We spoke with the young cast of The 4:30 Movie, Kevin Smith's new indie comedy and New Jersey-set passion project that sees a trio of young pals (Austin Zajur, Nicholas Cirillo, and Reed Northrup) trying to sneak into an R-rated flick while one of them attempts to seal the deal with his charming mega-crush (Siena Agudong). It's a gloriously simple premise for a film that was primarily shot inside a movie theater that Smith owns in real life, meaning the scenes were shot in his old stomping ground.

"Me and [Smith] did a little walking tour of the entire Atlantic Highlands town, and he just took me around, and kind of sort of gave me a play-by-play in my own free time," said Zajur, who plays the heroic lead character Brian. "I would just kind of go hang out at the spots that I knew I was going to film at and would just kind of get a feel for everything and try to imagine what it was really like for him back in the day. And yeah, I mean, it was just really cool being able to film in the movie theater that he now owns, but that's where he went and saw movies. It was like just a crazy thing that is pretty rare."

"I think one of the cool things about this movie... is it's also sort of based on him and his friends and real-life people, so one of the blessings of this movie is we got to meet the people we were loosely portraying," Northrup added. "Getting to feel them out, see their energy, and also give this gift of recreating versions of them was really, really cool and, I think, a really rare opportunity."

Northrup continued, noting a fun personal connection of his to Smith's latest project:

"I'm also from New Jersey. I grew up 20 minutes from where we filmed, and I haven't really been back in that area very much as an adult. So for me, getting to film my first leading role in a movie in kind of where I grew up was a real, like, homecoming, a really nostalgic moment . So that, for me, really, literally brought me back, which was a blessing."

Leaving Kevin Smith 'on Read' The 4:30 Movie 3.5/5 R

Release Date September 13, 2024 Director Kevin Smith Cast Siena Agudong , Austin Zajur , Nicholas Cirillo , Ken Jeong , Sam Richardson , Genesis Rodriguez , Justin Long , Jason Lee , Rachel Dratch , Kate Micucci , Adam Pally , Harley Quinn Smith , Method Man , Logic , Diedrich Bader , Jason Mewes , Jeff Anderson , Rosario Dawson , Jason Biggs , Betty Aberlin , Evelyn Giovine , Michelle Santiago , Morgan Bluestein , Aaron Shuf , Ralph Garman , Brian O'Halloran Runtime 1h 28m Main Genre Comedy Writers Kevin Smith Expand

And for those who've never brushed shoulders with Smith, co-star Agudong shared something about the director that she's never before experienced on a movie set. "Kevin is so warm and welcoming," she said. "There was a joke on set, like, the first week, we would just clap all the time, like after scenes, or whenever someone walks on set... They're like, 'Yep, this is a Kevin Smith movie... Your hands are going to hurt at the end of this.' But I just feel like that just sort of embodies, like, the whole feeling that was on set. Like, we were just celebrating all the time because what we're doing is making something that everyone is so passionate about making. But I think that was just so special."

Then there's Cirillo, who TV fans might recognize from Outer Banks. He's got a standout supporting role in The 4:30 Movie and shared with us his memorable moment of learning he got the role for Smith's new film:

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Writer/director Kevin Smith burst onto the scene in a big way in 1994 with Clerks, introducing us to the cast of characters in his Askewniverse.

"He was texting me, and I felt my phone vibrate and, of course, I was like, 'I'm [seeing] Oppenheimer, I'm not going to get my phone out!' And then I was like, 'Oh s***, I kind of just left Kevin on read for like three hours. He's gonna think I'm annoying him.' So then I was like, 'Oh, sorry, man... I was in Oppenheimer.' And then Kevin was like, 'I hope you're not expecting that on this next set.' I think he said, 'I'm Other-heimer, I'm the other guy.'"

From Saban Films, The 4:30 Movie will be released in theaters on Friday.