to his 1994 film Clerks, and his sixth feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse. The film stars Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Trevor Fehrman, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Jason Mewes, and Smith, and picks up with the original characters from Clerks: Dante Hicks, Randal Graves and Jay and Silent Bob ten years after the events of the first film. Unlike the first film, which was shot in black-and-white, this film was shot in color.
Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash is a comic book store owned by filmmaker Kevin Smith, and named after the fictional duo portrayed by Smith and Jason Mewes in Smith's View Askewniverse films. Merchandise includes comic books, comic-related merchandise, and View Askew film-related items. The store is located at 65 Broad Street in Red Bank, New Jersey.
The View Askewniverse is a fictional universe created by writer/director Kevin Smith, featured in several films, comics and a television series; it is named for Smith's production company, View Askew Productions. The characters Jay and Silent Bob appear in almost all the View Askewniverse media, and characters from one story often reappear or are referred to in others. Smith often casts the same actors for multiple characters in the universe, sometimes even in the same film; Smith himself portrays the character of Silent Bob.
Clerks is an American adult animated sitcom that was first broadcast in 2000 on ABC that was based on Kevin Smith's 1994 comedy of the same title. It was developed for television by Smith, Smith's producing partner Scott Mosier and former Seinfeld writer David Mandel with character designs by Stephen Silver, known for character designs in Disney's Kim Possible and Nickelodeon's Danny Phantom. It is the first television show to be set in Smith's View Askewniverse.
Walter Flanagan is a former comic book store manager, reality television personality, podcaster, and comic book artist. Flanagan is a long-time friend of Kevin Smith, and it was Flanagan who turned Smith on to comic books. He formerly managed Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Jeffrey Allan Anderson is an American film and television actor, director, and screenwriter best known for starring as Randal Graves in Clerks and Clerks II. In between, he has appeared in other Kevin Smith-directed films and has written, directed, and starred in Now You Know.
Bryan Lee Johnson is an American podcaster, actor, television personality, and comic book writer associated with filmmaker Kevin Smith and the View Askewniverse. He is best known by his local fame in New Jersey and appearances in Smith's New Jersey films as comic book store owner Steve-Dave Pulasti. He was also the basis for the Clerks character Randal Graves. Through his friendship with Smith, he was often involved in his productions until Smith moved to Los Angeles. He wrote and directed one film, Vulgar (2000), for View Askew. He worked briefly at the Los Angeles branch of Smith's comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. Since 2010, he has been a co-host of Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!, a podcast created with fellow View Askewniverse staple Walt Flanagan and Brian Quinn of The Tenderloins Comedy Troupe and Impractical Jokers. From 2012-2018, Johnson also co-starred on the AMC reality series Comic Book Men.
A Better Place is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Vincent Pereira. It stars Robert DiPatri and Eion Bailey. It was produced in association with View Askew, Kevin Smith's production company, and released to DVD by Synapse Films. It was nominated for the Golden Starfish Award for Best American Independent Film at the 1997 Hamptons International Film Festival. In 2016, the film screened out of jury competition, in the director-curated block, but was chosen as the Audience Favorite Feature Film of the first annual Oil Valley Film Festival.
Brian Michael Lynch is an American film and comic book writer. Lynch was the initial writer and co-creator with Joss Whedon of Angel: After the Fall for IDW Publishing, and is best known for writing the screenplays for the films Puss in Boots, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, The Secret Life of Pets 2, and Minions: The Rise of Gru. He has also written an unproduced film adaptation of The Sims. In addition to the unproduced Sims film, Lynch also wrote an unproduced film for The Muppets that was titled “The Next Muppet Movie.”
Comic Book Men is an American reality television series which aired on the AMC network from 2012 to 2018. It is set at Kevin Smith's comic book shop, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, in Red Bank, New Jersey.
The Oil Valley Film Festival is an annual American film festival in Oil City, Pennsylvania.
