Via @ericjosepi “Do you worry that in self-producing and self-releasing RED STATE you are in effect becoming a studio yourself?”

No. But why would that matter? Studios aren’t evil, they just tell different stories than I’m interested in telling anymore. But while I have no aim to open a studio (we’re not gonna MAKE movies at SModcastPictures, we’re gonna get already-made movies SEEN), what would be the big deal. I’ll never forget this dopey article I read post-Sundance where someone wrote something like “If Smith’s not careful, he may become the very Empire he’s fighting against.” Now, I’m a writer – so I understand a writer’s desire to write what THEY want. And that writer, apparently, had a hard-on to get a dopey STAR WARS reference into the piece, because… y’know… I’ve liked STAR WARS. Problem is, it makes no sense. How does opting AWAY from spending millions in marketing even equate to becoming a studio? And how does one take a simple, sweet idea like “We’d like to be the Island of Misfit Toys for films that can’t find homes,” become “Ultimate power corrupts absolutely. It’s not like we announced an IPO or received a billion in VentureCap money. But the writer had a hard-on to use a (really terrible & inaccurate) STAR WARS analogy, so suddenly, I’m Anakin Skywalker. Lots of articles that came out of Sundance seemed to be written at 50,000 feet with no oxygen, but a few seemed to actually understand that @TheJonGordon aren’t trying to make money off this endeavor; it’s about the filmmakers. I was given lots of time, patience & space over the last 20 years to tell my stories; with SModcast Pictures, I just wanna give folks that moment I had with CLERKS: when I realized all that work wasn’t for naught. Someone else cared. This is the Gretzky-est thing I can do: reach back (not around) & give back to indie film, non-profit, pro-bono, the way it gave to me. If that makes me Vader, all I can say is “NOOOOOOOO!!!”