 When Kevin Smith (I) (qv) pitched the idea to Miramax films, he  also said that he had written the parts with his friends  Ben Affleck (qv), Jason Lee (I) (qv), and  Joey Lauren Adams (qv) in mind. Miramax, however, wanted to cast  people who already had celebrity status, such as Jon Stewart (qv),  David Schwimmer (qv), and Drew Barrymore (qv) (these three were  actually suggested). The films original budget of $3,000,000  depended on Miramaxs support. Ultimately, Smith suggested that he  make the movie with his three original actors on his own, and  Miramax could buy it for distribution if they liked it. The brothers  Weinstein liked this idea, and gave him $250,000 to make the movie  (1/24 of the budget of his previous film, _Mallrats (1995)_ (qv))