WBC Protest to Be Picketed

The team behind Red State, a Kevin Smith film inspired by Fred Phelps, the antigay leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, announced that it would picket the church’s protest at the Sundance Film Festival this Sunday.

Red State,
which stars John Goodman and focuses on fundamentalism run amok in Middle America, will debut this weekend at the Eccles Theater in Park City, Utah, where Westboro has announced it plans to protest the “movie dedicated to mocking the servants of God for preaching His word in season and out of season.”

In response, the Red State production company, known as the Harvey Boys in honor of Miramax cofounder Harvey Weinstein, said it would peacefully counterprotest Westboro for “30 minutes of fun-filled photo opportunities.”

The protest and counterprotest begin at 6 p.m. Sunday.