Filming is set to start Monday on
Red State - the second 'change of pace' movie from filmmaker
Kevin Smith after this year's Cop Out proved that the transition from Indie/cult helmer to mass audience winner, isn't all that easy. Though despite the tanking from critics and the disdain from both his loyal legion of fans and nearly everyone else who saw it - Cop Out still made a healthy return with $44.8 million domestic from a $30 million budget, more than enough for any studio to trust him not to drop the ball again. Still, I think the reaction to Red State hurt the usually jovial Smith, and possibly embarrassed him into this media seclusion. Smith has been unusually quiet lately about his next movie (a rarity for him during pre-production), and he's made it known that he's trying something a little different this time by keeping things on the "down low... You know, let everyone know when it's done." Maybe this method of keeping his movie a mystery for as long as possible might bring with it an added curiosity factor? Certainly the timing of Red State could hardly be more perfect.
Based on a caricature of eccentric preacher
Fred Phelps, the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church who promotes "extreme fundamentalism" - the political/horror movie parallels much of the zeitgeist outrage against the Pope here in Britain and of course in Florida against pastor Terry Jones. Though instead of the burning of the Koran, Phelps' victim of choice was homosexuals, promoting slogans such as 'God Hates Fags' across Middle America. In gloriously 'on the nose' casting,
Michael Parks plays the Preacher - with a varied supporting cast that includes character actor veterans
Stephen Root,
Dermot Mulroney and
Kevin Pollak (the latter who has confirmed he is in talks
via twitter), youngsters
Michael Angarano and
Kyle Gallner - with Frozen's
Melissa Leo also in talks to join. Curiously we still don't know how the $20-$30 million project fits in as a horror movie. Is it going to be a Wicker Man of 20th Century America, or is the outrageous politics of Phelps enough to warrant the horror label?