Kevin Smith on Why 'Clerks 3' Kickstarter Didn't Happen: 'I Have Access to Money'

Even with the success of the Zach Braff and Veronica Mars movie projects, Kickstarter just isn't for Kevin Smith right now.

"I love the idea and I want to do it so desperately, but I think I've missed the window based on the fact that I do have access to materials, I do have access to money," he said to The Hollywood Reporter's Kim Masters on KCRW radio. "I don't know, I feel like I should leave that for the cats that really need it at this point."

Smith was elaborating on why he decided against using the crowdfunding website to help finance Clerks III. The Weinstein Co., he was informed by his lawyer, has the first look rights for the possible sequel.

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"It feels like me trying to have a second bite at the apple by going, 'All right man, now I'm going indie again with this Kickstarter thing.' Like, the truth of it is, after all this time, 20 years later, I have access to money," Smith said in the interview. "If I don't use my own money, I can always hit up some of my famous friends."

The director, Masters noted, made a point to explain that he wasn't criticizing other celebrities' Kickstarter projects.

In April, Braff launched a $2 million Kickstarter to fund his Garden State follow-up, Wish I Was Here, that ended up receiving $3.1 million in pledged funds. The revival of Veronica Mars, meanwhile, closed with $5.7 million in pledged donations from fans.

But even though Smith decided against going the crowdfunded route for Clerks III, he said it probably would make for a successful Kickstarter project.

"If our Kickstarter video had been me just walking out in front of a blackboard and writing Clerks and then III after it, without much more than that, we probably would have easily cleared $5 million to $7 million bucks," Smith said. "And not because people like me, but they love Clerks, man."

Smith's breakout film, Clerks, was released in 1994. A sequel, Clerks II, arrived in theaters in 2006 and grossed $24 million in the U.S.

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