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By Monica Roman

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NAME: Kevin Smith

DESCRIPTION: Auteur behind Clerks and Chasing Amy.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: The studio route wasn’t for him, and he’s back on solid footing in indie territory.

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NEW YORK (Variety) – Sometimes you can go home again. That’s what Sundance sensation Kevin Smith found out when he returned to his indie film roots after stumbling in Hollywood.

The story of how the film school dropout sold his $27,000 debut feature “Clerks” (inspired by his real-life experiences as a convenience-store employee) to Miramax for $227,000 at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival is legend among indie filmmakers making the pilgrimage to Park City, Utah, last week. No doubt it has inspired countless Smith wannabes to max out their credit cards chasing celluloid dreams.

But Smith’s meteoric rise in the indie film world did not translate into instant success at the studios. His sophomore effort, “Mallrats,” which Universal financed to the tune of $6.1 million, was a flop. His script for Warner Bros.’ next “Superman” feature, which Jon Peters is producing, ended up in the wastebasket after Tim Burton was attached as director. And his deal with Carsey-Werner to create a comedy featuring “Clerks” star Jason Lee fell apart after Lee decided he didn’t want to do a sitcom.

So Smith, 27, went home to Miramax and back to low-budget films. “Chasing Amy,” which Smith made for $250,000, grossed $12 million for Miramax in 1997. Gus Van Sant’s “Good Will Hunting,” which Smith co-executive produced with partner Scott Mosier, is expected to hit $100 million in domestic theatrical revenues and is one of Miramax’s Oscar hopes.

Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein initially envisioned a $2 million version of “Chasing Amy” that featured names along the lines of Drew Barrymore, David Schwimmer and Jon Stewart. But Smith ignored Weinstein’s advice and cast his then-girlfriend Joey Lauren Adams and her “Mallrats” alums Ben Affleck and Jason Lee in the tale of a female comic book creator who comes between two best friends.

Smith admits that Adams, whose previous credits included TV’s “Second Noah,” was considered a “one-note Pop-Tart,” but says that he wrote the role of Alyssa, a spunky bisexual, with her in mind.

Under the agreement he hammered out with Weinstein, Smith made his low-budget film on super-16mm without any interference from Miramax but gave the minimajor first crack at distributing the film. “I got to use the cast I wanted. It was redemption for everybody,” says Smith, whose idea of dressing up for a Miramax premiere is to wear a hockey jersey and blue jeans.

At Smith and Mosier’s urging, Miramax bought the “Good Will Hunting” script by Affleck and Matt Damon from Castle Rock, which had paid $800,000 for it.

“Scott and I told them to get it out of Castle Rock so we could take it to Miramax. Castle Rock’s biggest blunder was giving Ben and Matt two months to sell the script to somebody else,” Smith says.

Smith says his experiences in Hollywood have taught him to know his limitations. “There is a lot of hubris in this business where everybody thinks they can do everything. Working with a studio wasn’t an evil thing, but I’ll never work for Jon Peters again. I always thought I had a good bulls— detector, but Peters slipped by me.”

Smith’s champions say his missteps were a necessary stage in his development. “You cannot get from ‘Clerks’ to ‘Chasing Amy’ without something like ‘Mallrats’ in between. Where do you think the cast for ‘Chasing Amy’ came from?” says John Pierson, the producers representative who sold “Clerks” and picked Smith as a collaborator for his Miramax Books bestseller, “Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes.”

Taking his cue from John Sayles, Smith says he doesn’t mind collecting fat paychecks as a script doctor in Hollywood, and using the cash to finance independent projects and expand his comic book collection. “Sayles gets to do what he wants. Everyone on the indie scene who fancies himself a writer sees him as a model,” Smith says.

Right now, Smith is working with producer Brian Grazer at Imagine on a script for a “Fletch” movie. He’s also preparing to begin production on his next film for Miramax, “Dogma.” A religious satire which begins shooting March 16, “Dogma” features such past colleagues as Affleck, Damon, Lee and Jason Mewes as well as Salma Hayek, Linda Fiorentino and Chris Rock.

With help from his onscreen persona Silent Bob (who delivers the line in “Chasing Amy” that gives the film its title), Smith has become one of New Jersey’s favorite sons. Like Bruce Springsteen, Smith still maintains a residence in the Garden State and has not lost touch with his working-class roots.

The director and his gang hold a freewheeling dialogue with their fans via the Web site of View Askew, his Red Bank, N.J.-based production company. Something of an online frat house, the View Askew site features raunchy photos and does a brisk business in memorabilia such as “Mallrats” posters.

In response to a recent question asking whether to boycott New Line’s “Overnight Delivery,” on which Smith was denied writing credit, View Askew replies: “Well, the film is reportedly very bad… The movie should be on video shelves (yes, direct-to-video) soon, if not already. I think it’s safe to say, though, that this is one flick that Kevin is happy to keep off his resume.”

The View Askew Web site also contains clues to Smith’s religious side. His first thank-you on the credits to “Chasing Amy” was to God: “for all that’s come before, all that’ll come after, and most importantly, for right now.”

Asked whether he’s a born-again Christian, Smith replies, “Not really, because it tends to imply one once lost the faith. I’ve been a longtime booster.” As for his upcoming feature “Dogma,” Smith says the film takes a reverent approach to God, but casts a “glance askew” at organized religion.

Smith’s spiritual beliefs haven’t stopped him from dealing with sexuality in a humorous and frank manner or from allowing his characters to use a variety of four-letter words.

“There isn’t a commandment that says, ‘Thou shall not say f—,’ ” he explains.

As the Feb. 10 date nears for the announcement of Oscar noms, Smith isn’t holding his breath. “I have a slim chance of getting a screenplay nomination,” Smith says. “But I would die happy if I got one. It would cut down on the amount of sex I have to beg for.”