The New Jersey films are five motion pictures written and directed by Kevin Smith and made by his production company View Askew. Each of the films is partially or completely set in New Jersey. They were originally known as the Jersey Trilogy — a nickname used even after Dogma, the fourth film in the so-called trilogy, came out. For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of... Kevin Smith at a comics convention in 2005 Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American screenwriter, film director, comic book writer, and creator of View Askew. ... View Askew is the film production company created by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier responsible for such cult films as Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (together the New Jersey films), Drawing Flies, and Jersey Girl. ... State nickname: The Garden State Other U.S. States Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Governor Richard Codey (D) Acting, Outgoing Jon Corzine (D) (Governor-Elect) Senators Jon Corzine (D) (Outgoing) Frank Lautenberg (D) Official language(s) None defined Area 22,608 km² (47th)  - Land 19,231 km²  - Water 3,378... A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or things real name (for example, Tom is short for Thomas). ... Dogma is a 1999 comedy film, written and directed by Kevin Smith, who stars in the film along with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, George Carlin, and Alanis Morissette. ...

• Clerks.
• Mallrats
• Chasing Amy
• Dogma
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

The films are characterized by crude, politically incorrect sexual humor. For example, a character in Clerks inadvertently has sex with a corpse (off-screen). Clerks. ... Mallrats is a 1995 movie by filmmaker Kevin Smith, the second to be set in his Askewniverse series of interlocking films set mostly in New Jersey. ... Chasing Amy is a 1997 romantic comedy about two comic book artists: Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck), a heterosexual male, and Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), a lesbian. ... Dogma is a 1999 comedy film, written and directed by Kevin Smith, who stars in the film along with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, George Carlin, and Alanis Morissette. ... Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is the fifth movie from Kevin Smith, famous for his cult films Clerks. ... Politically Incorrect was a late-night political talk show hosted by Bill Maher first on Comedy Central and later on ABC, which cancelled it in 2002. ...

There is limited continuity among the films. Clerks and Mallrats take place within a day or so of each other, though with unrelated stories. Chasing Amy takes place several years later. All three movies refer to certain unfortunate anecdotes. Dogma happens shortly after Chasing Amy, with a comic book series (aptly titled Chasing Dogma) following Jay and Silent Bob's trek from New Jersey to Illinois, connecting the two. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back takes place a few years after Chasing Amy and features cameos of most of the major characters from the first three films. The collective world of the New Jersey films is sometimes referred to as the "View Askewniverse." In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Jay and Silent Bob are two fictional characters who exist in the View Askewniverse created by actor/writer/director Kevin Smith. ... State nickname: Land of Lincoln, The Prairie State Other U.S. States Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) Senators Richard Durbin (D) Barack Obama (D) Official language(s) English Area 149,998 km² (25th)  - Land 143,968 km²  - Water 6,030 km² (4. ... The View Askewniverse is the fictional universe in which Kevin Smiths New Jersey films take place. ...

The Askewniverse has been extended in several Clerks comics and the short feature The Flying Car, which starred Randal and Dante. There was also a short-lived Clerks animated series. The Flying Car is a 2002 seven-minute short film written and directed by Kevin Smith. ...

Common characters and actors

The films share actors and characters:

• Jay and Silent Bob are in all of the films. Jay, who talks incessantly, is played by Jason Mewes. Silent Bob is played by Kevin Smith, who usually has barely enough lines to qualify as a speaking part, though his lines generally have deeper meaning in the story (indeed, the title Chasing Amy stems from Silent Bob's speech in one scene).
• Brian O'Halloran played Dante Hicks in Clerks and in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and appeared in each of the other films playing other members of the Hicks family.
• Jeff Anderson, who played Randal Graves in Clerks and in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, cameoed as a gun store employee in Dogma.
• Jason Lee played Brodie Bruce in Mallrats, Banky Edwards in Chasing Amy, and Azreal in Dogma. In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, he reprised both the Brodie and Banky roles.
• Ben Affleck played the villain Shannon Hamilton in Mallrats, Holden McNeil in Chasing Amy, Bartleby in Dogma, and appeared as both Holden and himself in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
• Joey Lauren Adams had a minor part in Mallrats and starred in Chasing Amyas Alyssa Jones. She made a cameo as Alyssa Jones in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and in the animated "lost scene" on the Clerks X DVD.
• Dwight Ewell played an important role in Chasing Amy and a minor one in Dogma.
• Matt Damon had a minor part in Chasing Amy, starred in Dogma and appeared as himself in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
• Most repeat performers had at least a cameo in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, often making ironic observations about the films.

Jay and Silent Bob are two fictional characters who exist in the View Askewniverse created by actor/writer/director Kevin Smith. ... Jason Mewes as Jay. ... Brian OHalloran (born Brian Christopher OHalloran) is an American actor best known for his roles in Kevin Smith films such as clerks. ... Dante Hicks, as in the movie Dante Hicks is a fictional character created by Kevin Smith and played by Brian OHalloran. ... Randal Graves, as in the movie Randal Graves is a fictional character from the movie and cartoon Clerks. ... Jason Lee (born April 25, 1970, in Huntington Beach, California) is an American actor. ... Banky Edwards is a character played by Jason Lee in the movie Chasing Amy by Kevin Smith. ... Ben Affleck Benjamin Geza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) in Berkeley, California, is an American actor and Oscar-winning screenwriter. ... Joey Lauren Adams in Mallrats (1995) Joey Lauren Adams (born January 6, 1971 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA) is an American actress with appearances in over 30 films. ... Matt Damon at the Incirlik hospital, Incirlik Air Base, December 7, 2001 Matthew Paige Damon (born October 8, 1970) is an American film actor and screenwriter. ...

Upcoming sixth film

Though he originally stated that there would not be a sixth film in the series, Smith has announced that a sequel to Clerks, tentatively titled Clerks 2: The Passion of the Clerks, will be filmed in October 2005 and released in early 2006. The sequel will be set ten years after the story of the first film. This is a list of film-related events in 2006. ...

See also

• List of movies set in New Jersey
• Jay and Silent Bob
• Jersey Girl