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Most of Kevin Smith's 'Red State' Cast Returning for 'Hit Somebody'

by Ethan Anderton
January 23, 2011

We're still at the Sundance Film Festival, and tonight both Alex Billington and myself will be attending the premiere and supposed auction of the much buzzed about film Red State. While speculation has been that the film was already picked up, director Kevin Smith has assured naysayers via Twitter that there might still be a live auction (not the case) to sell the rights to the film right after the premiere. But along with all his Red State rambling, Smith just revealed a majority of the cast from his flick will also be returning for Hit Somebody. Can Smith really snag talents like Melissa Leo and John Goodman again? More below!

To recap, Hit Somebody, which is Kevin Smith's first foray into a sports flick, is based on the Warren Zevon song and tells the story of a hockey kid names Buddy McKraken who wants more than anything to be in the NHL, but is only good at one thing: beating people up on the ice. We just found out Nicholas Braun (who stars in Red State) had landed the lead role of Buddy. To announce the news of more cast members, Kevin Smith took to Twitter with a screenshot from the end credits for Red State, and much like his previous films, it's in reference to his next project. You can see the screenshot right here, but it simply says, "Almost the entire cast will return in Hit Somebody. Coming over the boards in 2012."

But with heavy hitters like John Goodman and Melissa Leo, does "almost the entire cast" include them? Well, keeping up with his excessive Twitter updates Smith responded to questions about specific cast members. When asked about if Melissa Leo would join the hockey flick, Smith said, "If she's not too tired from double-fisting awards all year, GOD YES!" As for Goodman, it sounds like his casting isn't certain yet, but Smith revealed, "If he'll have me again. He'd be playing Blue Jay Jennings - Buddy's first coach." And finally Michael Parks seems like he's already signed on for the movie with Smith saying, "He'll be playing the French Canadian coach of Buddy's first pro team.

So Smith is already moving swiftly on his next project, and hopefully tonight's premiere of Red State will see the resurgence of the indie filmmaker Kevin Smith who won over Sundance way back in 1994 with Clerks. We'll find out later, so stay tuned for our take on Kevin Smith's new film and more coverage of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival from now through next weekend. Thoughts?

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