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Red State (2011 film)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Socby19 (talk | contribs) at 02:18, 4 September 2011 (Don't know why the theatrical date was pulled from the opening, adding it back in.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Red State
Teaser poster
Directed byKevin Smith
Written byKevin Smith
Produced byJon Gordon
StarringMichael Parks
John Goodman
Kevin Pollak
Melissa Leo
Stephen Root
CinematographyDave Klein
Edited byKevin Smith
Production
company
The Harvey Boys[2]
Distributed bySModcast Pictures
(US, Theatrical)
Lionsgate
(US, Home Video)
Entertainment One (UK)
Release dates
  • January 23, 2011 (2011-01-23) (Sundance)
  • September 23, 2011 (2011-09-23) (United States)
[1]
Running time
88 minutes[3]
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4 million[4]
Box office$1,030,000[1]

Red State is a 2011 American independent horror film written and directed by Kevin Smith, with characters inspired by types of fundamentalist religious organizations. The film stars Michael Parks, John Goodman, Academy Award winner Melissa Leo and Stephen Root. Also co-stars Ralph Garman, Kevin Pollak, Kerry Bishe, Haley Ramm, Kevin Alejandro, Anna Gunn, Michael Angarano, and Nicholas Braun.

For months, Smith promised that the rights to the film would be auctioned off to a distributor at a controversial event to be held after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, but instead Smith purchased the film himself which, according to analysts, "might have been a difficult sale for any distributor." Smith originally planned to self-distribute the picture under the "Smodcast Pictures" banner with a traveling show in select cities, before officially releasing the movie on October 19, 2011.[5] Kevin Smith listed Mel Gibson as his inspiration for how he planned to distribute this movie, citing Gibson's The Passion of the Christ as an example of a successfully self-distributed movie.[6]

On June 28, 2011, Smith announced that he will no longer be self-distributing the film; instead, after a one-week run in Quentin Tarantino's New Beverly Cinema (making the film and its actors eligible for Academy Award consideration),[7] the film was released via Video on Demand on September 1st, 2011, theatrically on September 23, 2011, and will have a home video release on October 18, 2011 through Lionsgate.[8]

Plot

On the way to school, Travis (Michael Angarano) notices members of the Five Points Church, led by Abin Cooper (Michael Parks). protesting the funeral of a local homosexual teenager. Later, Jared (Kyle Gallner) reveals he received an invitation from a woman he met on a sex site for group sex with himself, Travis and Billy Ray (Nicholas Braun). They borrow Travis' parent's car and travel out into the country to meet with the woman.

Along the way, they sideswipe the vehicle of Sheriff Wynan (Stephen Root), while he was engaged in a homosexual affair in his car. Afraid, the boys drive off. Sheriff Wynan returns to the station and tells his deputy Pete (Matt L. Jones) to go and look for the vehicle. Meanwhile, the boys arrive at the trailer of the woman who sent out the invitation, Sarah Cooper (Melissa Leo). She encourages them to drink, and they pass out while undressing. Jared wakes up while being moved in a covered cage. He realizes he is in the sanctuary at Five Points after he identifies Cooper. Cooper begins a long, hate-filled sermon before identifying another, a homosexual they lured in through an internet chat room. They bind him to a cross using saran wrap and execute him, dropping him into a small crawl space where Travis and Billy Ray are bound together.

Cooper then begins binding Jared to the cross, but stops when he notices Pete driving up to the church. Travis and Billy Ray use a protruding bone from the corpse to cut themselves free, which is heard by Caleb (Ralph Garman). He lifts up the trap door just in time to see Billy Ray escape and begins after him. He chases Billy Ray into a room stocked with weapons, where the two end up shooting and killing each other. Pete hears the gunshots and calls Wynan for back-up, but is shot and killed by Mordechai (James Parks). Cooper then blackmails Wynan, telling him to stay away or he will reveal Wynan's homosexuality to his wife. In despair, Wynan calls ATF Agent Keenan (John Goodman), who begins setting up outside of the church.

While the family mourn Caleb, Travis (who had been hiding) arms himself and makes a run for it, eventually making it outside where he is shot and killed by Wynan, who mistook him for a member of the congregation. Keenan tries to reason with the family; a shoot-out begins instead. During the shoot-out, Cheyenne (Kerry Bishé) unbinds Jared, begging him to help her hide the children. He disagrees, which turns into a fight. Sarah notices them and attacks Jared. Cheyenne tries to break up the fight and accidentally shoots Sarah in the process, killing her. Jared, realizing no matter what he does he will end up dead, helps Cheyenne hide the children. They run out to talk to Keenan, but are shot and killed by Tactical Agent Harry (Kevin Alejandro) before they can.

The shoot-out comes to an end when loud trumpet blasts echo across the sky. The remaining Coopers run outside, rejoicing, claiming that the rapture has come upon them. Several days later, during a briefing, Keenan explains that it wasn't the rapture, and he subdued Cooper by headbutting him. He also explains the trumpets were a group of marijuana farmers who were irritated with Cooper, and did it as a prank. Keenan is promoted and Cooper is sent to solitary confinement, where he spends the rest of his days pacing anxiously around his cell, singing and preaching to himself, occasionally being told to shut up by other prisoners.

Cast

Production

Kevin Smith announced at the Wizard World Chicago 2006 convention that his next project would move in a different direction, and it would be a straight horror film.[9] In April 2007, Smith revealed the title of the movie to be Red State and said that it was inspired by infamous pastor Fred Phelps, or as Smith claimed, "very much about that subject matter, that point of view and that position taken to the absolute extreme. It is certainly not Phelps himself but it's very much inspired by a Phelps (like) figure."[10] The first draft was finished in August 2007 with Smith wanting to film it before Zack and Miri Make a Porno.[11][12] Setting it apart from the majority of his other films, Smith has made it clear that Red State is a horror film, stating that there will be no toilet humor in the film.[13]

While speaking at a Q&A event in London on October 13, 2009, Kevin Smith stated that funding had been secured for Red State but he is more of the mindset to proceed with Hit Somebody and hold Red State off for a year.[14] Another reason that was also cited was a superstition he holds around dying after his tenth movie, and not wanting to leave an "unpleasant, nasty" film as his last.[15] In February 2010, he talked about his project with CINSSU,[16] saying that the project is currently working out financial challenges and he had also considered obtaining funding through investments from his many loyal fans but this idea was later dropped.[17] Film producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who had been involved in the distribution of all Kevin Smith films with the exception of Mallrats and Cop Out, passed on supporting Red State with necessary funding.[16][17][18] The budget was provided from two main private investor groups that raised the $4 million, one based in New York, one in Canada.[19]

On July 24, 2010, it was also reported that actor Michael Parks had signed on to the film in a starring role,[20] and on September 5, 2010, Smith confirmed that Matt L. Jones was also cast.[21] On the September 20 edition of his and Ralph Garman's podcast Hollywood Babble-on, Kevin Smith announced that John Goodman had joined the cast.[22] Smith edited the film throughout production and showed a first cut at the film's wrap party.[23]

In July 2010, Smith stated on his Twitter account that "God-willing, Sundance in Jan for RED STATE." On November 8, Smith announced on Twitter that the movie was viewed by Sundance, to determine if it was eligible for entry in the 2011 festival.[24] On December 1, Smith announced on his Plus One podcast that Red State would be screened at the 27th Sundance Film Festival in the non-competition section.[25]

Marketing and distribution

...soon after the film played to a good but not great reaction in its world premiere, Smith ditched the idea of a public sale and announced to the audience (after auctioning the film to himself for $20) that he would release the film on his own in October.

— Reporter John Horn, observer at the live-auction[26]

Throughout the months of November and December, teaser posters were released featuring characters from the movie in auctions via his Twitter account with the winning bidder hosting the poster exclusively on their website, while the money raised by the auction went to charity.[27] Smith released a teaser trailer for the film on December 23, 2010.[28]

Although Kevin Smith planned to auction off the rights to Red State to distributors attending his Sundance screening of the film, he changed his mind and informed his audience that he was unable to continue to use the festival to look for a distributor for the film after the audience's reaction to his film.[19][26][29] Smith plans to self-distribute as a traveling roadshow beginning March 5 at Radio City Music Hall, and would tour the film across North America before releasing Red State into cinemas through his Smodcast Pictures label on October 19 (the 17th anniversary of the release of Clerks).[30]

...to hear Smith dismiss the idea of "selling [the movie] to some jackass," neither the rant nor the phony auction was amusing. It seemed Smith had poured a liberal dose of gasoline on a pile of indie-film relationships and lit a match, and some observers took it as a sign that Smith might finally be imploding.

— Kim Masters, on the auction controversy[31]

Weinstein Controversy

Kevin Smith's strained relationship with producer Harvey Weinstein finally came to a head after Smith argued with Weinstein to "shut up" during a Sundance Screening of the film in January of 2011, whereby he yelled obscenities at Weinstein, causing Weinstein to leave in protest; the two haven't spoken since. [32] Weinstein had stopped funding Smith's films in 2007 after a previous falling out involving an argument between the two over the box office disappointment of their final film Zack and Miri Make a Porno,[33] resulting in Weinstein passing on the funding of "Red State",[34] further deepening their rift and crippling Smith's ability to finance his films after effectively cutting him off from the Weinstein Company, from which he used to produce his films.[32]

Auction Controversy

Controversy soon erupted after Kevin Smith's public behavior during the film's debut screening at Sundance. Although Smith has decided to self-distribute the film, according to the film's producer Jonathan Gordon the option of self-distributing the movie wasn't considered an option at first:

Hiring longtime specialty exec Dinerstein (whose film marketing consultancy also arranges self-distribution deals), bringing aboard Cinetic Media (which arranged service deals for sale titles like last year's Banksy doc "Exit Through the Gift Shop") with co-seller WME, and slapping the word "March" at the end of the teaser trailer has led many to suspect Smith has a self-distribution backup plan should an attractive offer fail to materialize. But is self-distribution or a service deal even an option they're considering? "No," says Gordon. "We want to have someone who loves the movie, understands it, knows how to handle it and get the most out of it."[19]

The sudden announcement of self-distribution after initially announcing an auction provoked a backlash from the media and accusations of dishonesty,[29][35] with some analysts commenting that they watched Kevin Smith "implode" and that he had "lost cred" and one prominent buyer saying, "He stole two hours and insulted every one of us...He was a little like the twisted preacher Michael Parks played in his film. It became life imitating art."[36] The internet community seemed to galvanize in response to the controversy, according to analysts, "...it seems Kevin Smith finally has the Internet critical community united on the same side: against him."[37] Smith countered allegations of dishonesty by saying, "And I told the truth, in my tweet. I said, 'If I get to Sundance, I intend to pick my distributor in the room, auction-style.' Auction-style—did I not do that?...I stood up there and said that I'm gonna take my movie—I'm gonna take it out and try not to spend money doing it."[35]

Kim Masters, editor-at-large for the Hollywood Reporter, interviewed associates close to Smith about his alleged career "implosion" at the Sundance debut of his film, and found that they had this to say about the alleged "meltdown" and the events leading up to it:

Smith was one of the first in the business to have a website and sell merchandise – pieces of film from his movies and action figures – to fans. But one source who has worked with him thinks Smith might be one of the first filmmakers to exploit and then be undone by social media, and that access to social media has eliminated any filter that might have protected Smith from emotional outbursts that, in this person's view, have undermined his career.[31]

Smith responded to Masters, saying about his alleged "implosion" at Sundance that it was "a Jerry Maguire-moment. I've got a little fish in a plastic bag and one idealistic secretary on my side, and the Bob Sugars seem to be leaning in doorways, smirking."[38]

The famed fundamentalist group Westboro Baptist Church protested the film's release at the Sundance Film Festival in part because some of the elements of the film were influenced by their group, although not to the same extreme as given in the film.[39]

Reception

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports that early reviews have been negative. Based on a sample of 12 reviews, 33% of critics thus far have given the film a positive review, with an average score of 5.5/10.[40] Edward Douglas of Shock Till You Drop panned the movie saying that, "it feels like one of Smith's Twitter rants fleshed out into film with equal portions of bile sprayed at both church and state."[41] Katey Rich of Cinema Blend reporting in her review, "Messy, overwritten, visually stylish, but kind of a bore. More like Kevin Smith than it looks because nobody ever stops talking. And it's not a horror movie by any usual definition. More like teen horror movie morphs into Waco disaster. Melissa Leo overacts, Michael Parks is impressive as Fred Phelps figure but the character's meaning and purpose in the narrative (or lack thereof) is fuzzy...Red State Is A Messy, Ambitious Disappointment" [42][43] Jordan Hoffman in his review for UGO also panned the film, saying, "Kevin Smith, a wonderful public speaker and genuinely fun guy, has yet to master the basics of movie making...Kevin Smith's Fundamentalist Red State Has Fundamental Problems."[44] According to Drew Mcweeny of "Motion Captured", "Kevin Smith's 'Red State' fails onscreen and off at its world premiere...A shoddy film and a bait-and-switch event fail to satisfy on any level."[29] Raffi Asdourian of The Film Stage wrote that, "While there are glimpses of Smith's wry humor scattered throughout, Red State can't help but feel like a B action movie that started off with ambitious ideas but collapses under it's [sic] own preachy weight...it's clear that the smart alec writer still has some things to learn about making a great film."[45] Matt Goldberg of Collider.com wrote that, "Red State, is a radical departure for Smith and yet he lacks the confidence to properly execute the action-horror-thriller he's devised."[46] James Rocchi writing for indieWire wrote that "Red State Is An Ambitious, Greatly Flawed Stab At Horror" and commented that, "...Smith has gotten as far as he has with his comedies because it is a writer's genre more so than it is a director's. Horror is the genre of a director—pacing, feel, shots, editing—and Smith's skills are not up to the task..."[47] Ethan Howard has called the film, "an over-zealous attack on the political right and Middle Americans motivated by left-wing hatred. Smith failed to transform his (no doubt genuine) sputtering range into an entertaining movie, let alone a social critique of any insight."

Amongst the positive reactions to the film, Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called the movie, "A potent cinematic hand grenade tossed to bigots everywhere." [48] Jeff Sneider of TheWrap.com said, "The truth is that I didn't really know what to expect from "Red State," but regardless, I still had high expectations and am pleased to report that the film lived up to them. [...] it brings something new to the genre, and that something is faith." [49] Germain Lussier of /Film also praised the film, saying, "This is a maturing, confident Smith who proves, after Cop Out, he still has a unique voice. With Red State, that voice isn't saying anything incredibly groundbreaking, and at times it gets a tad preachy, but the director has expanded out of his comfort zone and given audiences a genuine piece of art."[50] Director Richard Kelly also offered his take on the film and Smith while appearing on Smith's SMovieMakers podcast.[51] He said "I have never seen a filmmaker reinvent himself the way you just have. I won't say anything else because I don't want to spoil anything. It's really really exciting…"[51] Kevin Smith also blogged on his official film website that filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has seen the film and had given him positive feedback about it. [52]

References

  1. ^ a b "Red State". boxofficemojo. April 7, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  2. ^ Utichi, Joe (February 8, 2011). "Red State's Kevin Smith marches on with his loyal legion of fans behind him". Guardian. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  3. ^ "Red State << British Board of Film Classification". British Board of Film Classification. 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  4. ^ Sneider, Jeff (January 24, 2011). "Kevin Smith Fools Hollywood – SModcast Pictures to Release Red State". The Wrap. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  5. ^ Walsh, Brendan (January 23, 2011). "Sundance 2011: Kevin Smith's Red State Auction Live From the Eccles With Video". ScreenCrave. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  6. ^ Smith, Kevin (January 26, 2011). "As the Sundance dust settles". The Red Statement. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  7. ^ "RED STATE - One Week Academy Qualifying Engagement - Aug 19-25". Coopersdell.com. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  8. ^ McNary, Dave (August 1, 2011). "'Red State' debuts on VOD before theatrical run". Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  9. ^ Sciretta, Peter (August 7, 2006). "Kevin Smith Announces Horror Film". /Film. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  10. ^ Utichi, Joe (April 6, 2007). "RT-UK Exclusive: Kevin Smith's Horror Project Revealed". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  11. ^ Sciretta, Peter. "Kevin Smith comments on Rosario skipping "Zack and Miri"". filmsy. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  12. ^ Peter, Sciretta (August 29, 2007). "Kevin Smith Finishes Red State Screenplay". /Film. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  13. ^ "Kevin Smith's Twitter feed". Twitter. January 2, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  14. ^ Sciretta, Peter (October 8, 2009). "Kevin Smith Finds Funding For Red State? Will Wil Wheaton Hit Somebody?". /Film. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  15. ^ "Kevin Smith Gets Down and Dirty with 'Red State' Details". Bloody-Disgusting.com. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  16. ^ a b "Kevin Smith: Out of the Comfort Zone". Cinssu.ca. February 4, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  17. ^ a b "Kevin Smith Asks for Red State Money, Mr. Disgusting Loses It". Bloody-Disgusting.com. February 5, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  18. ^ "Kevin Smith's Red State Gets Funding?". DreadCentral.com. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  19. ^ a b c Goldstein, Gregg (January 20, 2011). "They're seeing Red at Sundance". Variety. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  20. ^ Eisenberg, Eric (July 24, 2010). "Comic Con: Michael Parks Cast In Kevin Smith's Red State". Cinema Blend. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  21. ^ "Twitter Post". September 5, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  22. ^ Moody, Mike (September 22, 2010). "John Goodman boards Red State". Hachette Filipacchi (UK) Ltd. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  23. ^ Sciretta, Peter (October 30, 2010). "Kevin Smith's Red State Screened at Wrap Party, Aiming For Sundance". /Film. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  24. ^ "Sundance Status". Twitter. November 8, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  25. ^ Sciretta, Peter (December 1, 2010). "Did Kevin Smith's Red State Get Accepted to Sundance?". /Film. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  26. ^ a b Horn, John (January 23, 2011). "Sundance 2011: Kevin Smith takes Red State into his own hands". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  27. ^ "Two New Red State Posters Pushed Online". Empire. Bauer Media Group. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  28. ^ "Red State Trailer: Kevin Smith Gets Terrifying". New York. New York Media Holdings. December 23, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  29. ^ a b c McWeeny, Drew (January 24, 2011). "Sundance review: Kevin Smith's Red State fails onscreen and off at its world premiere". Hitfix. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  30. ^ "Update: Kevin Smith to Self-Distribute Red State". Shock Till You Drop. January 23, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  31. ^ a b Masters, Kim (February 3, 2011). "Kevin Smith: "Alarmist Ninnies" Misinterpreted Sundance Outburst". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  32. ^ a b "Watch Kevin Smith's STFU Harvey Weinstein Sundance Premiere Story". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  33. ^ "Kevin Smith: 'Alarmist Ninnies' Misinterpreted Sundance Outburst". The Hollywood Reporter. 2011-02-03. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  34. ^ "The Weinstein Co Pass on Kevin Smith's Red State | /Film". Slashfilm.com. 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  35. ^ a b Wigler, Josh (February 9, 2011). "Kevin Smith On Red State Sundance Controversy: "I Didn't Lie"". MTV Movies Blog. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  36. ^ Fleming, Mike (January 24, 2011). "Sundance: Watching Kevin Smith Implode". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  37. ^ Adler, Shawn (February 8, 2011). "Kevin Smith Responds To Backlash From Red State Sundance Premiere". MTV Movie News. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  38. ^ Smith, Kevin (February 1, 2011). "Some questions & answers about Red State". theredstatements.com. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  39. ^ Marikar, Sheila (January 24, 2011). "Red State: Kevin Smith's Christian Fundamentalist Horror Movie: What's All the Fuss About?". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  40. ^ "Red State (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  41. ^ "Reviews: Red State". Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  42. ^ "Instant Reaction: Kevin Smith's Red State Debuts At Sundance". Cinema Blend. January 23, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  43. ^ Rich, Katey (January 23, 2011). "Sundance Review: Red State Is A Messy, Ambitious Disappointment". Cinema Blend. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  44. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (January 23, 2011). "Red State Review". UGO Networks. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  45. ^ Asdourian, Raffi (January 24, 2011). "Sundance Review Red State". The Film Stage. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  46. ^ Goldberg, Matt (January 24, 2011). "Sundance 2011: RED STATE Review". Collider.com. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  47. ^ Rocchi, James (January 24, 2011). "Sundance '11 Review: Kevin Smith's Red State An Ambitious, Greatly Flawed Stab At Horror". indieWire. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  48. ^ McCarthy, Todd (January 24, 2011). "Sundance Review: Todd McCarthy Looks At Kevin Smith's Red State". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  49. ^ Sneider, Jeff. "Sundance Review: Kevin Smith's Red State A Return to Form". TheWrap.com. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  50. ^ Lussier, Germain (January 24, 2011). "Red State – Kevin Smith's Religious Action Thriller Is Not What You Expect". /Film. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  51. ^ a b Sciretta, Peter (November 29, 2010). "Early Buzz: Richard Kelly on Kevin Smith's Red State". /Film. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  52. ^ "QT and me". The Red Statements. 2011-04-18. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
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