October 20, 1995
Web posted at: 5:50 a.m. EDT
From Correspondent Bill Tush
(CNN) -- A year ago, struggling young filmmaker Kevin Smith made a name for himself with very low budget movie he wrote and produced called "Clerks." The black-and-white day-in-the-life story of two New Jersey convenience store workers was good enough for Hollywood to put some money behind him. The result: "Mallrats" ... in color.
Smith says he quickly recovered from the novelty of making a film with an actual budget. "You would think it would be daunting. But it's not, once you get over the initial shock. 'Clerks' was 27 grand; 'Mallrats' is 6.1 million. The 'point one' wasn't even what we made 'Clerks' for."
Unlike "Clerks," "Mallrats" has at least one name you'll recognize: Shannen Doherty. And even though she played one, the life of a "mallrat" is a mystery to her. "It is hard to believe," she says, "but yes, there really are people like her hanging out at the mall. I was never really a part of that. I couldn't imagine hanging out at a mall for endless hours, just walking around. Sitting there eating that junk food or whatever it is."
Doherty comes to the film after a stormy run on a show that probably appeals to mallrats -- "Beverly Hills 90210" -- as Brenda, the young actress whose off-screen antics gave her quite a nasty reputation. But those days are gone.
"I learned a lot," she says. "And I am much wiser now. And I would never change anything that I've been through because I have learned from absolutely everything. It's just something that I never want to go back to."
There's another thing she never wants to go back to either. "I filmed in a mall for like six weeks, and believe me, I had enough mall after that."
As Rene, Doherty spends most of her time in the mall avoiding Brodie, the guy she dumped. Newcomer Jason Lee landed the part of Brodie with his very first audition. And Smith returns to his own film as Silent Bob, along with his friend Jason Mews, who pretty much plays himself. "It's amusing when I hand him a script and it's him on the page, and he's like, 'How do I say this?' I'm like, 'What do you mean how do you say it, you've said it a million times.'" (485K QuickTime movie)
Now all Smith needs is enough real mallrats to pack the theaters.
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