Kevin Smith Wants Rosario Dawson For His ‘Porno,’ Compares ‘Red State’ To ‘Shining’

‘It’s not horror like ‘Hostel,’ ‘ director says of ‘State,’ which starts filming in early 2008.

After years of writing films surrounding characters in the View Askewniverse, Kevin Smith is gearing up for two very different films without Jay and Silent Bob, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and the horror film “Red State” — but that doesn’t mean audiences won’t see at least one familiar face from his previous flicks.

“I wrote [the role of Miri] for Rosario Dawson,” Smith said of the “Clerks II” star. “I’d be kind of flabbergasted if she didn’t do it.”

When reached for comment, Dawson’s management said “no deal is in place at the moment.”

“It’s a lot of new faces,” Smith continued. “But Jason Mewes is going to be in it — not playing Jay, but playing a new character. Hopefully Jeff Anderson [Randall from ‘Clerks’] as well.”

The story of two friends from Minnesota who launch an amateur-porn studio on the eve of their 15-year high school reunion “Zack and Miri” will be “done shooting by Christmas,” Smith announced, and “sometime in February or March, we are going to start on ‘Red State,’ ” he said.

Though Smith described “Red State” as a “horror movie,” he conceded that not everyone will agree.

“I keep trying to, like, [temper] everyone’s expectations, because it’s not horror like ‘Hostel.’ It’s not gore porn,” he insisted. “The best comparison I think of is ‘The Shining.’ It’s going for that kind of mood. It’s a very unsettling film.”

A blogger, podcaster, lecturer and frequent commenter on the Internet, Smith was uncharacteristically tight-lipped about “Red State,” coyly suggesting that most of what we think we know about the film is wrong.

“You hear the log line about, like, religious fundamentalism gone awry, and you’re like, ‘All right, I kind of got the movie in my head.’ That’s Act One,” he said. “Whatever everybody knows about it in terms of the [Fred] Phelps-like character is just a piece of the movie and the movie kind of becomes a bigger statement than just that.”

Radical right-wing preacher Fred Phelps, whom Smith called “a fringe, bizarrely Christian archetype,” served as a model for the movie’s antagonist.

“He definitely informs the character, but it’s not like this is Fred Phelps with a different name,” Smith said. “That’s kind of an easy target to me. If you’re just going to tee off on crazy, crazy, right-wing fundamentalist extremists, that’s kind of easy. I think our movie doesn’t stop there. It goes out to target something a little harder.”

That hardness may come with a price, specifically Smith’s first onscreen death. (No, we’re not counting that old guy in the bathroom from “Clerks.”) Asked how many protagonists there were in the film, Smith replied, “We start with four.”

So, Red State filming early next year, and Zack & Miri done by Christmas! Cooool. You can also check out the story via the MTV website.

Even if this DVD was bare, I’d still fully recommend it. Thankfully, the DVD comes with a nice commentary, an introduction to the documentary featuring Ingram and Kevin Smith, a short “Chatting with Kev” feature, deleted scenes, and a featurette on some of the people who inhabit these small towns. Overall, it’s a great package providing additional information and content to an already stunning documentary. And if you’re wondering why Kevin Smith is featured on the DVD, well, he helped finance this documentary to get it off the ground. On top of that, he also a friend of the director. It’s great additional material to watch once you’ve been able to fully absorb Small Town Gay Bar.

If I had to recommend one documentary to see this year, it would be this one. Small Town Gay Bar had me completely enthralled, absorbed in the story of these two gay bars and how significant they are. This documentary has so much going for it, and deserves a large audience. People need to see this to understand just what it’s like to be gay in America’s Bible Best. While reality there may be stark, it’s amazing to see how people find light, comfort, and hope in a gay bar, and with each other. These are truly amazing people, and I’m thankful that Ingram was able to let me into their lives. Ingram has a great gift as a storyteller here, and one who presents both sides of the story to the audience, making the reality of their situation even more startling. While my experiences growing up may not be the same as theirs, I also came from a small town with similar (though not as intense) discrimination. This is a story that resonates throughout North America, which is why I believe that while it’s not perfect, it is still an important piece of work.

Small Town Gay Bar comes Highly Recommended. It’s an inherently moving and painfully truthful experience, about real people in a real place, struggling in a world where they are demonized. These two gay bars, and the people who inhabit them, fight for their right to just exist, and it is . . . unbelievable to watch. It’s an experience that you won’t forget, both brutal and uplifting. It will definitely make you think about your own experiences in life. In short, and as well as my shoddy writing skills can illustrate, Small Town Gay Bar is a must-see. Plain and simple.