Clerks II (2006)

Mommy Update:  I am halfway through my maternity leave.  I will return to work in five weeks.  I’m feeling very “matter of fact” about this.  I’m enjoying each and every day that I’m home and I intend to enjoy my work when I return.  

Writer/Director:  Kevin Smith

Favorite Quote from My First Viewing:  “Since God created man, and man created the Transformers, the Transformers are like a gift from God, Randal.” ~ Elias

Favorite Quote This Time Around:  “Say what you will about Jesus, but leave

“The Rings” out of this.”  ~ Elias

Homage to "Say Anything:"

I, like many others, was super skeptical when I heard that Kevin Smith was making “Clerks II.”  How could he sequelize such a uniquely, singular film as “Clerks?”  And ten years later?  What would that even look like? 

I totally should have known to trust Kevin Smith.  He didn’t try to remake “Clerks,” like many people feared he would.  He made a new movie, following the original characters ten years after their Quick Stop days.

Before I tell you what I learned from “Clerks II,” I must confess to you that I got a rejection letter today.  I have very very mixed feelings about it.

Over a year ago, I received a rejection letter from a literary agent regarding my first novel, but she included an offer to speak with me on the phone about my work.  During that phone conversation, I pitched the idea for my second novel and she was really excited about it.  It wasn’t finished, so  I spent four or five months revising it, then sent the entire novel to her.

While waiting for a response, I attended a writing conference where I had the opportunity to learn from published authors and literary agents.  I got to have a one on one critique with a professional editor.  During the one-week writing conference, I learned a ton.  I figured out how to fix my first novel; I realized that my second novel wasn’t quite ready for publication; and I got amazing feedback on my third novel.  I left the conference deciding to take a step back from submitting to agents and work more on my craft.  Since then I’ve been focusing primarily on my third novel.

It was a total shock to receive a rejection letter from my second novel because I sort of forgot that it was out there on submission.  I wasn’t surprised to see that it was rejected; I had already realized it wasn’t “ready.”  The agent was kind in her rejection, gave me very nice compliments, and was specific in her critique.  This is known as the very best kind of rejection, since most rejections are just form letters.

Still.  Rejection is rejection and it stings every time.  Every. Time.

In the “extras” section of the “Clerks II” DVD, Kevin Smith shows footage of a conversation between him, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino.  Smith invited the two other filmmakers over to see an early cut of “Clerks II” to get their feedback.  I thought this was super interesting because these three filmmakers are stylistically so so different, yet they each respect one another’s work and they’re friends, so it’s natural that they seek one another out for critiques.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized how valuable it would be to get critiques from filmmakers who work within different genres and styles.  I’ve found this in the critique group that has developed from the writing conference I attended.  All of the women in the group write young adult fiction, but some write historical fiction, some middle grade, some fantasy, some realistic.  Everyone’s eyes offer a different perspective and it has been monumentally helpful to begin to see my writing through other people’s eyes.  It helps me detach myself from my work.  I am not my novel.  When my novel is rejected, it’s not me that is rejected and that’s really helpful when nursing the “sting of rejection.”  More importantly, getting that critique helps me improve my work. 

My novels aren’t ready now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be ready someday.  And when they’re ready, I trust that I’ll find the right folks to help me find the right audience.  Or not.  If you looked into the future and you told me, “Michelle, you’ll never publish a novel.  It’s never going to happen.”  I would be disappointed, but I would still write novels.  I can’t seem to stop.  I don’t just write to get published; I write because it is insanely fun.  And because the characters in my head won’t stop demanding that their stories be told.  Yes, I hear voices in my head.  And writing the stories keeps me sane.

So, I got rejected today, but that’s okay.  I’ll write some more this afternoon.

Oh!  And so looking forward to "Clerks III," without reservation . . .

Rejection

Two nights ago (or whenever it was), I watched Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck’s commentary track of Jersey Girl.  They didn’t comment on the movie at all, but instead speculated as to why this movie was a commercial failure.

Every time I hear Kevin Smith refer to Jersey Girl as a “box office failure,” it breaks my heart.  I adore this movie and wouldn’t classify it as a failure in any sense.  After listening to the commentary, I realized that Kevin and Ben don’t classify it as a failure either, really.  It’s one of the movies of which they are most proud, but the lack of turn out in the movie theaters was still disappointing to them both.  Whether it was Ben’s relationship with Jennifer Lopez that overshadowed the movie or rejection from Kevin’s core fan base, or a combination of several factors, it left Kevin questioning the decisions he made in making the movie.  Ultimately, he says he doesn’t regret any of the decisions he made because he liked how the film turned out and any change in casting decision or editing change would have resulted in a different film.  In short, he stands by his work, even though it wasn’t as well received as he had hoped.  

This all got me thinking a lot about “rejection.”  To date, I have about thirty rejection letters from literary agents and countless no responses.  Often I think if just one agent would give me a break, then my work will be accepted and I won’t have to worry about rejection any more.  Not true.  Rejection takes many forms and it stings the most successful of writers as well as those of us who have yet to publish.

Let’s say an agent signs my novel.  He or she may never be able to sell it to a publisher.  Or let’s say it is sold to a publisher; there are dozens of things that could go wrong to prevent it from ever actually being published.  Or let’s say it is published and turned into a book; it might not sell.  Or it might sell, but it is lambasted by critics.  Or maybe it is heralded by critics and even wins awards; there will, undoubtedly, be the one negative review from a reader on Goodreads or Amazon that cuts me to the core.

And then there’s the next novel – or the third or the fourth – the whole cycle starts again with all of the rejection that comes along with it.  Rejection is inevitable when you put your words out into the world.  It’s part of the deal.  “Get a tough skin,” I keep hearing from those that would advise me.  But where do you get one?  Even if you’re Kevin Smith and it’s your sixth film, it still stings when someone doesn’t love what you’ve created.