Kevin Smith is back with his latest film,The 4:30 Movie. This semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story follows a group of teenagers as they spend a day at their local movie theater, with one teen’s ultimate goal being every teenager’s dream date: taking a girl to an R-rated movie. The film stars a group ofyoung actors in the lead roles, with a plethora of “View Askew Regulars” in supporting cameo roles, including Jason Mewes, Justin Long, Rosario Dawson, Jason Lee, and Jeff Anderson, just to name a few.
While not set in Kevin Smith’s “View Askewniverse” cinematic universe,The 4:30 Moviestill has plenty to offer to fans of the indie auteur. The film owes much of its existence to Smith’s Smodcast podcast and the saga of “Emo Kev” from the 1980s, and longtime fans will find plenty of inside jokes to reward their decades of fandom. That being said,The 4:30 Movie,out now on digital video platforms, is immediately accessible to newcomers and relatively family-friendly to boot, at least compared to the rest of Smith’s work.
Every Kevin Smith Actor Who Returns In The 4:30 Movie
From Jason Lee to Justin Long, Kevin Smith has brought back a bunch of his regular collaborators to appear in the cast of The 4:30 Movie.
Screen Rant interviewed writer/director Kevin Smith about his work onThe 4:30 Movie. He talks about how composer Bear McCreary practically volunteered to work on the movie due to his desire to compose a 1980s score, and even wrote an original song, “24 Karat Case of Love,” for the film. He also shares the softer and more emotionally vulnerable tone ofThe 4:30 Moviecompared to some of his other work, and how he originally wanted his daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, to play his young counterpart in the movie. When she turned him down, so he turned to the next-best choice: his daughter’s boyfriend, Austin Zajur.
Kevin Smith On The Unexpected Fan Response To The 4:30 Movie
“I didn’t know if anyone would go for the flick. And they went for it more than anything else I’ve done recently.”
Screen Rant: I’ve got a “24 Karat Case of Love” for this movie.
Kevin Smith: Oh my god, that means the world, man, thank you.
You can take a compliment, right? If I say that this is my favorite of your movies, you’re not going to be like, what was wrong withJersey Girl?
Kevin Smith: No, that’s the beauty of… I’ve only got one kid in real life, but the beauty of having multiple kids is, you know, one could be somebody’s favorite, one could be another’s, one could be yours and stuff. I love all the movies I make equally, but I’m not like, ‘hey man, if you didn’t like the last one, fuck you.’ You like any of them, you got my heart, man. But this one, especially, has my heart, too. People who like this movie, I’m very dialed in on.
I was so worried that nobody would go for this flick. I was like, oh, it’s so soft, and nothing edgy happens in it. And it’s not as funny as one of my other movies, because nobody curses. And I’ve been so delighted to be fucking wrong. I mean, it’s baffling, because I’m like, maybe I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, because I didn’t know if anyone would go for the flick. And this one, they went for it more than anything else I’ve done recently, so that means the absolute world. Your reaction, man, that means everything to me.
You’re following your heart, and that’s what, you were following your heart when you didClerks, you were following your heart. When you didRed State, you’re following your heart now.
Kevin Smith: Yeah, and sometimes people can go further with you on the journey. And in this case, a lot of people are going, well, because you don’t have to see three or four other movies to appreciate it, anybody could just walk in on this flick. And I’m like, yeah, I can absolutely see that. It’s incredibly user-friendly, anybody can pick it up. You don’t have to know anything about it ahead of time. You don’t have to have enjoyed my previous work to get in on it… But if you know my previous work, not just the movies, but also the podcast, this movie is just soaked in Kevin Smith.
Kevin Smith Reveals How Bear McCreary Came To Compose Music For The 4:30 Movie
“Whenever I think back on my past, I hear that music.”
I know the whole saga of Emo Kev and the history of that phrase. Tell me about the song. Does Bear come to you with the song? Do you commission Bear? What’s that process?
Kevin Smith: I’d worked with Bear on the score for Masters of the Universe. He did both seasons of Masters of the Universe with us. And those are big Basil Poledouris type, Conan (the Barbarian) scores, big action scores. So he wrote me, after the piece in the trades, where they’re like, ‘they’re gonna go make The 4:30 Movie.’ And he texted me and he was just like, ‘hey man, can I score that?’ And I was like, ‘We don’t have any money, dude. This is a low budget movie.’ He’s going, ‘I don’t care. I’ve got an 80s score in me. I’ve always wanted to do it.’ I was like, “Alright, I respect the passion, go for it.”
The score that he did, like it’s not the very first piece in the movie, but it’s the piece that plays under the credits called The Very Unassuming Day. I absolutely loved it when he put that together, man. I was like, oh, that’s so beautiful. Because it sounds like somebody on the verge of life. You know, like, this is the last moment before life is gonna change irrevocably, as a score. Then he told me like, ‘I think I got a closing track. Me and my brother are coming up with something and I think you’re gonna like it. If you like that Very Unassuming Day, I think you’ll like this.’
Then he handed us 24 Karat Case of Love. So I spun it and listened to it and, like, rolled a fucking tear, man, because it sounds like one of your favorite 80s songs that you forgot about, but it never existed until recently. And so I said to Bear, when he gave it to me, I wrote him, I was like, this is fucking beautiful, Bear. You took one of the dumbest things I ever said, ‘cuz I literally said, I got a 24 Karat Case of Love and you redeemed it. You made it the hook in a song, a real earworm of a song. I can’t thank you enough. Bear was like, ‘Kevin, the beauty of that song is the beauty of that statement. “I’ve got a 24 Karat Case of Love.” that’s not cringe. That’s how 16-year-old boys talk when they’re on the verge of something important and whatnot.
It had all the earnestness and authenticity of something like a kid at that stage of life would say.’ So he’s like, it makes sense as the song, it kind of sings itself as a sentiment. But I didn’t have the heart to tell Bear that like, I wasn’t 16 when I said that, I was like 22 when I said 24 Karat Case of Love. But you know, the sentiment is there. He’s right. It’s like, it is the thing a young person says, man. Because when you’re young, everything that’s small to people like us now is massive. You know, like, this is everything. It’s not like, how will I pay my mortgage and shit like that? It’s like, will this person go to the movies with me or something? So I’ll never be able to thank Bear enough. Like not just for that song, which is absolutely fucking banging.
But the score now, I never had a score for my childhood in my head. When I think back on moments from my childhood, I didn’t hear music unless I heard a “needle drop” song that was in top 40 at the time. But Bear’s score is so rich and so pure and so earnest that now, whenever I think back on my past, I hear that music. Now, when I drive around Atlantic Highlands, I play that music, man. Because I’m like, he scored my youth! It’s very rare breathing to have somebody be like, this is what your childhood sounded like. And he’s right.
Kevin Smith Shares The Rather Unique process Of Casting his Teenage Self
“It was one of the best casting decisions I ever made, man.”
Austin is incredible in the movie. Very quickly, can you tell me a little bit about writing this movie with Little Kev in mind, but then giving that to Austin and being like, “This is yours, as well?”
Kevin Smith: I tried to give it, not to Austin first, but the person he sleeps with, my daughter. I wrote it and I told Harley, I was like, “I want you to play the young me.” And she’s like, “What are you talking about?” I was like, “Let’s Yentl this shit, man!” I was like, “Mom’s always saying you look like a beardless, dickless me. And I didn’t have a beard then!” I was like, “So you could totally fucking play me.” And she’s like, “I’m not doing that.” She’s like, “I had to deal with enough Nepo Baby bulls–t online. I’m not playing young you!”
I was like, “Fair enough. I will choose the guy you sleep with.” Austin, I was way familiar with. They’d been dating for five years and stuff, and I’d worked with him in Clerks III. We also did the TBS Celebrity Show Off together during the pandemic. We did a short com, a short sitcom called A Son in Lockdown, where he played an obnoxious version of himself. So, I knew what he was capable of and stuff. And, you know, he has the earnestness, or he could play the earnestness of a young me. And he’s not that far removed, you know, in terms of physically and whatnot. I told Harley, “I’m gonna give it to Austin.” And she’s like, “That’s even f–king worse. How am I supposed to sleep with this guy who plays a young version of you?!” I was like, “look, my name’s Paul. That’s between y’all.” I need a guy to play me, and he’s perfect."
I loved him so much in the movie, which I’ve now seen many, many times. Every time I watch it, I discover a new thing that he brought to the table that just makes my heart soar. It was one of the best casting decisions I ever made, man. And it has everything to do with the kid. I told the kid, “In the future, you start sleeping with more actors. Go find me some more leading men. Or women! Either way.”
More About The 4:30 Movie
Writer-director Kevin Smith presents his most personal film to date with this coming-of-age story — set in the summer of 1986 — that follows three sixteen-year-old friends who spend their Saturdays sneaking into movies at the local cineplex. When one of the guys invites the girl of his dreams to see an R-rated film, all hilarity breaks loose, as a self-important theater manager (Ken Jeong) and teen rivalries interfere with his best-laid plans. Justin Long, Rosario Dawson, Jason Biggs, and more contribute outrageous characters to this poignant comic valentine to moviegoing and the youth of the ’80s.
The 4:30 Movie
Cast
Kevin Smith’s latest film is a nostalgic and funny tribute to ’80s youth, centered around three teens sneaking into movies and facing mishaps when one brings his crush along.
