Kevin Smith is going to have a talk show?

So it seems, according to Vulture:

Filmmaker Kevin Smith has never had an issue speaking his mind (just ask the folks at Southwest Airlines). So perhaps this news isn't so surprising: Vulture has learned that the director ofClerks and the upcoming Red State is developing a daily, half-hour, syndicated talk show that would blend celebrity chat and comedy. Work has already begun on a pilot for the potential talker, with Smith asking his legion of Twitter fans Tuesday to e-mail him if they want to be in the audience. So just what would a Kevin Smith talk show look like? Vulture got its hands on an e-mail the show's booking staff has been sending to potential guests, and it provides a pretty good idea of what's brewing.

According to the message, Smith's reps are telling celebs that the tentatively titled Kevin Smith Project will be "a daily 30-minute entertainment talk show for syndication ... The idea is a Regis and Kelly talk show at the opposite end of the day for the opposite kind of audience — the 12-34 demo. Kevin and his co-host will talk water-cooler topics at the top of the show, followed by a celebrity interview and a comedy segment from the field (a la The Daily Show). Each show will feature one celebrity interview." The message also gives a hint as to which studios might be behind the project: "The show is being positioned to air following TMZ, in the 6-8pm time period on the Fox stations in all the major markets." TMZ hails from Warner Bros. Television's Telepictures unit, so that studio could be a likely home for Smith; the Fox stations also could be behind the show via their sister studio, Twentieth Television. (Vulture is in the process of contacting those studios and we'll update you if we find out more specifics, including the identity of the aforementioned co-host: Will it be Scott Mosier, his partner for his online SModcasts? Or a reunion with Jay?)

Smith has been dropping hints about this career direction. Just last week, he told USA Today that he'd love to be paid to just be himself and talk. But at first blush, Smith does not seem an obvious fit with the usual syndicated talk-show archetypes: He's not aspirational like Oprah, journalistic like Anderson Cooper, or downmarket like Jerry Springer. His fame also isn't nearly as widespread — or mainstream — as past celebrity chatters, from Whoopi Goldberg to Tony Danza. But he does have a core audience of younger, slightly more male fans who might welcome a daily dose of Smith's unconventional, somewhat Howard Stern–esque manner. He's gotten lots of experience in a talklike format via his regular SModcasts and recent Internet radio show. Smith is also friendly with tons of celebs, giving him access to potential guests. The potential problem we see with this show: Smith has a dirty, dirty mouth, and loves to talk very openly about his sex life and fantasies. While stations could air the show in late night, broadcast TV could be a somewhat tougher sell for Smith than, say, a show on Spike or G4. That said, we're pretty sure his show will be a lot more fun than Katie Couric's.

-Joey's Two Cents: Count me in, as you no doubt could guess...thoughts?

Take a gander at the new Trailer for Kevin Smith's Red State!

It's no secret that this is one of my favorite films of the year so far, but here's a much more appropriate trailer for the type of flick that it is (though I still love the original teaser). Behold:

-Joey's Two Cents: I dig it a lot, obviously...thoughts?

Kevin Smith reveals his unique release plans for Red State!

/Film did a better job of collecting the information from his morning radio show than I did, so I'll defer to them:

The innovative, controversial but undeniably successful distribution of Kevin Smith‘s Red State will enter its next phase this Labor Day. On Smith’s morning Smodcast Plus One Per Diem Tuesday, he announced Lionsgate will exclusively handle the video on demand and Blu-ray rights to the film and that audiences can watch it beginning this Labor Day. Then, when the film opens in October, theaters showing the film will follow the screening with a live, digital, interactive Q&A and a live Hollywood Babble-On Smodcast. Read more info after the break.

Smith’s full explanation of the plan is on The Red Statements. He explains why he’s doing this, goes through some of the history and more. Basically, Video on Demand will cost about $10 in September for a few weeks. Then in October, it won’t have a traditional wide release. It’ll play selectively – at whatever theaters agree to Smith’s wild idea – which means screening, satellite digital Q&A then a live podcast that the audience can watch all for about $20.

Here’s Smith with more about the theatrical side (bolding and links are all Smith’s):

Any good business person tries to limit their costs to maximize their profits. If I accompany the film at all public exhibitions, then I can charge what any movie theater would consider a premium, because I’m giving the audience real 3D – me, answering their questions right there in the third dimension – as opposed to that murky bullshit they’re overcharged for this summer. I refuse to buy my opening with millions of dollars when I can accompany the film into the world and return more profits to my investors than fellow Sundance 2011 alumnus Cedar Rapids can return to Searchlight (this is not me slagging on Cedar Rapids – the Fox Searchlight flick that followed us in the Eccles that night at Sundance; like every flick Miguel Arteta directs, Cedar Rapids is worth your time).

Sadly, I’m not Hermione Granger (though my boobs are bigger and I, too, would choose Ron over the troubled Potter kid) and I don’t have a Time Turner, so I can’t be everywhere at once. This means I’m limited in my theatrical release to one city per night… unless we use existing technology to be lotsa places at once.

Like let’s say Red State is showing at your local multiplex. But then right after the movie ends, a live, interactive Q&A with the filmmaker starts, beamed into the theater via satellite. Even if you’re not there in the room, you’re Tweeting questions from your theater and getting responses from the guy on the big screen. And then, after three hours of movie and interactive Q&A? Boom: LIVE PODCAST! That’s four hours of once-in-a-lifetime entertainment for less than $20: a movie, a show, then another show. And y’know how we’ll market it? Via Twitter and my podcasts and in-theater trailers. So it’s not gonna cost us much but time and effort, which makes for lots more profit (the key motivator for all patrons of the business of show).

And here’s what he had to say about the video on demand, which will be handled by Lionsgate:

So starting Labor Day weekend, you can see Red State in your house for like $10. If you gather up ten friends and watch it together, then it’s like a buck a pop. I used to feel like any release that didn’t include TV spots and newspaper ads was somehow a failure, until I remembered that I don’t make the Avatar or Hangover II type of flicks that demand a theatrical experience in the first place. In Red State, I made a hardcore, mid-90’s indie flick: it’s raw, it’s nasty, it’s funny, it’s strange… and it’d be doomed at the box office if it had to run the traditional gauntlet. But once you realize the game is rigged, you can change the game. If you can’t win at rugby, change it into football. Make up your own rules.

As a filmmaker who’s proud of his now-in-profit art, I don’t care how the audience initially sees my flick anymore: if VOD is the easiest way to get my specialized, non-commercial, non-studio flick to them, I’m happy to pipe it directly into their homes and laptops. I’m a grown-up and I accept that I can’t have everything I want in life all at once; sometimes, as my wife has taught me, you’ve gotta settle for the fat guy.

Again, over on The Red Statements Smith expands on both of these points, providing context and explanation as to why they’re doing this, why they can and why he’s proud of it. Plus, he extends the olive branch to major theater chains telling them why they should play Red State. So far this has all worked out and it makes sense to keep pushing the boundaries to see what’s possible. What do you think?

-Joey's Two Cents: He's proven everyone wrong so far, and the quality of the film still remains the same (it's my second favorite flick of 2011 so far), so in Kevin I trust. He knows his audience better than almost any cult filmmaker out there...thoughts?

AMC is developing a reality show with Kevin Smith?

So it seems, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

AMC, the network that has found success with the comic book-based The Walking Dead, is developing a reality project set in the comic book world with Kevin Smith.

Smith, an avid comic fan and writer who continued his big-screen features Jay and Silent Bob and Clerks in comic form, would executive produce the project, which will take place in and revolve around the two guys who run his New Jersey comic book store The Secret Stash, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

A casting call for the project posted on Facebook noted that Smith was not looking for actors, but instead comic book fans -- men and women ages 21-35 -- who live in the tristate area.

AMC announced plans to expand into unscripted programming in November and in April revealed series orders for two docu-series: Inside the DHS, from Dirty Jobs producer Craig Piligian and following Department of Homeland Security employees including Janet Napolitano; and Pitch, from Undercover Boss duo Eli Holzman & Stephen Lambert and revolving around ad agencies pitching clients and prepping ad campaigns.

-Joey's Two Cents: Kevin Smith wouldn't actually be on it, the guys who run the shop would be, and from their podcasts I know that they're interesting guys, so this could be something to keep an eye on...thoughts?

Kevin Smith continues to move Red State towards a worldwide theatrical release...

...by acquiring some Canadian distribution for the flick (he always said he'd only be self-releasing the film through SModcast Pictures in the U.S.), according to The Hollywood Reporter:

Phase 4 Films has acquired Canadian rights to Kevin Smith’s Red State, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year.

Written and directed by Smith, Red State, about a group of American teens who receive an online invitation for sex, stars Michael Parks, John Goodman, Melissa Leo and Kyle Gallner.

Phase 4 plans to release the film, produced by Jon Gordon, in the coming months with a marketing and distribution campaign that will include a tour across Canada.

Red State has earned more than $850K in the box office on 15 one-night engagements.

The deal was negotiated by Larry Greenberg, svp of acquisitions for Phase 4, and Cinetic Media’s John Sloss, Sloss Eckhouse LawCo LLP’s Jerry Dasti and D2 Films’ David Dinerstein on behalf of the filmmakers.

-Joey's Two Cents: It's no secret by now I'm a fan of the film, so it's very good to know that a wider group of people will soon be able to see this unique work...thoughts?

Did Kevin Smith already make his budget back with the Red State Roadshow Tour?

It certainly appears as such. In his latest post to The Red Statements (found here), he goes over the numbers (after a passage about how much Quentin Tarantino enjoyed the film) that the movie has made so far, and what it's got coming its way. Here's the relevant data from Kevin Smith himself:

Over the course of the 15 shows of the Red State USA Tour, we made almost one million dollars from ticket and merchandise sales. A few times, we had the highest per screen average in the country. We started out with a record-making show at Radio City Music Hall and went on to average 1100 people per screening. Had we booked ourselves into smaller houses, we could’ve SOLD OUT every show; but being in the larger houses cost us nothing extra.

And apparently, we managed to pull 1100 a night solely from our podcasts: when asked nightly if they heard about the show from a show at SModcast.com, an overwhelming 85/90% of the audience indicated yes (Jon swears it was 100% in Seattle). That bodes well for SIR.

You take what we made on the tour, you add that to the $1.5mil we’ve pulled in from foreign sales thus far (with a few big territories yet to sell). Add to that $3mil we’re on the verge of closing for all North American distribution rights excluding theatrical (which means VOD/HomeVideo/PayTV/Streaming).

The flick cost $5mil to make, but $4mil after the California tax incentive. One of the only things Jon and I promised the Red State investors in exchange for letting us handle American theatrical distribution ourselves was that their $4mil would be covered as soon as possible – something very few other production entities can promise or even offer. Invest a million dollars in almost any production, and you rarely if ever get your money back within five years, let alone the one year it’s looking like it’s gonna take for our guys to make their money back.

Add up all those figures above and you’ll notice our gains are higher than our spending. And without any dopey marketing figures to have to recoup, once we close the aforementioned deals (which Jonn Sloss & LawCo are working to close as we speak), simple math dictates Red State is in the black – long before any wide release. That’s music to the ears of any investor who only put up their money in September.

Ta-da!

Y’know what else is kinda sweet? Those $3million in deals I was talking about? That only materialized because our little movie went out and performed well. See, any idiot can lie and write hyperbolically (and high scholastically) about a movie’s future and its maker’s sanity all they want at 20,000 feet. But in the real world, when movie and maker put asses in seats and money in the bank – all without spending anything on marketing? I don’t know what the technical business term is for it, but I’m pretty sure it’s not “imploding”.

But like I said: this business bullshit should only be important to the investors, really. Well… maybe it’s an important point of pride for me and Jon, too: being in the black without spending a dime and before we go wide was one of our biggest dreams and goals – the “Imagine if…” we wanted to desperately make true. And once those deals close, we will have whimsied a reality and shown that The Harvey Boys are a financially responsible filmmaking unit that can make quality entertainment that puts asses in seats and gets you your investment back fucking fast. But like I said: none of this bizzzzz-ness should matter to anyone…

Unless you’re interested in investing in a hockey movie.

-Joey's Two Cents: I always said that the idea was a risky but potentially successful one, and it seems to have paid off for Smith. Box Office Mojo currently has the total at $851,832 (pretty much on par with what Smith said), so it looks like everything is coming up Milhouse for Red State...thoughts?