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What does Kevin Smith’s Red State mean for independent film?
Tuesday January 25th 2011Heading into Sundance, the film-nerd buzz had it that indie director Kevin Smith planned to auction off the distribution rights to his latest film, Red State, at its Sunday-night premiere. Fanboys hoping to see Harvey Weinstein himself lingering in the aisles, bargain-basement offer in hand, were disappointed, however, when Smith preempted the auction by selling the rights to himself, for $20. He then announced his intention to become that rarest of multi-hyphenates: a writer-actor-director-distributor. Smith will take Red State on the road old-timey style, extending yet another middle finger to Hollywood’s eternally unloveable studio system.
Then again, Red State is a film that would probably clog a studio’s plumbing if it ever came down the pipeline. Shifting from gross-out sex humor to horror, to Rambo-style action – all while draped in the mantle of political satire – the film subjects religious fundamentalism to a swift kick in the sensitive area. Michael Parks gives a mesmerizing performance as a mad preacher who tortures gay men and then goes toe-to-toe, Waco-style, with an ATF agent played by John Goodman. “Subtle” is not the word that springs to mind.
But Kevin Smith is not in the business of building big tents. (He also benefited from being picketed by members of the hate-spewing Westboro Baptist Church, who were outnumbered by anti-protesters.) At a morning Q&A, Smith hit back at movie bloggers who criticized him for making a film “only for [his] audience.” What’s wrong with that? he demanded to know. Steven Spielberg does the same thing. And who needs the old $20 million studio spend on billboards and TV audiences when Smith can tweet his 1.7 million followers into theaters himself?
Smith’s action is perhaps best understood against the backdrop of renewed deal-making at this year’s Sundance. Indie films such as Margin Call, My Idiot Brother, and Like, Crazy are selling for surprisingly hefty sums, despite the fact that no one really knows how to operate in a world where any 22-year-old can make a feature film with a Flipcam. If the decimated music industry is any guide, the explosion of creativity enabled by digital technology will be accompanied by an ever-worsening crisis over outdated business models.
Yes, it’s every auteur for him- or herself out there, which means that, even if becoming a director-distributor proves to be a stroke of genius for Kevin Smith, it may not mean anything to anyone else.
Source: Vanity Fair
Front Page, Industry News
What does Kevin Smith’s Red State mean for independent film?
Tuesday January 25th 2011Heading into Sundance, the film-nerd buzz had it that indie director Kevin Smith planned to auction off the distribution rights to his latest film, Red State, at its Sunday-night premiere. Fanboys hoping to see Harvey Weinstein himself lingering in the aisles, bargain-basement offer in hand, were disappointed, however, when Smith preempted the auction by selling the rights to himself, for $20. He then announced his intention to become that rarest of multi-hyphenates: a writer-actor-director-distributor. Smith will take Red State on the road old-timey style, extending yet another middle finger to Hollywood’s eternally unloveable studio system.
Then again, Red State is a film that would probably clog a studio’s plumbing if it ever came down the pipeline. Shifting from gross-out sex humor to horror, to Rambo-style action – all while draped in the mantle of political satire – the film subjects religious fundamentalism to a swift kick in the sensitive area. Michael Parks gives a mesmerizing performance as a mad preacher who tortures gay men and then goes toe-to-toe, Waco-style, with an ATF agent played by John Goodman. “Subtle” is not the word that springs to mind.
But Kevin Smith is not in the business of building big tents. (He also benefited from being picketed by members of the hate-spewing Westboro Baptist Church, who were outnumbered by anti-protesters.) At a morning Q&A, Smith hit back at movie bloggers who criticized him for making a film “only for [his] audience.” What’s wrong with that? he demanded to know. Steven Spielberg does the same thing. And who needs the old $20 million studio spend on billboards and TV audiences when Smith can tweet his 1.7 million followers into theaters himself?
Smith’s action is perhaps best understood against the backdrop of renewed deal-making at this year’s Sundance. Indie films such as Margin Call, My Idiot Brother, and Like, Crazy are selling for surprisingly hefty sums, despite the fact that no one really knows how to operate in a world where any 22-year-old can make a feature film with a Flipcam. If the decimated music industry is any guide, the explosion of creativity enabled by digital technology will be accompanied by an ever-worsening crisis over outdated business models.
Yes, it’s every auteur for him- or herself out there, which means that, even if becoming a director-distributor proves to be a stroke of genius for Kevin Smith, it may not mean anything to anyone else.
Source: Vanity Fair
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Front Page, Industry News
What does Kevin Smith’s Red State mean for independent film?
Tuesday January 25th 2011Heading into Sundance, the film-nerd buzz had it that indie director Kevin Smith planned to auction off the distribution rights to his latest film, Red State, at its Sunday-night premiere. Fanboys hoping to see Harvey Weinstein himself lingering in the aisles, bargain-basement offer in hand, were disappointed, however, when Smith preempted the auction by selling the rights to himself, for $20. He then announced his intention to become that rarest of multi-hyphenates: a writer-actor-director-distributor. Smith will take Red State on the road old-timey style, extending yet another middle finger to Hollywood’s eternally unloveable studio system.
Then again, Red State is a film that would probably clog a studio’s plumbing if it ever came down the pipeline. Shifting from gross-out sex humor to horror, to Rambo-style action – all while draped in the mantle of political satire – the film subjects religious fundamentalism to a swift kick in the sensitive area. Michael Parks gives a mesmerizing performance as a mad preacher who tortures gay men and then goes toe-to-toe, Waco-style, with an ATF agent played by John Goodman. “Subtle” is not the word that springs to mind.
But Kevin Smith is not in the business of building big tents. (He also benefited from being picketed by members of the hate-spewing Westboro Baptist Church, who were outnumbered by anti-protesters.) At a morning Q&A, Smith hit back at movie bloggers who criticized him for making a film “only for [his] audience.” What’s wrong with that? he demanded to know. Steven Spielberg does the same thing. And who needs the old $20 million studio spend on billboards and TV audiences when Smith can tweet his 1.7 million followers into theaters himself?
Smith’s action is perhaps best understood against the backdrop of renewed deal-making at this year’s Sundance. Indie films such as Margin Call, My Idiot Brother, and Like, Crazy are selling for surprisingly hefty sums, despite the fact that no one really knows how to operate in a world where any 22-year-old can make a feature film with a Flipcam. If the decimated music industry is any guide, the explosion of creativity enabled by digital technology will be accompanied by an ever-worsening crisis over outdated business models.
Yes, it’s every auteur for him- or herself out there, which means that, even if becoming a director-distributor proves to be a stroke of genius for Kevin Smith, it may not mean anything to anyone else.
Source: Vanity Fair
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