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With the end of the year came an abundance of lists from critics and fans alike for the top movies of 2011. However, a new list has been released that deserves a true movie-lover's attention — one from writer/director/producer Quentin Tarantino.
True to Tarantino form, his list contains some surprises (mostly mainstream movies?) and is heavily action, horror, and sci-fi saturated.
See which movies made Tarantino's list >> Posted 01.17.12 by reelz -
The Independent Spirit Awards nominations are out and guess who isn't pleased?
With silent movie The Artist and apocalyptic drama Take Shelter receiving the bulk of the nominations, including Best Feature (along with cancer comedy 50/50, father-son drama Beginners, noir thriller Drive, and family dramedy The Descendants), director Kevin Smith questioned why his horror movie Red State got completely snubbed. Smith took his complaint to his Twitter, where he called out the Spirit Awards for ignoring his cast.
what choice words did smith offer? >> Posted 11.30.11 by Ryan -
Writer-director Kevin Smith premiered his penultimate movie Red State at the Sundance Film Festival last month to mixed reviews; some good, some bad. THR called Red State "cleverly contrarian enough to get a rise out of almost any audience" while HitFix called it "a failure on almost every level". Red State marks Smith's first attempt at a horror movie and follows a group of friends who end up encountering a fundamentalist preacher (Michael Parks).
Smith is planning to distribute the movie himself, touring the movie to several cities before the it's released in October. However, despite the lack of studio pressure, Smith admitted to BleedingCool that he feels he wants to make some changes and plans to re-edit the movie.
what does Smith want to change? >> Posted 02.03.11 by Ryan -
The title of this piece, and others like it around the internet, is not exactly true. Writer-director Kevin Smith didn't exactly auction off the distribution rights to himself after his upcoming horror movie Red State after it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Producer Jon Gordon auctioned the rights to Smith instead, for the low price of $20. Additionally, it should be pointed out, one bid isn't exactly an auction.
The confusion stems from Smith's announcement last November where he discussed his auction. At the time, Smith said:
Here’s something that’s not so much news as my stated intentions for Red State: if it gets into Sundance, my plan is to pick the Red State distributor right there — IN THE ROOM — auction style. Might even bring up a professional auctioneer to make it fun and unintelligible. And if you’re a multi-millionaire who can’t make it to the first screening of Red State, fear not: maybe we’ll set up an eBay page for the post-screening bid-calling as well.
Th real event didn't turn out to be as fun as Smith had previously teased. After the screening, THR reported that Smith began a long tirade against the industry's current model for movie distribution.
smith defends his decision >> Posted 01.25.11 by Ryan -
Kevin Smith has released the first teaser trailer for his upcoming, independently-financed, horror movie Red State, which follows a group of teenagers who encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America. Unlike Smith's earlier foul-mouthed comedies, the teaser for Red State shows a more contemporary, hand-held camera style, similar to recent horror movies like The Last Exorcism and [REC]. Once Michael Parks delivers the trailer's final line, viewers will note that not a single laugh was included, though Smith joked about the trailer on his Twitter page.
The movie cost a hair under $4mil. The trailer cost a hair under 20mins of my time to edit
Watch the trailer >> Posted 12.25.10 by Ryan -
The first still images for writer-director-editor Kevin Smith's new horror-tinged thriller, Red State, were just released and now the first character poster for the movie has also debuted. The poster is similar in design to the teaser poster that was designed in-house by producer Jon Gordon's assistant, Melissa Bloom, and features actress Kerry Bishé (TV's Scrubs) as Cheyenne under the title "The Virgin." The movie follows a group of outsiders as they encounter fundamentalism taken to the extreme during their journey through Middle America and is, according to Smith, "inspired by" volatile Westboro Baptist Church pastor Fred Phelps.
The movie does not yet have a release date because it has yet to be picked up by a distributor—Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who normally distribute Smith's movies, passed on it—but Smith said that he plans to auction off the movie at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, where the movie will be screened as a non-competition selection. John Goodman, Kevin Pollak, Melissa Leo, Michael Angarano, and Michael Parks lead the cast.
what is the Wayne Foundation? >> Posted 12.04.10 by BrentJS -
While indie filmmaker Kevin Smith's new movie, Red State, didn't make the list of official selections for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the writer-director-editor recently announced on his Smodcast for the movie that Red State will be shown at Sundance as a non-competition selection. Smith has been pretty secretive about the movie until now, only releasing a few behind-the-scenes pics and a teaser poster that was made in-house. Now four new still images from the completed movie have been released.
Red State, Smith's first foray into horror movie territory, follows a group of people who encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America. According to Smith, it's "inspired by" Westboro Baptist Church pastor Fred Phelps, who is notorious for his anti-gay propaganda. The movie stars John Goodman, Kevin Pollak, Melissa Leo, Michael Angarano, and Michael Parks. It has not yet been picked up for distribution, but Smith plans to use Sundance as a venue for auctioning off the movie.
Posted 12.03.10 by BrentJS -
Writer-director Kevin Smith recently finished shooting his upcoming horror movie Red State, but could the movie really be one of Smith's last? In a recent interview with The Boston Phoenix, Smith discussed his future.
Red State is done. Next step is the hockey movie, Hit Somebody. Then I'm done. There's possibly a Clerks 3. If I have something to say in my late 40s about being in my late 40s, I'll think of [Clerks characters] Dante and Randal. Shy of that, I don't have any more movies I want to make.
Several websites have reported this as Smith's intention to retire, but Slashfilm contacted the director, who responded with an irate response to the Boston Phoenix interview.
read Smith's Angry Response>> Posted 11.29.10 by Ryan -
Indie filmmaker Kevin Smith announced on his personal website that his latest movie, the horror thriller Red State, has wrapped after just 25 days in production. Not only that, but Smith, who wrote, directed and edited the low-budget indie movie, revealed that he screened the first cut of the movie at last night's wrap party, a mere two days after putting a wrap on principal photography, which has to be some sort of record in the annals of movie-making.
Kicking back and taking in the very same flick we all worked so hard to get in the can with the very same cast & crew that made it a mere 48 hours back more than makes up for the low budget (4 million) and the complete lack of salary. But you do a movie like RED STATE because you love it; everyone’s there because they wanna be there; there’s not-a-one of those disgusting, soul-f*cking paycheck players in the mix. Passion calls us all together, love of what we’re doing/saying bonds us, and the film is the result; the movie’s a love child.
what's the story behind the teaser poster? >> Posted 11.01.10 by BrentJS -
For nearly three years, filmmaker and comedian Kevin Smith has been talking about making Red State, a "political horror movie" inspired by Fred Phelps, the controversial Christian minister who says AIDS is God's punishment for homosexuality. The movie took a huge hit when Smith's usual backers, the Weinsteins, took a pass on the production. Smith was also sidetracked with two other movies, Zack and Miri Make a Porno and then Cop Out, but he recently told E! Online that Red State will finally be going into production next month.
Red State is what we're shooting in August. It's a political horror movie, essentially. We're still casting right now, but I don't want to cast anybody that anybody knows because that takes you right out of the flick. The idea is what's going to sell the movie.
Posted 07.07.10 by BrentJS