I gotta say, for a guy who smokes a ridiculous amount of weed, Kevin Smith is no lazy stoner. In addition to his own podcast network, in which he himself hosts a good majority of the shows, he has managed to not only shoot a new movie (Red State) but has also managed to get it ready to premiere at Sundance in a short amount of time (two to three months I believe). And now, as he continues to pimp his upcoming Park City premiere (and subsequent bidding war for its theatrical rights), Smith himself has leaked information on his next movie: the hockey drama Hit Somebody.
On his Red State of the Union podcast, Smith announced that Kyle Gallner, who recently wrapped a part in Red State, will be joining the cast as a character Smith is molding after the early years of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky [/Film]. This character encompasses everything that the main character Buddy McKracken (played by Nicholas Braun, another Red State star) wishes he could accomplish with his hockey career, and when Gallner’s character shows up, reportedly about 3/4’s of the way into the flick, it marks a turning point for McKracken.
As an avid fan of the SModcast Network, I’ve heard Smith express his love for both hockey and the Gretzky story so the idea of creating a character based around the greatest hockey player of all-time isn’t really a shocker. What I’m more surprised is Smith’s reliance on his Red State stars for the first couple of roles; I guess that movie really was the cathartic experience he sorely needed after Cop Out backlash nearly destroyed him mentally. The way he’s casting, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gallner and Braun show up in the inevitable Clerks 3.
There is no release date or filming date planned for Hit Somebody, but with the way Smith has been attacking projects left and right, I’d expect it far sooner than later.
What do you think of the casting of Gallner in Hit Somebody, or do you want to wait to see Red State before you get excited/care about another Kevin Smith project?