RedState Tagged Articles at Cinematical

"It's so bleak, it makes f**king Dark Knight look like Strawberry Shortcake." -- Kevin Smith on Red State

Last month, I traveled to Red Bank, New Jersey and enjoyed a very cool lunch with a very cool dude by the name of Kevin Smith. While we scarfed down some tasty Italian food, I recorded roughly an hour and a half of our conversation -- all of which would be way too much to read in one post. Thus, I've decided to break some stuff up into sections and post them separately, then I'll be back with much more in the coming days leading up to the October 31st release of the hilarious Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Toward the end of our conversation, we turned to Smith's future projects -- most notably Red State. Check out what he had to say about the film, as well as which Tarantino regular he wrote a part for.

On financing Red State: "It's tough to get money for this one. And I don't want to bring it up to [The Weinsteins] again because there's something kind of exciting about going out and trying to finance it myself and raise some financing. I mean the harsh reality is if I said hey, who wants to do my next comedy, I've got money coming out the ass. But when I hand in this, like, 89-page script that is dark, there's nobody to root for, there are no heroes, it's depressing, it's critical -- it's so bleak it makes f**king Dark Knight look like Strawberry Shortcake. Not a lot of people want to pony up for that movie, man. Especially when I start out by saying, 'Look, it's decidedly not commercial. It's not a standard horror movie where you make it for $20 million. It's bleak and it's not going to get any lighter.' People aren't whipping out checkbooks when you give them that rundown."

Seems writer-director Kevin Smith finally opened up a little bit regarding that outer space comedy he wants to shoot after Red State, telling The Hollywood Reporter it revolves around the relationship between a father and son, and will cost upwards of $50 million -- making it Smith's most expensive film yet. He tells THR, "The moment someone steps out of the spaceship, it's going to cost a little more." Smith has said previously that he'd love for Seth Rogen to star, though casting this puppy still seems a far way away. While a first draft of the script is done and has apparently drifted through the hands of execs at The Weinstein Co., nothing is confirmed and the project currently does not have a home. So we'll see.

But here's my question: Now that Smith is taking some more risks with his work (forget the outer space comedy -- Red State is a "dramatic tale of a domestic terrorist in the Heartland"), would you rather him stick to original ideas or take on one of the many superheroes he holds so near and dear to his heart? The man has dabbled a bunch in the comic book world, he's written a Superman script -- he obviously knows these characters, knows their fanbase, knows what works and what doesn't ... and so why not get a little nutty?

Of course, having spoken to Kevin recently, I know he's not interested in pursuing that route, but I'd be curious to hear what you think.

Would You Rather ...

Kevin Smith on an original outer space comedyKevin Smith tackling an existing superhero on the big screenKevin Smith on earth and back in New JerseyVote

A couple of weeks ago, everyone got sort-of excited about the fact that Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno got slapped with the kiss-of-death NC-17 rating by the MPAA. I sure did: even the tiniest glimmer of hope that a mainstream film may make it into release with an NC-17 would be great news. Maybe -- as Roger Ebert among others has been pushing for years -- we can finally decriminalize the Movie for Adults.

But we all knew it was wishful thinking; that Smith is almost certainly obligated by contract to do whatever it takes to secure the R for Zack and Miri. In a conversation with Capone of Ain't It Cool News, Smith confirms that, and goes into considerable detail about his back-and-forth with the MPAA over the film.

Smith claims that the MPAA originally gave him two "areas" of the film to focus on; after he cut out more than 12 minutes, did some trims of other offending section, and resubmitted (twice), the ratings board apparently got hung up on one 14-frame-long shot ("It's not even a second!" Smith objects) and Smith gave up on editing and is now simply appealing the rating. If his appeal is rebuffed, he says, he won't have a choice but to make the cuts. And he's not angry about it: "I haven't blogged about it, I'm not out there screaming 'Oh my God, they're violating my .f***ing civil liberties or my rights as an artist.' It's just part of the process." (This is in stark contrast to star Seth Rogen's take on the subject.) The MPAA is set to hear the appeal on August 4th.

Smith also tells AICN he is still planning to make the fundamentalism-themed horror movie Red State; the Weinstein Co. refused to finance it, but he is close to securing some independent backing.

Over on The Hot Blog, David Poland has the weekend box office numbers up, and the one thing that popped out at me, probably because I just saw and reviewed the film last week, is that Lake of Fire, which opened at Film Forum in NYC this weekend, did not do nearly as well as might have been expected. There's some discussion in the comments on Poland's post speculating on the whys and wherefores of the film's less-than-stellar opening, the main gist of which is that either the film did not appeal to people because no one wants to see the abortion process on a big screen while they're munching their popcorn, or because the film doesn't take a side on the abortion issue, and people who are passionate about it on one side or the other do not want to see the other side treated fairly.

I pondered this for a while this morning as I lingered over my Monday morning coffee. As I noted in my review of the film, Lake of Fire does give both sides of the debate equal weight, but I also think that the way each side will be perceived is in the eye of the beholder. I could see the film playing well in red states, because the film doesn't portray right-to-lifers (on the whole) as a bunch of nutcases. Sure, there are some some interesting folks in there, but there are also attractive women in there talking about why they are pro-life. And even the folks that a liberal might view as off-their-rocker (such as Assembly of God preacher John Burt and Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry) would probably be viewed by a lot of fundamentalist Christians as good, God-fearing guys who are simply passionate about their beliefs on the subject.

During a very long and detailed blog entry over on his website, Kevin Smith "dropped the bomb" that The Weinstein Co. have officially passed on his planned "horror" flick Red State. As Kevin points out, this is the first time the Weinsteins have ever passed on one of his projects, which, in Kevin's mind, means it might be time to shack up with someone else on a film. And I love the way they passed; you will only here reasons like this in Hollywood, folks. Here, from Kevin himself: "The only explanation Michael gives me is 'Harvey thought it was more of a Bob flick and then Bob didn't get it. They'd rather just concentrate on 'Zack and Miri' at the moment, which we're all pumped about.'" I mean, I can see why they passed -- Smith is known for his raunchy slice-of-life comedy, and the chances the Weinsteins have taken in the last year (ahem, Grindhouse) haven't paid off so well. Zack and Miri is more along the lines of what Smith's fans are used to, and so they'd rather go with that over his "experimentation film."

But I'll be real honest with you, and Kevin kind of says the same thing -- I have a feeling the Weinsteins are passing on something good. I haven't read the script for Red State (though I'd love to), but I can't be the only one who's dying to see Smith flirt with something completely out of his comfort zone. Here's how Smith reacts to the news: "It might be nice to see if we can get something done without them. Whether it'll be nice or not, however, it's what's in the cards, as they don't feel the flick is very commercial. And, in truth, on the surface, it may not be - unless we get the buzz I think we'll get off the festival circuit. Regardless, it's not something we'll have to think about 'til after we're done with "Zack and Miri Make a Porno." So, as of now, Red State is on hold. Should Zack and Miri kill at the box office, I'm sure the Weinsteins will be back in Kev's ear, itching for another comedy. But I hope he sticks to his guns, and goes after Red State. It'll find a home, I'm sure, and I'd really love to see it.

Of Note: It appears Seth Rogen is rumored to be up for the part of Zack in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. How interesting would that be if the Apatow world mixed with Smith's Askewverse? I'd dig it -- you?

For those out there who saw this headline and thought their dreams had finally come true, get ready for a major disappointment. MTV Movie News spoke with director Kevin Smith about his two new films, Red State -- a horror film that revolves around a fanatical religious leader, and the comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno. First up is Zack and Miri, and that's where Dawson comes in. Smith told MTV, "I wrote [the role of Miri ] for Rosario Dawson, I'd be kind of flabbergasted if she didn't do it". Unfortunately, when MTV contacted Dawson's reps they said that, "no deal is in place at the moment" -- with the emphasis on "the moment", I would expect. The comedy centers on two old high school friends who meet up at their reunion and decide to go into the amateur porn business, and the film marks the first time Smith has written a female lead.

Last month, Erik had news of a script excerpt released to Entertainment Weekly, but at the time no casting had been finalized. Now, Smith has confirmed that long-time co-star Jason Mewes, and Clerks alum Jeff Anderson are both signed on to appear. Smith had worked with Dawson on Clerks II and the two seemed to hit it off. Considering Dawson seems to be a bit of a comic book nerd herself, I am sure they have plenty to talk about. Smith is planning on having Porno done by Christmas, and then he's off to start shooting Red State in February or March of next year. Since Dawson's other commitment, Poor Things, might have hit a snag, she could have some free time coming up in her schedule.

Ah, the infamous Phelps family. Is there anyone out there who doesn't know who they are yet? They're that wacky family behind the Westboro Baptist Church, who make many legions of religious zealots looks downright boring. They so respectfully picket military funerals and other gatherings to spew their hate -- mainly centered on their strict anti-homosexuality platform. Heck, they're so against it that they hate all of Sweden because of it! Of course, it was only a matter of time before their insanity would spark the minds of filmmakers. Red State, the upcoming horror movie by Kevin Smith, drew inspiration from the Phelps clan, as Erik posted here.

Now a staff writer from the Pitch blog from Kansas City fired off an e-mail to Shirley Phelps-Roper. The daughter of Fred; she's the one who ticked off Julie Banderas from Fox News so much that they got in a big argument. Shirley replied to the writer, and doesn't seem to know who Smith is. This is what she said about the film, in all her true, crazy glory: "If you are saying that this guy Kevin blah, blah is making a movie and is making a bad guy in the movie and then he is saying that my dad is a bad guy - I say - boring! I would think by now that you earth dwellers would understand that we don't care what kind of pressure you bring to bear upon us and how much you speak evil of us when you know by our manner of life that we are the Servants of the Living God - that none of these things move us and if we gave a rat's tutu about what you think about us, this might work - but alas, we know you have no respect for God or man and in particular for yourselves, so why in this world would we want you to speak any other way about us? If you would bother to CRACK a Bible, you would know that all your hateful words and hard speeches against us are tokens in the bank, and evidence that we have the Love of God abiding upon us!" Watch out, Kevin! God and the Phelps family are a-comin'! [via FilmIck]