August 4, 2010 13:18

Casting for Kevin Smith's political horror 'Red State' begins

'Mallrats' director wants 'recognisable unknowns'

Red State, the new political horror film from director Kevin Smith, will be cast with "recognisable unknowns", according to reports. After casting veteran character actor Michael Parks, who has appeared in several Quentin Tarantino movies including the Kill Bill films, Smith is now said to be considering Dermot Mulroney for the second lead, reports TheWrap.com.

Mulroney has been a supporting actor in Hollywood for many years, most recently in the Coen brothers' film Burn After Reading.

Smith is also in talks with lesser-known actors including Stephen Root (The Men Who Stare At Goats) and Melissa Leo, who was nominated for an Oscar for her turn in Frozen River.

The plot of Red State is a closely-guarded secret, but Smith has described it as an attack on hateful stereotypes, including Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps.

Although Smith has yet to finish the script, he revealed on Twitter that filming will begin in September, after he returns from hosting a John Hughes retrospective with Breakfast Club alumni Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall.

Smith gained a cult following in the early-'90s with a string of slacker films such as Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy.