Following the official first screening of his latest film, Red State, writer/director Kevin Smith surprised the Sundance audience by revealing that he’s not using the festival to look for a distributor for the film after all. Instead, Smith has plans to self-distribute as a traveling roadshow.

Beginning March 5th at Radio City Music Hall, Smith will tour the film across North America before releasing Red State through his Smodcast Pictures on October 19th (the 17th anniversary of the release of Clerks.)

What’s more, Smith has announced that his upcoming production, Hit Somebody, based on the ballad by Warren Zevon, will be his last project as a director. He will put the film together with the same crew as Red State and, from there, expand Smodcast Pictures with a dedication to giving aspiring filmmakers a chance to have their projects shown.

Check back with ComingSoon.net for details on the roadshow and a full review of the film.