“One high-profile title hunting for a buyer is Smith’s fundamentalism-skewewing horror pic “Red State”. Festgoers will be curious to see whether Smith follows through on his suggestion in an earlier podcast that, were “Red State” to play at Sundance, he would publicly hand-pick the distributor right on the spot (“Might even bring up a professional auctioneer to make it fun and unintelligible,” he said.)

/Film hints that some of the cast and crew may be in town for the film’s premiere. No further details have yet been announced as far as a screening date or theater, but we’ll be sure to reveal that as soon as we can, for those of you lucky enough to be attending the festival. Maybe we can find a way to get you inside info to get you in the door. It will easily sell out and be a tough ticket, as Kevin’s films debuting at festivals have always been extremely popular.

Here’s Sundance’s official logline for “Red State”:

Red State / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kevin Smith) – A group of misfits encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America. Cast: Michael Parks, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman, Melissa Leo.

If you’re curious to learn about the other films just announced, /Film has done an excellent summary of everything and so has GeekTyrant.

Director Richard Kelly’s seen the film, and his quote reminds us of those we read from the rare few who Kevin shocked by passing the script on to them back when it was written. Check THIS out again courtesy /Film:

“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. If the movie ends up playing at Sundance, I might actually come up to just see the audience’s response. I can not wait…”

Nice, right?

A few final notes: Kevin reveals that we’ll get our first look at John Goodman’s character in the next issue of the UK’s Empire Magazine. Get those scanners ready for us, UK’ers. Keep up with the latest happenings via the “Red State of the Union” podcast which Kevin promises will NOT come close to spoiling anything about the film. Not even close.

Huge congrats to Kevin and the entire cast and crew on this major achievement. Now, on to distribution and a theatrical release date.

This week, Kevin proudly debuts his latest creation, “Plus One”, a regular program featuring him and his wife. Here’s a few tweets on this week’s debut, in which they revealed that “Red State” would be heading to Sundance:

FINALLY! I do a weekly podcast with the only woman I nut all up in! JENNY! Pre-Nups are for pussies on PLUS ONE! http://smodcast.com/plusone

PLUS ONE is where some mouthy broad give me my comeuppance. Subscribe: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/plus-one-smodcast-com/id407598704

Many thanks! You made PLUS ONE the # 1 podcast on ALL of iTunes: http://viewaskew.com/kevin/PlusOneNumberOne.jpg You folks are big enablers!

That brings the count to at least FOURTEEN different shows that have aired on the network, with over 9 of them being regular weekly (or almost weekly) programs. That’s quite an achievement from a program that was at one point just a single podcast, with aspirations of having around 5 shows a week. At the rate of expansion, it’s tough to determine where the ceiling is, though it seems that SModcastle has given the gang a rare opportunity to try out new programs, pilot episodes if you will, expanding or downsizing as needed. With an unlimited amount of bandwidth out there, the sky’s the limit as to how far the network will go, but we’re sure enjoying the ride so far.

The best way to keep up is simply by finding your favorite programs by searching in iTunes, or using the official iTunes and RSS feeds you’ll locate at the beautiful SModcast Web site . And congrats for finding it — You’re part of a groundbreaking mix of entertainment and technology.

Let’s take a look, first, at the SMOD-related stuff (new episodes announced this week), followed by some comments from us :

The day of the Lord cometh like a thief in the night – as does a brand new #SMODCAST http://smodcast.com/main.html 147: Belly Full of Spells

Via @VideoETA “Sorry to hear about Sundance.” s’cool. I listened to this & it made me feel better: PLUS ONE # 1! http://smodcast.com/main.html

FILM NERDS! Hear a new LIVE FROM @SMODCASTLE featuring a discussion with Darko-Daddy Richard Kelly: http://smodcast.com/livefromsmodcastle/

Loving Mewes, is easy ’cause you’re beautiful. Hear a brand new episode of JAY & SILENT BOB GET OLD right now! http://smodcast.com/getold/

It’s time to Babble the fuck on! Listen to me & @RalphGarman on the brand new HOLLYWOOD BABBLE-ON! http://smodcast.com/babbleon/

Via @yourmelody1 “How’d the show go last night?” These beautiful fucking Californians SOLD THAT SHIT OUT FOR US! EXCELLENT way to debut!

Via @ScottElvisKappy “What’s the capacity in new theater?” 300 & change. With tables out: 600. We’ll need it… FOR OUR NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOW!

Whoa! Fell asleep old-man-early last night & forgot to give y’all THIS: the latest RED STATE OF THE UNION Q&A! http://smodcast.com/redstate/

On the new RED STATE OF THE UNION: more on HIT SOMEBODY lead Nic Braun with casting director DebAquila! http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0032597/

Via @DJBrujah “Do we get a new Smodimation today, sir?” Monday, sir. And it’s pretty awesome. For now: http://smodcast.com/smodimations/

@RyanFerguson83 “will we ever get an Affleck podcast?” If the Askewniverse was like BLOOM COUNTY, then #SModcast is like OUTLAND. Opus & Bill came over. Then, during the six year run of the strip, almost all our Bloom County favorites eventually showed up. #ItsOpusTime

We especially love that last comment and “Outland” analogy. It really does seem that gradually, all the greats from View Askew past and present have been stopping by the SModcastle or the recording studio to check in for an episode or even a series. We’re looking forward to the days we see the likes of Affleck, Lee, and others recording special episodes.

For those of you a little behind on “Babble On”, just to summarize — The show’s become so huge that it’s moved to the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club at Universal Citywalk at least through the end of the year with a standing Friday night engagement. As you can see, it’s already selling out. If you have the means, get there and see what you have been missing. The show is absolutely hilarious.

SModcast Network and SModcastle continue to get e-ink as well.

Finally, for those wondering when they’ll get to hear the Gaiman/Palmer special, wait no more — The official site for this 3-hour event has gone live. The show will eventually be free like all SModcasts remain, however, for its debut, we’re asking for a charitable donation of 90 cents and up, per chapter (3 chapters total) which benefits The Wayne Foundation. In chapter one, hear Smith talk candidly with Gaiman and Palmer. In Chapter 2, hear Palmer rock the stage. And finally, in Chapter 3, hear Gaiman read! All starting this Monday. Find out a little more about what you missed via this blog from an attendee. A clip:

…I’ve seen a million interviews. Live and on TV. The subject is promoting something, and certain topics are taboo, and truth rarely comes out. Kevin’s only interested in the truth. He extracts it. And one got more insight into the struggle to be an artist last night at the Smodcastle than at any panel at any music conference ever.

You see it’s about the people. They’re a special breed. And those who last are not about the money, because it’s too hard for it to only be about the money. They were always a little bit off, always living in an alternative reality in their heads. And it’s only when they laid this down that they found out huge swaths of people identified.

The folks at @FastCompany took a look at #SModcast & @SModcastle in THIS article.

It’s a busy and exciting time for the SModcast network — Keep following News Askew along with Kevin’s twitter and the SModcast network’s site for all the latest, with new content showing up every day.