Kevin Smith Making Statements With New Film

Kevin Smith with wife Jen Schwalbach Smith and
Malcolm Ingram at Sundance 

Kevin Smith recently debuted his new movie Red State at the Sundance Film Festival.  After many rough experiences as writer and director of his own movies over the years (and the latest directing Cop Out), Smith surprised everyone except those in on his plan by announcing he'll be distributing Red State through his new company, Smodcast Pictures. 

Through social and his podcast networks, Smith has planned a nationwide tour of 15 cities where he and cast members will make appearances. At Sundance, he publicly renounced his desire for the film to be purchased by a distribution company, citing exorbitant marketing budgets which drive up the overall budget of movies, which he states makes it difficult for independent films to be considered successful and "break even" over the opening weekend. Standing at the podium after the initial screening,  Kevin has thoroughly explained his next film, Hit Somebody, will be "his" last as writer and director, so his direction towards movie distribution in the tradition of Harvey Weinstein, the former co-owner of Miramax, who distributed Clerks in 1994, makes a lot of sense. He's stated that due to the "old studio model" of distribution, opportunities for independent films have decreased over the years. Many movie studio subsidiaries such as Fox Searchlight, Paramount Vantage and others have been developed since Miramax started making more low-budget movies extremely popular and mainstream, so I assume the money-making apparatus has reached into supposed "independent" film now as well, while super-mainstream movies basically have become more vacuous since that period.

Red State itself is his first (and probably only) horror film, focusing on Christian fundamentalist characters inspired by Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church. The group is now renowned for protesting public events which clash with their beliefs that "God hates fags," and other similar bullshit. The church resorts to protests at funerals of U.S. military veterans and others known to have been gay, Jewish institutions such as the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Smith's appearance at Sundance was protested by the church, and Smith made an appearance at the site in counter-protest, complete with signs. 

I can't think of too many scarier subjects than Westboro for a frightening horror film, and just about everything surrounding Red State seems like a protest.  Even if you end up not liking the movie, I think making these statements is always better than just going along with things you think are bullshit just to make money. Good luck Kevin!