Sundance Coverage: Kevin Smith's 'Red State' Distribution Plans

I know, a lot of you are probably tired of our Kevin Smith/Red State coverage, but the last 24 hours have been big for this film in all respects.  In case you hadn't heard, Red State had it's world premiere last night at the Sundance Film Festival (I don't have a review as I wasn't in attendance, but those I spoke with that were at the screening said that while it does have its flaws, Red State is the best Smith film in years and definitely stays with you).  

The big news came after the screening as Smith, who had financed the film independently, had planned to auction the film's distribution rights off to the highest bidder.  Well, once Smith hit the stage was where things got interesting as he announced he would be keeping the rights himself and, in true Red State fashion, would be distributing the film independently as well.

Hit the jump for all the details (which include a Red State USA Tour), a video of Smith's post-screening speech, and a compilation of the filmmaker's Tweets that give a more in depth insight to his plan.

In a nutshell, Smith's decision to self-distribute the film was his frustration with watching studios spend absurd dollar amounts on marketing campaigns whose efficiency would be determined within a three day period.  Red State has cost around $4 million to produce, and Smith didn't see any point in having someone spend another $20 million just to advertise.  He followed up those numbers by saying, "Selling my film would be like having a baby and then selling it to somebody else to raise."  While most filmmakers feel the same way, Smith had the balls to do something about it.

So now Smith's plan is to release the film under the Smodcast Pictures banner in as many theaters that will have it on October 19, 2011 (which marks the 17th anniversary of Smith's debut film Clerks).  But before this release, Smith is taking the film on the road during what he calls the "Red State USA Tour", a 13 date screening tour in March/April of this year kicking off at Radio City Music Hall in New York on March 5.  On the tour, Smith plans to screen the film then follow it up with a Q&A with himself and star Michael Parks.  Smith said that if the 13 dates perform well (which, why wouldn't they?) he'll add more dates leading to the October release.

What's interesting about the tour is that Smith plans to make up almost half of the $4 million production budget on these dates alone by charging "6,7, maybe 10" times more than a normal movie ticket price.  While this may seem excessive, the final ticket price will most likely line up with the standard film festival ticket cost where you would normally experience a Q&A with the filmmakers after a screening or also what Smith charges for tickets to his public speaking events.

Come October, Smith announced that the film will be conventionally released in theaters and that he will give theater owners a better deal to show the film than studios would have.  Going back to the whole advertising point, the filmmaker also stated that he won't spend a dime on standard advertising (i.e. billboards, tv spots, trailers and posters in theaters) and will only pay to make prints of the film.  So expect the trend of Red State posters and trailers only showing up online to continue.

Well, that's enough from me.  I'll let you see/read more details from the horses mouth so to speak.  Let me know what you think of Smith's plan in the comments below.  I really only see this playing out in one of two ways, either it all works and Smith looks like the smartest man in the room or it blows up in his face.  Personally, as a proponent of independent film, I'm rooting for the former.

[A big thanks to Vulture for assembling this gigantic multi-Tweet explanation]

"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 … 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 “You’re 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 ’94. 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 – 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 it’s 2011 – 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, it’s 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."

Comments

[Mike Chesnut]

While I think this is a really intriguing and exciting idea, it worries me that it'll flop. The same model was basically followed by Tucker Max with his I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell movie, including the tour where he did a Q&A after every screening. He even gave out free schwag, and the tickets were only $10 (at least, that's what they cost in SF, and that's cheaper than a normal showing here). Of course, that film was just plain bad, and I think ultimately that's what it comes down to: if you make a good movie that people want to see, you'll find your audience and at least some degree of financial success. If your movie's bad, it doesn't matter which distribution method you employ, novel or traditional; word will get out and people will stay away. Anyway, I bring up the Tucker Max movie because I imagine that he and Kevin Smith have a lot of overlap in their audiences. Hopefully Smith has more success with this model than Max did, though. It's an idea I'd really like to see work.

[Josh Baldwin]

I applaud Smith for taking the road less traveled, or at least taking the tougher route. However, the more I read about it, it seems that he's doing it more out of spite and anger than to shake up the status quo in Hollywood.