Ben Affleck is aware of higher than to be related to Kevin Smith — but it surely’s all in good enjoyable!
In a chat surrounding his new coming-of-age comedy The 4:30 Movie, Smith, 54, tells PEOPLE that he supplied his daughter, actress Harley Quinn Smith, the feminine lead in his new film, however she turned it down in a approach that was “effectively reasoned out.”
As for his longtime good friend and colleague Affleck, 52, Smith says that the final time they spoke was proper earlier than he made The 4:30 Film — and Affleck gave props to Harley, 25, whereas teasing her dad.
“I instructed [Ben] that Harley handed on the film and he was like, ‘That is a sensible child. No Kevin Smith film has ever made any actor’s profession higher,’ ” jokes Smith.
Affleck has appeared in a number of of Smith’s movies, together with Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997) and Dogma (1999), the latter of which additionally starred good friend and producing accomplice Matt Damon.
Harley, who Smith shares together with his spouse of 25 years Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, has additionally appeared in her dad’s films, starting with 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
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Harley’s roles have included a co-lead with Lily-Rose Depp in Yoga Hosers (2016), plus smaller roles in Jersey Girl (2004), Clerks II (2006), Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) and Clerks III (2022). Harley does seem in The 4:30 Film too, although not within the lead feminine function of Melody Barnegat, performed by Siena Agudong reverse Austin Zajur as protagonist Brian David.
Her character? Sister Sugar Partitions, the “hooker nun” in a fictional trailer that performs on the movie show — the real-life Smodcastle Cinemas in New Jersey, recognized on the time because the Atlantic — that the characters frequent one memorable Could afternoon in 1986.
Talking to PEOPLE about Affleck’s response to Harley choosing the memorable cameo over the lead function, Smith recollects, “He was saying good issues about her for having integrity and [the ability] to be like, ‘I do not need to do this.’ ”
The 4:30 Film‘s in depth solid additionally consists of Nicholas Cirillo, Reed Northrup, Betty Aberlin, Diedrich Bader, Jason Biggs, Rosario Dawson, Rachel Dratch, Ralph Garman, Jason Lee, Logic, Justin Long, Jason Mewes, Kate Micucci, Jenny Mollen, Adam Pally, Sam Richardson, Genesis Rodriguez, Method Man, Ken Jeong and Smith’s spouse Jennifer, 53.
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As Smith’s sixteenth feature-film directorial venture, The 4:30 Film is “extra private than the remainder,” he tells PEOPLE of the semi-autobiographic story, although “they’re all fairly private.”
“It undoubtedly is me attempting to seize that snapshot of that moment — the second after I referred to as my high-school girlfriend and stated, ‘Do you need to go to the films?’ ” he says. “The worry, however then the enjoyment when she stated sure.”
Smith explains that his deal with the emotion was “rather more tough to do” than what he “usually” does together with his movies, which is specifically “capturing dialogue moments and alternate.”
The longtime filmmaker additionally praises the solid and cinematographer Yaron Levy, raving how “it looks like this film may have come from the ’80s relatively than a film that homages the ’80s.”
“It looks like you might’ve went to see a John Hughes film, Savage Steve Holland [movie], after which you might have seen this as effectively,” Smith says.
The 4:30 Film, distributed by Saban Movies, is obtainable on digital now.