Jason Bailey looks at the curious case of Kevin Smith, who managed to get his new, supposedly great film Red State sent straight to DVD through sheer force of ego:
The Red State affair has been sunk by Smith’s attitude, whether conscious or not, that the production is less about the film than it is about him — so at every turn, he has done what is best not for the picture, but for his ego and his wallet. And that is why he made enemies of the critical community mere months before releasing a small film with no ad budget that could have benefited from positive reviews, and that is why he deliberately faked out independent distributors who could have given the film proper marketing and circulation and instead chose to embrace his inner huckster.
The Dish 