'Clerks III' Had First Showings In Red Bank On Sunday

RED BANK, NJ — Red Bank was the place to be on Sunday evening, at least when it came to entertainment.

On Monmouth Street, "Clerks III": The Convenience Tour brought out fans to see the new movie by local legend Kevin Smith - plus have a Q&A with Smith. The movie had its first showings at the Count Basie Center for the Arts on Sunday, ahead of its nationwide release Sept. 13.

If you went down to Broad Street there was live entertainment with a performance by Tim McLoone and Mountain Station on the Broadwalk pedestrian plaza.

The free concert on a balmy Sunday evening was the first time McLoone performed at the Broadwalk, he told his audience. Diners and passersby were treated to some great tunes, such as "Looking for Love," and solos by the members of the band. The well-known musician, philanthropist and restaurant entrepreneur was playing with his band just steps from his own The Robinson Ale House.

But the "Clerks III" showings were the hot ticket of the day. There were two showings of the movie, at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., each followed by the Q&A with Smith, who also stars in the movie. Fans were lined up along Monmouth Street as they prepared to enter the venue.

"Clerks III" will be released in theaters nationwide Sept. 13, but Smith's local roots made the showings and Q&A with him here something special. The movie is produced by LionsGate.

Smith is known for participating in long, humorous Q&A sessions that are often filmed for DVD release, beginning with "An Evening with Kevin Smith," according to his bio from the Basie Center.

Much of "Clerks III" was filmed in the Leonardo section of Middletown, according to a previous Patch article.

This is the third film in the series by cult-favorite Smith, who grew up in Highlands. He filmed "Clerks III" last July and August, and nearly all of the movie was filmed in Leonardo, home of the original Quick Stop convenience store at the center of the "Clerks" movies.

"Clerks III" stars Smith himself, Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran and Jason Mewes, plus Rosario Dawson and Trevor Fehrman, and will have cameos from Ben Affleck and Justin Long, according to the Asbury Park Press.

"Clerks" is the 1993 cult hit that made Smith famous, and he went on to write and direct "Dogma," "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," "Chasing Amy," plus other movies.

Smith was born in Red Bank, attended Henry Hudson Regional High School in Highlands and went on to become a comedian, filmmaker and writer. A lover of comic books since he was a boy, Smith wrote, directed, starred in and co-produced "Clerks."

Smith also owns Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in Red Bank, a comic bookstore which became the setting for the reality television show "Comic Book Men" (2012—2018). As a podcaster, Smith co-hosts several shows on his SModcast Podcast Network, including SModcast, Fatman Beyond, and the live show Hollywood Babble-On.

Since 2011, Smith has mostly made horror films, including "Red State" (2011) and the “comedy horror films” "Tusk" (2014) and "Yoga Hosers" (2016), two in a planned series of three such films set in Canada dubbed the "True North" trilogy. Last year, Smith executive produced "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" for Netflix, according to Basie Center bio.

Patch Local Editor Carly Baldwin contributed to this article.