Few filmmakers have embraced social networking with as much gusto as Kevin Smith, a man whose Twitter feed has become a thing of legend. The director, of course, has his first horror movie Red State in the works - a film he promises "will make **The Dark Knight **look like Strawberry Shortcake" - and he's launched a weekly podcast to keep fans appraised of goings-on as the film rolls into post.
Week one of 'Red State of the Union' - which you can listen to here - saw a select crowd treated to a first look at Red State's teaser trailer. The rest of us must suffice with a first listen, but there's a chilling sense of mood still seeps through. As Smith tells the podcast audience: "It doesn't really tell you anything about plot, it's all about mood and tone, but at this point that's really all I'm willing to share. I made the teaser for the chief audience - which would be myself - so I'm pre-sold!"
Other interesting snippets to come out of the fan forum, include budget ($3m), camera (digital), storyboarding (didn't do it), and run-time (currently 96 minutes).
Red State is based to around fundamentalist Christianity, with Smith crediting Fred Phelps (whose Westboro Baptist Church preached a gospel of intolerance against homosexuals) as an "inspiration". Click herefor more on the film.
So what do you think? Excited by Smith's darker-toned material or yearning for the return of Jay and Silent Bob? Let us know in the usual place...