"Silent Bob" to Appear on Campus
EDITOR'S NOTE: As of March 22, 2011, the venue for the film Red State has changed; it will no longer be screened on the Tulane uptown campus. The new location for the screening is the Elmwood Palace 20 at 1200 Elmwood Park Blvd. in Harahan, La. See the revised listing in the Tulane online calendar.
Filmmaker Kevin Smith is bringing his 10th film, Red State, to McAlister Auditorium on the Tulane uptown campus for a special sneak preview screening on March 26 at 8 p.m. The film will be followed by Q&A with Smith, says Elyse Seiden, a Tulane alumna who is an executive producer of the film.
Filmmaker Kevin Smith will hold a Q&A after showing his latest film, Red State, on the Tulane campus.
Seiden says, “My story ... is in the brevity of my bio and how I went from working for the Sundance box office in 2010 to premiering Red State as an executive producer in 2011.” A 1995 Newcomb College grad, she will be present at the Tulane screening.
The film was ballyhooed when it premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival because of Smith's surprise announcement that he would be distributing it himself.
Known for his comedic films such as Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Zack and Miri, and for his recurring role playing “Silent Bob,” Smith makes his first foray into the world of horror with Red State. The film features Melissa Leo, who won an Academy Award this year for her role in The Fighter; Michael Parks (Kill Bill); and New Orleans resident John Goodman.
Red State unfolds in a small town dominated by a fundamentalist preacher, Abin Cooper. It tells the story of three high school boys who, on their way to an Internet-arranged meeting with a woman, end up crossing paths with Cooper.
Seiden is offering a discount to Tulane students, staff and alumni. To get tickets at 50 percent off, go to the film's website, click on the New Orleans show, and enter the promotion code “redstate.”
According to the press packet for the film, “We believe the state of film marketing has become ridiculously expensive and exclusionary to the average filmmaker longing simply to tell their story.” The filmmaker is “not spending a dime on old-world media buys,” choosing instead to use a word-of-mouth campaign.
