“…We’re calling it “Clerks 2: The Passion of the Clerks,” and we’re seeing how long we can get away with it before somebody from Mel Gibson’s office drops us a cease-and-desist letter. We start shooting in, it looks like, May. And then the dream is to take it to Sundance to debut it — because (the original) “Clerks” debuted up in Sundance back in January of ‘94 — and then go out in theaters early 2006.”

Q. Why do a sequel to “Clerks?”

I would just love to see what [characters] Dante and Randall would be up to today. It’s going to be a lot of fun since it’ll be different from the type of films I’ve made recently. With “Jersey Girl” I burned out on making movies with big, famous people. That can come back and bite you if two of your stars date and then break up.

Q. So, are you saying that you won’t work with your pal Ben Affleck anytime soon?

No, I would work with Ben in a heartbeat. I just wouldn’t cast whomever Ben is dating at the time. [Laughs]

Q. So if the opportunity to work with Jennifer Garner came up…

I would work with Jennifer Garner but not with Ben Affleck. I wouldn’t put those two in a movie for fear that they would break up. I’m not going through that hell again.

Q. What’s the sequel to “Clerks” about?

What happens when an angry young man turns 35. You can’t be really angry anymore – well, you can still be angry, but you can’t be young. It’s not nearly as cool.

“…I still can’t figure out the infatuation with celebrities. I guess it marks the time before death, but usually there is no good information. What was weird was I became the go-to person. People, Us, the Star were all calling me about him. It’s not like I sleep with him,” said Smith. “But it’s to the point where all you have to do is (what Paris Hilton did on a tape that first surfaced in the Internet) and you’re famous.””

“Filmmaker Kevin Smith, who will hold court at the Raue Center Sunday night, said there are no stupid questions. Well there are, but those often lead to some of the better exchanges. And he’s at the mercy of his work, so, yes he’s been asked if he can has tried to perform a certain contortion that made for one of the best bits in Clerks. But if you are heading to the chat and can’t think of anything from our interview, here are some suggestions, some sublime, mostly silly, and maybe enough to kill four hours…”