Originally intending to auction off the rights to Red State at its Sundance premiere last year, Mr. Smith turned-tail and decided to self distribute through Smodcast Pictures instead. The film was shown in the “road show” format in select cities before receiving an official release. Smith’s sudden change of heart naturally erupted into accusations of dishonesty from some attending distributors.

One year after the controversy, Smith has once again stepped forward and struck a partnership with Phase 4 Films in what seems to be an abandonment of his rebel ways. On Monday, Smith released an official statement regarding the exclusive distribution in cooperation with Smodcast, the production company founded by Smith himself.

Phase 4 gains U.S. and Canadian rights for the option to distribute up to a maximum of twelve films alongside the newly entitled Kevin Smith and Smodcast Pictures Presents label. Four features will release theatrically and include a film tour similar to that of Red State.

It’s always nice when we see independently financed and released films get their first trailer to entice an audience. There is no “Bay-esque” flash cuts, no mysterious title cards, just some awesome action and intense sequences thrown together with dialogue reminiscent of Clerks and brought to us by @ThatKevinSmith. Yes. That’s how he’s credited.

That’s how to cut a trailer. And that’s exactly what we get in the very first trailer for Smith’s Red State, the film so indie that he’s releasing it to theaters himself. Here’s the premise for the writer/director’s first horror film to date.

Red State begins by following three horny high-school boys who come across an online ad from an older woman looking for a gang bang. Boys being boys, they hit the road to satisfy their libidinal urges. But what begins as a fantasy takes a dark turn as they come face-to-face with a terrifying “holy” force with a fatal agenda.

Instead of relying on archetypes and predictable formulas, Smith meticulously fashions all-too-real characters, utilizing exceptional performances (notably by Michael Parks) and an intelligent script. His realistic style gives the film an intimate feeling, heightening the terror to biblical proportions. Red State is a shocking new kind of horror film that aggressively confronts higher powers and extreme doctrines with a vengeance.

That’s right, you’ve got the man that brought us the line “snoochie boochies” giving us a religious thriller with a pretty stellar cast. Leading that charge is the legendary Michael Parks, along with Kevin Pollak and John Goodman as the two would-be heroes of the tale (at least that’s what we’re hoping).

Take a look at the trailer after the jump and be sure to hit your local arthouse when Red State hits it on October 19th.

Jason Mewes has to be one of the busiest nerds working today. Although he is and will always be best known as Jay of Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob infamous characters, Mewes actually keeps himself very busy with a surprising number of projects he is currently involved with.

From filming the second season of a Canadian TV show to recording two live podcasts a week, all the while preparing for a jam packed Comic Con weekend, it just shows how much dedication Mewes has to find time to schedule an exclusive interview with The Flickcast.

Just to give you an idea of his crazy schedule, when I called he was currently on set of Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, a comedy/horror series in which he plays Jimmy the Janitor, and had just finished recording an episode of Jay and Silent Bob Get Old, his weekly podcast he does with Kevin Smith, for which he had a mobile studio set up in a closet on set so that he never has to miss an episode.

Kevin Smith can’t seem to get a break. Sure, things were great back when Clerks blew up and his deal with Mirimax helped him form a career. But between his issues with Dogma and the church, getting an audience for Clerks 2, the problems with getting Zack and Miri Make A Porno and the trouble with Cop Out,  the guy can’t seem to get a break lately in Hollywood.

Yesterday, Smith brought his newest project, the horror film Red State, to Sundance and had planned on a public auction for the film’s distribution immediately after the screening. He later decided that he was going to distribute the film itself to prove that the indie film world still held strong.

So, for a whopping $20, Smith bought the film from himself, and is now planning on taking the flick on the road with a very grassroots plan to get awareness and make back the film’s $4 million budget. From THR:

The film will go out via Smith’s SModcast with no marketing spend, though he said that he will talk to “any smart exhibitor” about potentially showing the movie.

“We are going to make our money back by going out on the road and going city by city,” said Smith. The tour will begin March 5 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and make a stop at Midland Theater in Kansas City one week later.

For the longest time, not much was known about Kevin Smith’s newest written film since 2008’s Zack and Miri Make A Porno, which is also the writer/director’s first horror film, titled Red State.

The cast was revealed a few months ago, with a pretty interesting bunch of names like John Goodman, Kevin Pollak, Stephen Root, and Michael Parks. And then we got this synopsis.

Red State begins by following three horny high school boys who come across an online ad from an older woman looking for a gang bang. Boys being boys, they hit the road to satisfy their libidinal urges. But what begins as a fantasy takes a dark turn as they come face-to-face with a terrifying “holy” force with a fatal agenda.

So you’re probably asking yourself what a writer director like Kevin Smith has to do with horror, but this film has allegedly been in his nerdy vault of a brain since the early days of View Askew.

Going along his grassroots style that made him famous 16 years ago, Smith released the very first teaser for Red State on his site, the Smodcast. Check it out after the jump, and catch the flick in theaters early next year.

Kevin Smith (director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma) and Ralph Garman (The Joe Schmo Show, Family Guy and KROQ’s entertainment reporter for the Kevin and Bean radio show) have teamed up for a new podcast dubbed the ‘Hollywood Babble-On’ and appearing on Smith’s SModcast Podcast Network. The podcast, recorded live at Smith’s new venue, ‘SmodCastle’ on Santa Monica Blvd in L.A., is positioned as a tongue-in-cheek review of the week’s entertainment news by two veteran Hollywood insiders.

The new show marks the fifth in Smith’s growing podcast network, which currently includes the original SmodCast, wherein Smith and his long-time friend and sometimes producer Scott Mosier, shoot the shit about whatever topics they find amusing that week. Also, Malcolm Ingram’s Blow Hard, whose show only serves to fuel Smith’s frequent gay jokes.

Board the way-back machine for Jay and Silent Bob Get Old, an excuse for old pals Jason Mewes and Smith to wax nostalgic about the good ol’ days. Rounding out the selection is the popular Tell ‘Em Steve-Dave, which features Walt Flanagan, Smith’s long-time friend and artist for the Batman ‘Widening Gyre’ series. The show also features long-time Jersey friend and fellow writer-director, Bryan Johnson.

In their first episode of the podcast, Smith and Garman discuss Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag and their possible tell-all book/sex tape depending on who you talk to, Keeping up with the Kardashians and how they both feel stupider for having watched one episode, Kevin’s 40th birthday and how he’s old and about to die at any moment and Smith’s voyeuristic hotel adventures. Also discussed was Lawrence Fishburn’s daughter and the porn industry, Stallone debuting 5 number one movies in 5 different decades with the recent The Expendables and him being the only actor to do so. The topics vary wildly and frequently veer into NSFW dialogue that Ralph and Kevin seem to draw upon at will.

According to Smith’s Twitter feed, Hollywood Babble-On will be a weekly event, with new episodes going live every Saturday. Tune in at www.SmodCast.com for more details and streaming shows.