Well, he promised a spectacle and Kevin Smith certainly delivered at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend. Following months of build-up, the opinionated filmmaker finally premiered horror thriller Red State in a frenzy of religious protests, comedic counter-protests, speculation and media bashing by the chatty writer/director. And once the film finished, then came the promised auction of the rights, which ended somewhat quicker than expected when Smith bought them himself for $20.
Confused? Shocked? You really shouldn’t be: Smith’s plan all along was to launch a plan that goes back to vaudeville and early travelling shows. He’s kicking off a road show tour for the movie around a series of cities in the US starting in March, followed by a full cinema release on October 19, 2011, which just happens to be the 17th anniversary of Clerks’ original US release.
In a statement on one of the film’s viral marketing sites, Smith and producer Jon Gordon decried the current state of studio promotion. “We believe the state of film marketing has become ridiculously expensive and exclusionary to the average filmmaker longing simply to tell their story. When the costs of marketing and releasing a movie are four times that film's budget, it's apparent the traditional distribution mechanism is woefully out of touch with not only the current global economy, but also the age of social media. Therefore, The Harvey Boys will not spend a dime on old world media buys (such as TV/Print/Outdoor) as we self-distribute our film, Red State, in an admittedly unconventional, yet extremely cost effective, word of mouth/viral campaign.”
The pair has launched SModcast Pictures, which Smith intends to demonstrate can be a workable model for creative types looking to not just make their movie on their terms, but distribute it too.
As for those who are no doubt wondering what this means for any UK release, stay tuned. And on the subject of Smith’s films, he used the post-screening session to repeat a statement he’s been making for a while now – that Red State will be followed by hockey drama Hit Somebody, which he plans to A) feature most of the Red State cast and B) will mark his last film. Will that turn out to be another gambit to grab headlines? Only Smith knows for sure…