Rumors that Hit Somebody – Kevin Smith’s forthcoming final film about a young man named Buddy making his way up through the ranks to play pro hockey – would be two movies have been floating around, so we decided to go to the source himself for confirmation and a few questions over the old email machine.
As for the rumors, we can confirm that they’re true, and Smith had a brief plot outline of where the split would be, saying, “It’ll be one flick cleft in twain. Looking like part one ends at the close of Buddy’s first pro game, 1972-ish. Flick starts in 1954. Part 2 ends in 1980.”
No matter how many movies it’ll be, this project is definitely his last. To that end, I asked why he didn’t want to make a trilogy, and he responded, “Everybody does trilogies. I’d rather end with a less predictable closer. Predictable would be Clerks III, but a two-part hockey epic that’s largely about Canada, featuring an all-star cast? That’ll have some scratching their heads and others saying ‘It’s kinda perfect.’”
So why make it two films? There seems to be enough material considering how much of one character’s career he’ll cover, but there’s also this: “You’re gonna ask that question of the guy who milked Clerks his entire career? It’s my final flick, so I might as well make it last.”
That seems to point to at least a little bit of trepidation at the thought of leaving the directing world for good, but when I asked Smith if this project might spark some new story interest in him, his answer was a simple, direct: “Nah.”
So this is it. Hit Somebody will be two films, and the project will be Smith’s last as a director. The astute observer will note that that closes the door on any chance for a Clerks III.
That is, until Don Henley calls him and convinces him to get the band back together. Look for Randal and Dante in the retirement home coming July 2036.
