Kevin Smith announces new comedy ‘The 4:30 Movie’

Cairo: Zizi Abdel Ghaffar

(From left to right) Reed Northrup, Nicholas Cirillo and Austin Zajur in ‘The 4:30 Movie’ from director Kevin Smith. Photo: Saban Films.

Advance:

Kevin Smith has filmed the new comedy ‘The 4:30 Movie’.
A new coming-of-age saga about three teenage friends, set in 1986.
Smith will tour the film this summer before its theatrical release.

Kevin Smith has made a career out of referencing pop culture and channeling nostalgia, along with a steady stream of stoner jokes.

With his time in the ‘Clerks’ universe seemingly over for a while, Kevin Smith has turned his attention to an original film. His latest album, ‘The 4:30 Movie’, may seem like it’s heading in the direction of marijuana (but it’s not ‘The 4:20 Movie’), but rather it’s based on his own teenage love for cinema.

And now the coming-of-age film has a distribution deal with Saban Films.

What is the story of ‘The 4:30 Movie’?

Set in the summer of 1986, the coming-of-age comedy follows three sixteen-year-old friends (played by Austin Zajur, Nicholas Cirillo and Reed Northrup) who spend their Saturdays sneakily watching movies at the local multiplex. But when one of the boys also invites her dream girl (Siena Agudong) to see the latest comedy, each of the teens will learn something serious about life and love before the credits roll.

Who else appears in ‘The 4:30 Movie’?

Justin Long as Hap Jackson in the thriller ‘House of Darkness,’ a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

To support the young leads, Smith has recruited several veterans returning from his other films and some new faces. The other cast includes Ken Jeong, Sam Richardson, Genesis Rodriguez, Justin Long, Jason Lee, Rachel Dratch, Kate Micucci, Adam Pally, Harley Quinn Smith and Method Man.

What has Kevin Smith said about his new film?

Kevin Smith, director and writer of ‘Clerks III’.

Like the original ‘Clerks’, which was filmed at night in the shop where Smith worked when he was 20, ‘The 4:30 Movie’ used the Smodcastle cinema the director owns. A movie theater, actually, in New Jersey, that he himself used to go to as a teenager.

This is what he said Deadline:

“The day we bought Smodcastle Cinemas, not only did I get back an integral part of my childhood, but I also suddenly had access to a free, visually interesting location to film in! So I started writing a personal paean to the past for us kids of the ’70s and ’80s, the pre-information generation who grew up without the Internet, when romance and relationships required so much more than swiping to get started, and the idea of asking out. Someone you were in love with was as terrifying as the imminent threat of nuclear war.”

When will ‘The 4:30 Movie’ be in theaters?

Smith is returning to a release policy that has worked for him in the past: He’s taking the new film on tour this summer. It will then be released in theaters nationwide, but a date has not yet been announced.