Scottish born and lifelong fan of Kevin Smith, Christopher Downie, is the first director to tackle the story behind how Kevin Smith bankrolled his $27,000 first film with maxed-out credit cards and garnered critical attention at the Sundance Film Festival when Clerks debuted there. However, it wouldn’t be the first time the people behind the View Askewniverse would take notice of Downie’s work. His journey to the big screen began in film school and making short films. It wasn’t long before he caught the attention of fans and alumni of Kevin’s films. Christopher took his new found inspiration and created an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds for what would become an award-winning film circuit hit, “Shooting Clerks”. This was a culmination of his time spent on short films and his fandom for Kevin’s movies coming together, and it showed. Collectively, much of the cast of the original Clerks film made themselves available for Downie’s project and before he knew it, his dream project had become a reality. Honoring Kevin’s indie sensibilities, Downie and his friends hit record and shot around his hometown. The rest was history.

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)- Is there a particular moment you can recall where you thought to yourself “I want to make movies”?

Christopher Downie- I always wanted to but simply wasn’t aware it would be possible one day. I assumed you were born into it or required a vast family fortune. At the very least, I thought you had to live in Hollywood or London.

When a friend of mine told me he had started studying film and TV production at a Scottish school, I was flabbergasted. Six months later, I dropped out of the fine art course I had enrolled in and joined him.

It took me a while to build up the courage to produce my first feature but I wouldn’t change that, in hindsight, the time was right.

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)- Can you describe a little about the process of conjuring the idea for a film depicting Kevin’s journey to filming clerks to the moment you started shooting?

Christopher Downie- I had been a fan for about ten years when I decided to make a fan film featuring Kevin (as well as fellow Hollywood Babble-On host Ralph Garman). After Ralph took notice, our little film started to gain traction. After the minor YouTube success of BOB, we decided to make a more serious short, a biopic about Jason Mewes and his struggles with addiction. This caught the attention of Kevin and he offered to host it on his channel. A few shorts later, my producer and I decided to bite the bullet and make a full-fledged biopic feature. It was time.

I wrote the script during the summer of my final year at university so that we could film the following summer. Most of the main cast members were carryovers from the shorts, mainly the Jason Mewes biopic, Get Greedo, so casting was made a little easier. It took a further I months to cast the remaining characters, hire the crew, raise funds and buy Props and set pieces. When we eventually started shooting, it was monumental – if a little scary.

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)- Having caught a very early cut of the film, I was thoroughly entertained by it and enjoyed the many surprise view askew alumni who show up throughout its runtime, however, I understand that even more alumni came aboard later on. Was this a factor of doing rewrites to include these cameos or were they already in the script but unavailable at the time of the shooting?

Christopher Downie- We started with half a dozen cameos, this grew to about ten while we were shooting. While editing and screening early sneak previews to cast and crew, additional Clerks cast members started to express interest which meant we had to reshoot scenes with those actors in place. If that wasn’t possible, a scene had to be modified or created from the ground up. Luckily this didn’t effect the integrity fo the film and in most instances, heightened it further.

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)- On Comic Book Men, the boys at the stash and Kevin himself were able to catch a cut of the film for viewing with you guys in attendance. Can you describe a little about how that moment was for you as a filmmaker?

Christopher Downie- Nerve-wracking at first but after the first few laughs, I settled in and watched it with them. To hear Kevin’s opinion on the film and to see him laugh and cry during the screening (then after) made me feel very proud of the film we all sweated blood and tears to make. The fact that Bryan Johnson didn’t hate it and Walt Flanagan really enjoyed it was also something of an achievement for me as neither suffers fools or foolish things gladly.

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)- Clerks celebrates its 25th anniversary next year, can we expect any plans for shooting clerks to help celebrate this occasion as well?

Christopher Downie- We are planning our release for the 25th anniversary. I hope to screen the final cut to Kevin and company, as well as fans, at a big launch event of some sort. Clerks is an amazing film, even after a quarter of a decade so it would be great to celebrate by looking back at how and why it was made.

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)- We all know Kevin famously shot Clerks in his hometown of Red Bank, NJ and the interior of the Quickstop. What locations did you shoot on when doing Shooting Clerks?

Christopher Downie- The interiors were shot in Fife, Scotland, near St Andrews. We build sets in a small space so as to be able to jump from one set up to the next with ease.

The exteriors were mostly shot in New Jersey, with one or two being shot in LA, Florida and again, Fife.

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)– Recently you’ve been shopping the film around for a distributor, how has the process for that been?

Christopher Downie- We attended the American Film Market in Santa Monica this month and received a lot of interest from distributors. It was a great learning experience and everyone was really nice. Since everyone is there to sell or buy something, there’s no backstabbing, as everyone has something unique. Two fellow attendees/employees helped us in a big bad way and I can’t thank them enough, but I’ll try – thank you to Ani and Jennifer.

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)– Is there a favorite cameo you filmed for the movie? One that stands out for one reason or another?

Christopher Downie- Its tough to pick as all are beneficial and/or funny but I really enjoy Jason Mewes’ cameo – he did a lot of improv and made the character his own. Kevin’s scene always gets a lot of laughter, so his is also a highlight. Since Scott Schiaffo, who played the Chewlies gum guy, appears quite a few times and has a pivotal role, his appearance always stands out to me. He’s very talented.

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)– Looking on Kevin’s filmography, is Clerks your favorite body of work by him? Or is it just the focus of this film as it launched his career and makes a compelling story?

Christopher Downie- The story was there, its a true-life underdog tale. It also happens to be one of my favorites all around, yes. That being said, Chasing Amy is very strong and was ahead of its time: its a proto bromantic comedy.

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)– Do you have any projects your working on or plan to do once the press tour and junkets for Shooting Clerks ends?

Christopher Downie- We have several projects in the works with one, in particular, taking the lead – a feminist vampire character study set in modern day Europe. Something of a departure, but you gotta go with what feels right. As the man himself has often said, quoting Wayne Gretzky – “you gotta go where the Puck is going” (a quote of a quote, I know but wise words none the less.)

Josh (VariantNEWSSOURCE)– If we wanted to follow your work, where can we find you online and on social media?

Christopher Downie- You can follow me on Twitter at @UppieDownie and Instagram at uppie_downie. I post daily.

Check out the Indiegogo page for the film here

Check out ‘Shooting Clerks’ on tour in cinemas, film festivals, and comic cons in 2019 during the 25th Anniversary of Clerks with a projected VOD and Home Video Release later that year!

The Synopsis for ‘Shooting Clerks’:

“The true story of how convenience store clerk Kevin Smith made his grainy $27,000 film Clerks (1994) with maxed-out credit cards and the people who aided him in his indie crusade.”

– Josh O.