I’ve always said I’d leave room for a possible CLERKS III, but w/o Jay or Bob, focusing on Dante & Randal, if I felt like telling a story about how I felt to be in my 40’s (as CLERKS was me in my 20’s & CLERKS II was me in my 30’s). But rather than manufacture a CLERKS III, I decided to live a real life CLERKS II. My favorite moment in that flick will always be Randal finally revealing his dopey secret heart & yelling “I’D BUY THE QUICK STOP & RE-OPEN IT MYSELF!” I wrote that line for a deeper reason that I thought I had, in retrospect. From day four of the RedState shoot, all I could hear was Randal in my head, insisting “THAT’S what I’d do. That’s what WE should do.” A long time ago, Randal gave me my entire career; nearly 20 years later, he did it again.

But that all being said? Right now, I honestly have NO story to tell with Dante & Randal. I was always really happy with where we left them.

So while I’ll always allow for the possibility of a CLERKS III, it’s not likely. HIT SOMEBODY is the film the end on. Then? MORE PODCASTS!!!

First off, let’s summarize – Kevin had always mentioned that there would be an auction post-screening after “Red State”. And yes, all along that auction was planned as his offer of $20 to co-procedure Jon Gordon, on the spot. “Red State” will be self-marketed, and self-distributed, as Kevin turns the entire Hollywood system on its end. Groundbreaking, bold, surprising, and just in line with what we’d expect from the writer-director that we’ve grown to know and love over the years.

Let’s first take a look the the evening’s time line, and throw in some stories, photos and links to go with it.

You couldn’t have asked for a better backdrop for a premiere, as the Westboro Baptists, who some say inspired characters in “Red State”, were on hand for their protest outside of the theater, right on schedule. As promised, Kevin himself mounted a peaceful counter-protest with some humorous, creative signage of his own:

Chris Barrett, new media producer at Showbiz 411 was behind Kevin the entire time for the protest, and passes on Showbiz 411’s video look at the event – A full 7 minutes from the moment that Kevin walks out to the crowd, tons of signage. The best footage you’ll see, almost as good as being there.

Next, it was time for the flick to start — Showbiz 411 presents the introductory video to “Red State” — Watch Kevin hit the stage and introduce his flick to the world.

Following the film, The Harvey Boys shocked the room, and took back indie film for the people with an amazing “auction” where they made the big reveal – “Red State” will tour the country this year, and gather funds to handle their own personal distribution, with a completely transparent budget and marketing campaign.

/Film has the video where this major event in the indie film world took place. There’s more links there to what analysts and others are saying about the strategy.

After the move, Kevin sent out a mega-tweet message which runs down the plan very nicely. This also confirms that this will also be the plan for “Hit Somebody”, Kevin’s final film, after which he’ll be taking over a role as producer and sharing the model with others who want to get on board. Yes, releasing into theaters, major films — Except without the bloated marketing budgets and the ridiculous millions it takes to “open” a movie. Read on, this is some great stuff here:

In the Tweet that launched a thousand angry bloggers, I VERY specifically said – I plan to pick my distributor in the room – auction style. Then, EVERYONE ELSE said I was selling the movie. But I never said that. Very specific wording. Then, I watched as lots of bloggers turned it into ‘He says he plans to sell the film in the room.’ So, if you’re mad that I didn’t live up to a story that I actually really didn’t tell o’ well, that’s kinda my whole point about the press. Ta-da! I’m just reaching back to an old model from Hollywood’s glory days: we’re taking our show on the road. GONE WITH THE WIND (which this movie certainly ain’t) didn’t open on 2600 screens; it opened on one. And played there for awhile. Then packed up & moved to another screen in another city to play there for awhile. We’re compressing that process, of course, doing only one screening per night on the tour, but it’s their idea, not mine. And the highlight of my light last night was talking to Bob Weinstein at the party after the screening. As @TheJonGordon & I explained our plan, Bob said ‘Youíre 4-walling. That’s what me & Harvey did in the beginning.’ To which I said ‘That’s why we call it The Harvey Boys.’ Then, in true Bob fashion, he instantly did the math on our Radio City Music Hall premiere to tell us we could have the highest per screen average ever. He saw the flick this morning & we spoke again. He loved it; said really nice things about me as a director. Then, in true Bob fashion, he added ‘If it were mine, I’d tell you take 10 minutes out.’ It was awesome. It was like being recognized as an adult by your Dad.

But taking our show on the road isn’t a new idea. I’ve taken all of my movies on the road for promotional tours. Only difference is, this time around, we’re charging for tickets. And if that price is too high for you, don’t worry: you’ll be able to see the flick for a lot less on October 19th. But with this tour, our aim is to get financially whole. I want to use actual, recognizable math on our little $4mil flick. Once we clear $4mil (off the tours, the merch, the ViewAskew Garage Sale), we’re able to give our investors their money back. So long as we don’t spend on marketing, every penny after that becomes profit. No more of this ‘The movie cost $4mil to make but needs to earn $50mil at the box office to break even.’ That ALWAYS bugged me: I’d got out of my way to make flicks for as little as possible, then watch folks spend more to market it. But that’s how the business works: EVERYBODY does that. It is the standard. And I’ve done it, too; for 9 films now. So after doing it the same way for 9 times, you start to think about how you’d do it differently: is it possible to sell a flick WITHOUT spending any of that money? With a budget so low, why not try? Shit, just to change it up a bit. For years, bloggers told me I was tired for doing so many Askewniverse flicks. You hear that enough, it sinks in. No artist wants to be called tired, y’know?

So with only 1 flick left that I want to make, I figure why NOT gamble a bit. Because, like I said: if this works out the way we’re hoping, we’ll have a model we can use with not only HIT SOMEBODY, but any SModcast Pictures we make after it – which would be YOUR flicks, not mine. I’ve told my stories in film already & I get to tell way more inventive stories every week on all the @SModcast Network shows. But I love being involved with flicks so I figure ‘Why not help OTHER cats get THEIR flicks out there.’ If we can build SModcast Pictures into a brand – the way Harvey & Bob made the Miramax name stand for a specific kind of film – then it can become a kind of no-budget service label for flicks we feel fit our ethos or can’t find love elsewhere in the world. Indie flicks need special handling, and what we’re doing with RedState is simply special-handling it ourselves. And, yes, I’m aware there’s lots of bile for me & the flick in the blogosphere right now. But there was lots of bile for me in the blogosphere last week, too. And last year. And the year before that. That was never gonna change. But here’s what I’ve spent the night & morning reading instead: the Twitter feed – where there’s been so much enthusiasm & youthful exuberance & zeal for the idea of self distribution, I’ll be honest: I’ve rolled a couple tears. I’ll tell you what I’ll never forget about Sundance 2011: as I left the stage last night, a couple 20-something dudes followed along in the hallway, saying the dug the flick. Then one of them nearly knocked me dead when he said, with all the earnestness & passion of indie film incarnate ‘You can do this.’ And normally I’d say I was just stoned, but since I was THC-free that day, I tell you this not from a stoner, ‘Hey, maaaann’ free association, but as something that in that brief moment was about as real as raincoats: that kid was a thinner, better-looking, more-pussy-getting version of me, circa í94. And 1994 didn’t say ‘You fucking idiot! Do what everyone else does and sell your flick & spend to open it!’ 1994 kinda said ‘Skate, fucker – knowing full-well that if I pull this off, it’s gonna be easier for him to get HIS flicks out there. That moment meant the world to me; I’ll take it to my grave.

I was telling @JenSchwalbach this morning: it’s almost as if, 17 years ago, I came to this same place, and two roads diverged in a yellow wood. Cliche, I know ñ just lemme finish. So I chose a path that made ALL the difference. And 17 years later, this festival, universe, they all blessed (or possibly cursed) me with the chance of a lifetime: take the OTHER road instead to see what happens. And NOBODY can fault me for doing so, because a) I’m doing it incredibly financially responsibly, b) I’m not asking for help from anyone but the cats who wanna either see this flick or see this model work. c) I did it as entertainingly as possible. For years, I’ve read ‘He’s no filmmaker.’ Turns out they were right: I’m more of an entertainer. And any entertainer worth their salt goes out on the road with their art. There was a Tweet last night that called SModcastPictures and the RedStateTour ‘punk rock filmmaking’. I LOVED that. I co-opted Jello Biafra’s ‘Don’t hate the media; become the media’ for our RedStatement. But what I dug most about the sentiment? It made me feel like I was 23 again. Folks can write what they like, but as an artist, I’m cosmically invigorated & full of piss & vinegar. That’s where bold art comes from. They bitched at me for being complacent or for making something as sappy & mainstream. Everything about RedState is the opposite of that and they’re still bitching. And if this was still 1994, and the only way I could find out what people thought of what we did/are doing was by reading reviews or articles, I’d feel bummed that there wasn’t more support from a media that bitches about lameness/sameness all the time. But itís 2011 ñ and via @Twitter, I can INSTANTLY find out how the people who wanna come see the flick or support the cause actually feel.

And I can’t thank you all enough for what I’ve read on this feed all night & today. And I apologize to every Tweeter over the course of the last few months who ever Tweeted ‘Why don’t you just distribute it yourself?’ It was SO hard to not respond with ‘THAT’S THE PLAN, BITCHES!’ And you KNOW how hard it is for me to keep my trap shut about ANYTHING. But four days into shooting, @TheJonGordon & I had a serious talk about taking it out ourselves; the possibility of building & BUILDING, instead of building & selling. Our point was this: we were having SO much fun answering to no one, creating the life of the film every day, not following a traditional structure. And I’ll be honest: fun’s hard to come by in this business, because it IS a business. There’s lots of money at play. People tend to get brutally serious about shit that doesn’t matter. Original ideas get curbed in favor of the tried & true. As risky as folks are with millions of dollars, the risk usually doesn’t extend to the flicks, and why should it: there’s safety & financial security or prosperity in the familiar. @TheJonGordon & I were both kinda at wit’s end with the rigidity of the old way, but RedState brought back the fun. Everything about the way we’re going about things forces us to be MORE creative, and it feels awesome just to be doing the same thing differently for a change. It’s reinvigorated us – like when Rooster stabs the horse in the leg in TRUE GRIT: RedState is making us run like we’ve never run before. And as someone who wants to be an artist, itís just the shot in the ass (or the jab in the leg) that I needed. I’m INDIE again – maybe for the first time, even. It’s frightening & thrilling. My heart’s been racing all weekend. I feel alive! Young! Punk Rock! I feel like Bill Murray at the end of SCROOGED. There’s a Taoist proverb that’s been rolling around my head since we pulled into Sundance, and it kind of sums up this weekend for me: ‘To be great is to go on. To go on is to go far. To go far is to return.’ Well, I’ve now returned – and I’m ready to do it all over again.

Props to Vulture for the assembly.

What happened next? Hit Youtube for Showbiz 411’s chat with “Red State” stars Michael Angarano, Kerry Bishé, Nicholas Braun at at the after-party event.

There’s so much more to say about this, some of the biggest news to come out of not only Sundance, but the entire independent film industry…EVER. We’ve got a lot more coverage on the way, how it’s going to affect things moving forward, and so much more. You’re going to learn a lot about filmmaking. You’re going to see every penny spent and earned. Nothing is secret. Never done before. It’s all just beginning. We love it. Stay with us, and all our partner sites on the web, for one the most eye-opening experiences in film history. And don’t forget, hit up www.coopersdell.com and find out how “Red State” can come to your town.

Speical thanks to Showbiz 411’s Chris Barrett for his video contributions to this story. Chris has attended vulgarthons, the Chasing Amy private screening, was an extra in Dogma in Pittsburgh, and is currently directing a feature length documentary called “After School” about female teacher/student sex scandals. He’s currently in post production. He’s also the new media producer of showbiz411.com.

This year, “Red State” will tour the country, in its own “word of mouth” tour, starting in March of 2011. The film’s coming to a town near you, where you can see it for yourself and then spread the word to others. The first stop? None other than the awesome Radio City Music Hall in New York! You can see a full list of dates here right now, and also request that the film come to your hometown.

Not only that, but the newly formed division, SModcast Pictures, has been announced as a model for filmmaking and distribution, by the people, for the people. More to come on that in the next few days, we imagine.

Read this just-released statement from The Harvey Boys:

The Harvey Boys have witnessed first hand the vagaries of “studio math” – the byzantine numbers game that sees an uneducated media and public celebrating “huge” openings at the box office while ignoring the obscene marketing costs attached to reach those figures. We believe it’s a pyrrhic victory to simply “buy” an opening weekend by pouring millions of dollars into TV spots, billboards and print ads. As storytellers, why not instead use our creative abilities that resulted in a film in the first place to also creatively SELL that film directly to our public?

We believe the state of film marketing has become ridiculously expensive and exclusionary to the average filmmaker longing simply to tell their story. When the costs of marketing and releasing a movie are four times that film’s budget, it’s apparent the traditional distribution mechanism is woefully out of touch with not only the current global economy, but also the age of social media.

Therefore, The Harvey Boys will not spend a dime on old world media buys (such as TV/Print/Outdoor) as we self-distribute our film, Red State, in an admittedly unconventional, yet extremely cost effective, word of mouth/viral campaign.

Knowledge is power, and we believe in empowering the filmmaker – so the Harvey Boys vow to make the financials of Red State open and transparent from which anybody hoping to follow suit can learn. We will do what no studio has dared: open up our books for the world to see so anyone interested in pursuing a similar independent release strategy has a better understanding of the BUSINESS of Red State.

And if we’re successful – or even merely effective – at producing a film distribution apparatus that can stand apart from the cost-prohibitive studio model currently viewed as the only way to get a movie into a theater? It is our intent to use the groundwork we lay with Red State to aid other filmmakers in releasing THEIR films, via our newly launched SModcast Pictures.

Don’t hate the studio; BECOME the studio. Anybody can make a movie; what we aim to prove is anyone can release a movie as well.

The Harvey Boys

Jon Gordon & Kevin Smith

Want to own some way cool merch AND say you had a hand in bringing “Red State” to the world? Check out the new shirts or a signed “Red State” poster, with more to come. Every penny made from all Red State merchandise goes into the print-making budget. The per-print cost is roughly $2500, so for a 1000-print run, they’ll need approximately $2.5 million dollars. The plan is that all this information be kept 100% public, so you’ll know how things are coming with the proceeds from the merch, the shows, etc, as the year goes on. It’s gonna be a fun, educational year, and the most insight ever into the cost and process of bringing a film to the masses.

Stay tuned — 2011’s just underway and already set to be the most groundbreaking here yet.

• The latest blog-exclusive post from Kevin features a letter dating back 3 years when the script first went out to Harvey Weinstein for consideration. Kevin goes on to mention hopes that Mr. Weinstein is in attendance in Sundance for the big Sunday screening, along with other studios such as Fox Searchlight and Lions Gate…Studios who like to back unique, compelling films for distribution. We have a feeling that “Red State” will stand alone and give a studio a big chance to back a winner. He’s promising a fun after-show where rumors have it he’ll take open bids for the flick just after the lights come up.

  In addition, the post re-ignites the dream of a fan-produced film, allowing folks like YOU the chance to get a movie made…Run your own movie studio! This idea stems all the way back to pre-“Red State” financing, an idea we loved, so it’s cool to see that it hasn’t been forgotten. A few words from that:

  “…Here’s something I regret being talked out of: we flirted with the idea of a fan-funded model of Red State, with all profits from the eventual sale funding a micro-budget indie (or “People’s”) studio. http://silentbobspeaks.com/?p=391

  Could you imagine?

  Had I not buckled to the carping of some unimaginative, alarmist cranks, we’d ALL be going to Sundance in three weeks – with a flick YOU financed with $5 bucks here, $500 bucks there. I wasn’t gonna make a dime, either: the idea was to create a way for the next generation of storytellers to get their first films made, financed on the back of Red State.

  The big story at Sundance this year could’ve been how crowd-source financing produced Red State. But some myopic jackass with maybe 10k in hits at his website per year scared me off a revolutionary idea – with fucking name-calling. Branded a beggar and blasted for not using my own money to finance Red State (completely missing the point of the People’s Studio being built with nickels & dimes from the people – like a coffee co-op), I asked Jon to put aside all the time & tax research we’d put into crowd-source financing and went the traditional route of finding investors.

  Iím not complaining: it worked out great because we really dig the freedom we were granted by our hands-off investors. But the fan-funded Red State will always gnaw at me: I knew I was right, but I let a blind man talk me out of something I could clearly see. “

  One of the big 2011 plans has been revealed! Plans are, after HIT SOMEBODY, it’s YOUR TURN. Stay tuned. We love it. SMovies produced by you, for you!

• Interested parties who want to talk to the great Michael Parks or any of the “Red State” cast and crew can call (310) 893-0864 and leave a message. You’ll get a call back to set something up. Kevin’s also hinting at a big push starting this Monday, though we’re unsure if that’s some sort of twitter Q&A, or something bigger.
• Here’s what Kevin had to say about one of the lucky first to schedule a sit down with star Michael Parks (and good advice for anyone thinking of doing the same):

  “You’re in for a real treat, sitting down with Parks. Ask him to tell you the story of when Huston tried to kill him. He was tight with both Lenny Bruce AND Johnny Cash. Talking to Parks is like getting lost on the internet while you’re reading up on shit you’re insanely interested in: not only is it fun, it’s a VALUABLE use of time. I made RedState solely so I could spend an entire movie watching a true genius drop science in a 25 day performance clinic, right before my very eyes. I wanted to know what it would be like to be ON the set of a movie when someone gave an instant-classic performance. Parks work in this flick ain’t just gonna outlive me, it’s gonna outlive Parks (who I’m convinced is an immortal). So know that, when you sit down with this man, you are sitting down with film history. Music history. Pop culture history. And most importantly? Human history. Michael has LIVED and has loads to impart – all useful. He’s got the kind of integrity that’s only usually found in fictional characters. He is, without a doubt, one of the 10 most interesting people I’ve ever known. You’re gonna have a great time talking to him. Just make sure you’ve done your homework before.”

• The viral sites we’ve seen hinted about are now part of the official SModcast and Red State sites, and will grow in content post-Sundance. For now, take a look at http://goddamnsusa.com/ for a quick taste (yes, the spelling errors in the article were intentional), and peep all the posters at http://coopersdell.com/. The latter will also feature some fan-made posters (like this one) down the road.
• At Sundance, just two shows still on the schedule – Sunday night at 6:15 at Eccles and again on Monday morning at Library.
• Catch the latest in the ongoing series of “Red State of the Union” Q&As, the latest featuring Michael Angarano telling the story of how he got trampled by a horse, exlcusively at the “Red State of the Union” SModcast site. Yes, the best film school on the web is still free!

Via @RonStAmant “what is RedState clocking in lengthwise?” 95-ish with credits. We slowed our credit roll down so you can read EVERYBODY’S name, without exception. We couldn’t pay the cast & crew much on the flick this time out, so the least we could do was REALLY credit them.

Via @Irrigation_Man “How will you go about finding a UK distributor?” If we don’t find worldwide distribution at Sundance, we can break it up & sell it territory-by-territory – the ol’ Miramax way. In that instance, it’d be wise for overseas distribs to be at the screening on the 23rd. But even if we don’t lock up foreign at Sundance, the Berlin Market is right around the corner; could do all foreign sales there.

Via @Goalmember “Also are you press junking over here in UK?” I’m not press-junketing at all, anywhere. In fact, I’m not doing any press outside of maybe a business piece or 2 to help sell the flick if needed, & radio (LOTS of radio). That’s what http://smodcast.com/redstate/ is about: I’m providing all the information needed to write a story, if that’s what you’re looking to do. It’s INSANELY detailed, and by the time we’re done, I’ll have pre-answered all questions about RedState – thus negating the need to speak with me about it. From nearly 20 yrs experience, I know this much: folks are gonna write WHATEVER they want, whether I sit down with them or not. So I’ll just furnish all the information I’d normally serve up one at a time to a small, jaded audience that doesn’t really give a shit unless there’s someone famous in the room, to a much larger, APPRECIATIVE audience that would actually enjoy & benefit from hearing the same information. And thus far, it’s been working out great. Folks that wanna write about RedState pull from the podcasts, folks that don’t wanna but have to (so as not to seem behind the curve or a day late & dollar short in this information-is-currency culture) are doing what they lazily always do: pulling from the OTHER blogs that actually did their homework. Sometimes, their Google searches take ’em back to the earliest stories (like back when DermotMulroney was sort of briefly mentioned once) & it shows up in their current posting, exposing their sloppy work ethic (which, they’ll accuse me of having in MY work, without a hint of irony). So rather than subject all involved to a painful waste of resources, time & money, I’m doing the RedStateOfTheUnion Q&A’s. It’s kind of like an audio press kit. We’re even transcribing them now, for the SUPER lazy writers who’ve already bitched about having to wade through 12 hours of audio so they can write knowledgeably about a subject. Nobody needs to talk to me anymore anyway, as anyone who’s curious can always know what I’m thinking 24/7 right here on Twitter. Besides – the REALLY interesting story in RedState isn’t me; it’s MichaelParks. Or JohnGoodman. Or MelissaLeo. Or the ENTIRE cast. Or s’about how @ThatDavidKlein CRUSHED it.

Via @sonic43 “Will you be recording the post show Q&A at Sundance” I will. But I’ll edit out anyone who asks to be cut. #FearNotDistributors

Via @JackEdwardSmith “When will the full Red State trailer be released?” Not sure I wanna do a full, plot-oriented trailer. Saw lots of talk about the teaser, where cats were like “It doesn’t tell us anything about the plot” like that was a negative. I dunno – I LIKE not knowing anything. But a full trailer’ll ultimately be up to whoever distributes the flick, really. If it were up to me, though? I’d go teaser only.

Via @rpm1275 “read a great article about VOD & new releases over weekend, is this a route you can take with RedState?” Can we? Totally. Will we? Eventually. But NOT up front. I know it’s a digital age, and most people would rather get their entertainment at home (me included). But I’m a filmmaker from a generation that still feels like it fails if our flicks don’t debut in a movie theater & have a theatrical run. It’s illogical, I know – especially when the costs of releasing a flick are as high as the budget in some cases. But, to ME (this is how I feel in regards to the movies I make ONLY), a VOD debut would feel like a straight-to-video debut back in the 90’s. I know the business mode lends more toward a VOD environment for specialized cinema… but that’s the biz part of showbiz… and the SHOW half of the equation still burns too brightly in my big ol’ gut to allow for a biz-ness decision that the 21 yr old Kev who STARTED this journey, ‘lo those many years ago, would find unacceptable. We change & grow if we’re lucky, but we can’t shake the quirks that make up who were are as individuals. My makeup doesn’t allow for VOD first. VOD eventually, but I’m a movie-maker; I GOTTA show my stuff in a movie theater first. It’s stupid & conventional & antiquated, but all those people gathering in a building outside of their homes… that still means something to me. To have the power to make someone leave their comfortable home & spend money on some story you’re telling is the mead of gods. In a life that starts solely so that it can eventually end, the knowledge I can still get people to come to a movie theater to see my shit is oddly comforting.

Via @keithmat “what type of content would you put out straight-VOD?” That’s something we’ll be talking about in the next episode of GET OLD.

Via @munny_monkey “what #SModcast did you pull audio clip on the opening of the RedState trailer?” Latest: http://smodcast.com/smodimations

We totally love the idea of going trailer-free, sticking with the teaser and marketing the movie just that way. Trailers run over 2 minutes now lately and give way too much plot and key visuals away for a film. They’re fun to watch, sure, but Kevin’s done such a good job at shielding the net from spoilers on this, we’d prefer it stay that way. Obviously, after the January screenings at Sundance, spoilers are bound to leak, but we here at News Askew will be doing our best to stay spoiler-free and keep you that way, too.

It’s safe to continue listening to the Red State podcast, as that is also just scratching the surface of the film’s plot. With a limited press rollout as well, and a planned March 2011 arrival, we’re hoping that “Red State” can arrive without the world revealing all its surprises.

With such a fast turnaround planned, expect a great deal of “Red State” coverage from us in early 2011.