ROTTEN TOMATOES: Weinsteins Pass On Kevin Smith Horror Flick

Weinsteins Pass On Kevin Smith Horror Flick

Red State looking for a studio home.

by Jeff Giles | October 08, 2007

If and when Kevin Smith's much-discussed horror project, Red State, reaches theaters, it will happen without the involvement of The Weinstein Company.

In his most recent MySpace blog update, Smith shared the information that his longtime filmmaking patrons have taken a pass on Red State. The news is tucked in between a whole bunch of road updates from Smith's current book tour, so we've helpfully excerpted the relevant bits below:

When we land in La Guardia, I get phone call from Weinstein Company exec Michael Cole who tells me about a meeting he and Harvey took with our potential Zack's agent. He also drops the bomb, which doesn't really explode so much as lay there, as Scott and I were pretty much expecting it...

Harvey and Bob are passing on "Red State."

It's the first time Harvey and Bob have passed on anything I've wanted to do, but if they were gonna pass on anything, this'd be the one to do it on. The only explanation Michael gives me is "Harvey thought it was more of a Bob flick and then Bob didn't get it. They'd rather just concentrate on 'Zack and Miri' at the moment, which we're all pumped about."

Naturally, this makes me wanna make "Red State" even more than I did just prior to that phone call. I get excited thinking about having to raise financing for our hot potato of a flick. This represents a turning point of sorts for Scott and I, inasmuch as everything (with the exception of "Mallrats") has been made with the Weinsteins. It might be nice to see if we can get something done without them. Whether it'll be nice or not, however, it's what's in the cards, as they don't feel the flick is very commercial. And, in truth, on the surface, it may not be -- unless we get the buzz I think we'll get off the festival circuit. Regardless, it's not something we'll have to think about 'til after we're done with "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."

Given the Weinsteins' long history with Smith, the news is at least mildly surprising -- but given TWC's recent box office difficulties, it stands to reason that they're looking for the most overtly commercial projects they can find. For more of Kevin Smith's thoughts from the road, click below!

Source: Kevin Smith

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(1-20 of 29 posts) | Reply

the-russian writes:
on Oct 08 2007 07:56 AM

blah blah... Kevin Smith is so full of himself... blah blah... his movies suck... blah blah...

That's what you were all gonna say, right?

(Reply to this)

jmesko80 writes:
on Oct 08 2007 07:58 AM

Not as much of a suprise as some might believe. I don't think this will strain the relaionship between all parties at all, but Kevin is taking a risk with RS and TWC needs a sure thing right now which I am pretty sure Zack and Miri will be!

(Reply to this)

unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Oct 08 2007 08:49 AM

Kevin Smith's the man, hopefully Lion's Gate sweeps it up, their smart.

(Reply to this)

Bruce Campbell writes:
on Oct 08 2007 09:02 AM

First they split up Grindhouse... Then they pick up Diray of the Dead... Then Scary Movie 5... And then they picked up Inglorious Bastards....

It's all just so... Random. They do something bad, then good, then bad, then good... There's no pattern.

(Reply to this)

nogard46 writes:
on Oct 08 2007 09:15 AM

they can say no to probably one of the biggest names in indie films but greenlit that Piece of crap QT movie death proof? they lost all credibility!

(Reply to this)

Bruce Campbell writes:
on Oct 08 2007 09:48 AM

They made Death Proof?

Wow. They're awesome.

(Reply to this)

PlanBFromOuterSpace writes:
on Oct 08 2007 09:51 AM

Nothing with Kevin Smith is a sure thing though. His films just aren't hits. They're profitable, yes, but none of them have had the kind of success that the Weinsteins need right now. In the public's eye, a movie that makes 20 million is just a movie that makes 20 million, regardless of what it cost, unless it's one of those out-of-nowhere things that has a microbudget that somehow is able get itself into the mainstream. Kevin SMith has been around way too long to have that kind of luck, and nothing he's done has really been all that different from anything he'd done before (besides of course toning it down a bit for Jersey Girl) to where it'd be drawing in a new audience. Those of us that might say "Sure, it only made 20 million, but it only COST 8 million" are the people that were going to see the movie anyway, so we don't really affect things all that much.

Maybe he'll have better luck with Red State at Lionsgate or Sony's Screen Gems, some place that has a better grasp on how to market the genre stuff. The Weinsteins have been missing with everything lately, even with once surefire names like Tarantino, so I can see why they'd pass on Smith when even their A-listers are suffering.

As far as Grindhouse goes, I don't feel bad about it not making money, as I really didn't like it all that much. While I found PLanet Terror to be pretty enjoyable, I'm not sure it really would have worked as much on it's own without the gimmick, and I don't care what anyone says about Deathproof or what they're reasoning is, but I found it to be just incredibly boring when there wasn't any action. Tarantino's stuff is usually pretty enjoyable because of the dialogue, but in this case, it was just irritating and didn't serve much purpose. We didn't need an hour of Quentin's idea of girltalk when it had nothing to do with anything going on. Sure, there are a lot of off-the-wall discussions in Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, but in those movies, people were actually doing something, like they were on their way to or planning a job or they were making light of awkward situations they were in.

Also, didn't Death Proof seem to be a little too well-made? It's as though QT sort of half-betrayed his vision. They were talking about everything looking all rough and down and dirty, but instead you have that first crash being seen in slo-mo in close detail from multiple angles 4 or 5 different times, not to mention the well-shot finale, which hardly says "crappy low budget exploitation flick". Then, you also had endless scenes of dialogue where there were no cuts or edits, like the diner scene with girls talking about nothing. The movies they were trying to emulate were known for lots of unnecessary talking, yes, but they were also known for non-actors that probably couldn't string more than two lines together without forgetting what they were supposed to say with a lot of shoddy editing in between.

(Reply to this)

sickofitall writes:
on Oct 08 2007 10:42 AM

In reply to this comment (#1176503)
you suck

(Reply to this)

sickofitall writes:
on Oct 08 2007 10:42 AM

In reply to this comment (#1176620)
you suck

(Reply to this)

nogard46 writes:
on Oct 08 2007 10:49 AM

In reply to this comment (#1176667)
I agree with you 100% it annoys me so much how QT is so stuck on himself now he wouldn't allow his baby deathproof to be dirtied up and mess up like Rodriquez did with planet terror. Qt is just so full of himself now so self indulgent I guess it was beneath him to stay in the spirit of the grindhouse genere, what a sell out! Planet Terror was fun you knew it wasn't meant to be serious and when the colors faded out or there was a missing reel you can't help but laugh and be nostaligic about a by gone era of film. Death proof had none of that, it was just down right boring!

Funny I was at Blockbuster last night the video clerk siad the same thing, he was also shocked how boring Death proof was. Qt when you can't even entertain your video nerd roots, your fanboy fanbase what do you have left?

(Reply to this)

hookemjoe writes:
on Oct 08 2007 10:55 AM

In reply to this comment (#1176503)
Actually, I'm kind of curious to see a Kevin Smith horror film. I mean, talk about a stretch.

(Reply to this)

BrianInSD writes:
on Oct 08 2007 11:02 AM

In reply to this comment (#1176608)
But bad, good, bad, good IS a pattern. Every other decision is stupid.

(Reply to this)

Bruce Campbell writes:
on Oct 08 2007 12:01 PM

In reply to this comment (#1176769)
Yes, but the it's not in order though.

That being said, their next project better be Evil Dead IV.

(Reply to this)

evilkyle writes:
on Oct 08 2007 02:37 PM

maybe it has something to due with the subject matter

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Ruckas356 writes:
on Oct 08 2007 04:20 PM

wow who cares! he should just make another jay and silent bob movie.

(Reply to this)

jmo2ski writes:
on Oct 08 2007 04:21 PM

Has everyone forgotten that grindhouse has flopped big time at the box-office, which was in some way a horror movie. And lets not mention that Kevin Smith is known for making box-office failures, well in some cases, but not too many people are interested in his movies.

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eastern2western writes:
on Oct 08 2007 06:39 PM

Kevin smith has never been a commercial film maker and the weinsteins are still waiting their first mega hit after they departed from miramax.

(Reply to this)

Sarge77 writes:
on Oct 08 2007 06:49 PM

In reply to this comment (#1176593)
Kevin Smith is a moron who makes films only morons like. Unreal. His movies fail time and time again yet hippies seem to love his stuff.

(Reply to this)

NOMMEL writes:
on Oct 08 2007 07:19 PM

kevin smith makes movies that are entertaining. that is the purpose of movie making. everyone shouldn't be so uptight about these things. oh, and i like his movies and hate hippies.

(Reply to this)

PlanBFromOuterSpace writes:
on Oct 08 2007 08:25 PM

Kevin SMith is sort of afraid to move outside his comfort zone, which he's mentioned in interviews, so at least he's honest about it. The problem is, like I said, his fanbase hasn't really grown any, at least in terms of people that will pay to go see his movies. His built-in fan base isn't very big, and the box office take reflects that. He needs to try something different, such as this horror movie, or maybe directing something that someone else has written, or vice versa, let someone else direct something HE'S written. What he's been doing hasn't been very successful as of late, so it wouldn't hurt to branch out. He HAS been doing some TV stuff though, which is cool, and again, he pointed out himself that even the lowest rated network TV show has an audience bigger than any of his films, so even if he's still learning and making mistakes, he's getting more exposure more often. Worst thing that could happen if he takes a run at something different is that he might alienate some of the people that WANTED to see him make the same movie for the 5th or 6th time, which is an acceptable trade-off for a little more mainstream success.

(Reply to this)

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