Kevin Smith Refuses to Do Red State Press, and 7 Other Stories You'll Be Talking About Today

Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: The legal team for Michael Jackson's doctor may consider a suicide defense... Viral videos are good for your brain... a Thor cameo gets spoiled... Is The King's Speech the same movie as The Karate Kid?...And more...

·Kevin Smith is taking his long-standing grudge against modern journalism one step further. He has announced that besides a few business interviews, he will not be doing press junkets for his upcoming horror film Red State, and will instead tell everybody more than they could ever hope to know on his podcast. Said Smith: "We're even transcribing them now, for the SUPER lazy writers who've already bitched about having to wade through 12 hours of audio so they can write knowledgeably about a subject. Nobody needs to talk to me anymore anyway, as anyone who's curious can always know what I'm thinking 24/7 right here on Twitter." Noted! [Vulture]

· Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney David Walgren, a prosecutor in the involuntary manslaughter case against Michael Jackson's doctor, says that the defense may claim that Jackson committed suicide. Defense attorney J. Micheal Flanagan says no comment, or more precisely: "I'm not going to respond to that characterization. But apparently it is a consideration of Mr. Walgren." You be the judge. Or just be patient. [Reuters]

· A new study says that watching viral videos on the Internet actually boosts your mood, thus increasing creativity and problem-solving ability at the workplace. That said, the article does not mention concentration. Hmm. [Time]

· According to an unnamed "individual who has seen an early cut," Jeremy Renner makes a cameo in Thor as Hawkeye, despite earlier reports to the contrary. [The Wrap]

· You know how you saw The King's Speech and thought, "Wow. Wasn't that the exact same movie as The Karate Kid? How come no one is calling it out?" Well, someone finally took it to task. [Vanity Fair]

· In New Mexico,Governor Bill Richardson is going back and forth about whether to issue a pardon to Billy the Kid for his 1881 crime of murdering a sheriff. Apparently, the debate about the pardon stems from a promise that territorial Gov. Lew Wallace made to the Kid back in the day that still hasn't been honored. The deadline for the decision is this Friday. Honestly though, I'm pretty sure Billy the Kid is over it by now. [Time Newsfeed]

· Ah, the end of the year -- time to relive the most astounding reviews from that lovable contrarian Armond White. Transformers 2 > Toy Story 3 and so on. [Vulture]

· Terry Gilliam is gearing up to make a new short film titled The Wholly Family. This one will shoot in Naples and will presumably not be about NASCAR. [Bleeding Cool]