It’s taken a long time for Kevin Smith to get the film Red State to the point where it’s actually going to be shot. He wrote the script in 2007, but couldn’t find anyone who wanted to fund it. The reason is because it’s believed to be a bit of a blistering political attack, and Smith has described the film as “so bleak that it makes The Dark Knight look like Strawberry Shortcake”.
However a couple of months ago Smith announced that he’d finally been able to draw the cash together to make the film. Now, just to confirm things are still on schedule for a shoot later this year, during his talk at Comic-Con he revealed the first casting news, saying that Michael Parks will be in the movie. Although not a particularly well known name, during a 50 year career, Parks has appeared in the likes of From Dusk Til Dawn, The Player, Kill Bill Vol. 2 and Planet Terror, and is certainly a very good character actor.
However what Smith didn’t say is who Parks will be playing. But then, he hasn’t actually ever said too much about the plot of the film, other than it’s inspired by the patriarch of the infamous, hatemongering Phelps family, Fred Phelps, of the Westboro Baptist Church. They’re well known picketing the funerals of gay people and service personnel (to let everyone know how much God hates them and that the dead person is going to Hell) and almost seem like their own little family cult, so it’s easy to see how Phelps might inspire a villainous character.
More recently Phelps and his odious clan have taken to hating Smith, both because of Red State (even though they don’t really know what it’s about) and what he’s said about them. Indeed, Smith’s presence may have been one of the reasons the Westboro Baptist Church actually went to picket Comic-Con this year. However they perhaps weren’t prepare for the cosplay reaction they got. You can see a video of that below, courtesy of Comics Alliance.