Poor Kevin Smith. Hollywood has not been kind to the man behind the View Askiewniverse since Zack and Miri Make a Porno didn’t make enough money. His most recent movie, Red State, was poorly received at Sundance (as well as during its fall release) and featured Smith throwing something of a public fit and distributing it himself. Now his next movie, Hit Somebody, which was originally supposed to be a two-parter, will instead be one big film. The director says it will be his last.
Hit Somebody, which is set to star Nicholas Braun, Kyle Gallner and Michael Angarano (the trio from Red State), tells the story of an aspiring hockey player’s rise from a nobody to a somebody. It was originally meant to come in two parts: Hit Somebody: Home and Hit Somebody: Away, but no more. Smith broke the news earlier today on his Twitter account, saying he was “Writing script two, but now gonna make one big movie instead. Makes more sense, anyway: the movie’s about taking one, good shot.” My guess is it would be too difficult to fund two features — especially if part one flopped — and Smith didn’t want to take the chance of not finishing what he claims will be his final movie.
If it does turn out to be the director’s last bow, we can probably expect cameos from Smith regulars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, and more. Still, that would be a shame, since many (including myself) love the View Askewniverse movies like Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks. Zack and Miri may have been a disappointment, but I considered Red State flawless after one viewing and would love to see Smith explore horror further.
Smith hopes to start shooting Hit Somebody in June in order to make a Sundance 2013 premiere. As for the length of this “one big movie,” Smith said on Twitter that it will be “150 minutes Max, w/ credits. I’m more of an editor than director…”
Will Smith actually call it quits? How will you feel if he does?