Kevin Smith Keeping Indie Alive w/ Red State

Kevin Smith has been a hero filmmaker to me for a while now. My first exposure to his work was Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, which I didn't really love, and is actually my least favorite of everything he's made, save for Cop Out, which I still don't think is that bad. Once I saw Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma, I got what he was about, and I loved it. His latest production is a flick called Red State, and it looks like nothing he's ever done before. But even more than the film itself, Smith is also trying something new with the distribution model. Below is a fantastic speech he gave after the premier of Red State this past Sunday at the Sudance Film Festival.



If you don't watch the whole above video, I understand. The salient points are that he's not even engaging in the usual marketing and distribution of the studio system. He has taken it upon himself, and is doing a cross country tour of the film, and following each screening with a Q&A with him, and star of the film Michael Parks. Many people criticized Nine Inch Nails, as well as Radiohead, when they self released their latest albums, saying that they were only able to be successful because of the audience they had already built. I don't disagree with those critics, and I don't disagree that Kevin Smith has built quite a following, but I think what Reznor, Radiohead, and Smith are doing is important because they lend an air of legitimacy to independent media distribution, which makes it that much easier for the rest of us still working towards a career.

If you don't love Kevin Smith, or don't like the look of Red State, I seriously encourage you to find other ways to support independent artists in any way you can. One of my friends introduced me to a singer songwriter named Ani DiFranco, and here's a lady who has never touched any studio system. Or Zoe Keating, who's an all indie avant garde cellist, or any number of other people. Blood, sweat, tears, and the support of those who love it should be the foundation of any art that is to be shared, and that's exactly what these folks are doing. It's kinda beautiful.

Here's the trailer for Red State


And here's a link to the Red State USA Tour: http://coopersdell.com/

Looking Forward - "Rango"

So many CG flicks just seems to blur together into one long piece about about a talking animal/object on some quest for something or other. Gore Verbinsky's Rango didn't look any different. I should say that it didn't look any different until I saw this short "making of" featurette. After seeing this, I am genuinely interested in seeing Rango if for no other reason than to spite the Shrek style of animated filmmaking where the actors never even meet each other during production.

Brief Thoughts on Regret

This whole "I've got no regrets" line is such crap. When did it become such a bad thing to have regrets? There are many moments in my life that I regret. Yes, I learned valuable things from those moments/actions I know regret, but I wish that valuable life lesson could have come at a lower emotional cost. I do not think it is healthy to spend anything more than a few brief moments here and there ruminating on things you regret, but I also don't think people need to beat themselves of trying to convince the world that if they could do it again, they'd do everything exactly the same. In fact, if you were given the chance to do everything over again, and did everything as you did it before, I would say that you didn't actually learn anything from those moments that you claim not to regret because of the invaluable life lesson you gleaned. It's okay to regret, as long as you understand that regret is only past tense.

Nerd Porn

I saw this picture on /Film. My first thought: "That's hot!"

Adventures w/ Another White Male

The trailer for the film Mars Needs Moms was just released (which I linked below). I was immediately struck by the fact that this is another story from Robert Zemeckis, done with MoCap (motion capture), about the adventures of a white male. Robert Zemeckis, and his team at ImageMovers Digital also created The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol. While Zemeckis is not the director of Mars Needs Moms, he is the producer, and I'm sure he had some creative input. My question for Mr. Zemeckis is: Aren't you tired of making stories about white males? Speaking of which, aren't all animation directors tired of it? Generally, if it's not about a talking animal, it's a about a white male, usually a child. I can think of Monsters vs Aliens, which featured a young white woman. I suppose Up had a non-descript Asian boy, but he played kind of a dope in the movie. I suppose I haven't completely finished formulating my opinion, but when diversity in a genre means having a white guy voice a panda, there's a problem.

Mars Needs Moms

Shot of the Day - 08/24/10

Taken at a lighthouse in Marquette, Michigan. At first my focus was the light, but then the stairs had this great sheen from the rain. It's got a spooky factor, but at the same time some warmth. Really happy with how this came out.

Kevin Smith Says...

I'm a follower of Kevin Smith on twitter, and he's had some absolutely wonderful tweets today about the challenges of filmmaking. They were very motivating for me, so I thought I'd share a couple.

"I was desperate to see films in which I could recognize MYSELF (aside from the Jabba scenes in RETURN OF THE JEDI). None existed. Lament or fill a perceived hole? Commentate or create? Easy choice: it's always more fun & fulfilling to play God than Man."

"Fuck "Why?!?" Go for "Why not?" Life's SO much easier in the WhyNot World. And don't gimme "You got money!" That money CAME FROM "Why not?""

"Via @andyblyth "what if some one isn't as lucky & fails?" You're talking to the guy who made MALLRATS, JERSEY GIRL & COP OUT. #JustDoItAgain"