publicity mongering that dovetailed into a do-it-yourself movie release.
For weeks leading up to the fest, “Red State” had been touted as one of
The film centers on a homophobic preacher who uses
his congregation to inflict unspeakable violence on men it considers
sexual sinners. There’s gun violence aplenty, an apparent rapture and
even some anti-fascist preaching (when it comes to America, it will
either be wrapped in a flag or on the cross, the film says).
Church members announced plans to travel to
to protest at the “Red State” premiere. To which the outspoken Smith
(known for films including “Clerks,” “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma”) swiftly
responded with an entreaty to his fanboy legions to organize a
counter-protest.
The two tribes massed outside
Eccles Theatre twice on Sunday, facing off with pickets, chanting
slogans and singing songs in a strange display in which hate speech was
met with absurdist humor.
From
Baptist Church members holding signs with such slogans as “God hates
America” rallied near the theater while a group of about 100 mostly
high school-aged kids — who had organized themselves via Facebook and
Twitter — stood jeering just a few feet opposite them with posterboards
saying “Shut up and dance” and “God hates signs.”
The Westboro protesters and a smaller group of about
60 counter-protesters returned in the evening, witnessed this time by a
gaggle of video crews, photographers and reporters and hemmed in by a
contingent of police.
Asked what motivated her to picket a film she had not seen and admittedly knew little about, Westboro Baptist’s
“This is just a beautiful preaching opportunity,” Phelps-Roper said. “
On the other side of the divide,
“We think they are spewing nonsense,” Palomaki said. “So we’re spewing nonsense right back at them.”
When Smith walked up at
the event escalated into a full-on media circus. Girls screamed out
offers of sex. Cars honked. Cameramen converged as police jostled
journalists. Flashbulbs popped; everyone, it seemed, was shouting.
A guest walking past the Westboro Baptist protesters
was overheard to remark: “They’re only making the movie more popular.
What idiots!”
Smith had announced before the festival that he
would auction off the theatrical distribution rights to “Red State” in
the theater’s lobby like an antique desk being hawked at
The film begins with the abduction of three young
boys, who are to be sacrificed for their libidinous transgressions.
Parks’ preacher character is clearly shaped in the mold of Westboro
Baptist founder
Ultimately, “Red State” played to a good but not
great reception. A reviewer for Cinematical noted “all the politics,
preaching and gotta-slide-them-in-there sex jokes sort of overwhelm the
movie to the point that it feels scattered.”
The Hollywood Reporter, meanwhile, appreciated “Smith’s irrepressible irreverence” and “freewheeling subversion.”
Soon after the movie ended, Smith said he had ditched the idea of a true public auction, sold the film to himself for
and announced that he would release it. On Monday, the filmmaker said
that tickets would go on sale Friday for when “Red State” goes on
“tour” in March, screening in such cities as
“The fans are the ones who got us to make this film,
and they’re going to be the ones who help us get it seen,” he said
after the screening.
“Red State” might have been a difficult sale for any distributor.
whose Miramax Films distributed “Clerks” and several other Smith
movies, waited for Smith in the Eccles lobby, to see if the auction
would happen. When Smith announced his self-distribution news inside
the theater, Weinstein and a few other buyers left the Eccles, and
piled into their SUVs to go see other movies. By that time, the
protesters were long gone.
———
(c) 2011, Los Angeles Times.
Visit the Los Angeles Times on the Internet at http://www.latimes.com/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
