Filmmaker Kevin Smith’s breakthrough 1994 film ‘Clerks’ will be screened at Marine Park on Aug. 8, the Asbury Park Press reports today. The event is free and open to the public.

Smith, a borough native who owns Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash comic book and novelty-items store on Broad Street, will take questions from the audience beforehand.

Larry Higgs of the Press reports that the film is part of a program called “Rolling Roadshow,” in which famous films are screened in the places where they were set. The program producer’s first choice was to screen ‘Clerks’ at the convenience store where it was shot, in the Leonardo section of Middletown, preceded by a street hockey match. But the store is close to a residential neighborhood, and township officials turned down the request for permits because of concerns about noise.

The Press reports that

[Red Bank] Borough Council members gave their approval for the showing on Monday night, provided that the festival pays for police protection and cleanup and takes steps to prevent anyone under 17 from getting into the R-rated film.

The Press also says about 2,000 people are expected to turn out for the event.

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