The legendary Michael Parks, best known these days for his recurring role as Sheriff Earl McGraw in numerous Quentin Tarantino flicks (like “From Dusk till Dawn” and “Kill Bill”), is the first cast member to be announced for Kevin Smith’s long-awaited “Red State”.

The film, which Smith wrote about five years ago and has been door knocking for the finance for it ever since, will loosely tell of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps, played by Parks. A group of misfits encounter the church – and therefore excessive fundamentalism. Smith describes the movie as a “horror” movie.

Smith announced Parks casting at his annual Saturday night comic con Q&A.