Over 30 years have passed since audiences first visited Quick Stop, and cinephiles are still captivated by the edgy yet earnest world of "Clerks." Kevin Smith delivered his black-and-white vision of New Jersey slacker-dom in 1994, maxing out a gut-wrenching number of credit cards to bet on his future as a major film director. But perhaps his biggest gamble outside running his credit score into the ground was the decision to use his friends for many of the film's most important roles.

It was a gamble that paid off — whether pulled from his NJ high school social circle, remembered from his brief stint at the Vancouver Film School, plucked from a community college acting class, or discovered at an audition, the ensemble of "Clerks" stands out as authentically off-beat and youthful. They ca

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