Red State (Kevin Smith, 2011)

[jbeall]

Well, I got about halfway through Smith's post and skimmed the rest, as it got increasingly self-congratulatory and faux-populist. I think Smith is smart, but he's intellectually lazy, and more than a little bit childish: he can't deal with criticism, so he hides behind his regular-guy persona and claims he's doing it for other slobbish dudes. He likes being a big fish in a small pond.

Again, it's all indicative of his inability to grow as a filmmaker after Clerks, which I genuinely liked. I find his other films, some of which I liked when I was in my early 20s, unwatchable now.

[matrixschmatrix]

Well, I got about halfway through Smith's post and skimmed the rest, as it got increasingly self-congratulatory and faux-populist. I think Smith is smart, but he's intellectually lazy, and more than a little bit childish: he can't deal with criticism, so he hides behind his regular-guy persona and claims he's doing it for other slobbish dudes. He likes being a big fish in a small pond.

I think 'insecure and intellectually lazy' are congenital failings among pretty much every artist who comes to mind that spends much time railing against criticism as a concept (as opposed to particular schools or styles of criticism.) There are lots of good artists who refuse to engage with critics, but as soon as someone starts pulling the 'critics just want to kill everyone's fun, they overthink everything' card I suspect they're no longer interested in examining or improving their own work, and don't want to deal with the fact that it's become apparent to others.

[jorencain]

Rian Johnson tweeted this last night about his new film. Pretty funny.

Now's a good time to announce: I will be self-distributing Looper. One screening at the @newbeverly. Tickets $925,000 each. Q&A to follow.

[oldsheperd]

Vincent Gallo, perhaps?

But Gallo is smart; Smith is not. And I don't think Gallo is that much of an attention whore, he's just very provocative.

Have you seen Buffalo '66? That movie screams, "OOO, OOO, LOOK AT ME!!"

[J Wilson]

I find it hard to believe enough of his fans will spend $65/$40 for a movie ticket (the tickets prices for the Ann Arbor screening/Q&A), but he's done well enough so far.

[James]

Have you seen Buffalo '66? That movie screams, "OOO, OOO, LOOK AT ME!!"

Not really, man. It's only a movie after all.

[knives]

Plus it's a good movie.

[domino harvey]

Man, we're all gonna feel so dumb if this movie rules

[knives]

Don't worry about that Domino. A few reviews are in and they're not the most kind.

[oldsheperd]

Plus it's a good movie.

Buffalo 66'? I haven't seen a more pretentious piece of garbage, but anyway to each his own.

Smith's buddy Richard Kelly was impressed. If that ain't an endorsement.

[powerscribe]

I feel like everything that exits this dude's mouth is borne of insecurity. He's just a jackhammer of weird, defensive self-validation and excuses. I heard him last week on Marc Maron's WTF podcast and it was more of the same, basically––he wants to be the little guy, the everyman, but must constantly remind detractors or skeptics (and himself, seemingly) of his great success and die-hard fandom.

Insecure. That's exactly the word that kept ringing through my head listening to that podcast.

If there is a working director who is more insecure than Kevin Smith is, then I don't know who it is.

The typical image one gets of a director is one of a man in control, of himself and of his set. But Smith's neuroses (no doubt stemming at least in part from his insecurity over his lack of formal training) seem to run rampant with nearly every sentence he utters. Whether it's dropping comparisons of his own work to the Coen Brothers or maintaining that Judd Apatow somehow stole "his formula," his own thoughts on the industry in which he's worked for – as he frequently points out – twenty years, he gives the strong impression of a man who cares deeply about his own legacy and body of work, while struggling hard to give the impression of a man who doesn't care a bit.

In one breath, Smith insists that he's been leveled with more "haters" than the average filmmaker, and in the next one he's bragging about his "mansion" (his own word,) his wife, and his millions of dollars. In the next, he might be claiming that the media which helped him achieve these successes is fickle, only to then tell a story about how his Twitter feed helped gain national attention for his problems with a certain airline that ejected him from an airplane for being, in their words, too fat.

For someone who's accomplished so much (and in a very real sense, getting nine films made is a major accomplishment), Smith has an awfully big chip on his shoulder. The only real, honest, genuine moment of the interview came when he was describing the awful experience he was put through by Southwest. Perhaps the most touching part came when they put him on the next flight and asked a girl to sit next to him, only to then remove her from the plane, as well. The girl, in tears, explained to Smith that they told her to sit there, then made her vacate the plane because her size might interfere with his own enjoyment of the ride.

Here, Kevin Smith becomes human. His disgust at Southwest's treatment of the girl - even more than their mistreatment of him - brought him to a boiling point. It was this champion of the common person that made Kevin Smith who he is.
None of this is to say that I don’t like Kevin Smith. While I think his films are often sophomoric - and by that I mean their actual composition, at least as much as their subject matter - I admire what he's accomplished. This is a guy who caught the attention of some pretty heavy hitters in the film industry, and parlayed a small film into a major career. Love him or hate him, you know who he is, and there are more accomplished directors who don't have his sort of name recognition.

He's "one of us." That is to say, he's a film fan who started without a lot of connections, a lot of money, or to be quite frank, a lot of talent. He's an admitted would-be Internet film critic who has gone out and made movies that have made money. Maybe not a lot of money by Hollywood standards, but money nonetheless. And it's puzzling to me why he doesn't seem to be okay with that. He constantly seems to be comparing himself to A-list directors, bemoaning his own fate, and wondering why the universe - which from my perspective has been very good to him - seems to be so stacked against him.

[mfunk9786]

It's because there was a time that he was being heralded as the next big thing. Chasing Amy's screenplay and performances were even getting a bit of Oscar buzz. His career flew off the tracks with crummy and injoke-y films to follow up Chasing Amy, but his fanbase continued to grow. That's why the guy's likely a little confused.

He's a little like Howard Stern - less relevant because of a decline in availability and quality of the product he puts out, but surrounded by fan support that is (arguably) bigger than ever, since there are millions of people who now pay money to hear and see his show.

Mixed signals can be maddening to someone who is seeking validation through their art, even during their creative valleys.

[oldsheperd]

Kevin Smith is way past his sell-by-date. I mean how can you be considered an artist when most of your fanbase probably consists of WOW fans and Juggalos.

[Mr Sausage]

Are you planning to actually add something to this conversation at some point, oldsheperd?

[HistoryProf]

Kevin Smith has stupid film distribution idea that isn't going to work out; will retire from filmmaking after the hockey movie he's making next

this sounds like an excellent idea. how can it possible fail?

- Tickets to the Red State tour may cost as much as ten times more than the price of a movie at a normal movie theater showing.

I feel like everything that exits this dude's mouth is borne of insecurity. He's just a jackhammer of weird, defensive self-validation and excuses. \.

yep. it's all very bizarre. he seems to have burned so many bridges his retirement may not be by choice at this point. And frankly, his stuff has never been THAT funny....it appeals to 17-27 year old males who smoke pot. Not exactly the critical base necessary for Hollywood power.

[oldsheperd]

Are you planning to actually add something to this conversation at some point, oldsheperd?

Have I ever at this point in my forum career?

I for one am a bit intrigued by the Red State trailer.

Saus, how come when I read your post I instantly got the image of Pee Wee Herman asking Amazing Larry if his secrets were something he could share with everyone?

[mfunk9786]

Ticket prices for the Radio City Music Hall showing of Red State are $68.25-$142.70 EACH, BEFORE CHARGES

[domino harvey]

On the plus side, you'd have the auditorium pretty much to yourself

[mfunk9786]

I paid $18 per ticket to see There Will Be Blood in NYC a month before its release, followed by a Q&A with Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis.

$18.

[Tom Hagen]

Well if he's doing one of those epic three hour jokey Q&As, I get that. Not something I would do personally, but it would be worth the price if you're a fan. This roadshow thing is going to be pretty successful simply because he has a devoted following.

[matrixschmatrix]

Yeah, I get the impression the ticket prices are more for the speaking tour than for the movie- I mean, I paid like $50 to see David Sedaris read out loud from one of his books, and that wasn't in NYC.

[tavernier]

On the plus side, you'd have the auditorium pretty much to yourself

that place will be sold out

[matrixschmatrix]

An interesting, fairly tolerant take on Red State and Kevin Smith's career at this point.

I have to say, I'm considerably more curious about the actual movie at this point- a movie dominated by performances from Michael Parks and John Goodman can't be all bad, right?

[flyonthewall2983]

Surprised nobody brought up the screening in Kansas Saturday, with members of the Phelps family in attendance (not for very long, as it turned out). There were also members who left the family who sat down for a Q+A with Smith after the screening.

[Tom Hagen]

with members of the Phelps family in attendance

The AV Club provides coverage. I'm incredulous that Kevin Smith has somehow managed to turn the Phelps family into his full-time interlocutors. This is like a Jerry Springer version of the roll out of The Last Temptation of Christ.