Chasing Amy (1997)

May 15, 2022March 5, 2023 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

The 1997 Kevin Smith film “Chasing Amy” was shot primarily in Smith’s native state of New Jersey, with some additional filming in New York. Holden McNeil, played by Ben Affleck, shares an apartment with Banky Edwards, played by Jason Lee, at this building, located in Red Bank.

LOCATION: 30 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701

Here is a view of the full building.

The interior of the same location appears later in the film as the music shop where Holden talks with Hooper X, played by Dwight Ewell. It still operates as a music shop to this day.

After meeting Alyssa Jones, played by Joey Lauren Adams, Holden develops a friendship with her, which slowly develops into an unlikely romance. Holden and Alyssa sit on the swings at Victory Park in Rumson. The park has since changed a bit, but the hills in the background, as well as the Oceanic Bridge, still match up.

LOCATION: Victory Park, 1 Lafayette St, Rumson, NJ 07760

During a montage of Holden and Alyssa hanging out, they are seen at Washington Square Park in New York City. Washington Square Park has been seen in countless films, including “Kids,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “I Am Legend,” “Ghostbusters II,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “Serpico” and many more.

LOCATION: Washington Square, New York, NY 10012

After Holden confesses his feelings for Alyssa, a dramatic argument ensues in the rain. This is the spot where Holden parks his vehicle. The building’s address is Broad St, but the area seen in the film faces Mechanic St. This is also located in Red Bank, almost right across the street from Holden and Banky’s apartment.

LOCATION: 33 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701 (facing Mechanic St)

Alyssa is deeply upset at Holden’s confession, as she identifies as a lesbian and is not interested in dating men. After an intense argument, Alyssa acknowledges her feelings for Holden and the two kiss in front of this building, which is located next to the above location.

LOCATION: 10 Mechanic St, Red Bank, NJ 07701

Banky talks about Catholic school girls as he watches some girls at this corner. This is directly across the street from where Holden and Alyssa have their argument.

LOCATION: 25 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701

Cohee tells the “Fingercuffs” story about Alyssa’s past in front of the Quick Stop Groceries in Leonardo. The location is of course synonymous with Smith’s filmography, most famously as the central location of “Clerks.” The building also appears in a number of Smith’s other films, including “Mallrats,” “Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back” and “Clerks II.”

LOCATION: 58 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737

Unable to accept Alyssa’s sexual past, Holden and Alyssa have another major argument at this ice rink in Brick Township. This spot is a bit further away from most of the other New Jersey locations featured in the film, roughly thirty minutes south of Red Bank.

LOCATION: 197 Chambersbridge Rd, Brick Township, NJ 08723

Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

March 15, 2022February 19, 2023 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

The 2001 comedy “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” starring Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, was primarily filmed in Southern California, with some additional footage shot in Smith’s home state of New Jersey. The film opens in 1970s Leonardo, New Jersey at the Quick Stop Groceries, where Jay and Silent Bob are shown as babies sitting outside the store in strollers. The location is of course famous among Smith fans as the primary location of his debut film, “Clerks.”

LOCATION: 58 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737

As the story jumps to present day, the original characters from “Clerks,” Dante and Randall, played by Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson, talk inside at the counter. Randall decides to call the police on Jay and Silent Bob, to get rid of them loitering outside.

Jay and Silent Bob stand next to the RST Video, where they appear in many of Smith’s other films.

LOCATION: 60 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737

Brodie’s Secret Stash, a fictional take on Smith’s “Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash” was filmed at the real store, formerly located at 35 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701. It has since relocated to a bigger space down the road at 65 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701.

The Mooby’s restaurant seen in the film now sits vacant in North Hollywood. This same location was used as Pig Burgers in “Better Off Dead.” Here Jay meets Justice, played by Shannon Elizabeth, and he and Silent Bob join up with her friends, who turn out to be diamond thieves.

LOCATION: 6223 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91606

Justice and her accomplices stop at this liquor store in Winnetka, where Jay and Silent Bob try to stand out front, but can’t get comfortable leaning on the glass windows. The same liquor store also appeared in the film “Magnolia” and The Smashing Pumpkins’ music video for “1979.”

LOCATION: 20001 Roscoe Blvd, Winnetka, CA 91306

The women set up Jay and Silent Bob as patsies, sending them on a mission to rescue a monkey from a testing lab, while they actually stage a diamond heist. These scenes were filmed in Valencia, California.

LOCATION: 27220 Turnberry Ln, Valencia, CA 91355

This area is where the science lab entrance was located.

To the right is where the Diamond Exchange entrance was located.

The Arena Diner, where Jay and Silent Bob escape police, was filmed at the famous Vasquez Rocks. One of the most popular filming locations in all of California, the iconic rocks have appeared in such films as “The Flintstones,” “Dante’s Peak,” “Jingle All The Way,” “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey,” “Hail, Caesar!,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Paul” and dozens more. Television shows which featured Vasquez Rocks in episodes include “The Fugutive,” “The A-Team,” “MacGuyver” and perhaps most famous of all, the original “Star Trek” series, where the rocks were seen in numerous episodes, serving as multiple different planets. The rocks have also been seen in music videos for Michael Jackson, Radiohead, 311 and many more, as well as countless commercials.

LOCATION: 10700 Escondido Canyon Rd, Agua Dulce, CA 91350

The building where Jay and Silent Bob run into Pumpkin Escobar, a fellow unionized drug dealer played by Tracy Morgan, was formerly located at 1557 N El Centro Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028. It has since been demolished and a parking lot stands in its place.

E! News does a story in front of Mirimax Studios, which does not actually have a real studio lot. The scenes were filmed at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City. The film’s studio lot scenes were all shot here as well.

LOCATION: 4024 Radford Ave, Studio City, CA 91604

At the end of the movie, numerous characters from Smith’s past films are seen coming out of the El Rey Theatre, which is depicted as a movie theater. Jay then invites everyone to the concert “across the street.” The El Rey is in fact a live music venue, not a movie theater, and the closing performance by Morris Day & The Time was filmed inside the same location. The venue also appeared in the film “License To Drive.”

LOCATION: 5515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Clerks (1994)

January 3, 2022February 19, 2023 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

The 1994 independent classic “Clerks,” which famously launched the film career of Kevin Smith, was shot near his hometown of Highlands, New Jersey. The story of “Clerks” is well documented, with Smith financing it via personal credit cards and eventually being accepting into the Sundance Film Festival, ultimately landing national distribution. As you might imagine for a film with such humble beginnings, the locations are all within a short distance of one another.

At the beginning of the film, Dante, played by Brian O’Halloran, is called into work on his day off to cover another employee’s shift. Here is the home of Dante, which still mostly resembles how it appeared in the film.

LOCATION: 102 W Washington Ave, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716

The most iconic location is of course the Quick Stop Groceries, where most of the film takes place. At the time of filming, Smith worked at the store and the owners allowed him to film at night, while the business was closed. The store is quite a popular destination, attracting fans on a daily basis. The staff is quite welcoming to fans and allow you to take as many pictures as you’d like, both inside and outside of the store, so we highly recommend a visit.

LOCATION: 58 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737

With the expansion of Smith’s “View Askewniverse,” in which characters from multiple films existed within the same cinematic universe, Quick Stop Groceries would appear in many more Smith films over the years, including “Mallrats” (extended cut only), “Chasing Amy,” “Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back” and of course the sequels “Clerks II” and “Clerks III.”

Here is the main checkout counter, where Dante spends much of the film. Overall, the interior hasn’t changed much since filming took place.

Randall, played by Jeff Anderson, makes his famous entrance here.

The back of the store appears in multiple scenes, such as the man picking through the eggs, the woman (played by Smith’s mother) checking all the expiration dates on the milk and Caitlin Bree having sex in the bathroom.

Randall works at the RST Video, which is located right next door to the Quick Stop. This is also where Jay and Silent Bob, played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, hang out for most of the film. The interior of this area is not open to the public at this time.

LOCATION: 60 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737

After Dante learns one of his exes has died, he and Randall attend the wake at this funeral home.

LOCATION: 59 E Lincoln Ave, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716

Mallrats (1995)

October 5, 2020February 19, 2023 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

The 1995 Kevin Smith film “Mallrats” was mostly filmed in Minnesota, with some scenes filmed in Smith’s native New Jersey, as well as a few additional scenes shot in Los Angeles, California. There are several existing cuts of the film, the two most famous being the theatrical cut and the extended cut. Some locations only appear in certain cuts, which we’ll note in this article.

The house of Brodie, played by Jason Lee, can be found in Minneapolis.

LOCATION: 4808 Valley View Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55424

As TS Quint, played by Jeremy London, drives to the house of Brandi, played by Claire Forlani, he drives past the Quick Stop Groceries, which is of course famous for being the central location of Smith’s first film, “Clerks.” The store only appears in the extended cut of the film. The location has appeared in many of Smith’s other films as well, such as “Chasing Amy,” “Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back,” “Clerks II” and “Clerks III.”

LOCATION: 58 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737

The location of the house of Brandi is confusing because two different places were used and depending on which cut of the film you see, different houses appear. The extended cut of the film features the original location in Minnesota, where a news crew waits outside as TS visits with Brodie. After the original movie opening performed poorly with test audiences, the opening was reshot in Los Angeles. For the shorter, theatrical cut, a totally different home was featured, where TS meets Brandi alone and tries unsuccessfully to take her on a trip to Florida. This is the Los Angeles location of the reshoot scene.

LOCATION: 414 S Rimpau Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90020

Hedges have since been planted along the front of the property, obscuring much of the house from street level.

In the Mallrats audio commentary for the theatrical version, Smith confirms the scene was shot long after the original footage and was indeed filmed in Los Angeles. The location is omitted altogether from the extended cut of the film, in favor of the original footage. The Minnesota location of Brandi’s house, which is only seen in close-up shots, has yet to be found.

The key location of the movie, the Eden Prairie Center Mall, has since been heavily remodeled and no longer appears how it did in the film.

LOCATION: 8251 Flying Cloud Dr, Eden Prairie, MN 55344.

The “dirt mall” where TS Quint and Brodie meet a topless fortune teller has since been demolished. It was formerly located at 17 US-1, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.

At the end of the film, TS and Brandi are married at the Jaws ride, supposedly at Universal Studios Florida. The scene was instead filmed at the Jaws ride at Universal Studios Hollywood.

LOCATION: 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608

Clerks II (2006)

March 29, 2020February 19, 2023 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

While the original “Clerks” film was famously shot in New Jersey, the 2006 sequel, “Clerks II” was largely filmed in Southern California. The opening scene depicts the Quick Stop Groceries, famous of course for being the central location from the first film, on fire.

LOCATION: 58 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737

Randal, played by Jeff Anderson, lives at this home in Highlands. The home is director Kevin Smith’s actual childhood home. It used to sit at ground level, as seen in the film, but has since been raised due to flood risk in the area.

LOCATION: 21 Jackson St, Highlands, NJ 07732

Much of the film takes place at the fictional Mooby’s fast food restaurant, which was located in Buena Park. The restaurant was vacant and slated for demolition at the time of filming. It has since been demolished and replaced by a housing development.

LOCATION: 8572 Stanton Ave, Buena Park, CA 90620 (demolished)

One behind the scenes remnant of the film which is still standing is the hotel next door. The production offices were set up within the rooms.

The police station seen near the end of the film can be found in Highland Park. The building is no longer an active police station and operates today as a police museum. The building has been featured in countless films, including “Transformers,” “Gangster Squad” and “National Security,” as well as the TV series “Twin Peaks: The Return.”

LOCATION: 6043 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042

Film Oblivion

Movie and TV locations, points of interest.

Leonardo

Chasing Amy (1997)

Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Clerks (1994)

Mallrats (1995)

Clerks II (2006)