In what may well be the most horrifyingly gauche appeal for money since the Sally Struthers parade float appeared on all those television commercials asking for money to feed African babies (oh…wait…that was the REAL Sally Struthers), Kevin Smith has launched into a personal appeal to get his movie Red State made.

Apparently Smith–despite the fact that he’s got several movies to his credit–can’t get money to make his horror flick Red State. And this despite the fact that, months ago, he’d actually had it greenlit which apparently fell through. Thus, he’s launched this:

“We’re kind of creating this website. We’re seeing if it works to set up and collect donations. It becomes a weird tax nightmare, though…It sounded like such an easy thing online…but now there’s lots of checks and balances to make sure we can do it, but if that’s the case, I would be into it, and I’ll match it. Whatever you raise on line, like fuck it, you put it up, I’ll put it up.”

Yeah.  KEVIN SMITH WANTS YOUR MONEY.

He wants you to hand him money so he can make a movie, and then if it actually makes any money, you know…keep it.  And this is releasing some nifty backlash–some point out, not incorrectly, that Kevin Smith has a career that we, the viewers, gave him by buying tickets to his movies, and now he wants us to pre-buy a ticket so he can make a movie which he will then sell tickets to?

Now, it’d be one thing if the “investors” got something.  A cut of the gate.  A free pass to the movie–I’d be willing to buy a ticket up front so he can make the movie, but I’m sure as hell not going to PAY to see a movie I paid to help make!

Needs a little work, Kevin–right now it just looks pathetic.