An Interview With Jason Mewes - Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ October 8, 2011

By Stephen Rainone & Phil Rainone

So tonight we got to interview the man next to the man, Jason Mewes! You all know him from his role as Jay in Kevin Smith’s Jay & Silent Bob movies, which started with Clerks. Beforehand, I had to really psyche myself up. He is a legend. I figured he’d be a really humble, down to earth guy (which he is), and I’d be able to talk to him like I’ve known him for years. During the interview I just felt like I could hang with this guy. He felt like a lost brother of mine.

So, without further interruption, I give you the man with no plan, the long-haired wonder, Jason Mewes! - Steve Rainone

On a beautiful, end-of-summer evening, we sat down on a bench in a small park across the street from the Count Basie Theater with Jason Mewes, and talked about pretty much everything under the moon.

Phil: Well, before we get to the questions I have a quick story about Clerks. My Aunt Mary who was in her 80’s lived in Leonardo (New Jersey, where they shot Clerks at a local convience store), and she had heard that a movie had been made at the Quick Stop where she buys her Pick It and stuff. So, she asked me if I could get her a copy of the movie for her to check out. I ran the movie through my head real fast, and decided that it really wouldn’t be a good idea to get her a copy. Even though she was a tough old-broad (very cool and caring), I didn’t what to be sitting there in her living room watching it with her, and at some point her asking me what a “snowball” was (rent the movie, if you haven’t seen it already). (Laughs all around)!

Jason: Yeah, you didn’t want to hand her a DVD, and have to explain about “snowballing” or me talking about…It’s been a while since I watched the movie. But I wouldn’t want to be asked by a family member about what a “snowball” is…

Phil: Speaking of movies, do you ever watch any of your movies?

Jason: You know, I really don’t, the only time I end up watching them is at the premier. Mall Rats. I’ve watched a few times, and actually Mall Rats is my favorite movie. I’ve watched it a few times, and I don’t like the parts with me it in, but I like the movie. But I think Jason Lee is great, and I love the whole Stan Lee thing. Clerks was our first movie… we were with friends… our real work place…shooting it late at night…but Mall Rats was my first real movie where we were staying at a hotel, and there’s per diem (getting paid for travel, etc.)…40 crew members…wardrobe, and if you need this or that you could ask someone, and they would get it for you. So, it was really surreal for me, and working with Shannon Doherty and Stan Lee was surreal. That movie really does it for me! That movie I’ve watched at home with some friends. Some of the other movies, my friends have popped it in, and I walk over, and sit, but not really watch it, I feel weird watching myself- it’s weird to me, even hearing myself. We do the pod cast and sometimes my wife Jordan will put it on and say, ‘Oh, Kevin mentioned something and I want to listen to it again.’ Then I’ll hear myself talking and laughing, a feel like I sound really goofy.

Steve: One thing that’s always been in the back of mind…what made you guys move out of Jersey?

Jason: Kevin moved out to California first, and he was out there for so long doing “Jay and Bob…” that he stayed out there doing prep work, pre-shooting, and shooting…and all that. He was out there for so long - month after month, after month, and he had a house here, and his wife loved it out in L.A. They were going to be there another six months, after being there about eight or nine months, and they had an opportunity to buy a house. They lived at Ben Affleck’s old house, and he had a party and he’s like, ‘Look I’m moving, I’m selling this, and do you want to buy it?’ So, now they had an opportunity to buy this awesome house, so I think that’s why he moved. For me it was work-wise, because luckily I do get offers for movies, but you have to have meetings for TV, and I’d fly out there. So I use to go back and forth, but I can’t always do that. I’d miss opportunities, and at one point a lot of my friends moved out (of Jersey). Kevin moved away, my really good friend Kevin Horvath moved to Texas, another friend of mine moved out to L.A…and the only family I had were my step-sister and her kids. So, I went out there and stayed there for a few months, and I really liked it, and I thought I should just move there because it’s better for work, nicer weather here…it just seemed like the right move.


Jay & Silent Steve Rainone



Phil: For Kevin’s new movie Red State, were you at the premier at The Sundance Film Festival for it?

Jason: I was there, it was a lot of fun, and we all took the bus! We all protested the protesters (there was a lot of controversy about Kevin’s new film), and it was a lot of fun. It was nice to see the audience watching the movie, and then Kevin did the auction. He had his hockey stick in the auction… He told everyone he was buying the movie for twenty dollars, and he won the auction… the investors got up and walked out. All of a sudden you see like, twenty-two people or whatever, get up and all walk out and you could tell that they were really aggravated. But Sundance in itself is fun. It’s a pretty crazy event, because so many film people are out there showing their movies, and everyone’s hangin’ out, and there’s party after party. It’s a cool little thing to be part of.

Steve: I’m sure it comes up a lot, and people are wondering… but is Jay & Silent Bob completely finished or is it one of those things like…eaaah…maybe not?

Jayson: It’s not really up to me. Kevin says it’s done. He’s saying the next movie… it’s technically a two-parter because the script wound up being so long… it’s called Hit Somebody. A lot of things can happen from now . Let’s say we start shooting that in the next 7-8 months to a year, than it’s takes time to actually shoot it…post production…it’s going to be a couple of years from now. He said that there is no more (Jay & silent Bob movies), but you never know. He said after “Jay & Bob…” there would be no more, and then we did Clerks 2…

Steve: And that was like a closure on the whole universe…

Jayson: And that’s cool, and that’s sort of a good reason to leave it alone, but I think years and years later if we did something…if it was the right script…because again we are… I’m not saying we’re old-old, but we are older (laughing)! So to bring back the characters, I think people would dig it, but at the same time other people might think, ‘Why didn’t you just leave it where it was (laughing),’ it ended on a good note.

Steve; My friends and I were debating over it, and we were like, ‘Where can they really go after that?’ Do a follow-up like, ‘The business is going good, and it’s going to be Clerks 3 basically, still in the Quick Stop.’

Jason: To me, what I see is that it’s something we could have done, I’ll say that. I had even mentioned to Kevin, and we said, ‘What do think of this (doing Clerks 3),’ and we said ‘No.’ But to me its like “Harold and Kumar,” which is a good example. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, then they go to…

Steve: “Guantanamo Bay!”

Jason: Yeah!

Steve: Now it’s the Christmas movie!

Jason: Yeah Christmas! Next it could be Harold and Kumar Go to Jail. (laughing). It’s almost like Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Goes to Jail… At one point we were thinking of doing, Jay & Bob Go to Jail, or Jay & Bob Save Christmas (laughing). We talked about that and it could have been a series of movies like that. I think it could have worked-people might have gotten sick of it, and maybe it wouldn’t have worked. But any way my point is yeah, where could we go, and if it’s the right time there could maybe be a story in there if we did it right, it could be funny. But maybe it’s best to just leave it alone, but we’ll see. I think it could definitely work if we did an animated movie. n animated “Jay and Bob…”

Steve: Which is what “Clerks 2” was supposed to be…

Jason: Yeah, so we’ll see…

Steve: Speaking of animation, you did your own character in the cartoon (a short, weekly series on ABC, a few years ago), what was that like?

Jason: It was a lot of fun! A wish we did more…

Steve: Yeah, it only lasted a few episodes. ABC was NOT the one that should have picked that up.

Jason: That’s true! It was before it’s time. It was definitely before “King of the Hill,” and “Futurama.”

Steve: If you guys had waited, and hit “Adult Swim” with it, it would probably still be going to this day. At least reruns.

Jason: I agree with you, I really do! At least a couple of seasons. At least 12 or 24 episodes. I think it was originally just six episodes. Everyone that I know that said they saw the cartoon they liked it, and I liked it too. I thought it was catchy, and witty…

Steve: The thing that sucked was that ABC was playing them out of order a little bit. And there was that one flashback episode, and it was like, ‘Where did all this come from?’

Jason: Yeah, they sort of “pooched it”-it’s a bummer but I think that’s something that could work and that we should do, but we’ll see. I’ve talked to Kevin about it before, and we’re working on “Bluntman and Chronic” right now as an animated movie, so we’ll see what happens. There’s a lot of things we’d like to do. This is cool what we’re doing now (the theatre shows), and the podcasts. We’ve have December all booked up, we’re doing a Canadian tour, and in February we’re going to London, Ireland, and we’re looking into Australia. Todd and I did a TV show in Canada; we just finished shooting the second season, called “Todd and the Book of Pure Evil.” It’s a good show, you’d like it, it’s on ITunes. It’s also on Fear Net every Tuesday at 10. I know every city doesn’t get Fear Net on cable, but it’s on ITunes. I’m in each episode, but I’m in it really fast, I’m sort of the mentor to the main character. He comes in and I throw out some words of wisdom… It’s a fun show, and we did two seasons, and it got nominated for eight Gemini’s, which is considered Emmy’s for Canada. We lost seven but we won one, which I won for best comedy ensemble, and I’m psyched about that! So hopefully if enough people like it they’ll do season three.

Steve: If you had the choice of playing a superhero in any movie who would it be?

Jason: I would be…Martian Man Hunter! Because to me he has a lot of superpowers. He has heat vision, he can become invisible, walk through walls, he can fly, he has super strength, he can morph into different things like dragons…so he’s got mostly all the cool powers! He can turn invisible and peek at girls (laughing)! I could morph my penis into a giant flagpole, and walk around Red Bank.

Phil: What do you see for yourself in the future, what would you like to do?

Jason: I’ve been thinking about that. Again, with the Todd TV show I’d like to do that, and working with Kevin with the podcast, I spend a lot of time with Kevin now. We’ve spent a lot of time together over the years, but not but not as much time as we have been over the last six months. He has a family, and I’m married, but because of these shows we’ve been traveling, and hanging out a lot. There’s nothing better than working with your best friend, and my wife’s involved. She works for the company and runs a portion of it. I’m not a writer- I wish I was, but if I could have it my way, if Kevin would write a TV show, like a 24 episode, 30 minute TV show, we could do it together, and make enough money to live off that-like, how awesome that would work! Work 7 or 8 months out of the year, everyday with my best friend! Then take a couple of months off and shoot a movie, or maybe tour for a month with this tour, or the podcast… That would be pretty ideal!

After the interview Steve, Jason, and I walked back across the street to the Count Basie, and about an hour later, Jay and Kevin hit the stage to a standing ovation. For about two hours they talked about their movies together, Jersey, The Duck Pond (go see the show-great 15 minute-plus story), and Jason’s sobriety. I know from experience that it’s hard as hell to get all that stuff out into the open, but to light up the darkness the way Jason and Kevin did that night, was funny as hell, and insightful! It’s been almost 20 years since “Clerks” wowed us back in 1994, introducing us, and the world to Jay and Silent Bob (both Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith are natives of Monmouth County), when Kevin made his directing and writing debut, and Jason introduced us to his foul-mouthed, wise-ass, character (hey, how many guys do you know get the opportunity to repeatedly hit on God (Dogma), and get shot-down?)

Jason was very articulate, funny, and interesting to talk with. We had pretty much had setup a last minute interview, so a big “thank you” goes out the Meghan their publicist and Jason’s wife Jordan for making it happen.