You have to hand it to Kevin Smith–he knows how to get the web’s attention.
The creator of Jay and Silent Bob and Dogma, Smith had already managed to stir up a lot of hype over his new movie, Red State, by stating that he wouldn’t be talking to reporters about the film and later announcing that he would be auctioning the movie off immediately after its premiere at Sundance.
Though seeing as the movie is described by the New York Times as a “comedy-drama-horror mishmash involving an orgy gone wrong and religious fanatics with AK-47s”, Smith probably wouldn’t have needed much hype in the first place.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exm22OReBmA&w=450]
But he threw another curveball after the premiere Sunday night with an announcement that he’d bought the movie himself for a mere $20. Declaring that he was launching a sort of “Indie 2.0” movement, Smith said that he’d distribute the movie himself and wouldn’t spend a single cent on advertising. Instead he plans to use word of mouth, podcasts and Twitter to promote his movie.
(More on TIME.com: See the top 10 Sundance hits)
Whether it’s starting a one-man Twitter crusade against Southwest Airlines when the company wouldn’t allow the filmmaker onto a flight because he couldn’t “comfortably” fit into one seat or baiting the notorious Westboro Baptist Church into Twitter fights, and subsequently protest the film festival, Smith definitely knows how to use the Internet to garner attention.
So there shouldn’t be any doubt that–even without traditional advertising–Smith is more than capable of making Red State a sensation all on his own. (via NYTimes.com)