In other news, more podcast updates, comic updates, and more, in this week’s “Twitter” report:

Via @deadsville “RED STATE…dead or alive?” Very alive. Scripts/offers went out to a pair of actors yesterday. Lead baddie also locked in.

Via @ryanaleczander “What’s gonna be next, Red State or Hit Somebody” RED starts mid-August. Wanna start pre on HIT when I wrap post on RED.

Via @mdesjard16 “Kevin FINALLY coming to Montréal!” And here’s how you see me: http://montreal.hahaha.com/en/shows/artists/kevin-smith

Look who’s back in WIDENING GYRE 6: http://www.viewaskew.com/kevin/lawton.jpg I write, Walt draws, you read: http://tinyurl.com/wideninggyre

My favorite podcast: TELL ‘EM, STEVE-DAVE! Ep13: @BryAndWalt are still trapped at the flea market. VERY funny: http://smodcast.com/stevedave

Via @Tompa83 “Will we see a new @starktoons smodimation tomorrow?” First Monday of each new month, sir. http://www.smodcast.com/smodimations

Get lost in a NEW SMOD! SModcast 118: You Betzler. In which our heroes are no longer live & are coming to get you, Babs. http://smodcast.com

Get the latest up-to-the-second updates at the official Kevin Smith Twitter feed at twitter.com or via your client of choice.

Kevin Smith’s WonderCon Q&A touches on Southwest, critics and ‘Red State’

Having covered five or six patented Kevin Smith Q&As between WonderCon and ComicCon, there are things I know about the “Clerks” director that I don’t know about my closest friends or intimates.

Spend enough time listening to Kevin Smith interact with his fans — in these Q&As, on Twitter, through his Smodcasts — and you’re going to come away with possibly unwanted knowledge about his bathroom habits, his sex life and more. It’s also hard not to come away from one of these Q&A’s with a big smile, because even if you’ve heard the stories before — and Smith isn’t immune to recycling his material — this is probably the man’s natural habitat, his ideal milieu.

As he put it on Friday (April 2) evening, “You can’t come to a Kevin Smith show and be like, ‘Too much information.’ It’s like going to Disneyland and saying ‘Too many pederasts.’ It comes with the territory.”

That was a tame quote. As Smith pointed out to the WonderCon faithful, the paper name placards waiting for talent on the dais typically include a warning on the back telling them that some members of the audience will be under 18 and to keep the commentary room-appropriate. Smith turned his name placard around and showed the crowd that the warning had been covered with a white sticker before he even arrived. Con organizers know that attempting to muzzle or mute or blunt Kevin Smith is as futile as attempting to make edible Kosher-for-Passover pasta.

[In that spirit, I’ve got some highlights from Kevin Smith’s WonderCon Q&A after the break, but things get mighty blue and you probably don’t want to click through if you’re a sensitive sort…]

When you see Kevin Smith speak at a Con, you’re seeing him amongst his people, as he soaks up 90 minutes of adoration, delivering whichever lengthy shaggy dog stories fit his fancy at any given time. Friday’s highlight, instigated by a query from an earnest twentysomething straight-edge guy, was a 20-minute celebration of marijuana, including sex while high, defecating while high, ordering food from online convenience stores while high and living in Ben Affleck’s former house while high.

The punchline of this particular story? “It’s ROPEY!” I’ll let you fill in your own blanks, but let’s just say multiple things were ropey.

The story, not even the slightest bit cautionary, just concluded with a warning that pot is fine, but should never become a gateway drug.

That’s one to grow on.

But what do you expect from a man who, when asked how he’s doing, replied, “Last night I had the best sex I’ve had in 10 years. And it’s not to say that the previous 12 years of sex with the same chick haven’t been great…” and launched into an anecdote that ended with Smith pantomiming attempting to be sexy while using a FleshLight (something he said wouldn’t even be possible for Affleck). And if you don’t know what a FleshLight is, let’s just say that the adult entertainment product received at least a half-dozen shout-outs in the talk.

There have obviously been a few recent controversies in Smith’s life lately and he wasn’t exactly eager to talk about them in detail. The first person to ask about the Southwest incident elected to rescind his question in exchange for a photo op (“Come on up. We won’t talk about that fucking airline ever again.”).

Southwest came up again a little later when Smith mentioned a phone conversation he had with Arnold Schwarzenegger shortly after the writer-director was canonized in a number of media reports. Ah-nold called to invite Smith to a conference on obesity, but by the time Smith got around to believing that he was really being called by the Governor of California, the conference had passed. But even that story was being told only as an excuse for a “Conan the Barbarian” reference — “I just wanted to be like, ‘Gov, what is best in life?'” — and to take credit for California’s potential marijuana measure.

Smith was more open about his recent Twitter-driven dismissal of film critics. Asked about which of his various gigs he likes best, Smith took a step back from viewing himself as a movie director, first and foremost.

“For me, the best part of the job is being able to talk and have people hear and comprehend,” he said, later adding that when it comes to what he enjoys most, “For me it’s always going to be the part where I get to talk to the audience.”

On his critics, Smith noted, “For years, people online have been going, ‘You’re not a f***ing director, you’re no filmmaker. And now I realize they were right. They were dicks for saying it. But they were right. I wasn’t any sort of traditional filmmaker that a lot of cineastes could get their head around. They could back in the early days of my career, because I was so f***ing emo back then, right? ‘Chasing Amy’ was a total emo movie.”

As he said on Twitter in response to savaging of “Cop Out,” he’s reached the point where the people he cares most about are the viewers who pay money to see his movies.

Smith explained, “The reviews that I cared about most were the mutherf***ers who were just like, ‘I had to drive an hour-and-a-half in f***ing snow and pay $40 to a babysitter and f***ing $60 bucks for tickets to a movie and snacks and then I watched ‘Cop Out.” And if that guy’s like ‘You piece of s***. You fat f***ing jerk. I had your back with Southwest, but not f*** you.’ If he says that, at that point I’ll take it, man. Cuz that dude like climbed a mountain to go see that picture. That’s what I’m interested in now. I just want to talk to the audience and find out what they thought. That’s kinda that this is about. I don’t need an intermediary anymore to tell me how I feel and how you guys feel.”

He later said, “Film used to be a religion for me. I still love movies every bit as much now as I did then, but film is not a religion to me anymore. Now film is kinda what it is. It’s an art form and it’s going to be approached from a zillion different ways. Nobody has approached it the right way yet. Nobody’s ever going to approach it the right way, because it’s so subjective.”

Smith confessed that critics or audiences looking for him to make another “Chasing Amy” are out of luck, noting that he just can’t replicate that movie’s authenticity given how far he is from that experience. Regarding the movies he’s making instead, Smith didn’t defend the quality of “Cop Out,” but he explained his motivations.

“‘Cop Out,’ I just want to see if I can work in the studio system,” Smith said. “If I can hold my tongue, if I have to hold my tongue. I wanted to see what the mystery was.”

A few other highlights from Smith’s WonderCon appearance:

*** Smith said that part of why he prefers these Q&As or Twitter over filmmaking is the instant response, noting that he wrote the script for his upcoming horror film “Red State” two-and-a-half years ago and he’s only just getting around to making it. Of that long-gestating project, Smith would only compare it to “Race with the Devil” claiming “I just copied that movie verbatim.

*** One thing I remember from Smith’s WonderCon talk four years ago was the appearance of a small child with a strong resemblance to Jason Mewes. At the time, Smith joked that he’d have to cast the kid as Little Jay. Well, the kid was back on Friday asking when he was going to be cast. Smith’s response, “I’m a bear and that’s my move with all the cubs. ‘I’m gonna need a Little Jay.’ I’ve f***ed so many Little Jays.”

*** Think that answer is a bit salty? Try Smith’s response to a question regarding what you have to do to become a writer for his View Askew shingle: “You have to come out of my mother’s vagina and be me. A lot of dudes get it half-right. They come into my mother’s vagina. They find out very quickly that I don’t want to help them make movies. Unless my mother’s like, ‘Well, he f***ed me right’ and then I’m like ‘OK. Ben. Matt. Here’s money. Go make a movie.’ And that’s the story of ‘Good Will Hunting.'”

*** After those two answers, I should note that in the 95-minute Q&A, Smith received exactly one question from a female fan.

*** Smith also said that after seeing “The Dark Knight” and “Watchmen,” he no longer had any desire to make a comic book movie. He also applauded Jon Favreau for his work on the “Iron Man” movies saying, “A really talented filmmaker can take sh** character and make it into something. I go the other way.”

*** As funny as his stories are, Smith is at his best in totally spontaneous moments, like his Marilyn Monroe-esque rendition of “Happy Birthday” sung to an audience member.

*** Smith says he’s looking forward to when Disney has sorted out the rights to various Miramax titles so that he can pitch an extended cut of “Jersey Girl.” That pitch? “Remember ‘Jersey Girl’? Well I have an hour more of that bulls***. Let’s stir it back in.”

*** If you’re wondering about the mysterious entry “Hiatus” on his IMDB page, Smith explained that it was a pilot for Jason Lee that was never scripted and never had a network home, but would have told the story of a male porn star who leaves the adult industry behind and moves back to his hometown accompanied by his favorite fluffer. Mewes would have played another former porn star named Lester the Molester.

“…I was painted as ‘out to destroy film criticism’ last week. As you can see, that’s not what I said at all; said, instead, that I’d like to give a new batch a try at the gig. The idea seemed fair, as many of the same bloggers calling for my head have been calling for me to move over and give other filmmakers MY job for years now. When I applied the same suggestion: critical meltdown.

NEVER critique a critic, folks: they get very sensitive; as sensitive as filmmakers, it would seem.

But, as regards Roger: clearly, he felt I was in need of a public spanking. Fair enough: I’ll take it from the mighty Ebert (which sounds far more erotic than it is). I’ve been watching Eborsisk love on film since the PBS COMING ATTRACTIONS/SNEAK PREVIEWS days, before the birth of AT THE MOVIES (God rest its soul). He’s been in my life for so long, he’s kinda like a Dad. Despite his Tweet, I’ve always been, and remain, a booster.

So what else was up on Twitter recently? While as you know it’s impossible to keep up unless you’re a follower yourself, here’s a few noteworthy ones as of late. Kevin’s been on “Hit Somebody” duty lately so taking a little break over the last couple days, so we’re sure he’ll be back. In the meantime, here’s a handful of recent goodies:

Via @biaxident “would you have asked Carlin to be on Red State” The bad guy, for lack of a better expression, was written FOR George. *sigh*

Via @KRNellis “Who’s gonna play bad guy in Red state” Sent script to my top choice for a weekend read. No guesses; it’s out of left field…

Via @tom_jorgensen “Your thoughts on the Scott Pilgrim trailer?” My thoughts on the Scott Pilgrim MOVIE: http://b2l.me/hzmn2

Via @kevinvegas “Safe to say Tracy Morgans movie career is finished.” You ain’t kidding… http://tinyurl.com/YourFingersOnThePulseRectally

When the SWA shit hit the fat in Oakland that day, the only guy who called to see if I was okay was @Paul_Dini. Thanks, Paul; it meant lots.

@deadpool60169 “Might there ever be a tour for Smodcast where Bry and Walt open?” There’s talk of a bus ride from Red Bank to San Diego. On that bus would be me, @SMosier & @BryAndWalt. And we’d SMod 5nights/5venues en route to the Con.

Via @phenger “your Q&A’s still go ’til we run out of questions?” Just three hours, sir. Theaters all request the 3-&-Out running time.

Me talking to @NHL about HIT SOMEBODY and Walter Gretzky Street Hockey Tournament: http://bit.ly/bjjgVQ Follow @VaradiBackyard for updates.

To keep up with it all, you just simply gotta follow @ThatKevinSmith on Twitter.

An evening with Kevin Smith was everything one could expect. Kevin started the night off by completely breaking the ice, by telling the audience about Bears and cubs and how cute they sound.

So last night Kevin talked about almost everything from bears and cubs, to sucking his own dick, to autographing a dude’s ass (who was there with the tattoo of kev’s signature), to working with Bruce Willis.

Hit somebody: “Will be after Red State, we will be hiring/using local Detroit talent for on and off camera use”.

Red State: “Will start production soon”.

Clerks 3: “It’s a possibility. I did Clerks about my mid 20’s, Clerks 2 about my mid 30’s, so Clerks 3 would be about my mid 40’s”.

Clerks comic book: “I think I have a few more stories I could tell there”

On the resurrection of the Clerks cartoon: “I would love to bring back the Clerks cartoon (via adult swim) but when Disney & Miramax separated, the Weinsteins didn’t take the rights for the cartoon. And have stated “We will never work with them again. So I think it’s a dead issue, but id love to do it.”

Batman & Wonder Woman: Kevin said he is working on another Batman comic, & did get asked to do a Wonder Woman story, but he has to find a story that “works for me”.

Also there was a “strict” no photo/video policy, they were taking the cameras from people taking photos, but if anyone got up and asked Kevin for a photo, he gladly obliged and no one seemed to take their cameras. These are a few things that stuck out in our minds if we remember anything else we will be sure to send it. As for us me (Movie Miguel) being from Cleveland & Heidi being from Columbus (my gf) we are planning on attending Kevin’s SModcast @ Peabodys on april 27th. We both really enjoyed the show, and had a great time.

There ya go, folks — That’s the way to write up a review and take good notes! Thanks to our scoopers for the enlightening info from this recent Q&A. Wanna see Kev live? He’s coming to a town near you. Don’t miss the chance.

DVD Talk: For big movies, like Transformers, most people really don’t care what critics have to say.

Kevin Smith: No, of course not. It’s ridiculous and it’s a waste of time to have some critic write a fucking review of Transformers or Cop Out. There’s no point. Get a twelve-year old to review it because that’s who you wanna hear from. I’ll believe a twelve-year old. If they say something sucks I’ll believe it. If a twelve-year old says something rocks, I’ll believe it. I’m not going to believe some fucking dude or chick who says, “I saw the movie for free, had a few hours to digest it, had a chance to think of my political stance on the filmmaker and the studio and had the chance to think about the people I want to push or hold back on, and now I’m going to write my fair and unbiased review.” It doesn’t work like that. I believed that forever since that was the world I was raised in. I believe to this day the New York Times review of Clerks made my career. Janet Maslin opened so many doors with that review. That review meant something. Reviews don’t matter as much anymore. Why? Because you can talk to the fucking audience. That was the only way to hear about. I don’t know, it’s weird. I’m not bitter about it, because I didn’t read many of the reviews. Even if I did, it’s just a lot of energy to spend on a movie that didn’t try to do anything besides making people laugh. That was it and that was our agenda. It has nothing to do with art except for the art of making people laugh. We had very talented artists onboard to make that happen. But for a movie like this, why even bother reviewing it? To me, it just makes a film critic look like a bully. Why bother?

Want more? Hit up DVD Talk and keep an eye right here. We’ll let ya know when more is on the way.

Director Kevin Smith, known for movies “Zack and Miri make a Porno” and “Cop Out”, is about to start work on a horror movie. The movie will be called “Red State” and will be about hate towards gays in the American Church. Smith, himself bisexual and according to some the inspiration for the character with the same name in cult-horror game “killer7”, wants to make Red State into a very serious and dark horror movie. The release is planned for next year.

Bisexual, eh? That’s a good one.

I talk about lots of stuff I wanna do that either happens years later or never happens at all. Happy to report RED STATE is not the latter.

First draft was dated 9/5/07. Looks like we start shooting this July. Took nearly three years, but we’re finally gonna roll on RED.

How exciting is that??? The flick has been described by Kevin as a total 180 from anything he’s done before — A psychological horror flick with an extremely dark done. The few folks who have seen early drafts of “Red State” have spoken of how it stuck with them, how unsettling it was, and that it’s so un-Kevin that it’s exciting to see his take on a totally new genre. We can’t wait. Obviously, a lot happens past announcements like this — Location scouting, casting, rewrites, budgets…All that fun stuff that takes place before cameras start to roll. News Askew will be with you the whole way — We’re stoked to see Kevin’s take on one of our favorite film genres of all time.

So with all this, what about “Hit Somebody”, you may ask? Kevin’s writing it now, and hopes to shoot it on the heels of “Red State”, meaning perhaps late 2010 or early 2011.

With a script already complete, “Red State” would likely come first. Kevin theorizes that the film, an intense horror/thriller, and a total 180 from anything he’s done before, could be made on the cheap and on the quick. With a script that he’s had in his pocket for a couple of years now, a green light on this one could come sooner than later. If the cards fall in the right way, we wouldn’t even be shocked to see this one cut together before the end of 2010. Of course, a lot of that depends not only on funding, but scouting locations, finding the right cast, and so on. We’ve got our fingers crossed that “Red State” may be a reality soon. With its low profile and cost, it could be a real earner, too.

Then, there’s “Hit Somebody”. This is Kevin’s passion project and the one he’s most excited about bringing to life. Since the script is not yet complete, this one’s looking a little further off, unless of course, the studio supplying the cash likes the project more. With Kevin’s close attachment to the Devils, this summer’s Gretzky street hockey tourny, and his own personal pick-up games, there’s no doubt that he’s the best guy working in the industry today to bring a hockey movie to life. Sounds like others have taken notice of that, as well. Once again, nothing official on the books, though last week, it seems those final steps were taken when Kevin made a trip back east for some meetings.

Here’s a few of the tweets relating to the potential funding and the plan:

This week in NYC was all about securing the financing for the next two flicks.

Via @murdochjay “So you secured financing for Hit Somebody?” There’s not even a script for HIT yet. But we met w/potential true-believers.

Via @TAFKARR “Just to clarify, which is first on the To-Do List: Hit Somebody or Red State?” Looking like RED’s up first. Writing HIT now.

We’ll keep you posted on these breaking stories, in the hopes we have some official good news for you soon.

Here’s a full list of Wizard World cons where the Propworx tour is scheduled to appear:

March 26-28, 2010, Toronto Comic Con, Direct Energy Centre
April 16-18, 2010, Anaheim Comic Con, Anaheim Convention Center
June 11-13, 2010, Philadelphia Comic Con, Pennsylvania Convention Center
August 19-22, 2010, Chicago Comic Con, Donald E. Stephens (Rosemont) Convention Center
October 7-10, 2010, Big Apple Comic Con, Pier 94
October 15-17, 2010, New Jersey Comic Con, New Jersey Convention and Expo Center
November 12-14, 2010, Austin Comic Con, Austin Convention Center
Atlanta Comic Con, TBD
Cincinnati Comic Con, TBD
Cleveland Comic Con, TBD
New England Comic Con, TBD

Via @mpauley1 “so what is the proposed budget for Red State?” That’ll depend what we raise. If it’s 40k, done. If it’s 1mil? Done.

Via @YankeesJets2310 “Time to sell the comics again” No, I’ll sell a bunch of Askewniverse props instead. Sell the past to shoot the future.

@murray1134 “very George Lucas of you, reinvest your profits to make your own movies outside the system” Not my movies: your movies. If this works, I’m one-&-done w/RED STATE: building the infrastructure if we can, so others who aren’t established yet can follow.

Want the full gory details from Mr. Smith? Check out his blog update which explains the entire process in the best detail you could hope for. Some snips:

If we did fan-finance and actually make the film, let’s say it sold: what then? There will be profits? Would people get their money back? Where would that money go? Our plan is to put anything we make into a fund that would, in turn, finance other (cost-sensible) flicks fans want to see. And from that? Build a People’s Studio. Simply have any interested/frustrated/desperate party put their script on our website, open for all to read, during a “pilot season” of sorts. Script that gets the most votes, gets the loot. That flick gets made and sold, all the loot goes back into fund for next round. If there’s enough loot from RED STATE sale to do so, idea would be to fund two low budget flicks a year. Ultimate dream: Indie Movement, v.3. Because with the shuttering and impending sale of Miramax comes the sober realization that the specialty business has just died completely. The 90’s are long over and Indie Movement v.2 has come to a sad close. Until that market is vibrant and thriving again, maybe this is a small way to keep the home-fires burning. I know we’re supposed to let all things run its course, but can’t help it: I don’t wanna see the indie film world I knew go away forever. I’m an idealist and a silly-heart, and I’ve got a dream.

But that’s all it is right now: a dream. Sure it sounds Utopian… but Utopia was written by a lawyer – and the law is what we’re looking through now, seeing who’d be responsible for taxes up front, what happens if the fund collapses, what if a total of $12.36 is raised, etc. LOTS to go through before (and IF) this might take shape.

So, there ya have it — This isn’t a money beg idea. It’s a way to start a fund for struggling filmmakers to get their stories told. And as a bonus, we’ll kick it off with a nice big bag ‘o profits from the inevitable coolness that is “Red State”. A win-win for all. Between the street hockey entrant goal and this idea, 2010 could be a landmark, record-setting year.

Via @marvelfanx “Selling comics 2 fund film. Painful or liberating” Liberating. This Aug, I’m selling all old Askew props to fund RED STATE.

He will of course also be matching all proceeds and donations with his own money towards the film. This at least, is the plan right now. “Red State” would follow “Hit Somebody” if things go down the way Kevin would like to see in 2010.

Meanwhile, more stories continue to surface on this topic, including an article from CINSSU who reference Kevin’s recent twitter chat idea of taking fan donations to fun the project:

“…However, Smith has found a new possible revenue source for a movie that can’t seem to attract any commercial investors. “I think an interesting thing that may happen with it is–I was on Twitter and people are asking about Red State, and then a dude tweeted ‘hey man, what if we pay for it?’ And all of a sudden, a bunch of people were like ‘Seriously, why not?'” This wouldn’t be the first time that someone raised money for a project by soliciting it over the internet, but it would be the first time a filmmaker as prominent as Smith has done so. “We’re kind of creating this website. We’re seeing if it works to set up and collect donations. It becomes a weird tax nightmare, though…It sounded like such an easy thing online…but now there’s lots of checks and balances to make sure we can do it, but if that’s the case, I would be into it, and I’ll match it. Whatever you raise on line, like fuck it, you put it up, I’ll put it up.” Smith has always been a gracious personality towards his fans and it shows in his words as well as his demeanor. “We’re gonna make it. It’s gonna happen. First up is that hockey movie, though, because that’s where I am right now. Right after that, though, by hook or by crook, with my pennies or the pennies of the audience. God bless them. Motherfuckers want to see the movie so badly that they’re willing to pay for it with their own money? Absolutely, put their name in the credits and that movie will be a reality.”

That entire article’s pretty good, and all comes from a recent press roundtable with Kevin. Check it out for a few words on “Cop Out” as well as “Zack and Miri”.