What is the deal with films today? Most of what has come out to the theatres or video in the last few years has been, well, not good. There are a few exceptions and diamonds-in-the-rough pictures that have surfaced to bring back some faith that there are good stories still left to tell but most of what is out there are simply rehashed from what good films used to be about.
Today’s standard seems to be mega-budget films of which are action packed computer generated imagery with ear blasting music and quick cut shots but forgo solid story or plot line. Simply it comes down to this, after spending absurd amounts of money, to get people in the theatres and buying the DVD’s the studios of today spend hundreds of millions to making their films and at the same time spend almost as much on advertising. The studios are not making films any more, they are making products.
Independently made films used to be the saving grace by letting the directors and screenwriters make their stories without the interference of the “company” mentality of the big studios to hone the project into something the would generate as much profit as possible. Back in the mid-80’s and into the early 90’s, independent films started to move from being mavericks of the film market to mainstream and in the process began to be swallowed up by the production machine of Hollywood. Those still trying to make their independent films are now finding it hard to raise the minimal amounts of money is takes to turn a good story into a film production – movies that could become the saving grace to the humdrum machine we are seeing today.
There is a glimmer of hope in the horizon. There are some mavericks still out there rattling the cages in Hollywood. One of those doing so is filmmaker Kevin Smith who entered the independent film market with his shoe-string budgeted film Clerks in 1994. His fresh and unique storytelling extended into films like Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl and Clerks II. Most of these films were released non-independently through film companies such as Miramax, Lions Gate and Dimension which may have never became box office hits but for the most part turned a profit with minimal advertising and in the process have become cult classics.
With the release of his 2008 film Zack and Miri Make A Porno, seemingly his most commercial film at that time, it took the blundering of the film studio in the way it marketed the film to turn this high concept movie, starring hot box office actor Seth Rogen, to what is considered today as a box office failure. In time, with DVD sales and TV rights, the film most likely turned a profit which for the most part can contributed to Smith’s thrifty method of budgeting his films.
After Zack and Miri, Smith took what is considered a “gun for hire” job by directing the cop-buddy comedy Copout starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. This was the first movie Smith has helmed as a director in which he was not also written. This “Hollywood” style movie gave Smith more insight into how the big studio’s market their films and in turn was the turning point to what is to become the most fresh and unique move in film history in probably a few decades.
Smith, known mainly as a comedic story teller, has been toiling around with a horror movie idea for a few years called Red State which stemmed from the idea of far-right fanatical religious families in the United States. Going back to the days if his original movie roots of being an independent filmmaker, Smith sought private funding and raised 4-million dollars (partially from Canadian investors) and production took place last October with cast of such well know actors as Michael Parks, John Goodman and Academy Award winning actress Melissa Leo.
Unusual by Hollywood standards, each night after film had wrapped for the day, Smith would edit the days filming at home and by the time the film had wrapped, he was able to show a completed rough cut at the wrap party some two days later to his cast and crew. This is an outstanding feat for any filmmaker.
During the filming process and even up to today, Smith has been quite open about the whole process and quite frequently discusses all aspects of how the film is made on many of his internet podcast broadcasts. Included in these was a show that was structured as a classroom where he brought in actors and crew from the film to discuss the shoot.
When the finished film was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, typically an event for independent film makers take their movies to showcase and hope to sell to a distributor, Smith stunned the film community by announcing that he and his producing partner Jon Gordon will forgo the traditional distribution route and self-distribute the movie in the USA themselves. The Hollywood film community were none too pleased by this but Smith and Gordon countered that the traditional distribution model was too wasteful with exuberant budgets for advertising and other associated costs.
The initial release of the film was done as single showings in select cities which Smith himself would present the film and follow with a question and answer session afterward. These shows were billed as an event with a price tag that was as high as 4 times the normal price one would pay to see the film in a normal cinema presentation. This move was widely accepted by his core audience which many of these event shows were sold out or near to selling out.
Smith has made himself a career of doing question and answer shows over the last decade which with his unique comedic storing telling style and infamous way of taking a 3-minute question and turning it into an one hour answer have sold out shows across the US, Canada and UK. With the showing of Red State and a shorten down Q&A, Smith’s fans flocked to the shows. When foreign pre-sales (including Canada) of the film were added into the revenue, Red State is turning a profit.
This past August Phase 4, the film distributor in Canada, arranged a similar tour in a few major Canadian with Smith on board at each date. The of August 16th show of Red State at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver with having Smith talk so passionately about this project was a pure delight.
On September 1st in the USA, Red State was available as video-on-demand and on October 18th in Canada the film will be available on DVD from Phase 4 Films. In additional to these releases on September 25th there will be the first of what Smith is saying is the beginning of many event showings in select USA cinemas where one can see the film in the theatres via satellite along with a live performance of Smith’s popular podcast Hollywood Babble-on with his show co-host Ralph Garman. Smith as promised that later showings of these events would include cast members from the film.
On Thursday September 29th at select Metro Vancouver area Cineplex theatres, there will be a 7:00pm showing of Kevin Smith’s Red State which is the only local cinema showing listed to date before it’s October DVD release by Phase 4 Films in Canada.
What’s next for Kevin Smith? Other than continuing to build an internet podcast and radio empire, he has announced that his next film adventure, which he has stated will be his last doctorial effort, is a two part feature called Hit Somebody. Taken from the Warren Zevon song, Hit Somebody will be about the life of a professional hockey goon that spans the 1950’s to 1980’s – a story that will be true to any Canadian’s heart. Though Hit Somebody will be his last film, Smith has promised he will still be involved in the film industry in many different forms so there is more to come from this true film maverick.
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