06.09.99 - BEWARE THE EVILS OF DOGMA! YEAH RIGHT...

06.07.99 - NEWSDAY DEFENDS DOGMA...

06.07.99 - EBERT ON DOGMA...

06.04.99 - MR. SHOWBIZ ON DISTRIBUTION STATUS...

DOGMA DOINGS: The reaction to the showing of Kevin Smith's Dogma at the Cannes Film Festival has been mezzo-mezzo. Janet Maslin of The New York Times had some approving things to say, among them that the film wasn't the anti-Catholic rant some were expecting. Todd McCarthy of Variety called it "an extraordinarily uneven film that significant cutting might be able to transform into a playable one." Hence, a slight cooling of the heat the film has been enjoying over the past several weeks. But bidders are said to be talking to Miramax's Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who bought the film from Disney for a reported $14 million to avoid a censorship hassle over its purported offensiveness to devout Catholics. Word is that Artisan, Lions Gate, and MGM are interested. Kevin Smith has said on his View Askew Web site that he would be content if the Weinsteins hung onto Dogma and released it themselves

06.03.99 - UK DOGMA PRESS...

The report was labelled "HEAVENLY BODIES: Angel Delight"

Over short clip of Ben and Matt at the Airport:

Reporter: The Sizz has got this exclusive glimpse of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in their first collaboration since "Good Will Hunting" won them that Golden trophy.

Ben interviewed in Cannes

Ben: Well you know we won the Oscar and then like the next day we were at some drizzly freeway off ramp in Pittsburgh and I thought 'well it fades quickly'.

Over clip of Brad walking off screen at the Airport with the kissing couple (Chris behind does a double take at the kiss), then back to Ben and Matt.

Reporter: The new film is "Dogma" and these heavenly bodies play a couple of angels, but Ben told the Sizz it was hard to have a flutter.

Ben at Cannes (kind of mimes what he describes):

Ben: The funny thing about it is it took about six guys to move the wings, and I'd like do something where I stand up and I'd expect the wings to go with me, but Frank was down there, and the gears, and they wouldn't sort of go.

Clip from "Thank U" video

Reporter: And God is in this too, usually played by and old man with a white beard, but played here by Alanis Morrisette - isn't that ironic, don't you think? But Ben swears she didn't act the big G.

Ben at Cannes:

Ben: You expect these rock star women to be, you know, panicked about their image and all that but she was ready to go for it.

We've also got the full transcript of the Barry Norman UK Film Show, with direct quotes from the gang:

Barry Norman: Some controversy attended Kevin Smiths "Dogma", an irreverant religious comedy which had upset the Roman Catholic Church and thus panicked the Disney organisation which promptly handed over distribution to miramax.

BN: " Now you've come down here with Dogma and there was controversy about it. Now was it Disney that objected to the religious content, or was it the church, or is Disney the church, or what?"

KEVIN SMITH: "Thankfully it was all and nothing. It was a group, a splinter group called the Catholic League which is a self appointed group that goes around, , they're kind of media watchdogs , and they look for the portrayal of the Catholic Church in different media and take umbrence when they feel it's worthy of taking umbrence, When they feel like they are being attacked. They hadn't even seen this movie, they hadn't seen a frame of this movie, they didn't know about it and they started hearing rumblings of it and they decided that it was anti catholic."

SALMA HAYEK: "I think they are professional "Fusser makers" because they see something and it might be worth the possibility that it is worth a fuss, and then they just go for it..."

ALAN RICKMAN: "Well I suppose that as soon as there's anything that brings up the word "religion", the deafening sounds of high horses being climbed upon, you know, being dusted off in the cupboard where they've been since the Last Temptation of Christ or whatever else was the last time that people rampaged......"

KEVIN: "It's irreverent whilst still being very reverent at the same time. There is a very irreverent sense of humour but there is a very reverent message to it. There is a very reverent undertone. There's a lot of adolescent humour in it, but then at the same time, wait 2 minutes and were gonna start busting some theology on you and talking about philosophies regarding ones faith, and so it runs all these different kinda gamut's up and down and takes you on a little journey."

BEN AFFLECK: "Its just a kind of rumination on the strictest tenants of religion, and trying to reconcile those with the strangeness and moral uncertainties and ambiguities of everyday modern life."

A few familiar clips were shown, including Metatron's introduction and the bus scene.

Even Jane Magazine did a bit with Alanis on her Dogma role:

A Lovely Theory about God

Alanis' spiritual evolution had a weird sequence: She believed in God, then lost her faith, then she found God again. And she found God in the wildest of places. She's even playing God, to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's fallen angels, in Kevin Smith's new movie, Dogma.

...

In Light of what we've just been talking about, how was it playing God in Dogma?

Alanis: It was great! I mean, it's hilarious, the thought of me playing God in a movie.

How does on play God?

Alanis: We play ourselves, because God is us. I didn't really need to do any homework or anything. It was an intuitive thing.

06.02.99 - ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT SCANS...

(Salma Hayek, Kevin Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Ben Affleck and Jason Mewes)

(Kevin Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Ben Affleck and Jason Mewes)

(Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in the airport scene from "Dogma")

(Chris' big scene)

(Brad's big scene)

(Salma Hayek in a scene from "Dogma")

(Ben Affleck in a scene from "Dogma")

Anyway, we at least wanted to show ya this as proof that we were indeed in the film, in case this scene suffers any cutting in the final version!

06.01.99 - DOGMA FEVER CONTINUES IN UK, MORE REVIEWS & PRESS...

MTV Europe ALSO aired a Dogma segment featuring Kev, Ben, Salma and Linda:

KEVIN - "At the heart of it all It's a reverant film, you know, it's like it's often at times irreverent but at the end of it all it's a reverent film."

BEN - "The humor of what Kevin has written is legitimate and humorous in the way that is real and accessible."

SALMA - "It's absurd and ridculous and smart and entertaining and funny."

LINDA - "It's a fantasy and you can make it what you want at any given time."

As well as a few NEW clips not before aired, including (SPOILER FREE, UNLESS YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING):

Bethany and Bartleby talking on the train.

Bethany attempting to convince Jay and Silent Bob to join her on her quest.

And Serendipity talking about having a "Zillion ideas"...

05.27.99 - FILM FOUR ACQUIRES DOGMA; AIRS CLIPS IN THE U.K...

The clips were presented in their true ratio of 2.35:1. A description follows of each, which are VERY spoiler filled (considering these were 2 of the best scenes in the film, in our opinion), so skip the red text if you don't want to read what was in the clips:

1) Alan Rickman (Metatron) arrives in Linda Fiorantino's (Bethany's) bedroom. . He was in her room and on fire, she put him out with a fire extinguisher, and then he complains that it's ruined his suit. She then asked if he's gonna rape her, and he says he can't, as angels don't have any genitals...Which he proves.

In relation to this clip, Ben had a comment in an interview he gave: "I had to imagine what life would be like without my genitals and, erm, that was the research I did, I castrated myself, 'cos I'm a method actor, you know how we are in America, and erm, Hence forth I had a whole new perspective on life. And that's really what I brought with me to the role, unfortunately I haven't been able to shake it since. But, er, that's the price of, er, you know being commited to your art."

2) The next clip was Bartelby and Loki on a bus. A man and a woman (the man being Scott Mosier) are kissing in a nearby seat. Loki (Matt Damon) asks Scott if he's married, to which he shows his wedding ring in reply. Matt then asks if it was to the woman he was kissing, Scott replies no. Matt then pulls out a gun and it cuts to outside the bus where we see a flash and hear a bang.

Here's what the BBC website had to say about the film, by the way (BEGIN VERY MINOR SPOILERS):

Out of competition, Kevin Smith's religious satire Dogma turned out to be one of the funniest films screened this year. Linda Fiorentino stars as a women struggling with her faith who finds herself called upon by a celestial Alan Rickman to prevent two fallen angels bringing about an accidental apocalypse. Smith regular Ben Affleck and his buddy Matt Damon play the naughty and similarly sexless winged ones.

Finally, The Movie Show on SBS TV (in Australia) ALSO showed some scenes from the film. Sounds like "Dogma" fever is sweeping the globe!

05.27.99 - INDIEWIRE.COM REPORTS ON CANNES SCREENINGS...

indieWIRE has learned that two distributors are at the head of the pack in pursuit of Kevin Smith's new film "Dogma." The movie, which had its public Cannes screening on Friday night at midnight following two press screenings earlier in the day, is being chased by Lions Gate and MGM, with a third distributor -- Artisan Entertainment -- hanging on as a "distant" third according to a source close to the film. Reached on his first day back in the office yesterday (Wednesday), Lions Gate President Mark Urman acknowledged that he saw the film this weekend -- he did not deny his company's pursuit of the movie, but declined comment on the subject.

Artisan has been mentioned often as a potential suitor for the film. Reached at a mid-week party in Cannes, one Artisan executive confirmed the company was interested in the movie, but then quipped, "So is everyone else!" -- an LA Times report Saturday positioned Artisan as a front-runner for the film.

However, in a post on the NewsAskew (http://www.newsaskew.com) site surveying his trip to Cannes, Kevin Smith essentially put the Artisan rumors to bed. "You can all put away your Artisan hats," Smith wrote, indicating that the company offered to take video rights for the movie. "Word was they called back Saturday afternoon after the NY and LA Times pieces hit the street," Smith added, "Needless to say, I'd like to go another way." indieWIRE reached Artisan late yesterday afternoon, and the company declined comment.

Although Miramax International is handling foreign sales of "Dogma," as the new owners of the pic, Harvey and Bob Weinstein are personally taking the lead on selling the domestic rights, an insider indicated yesterday. According to Smith, Harvey Weinstein "wants to take his time to hear everyone out (except Artisan at this point)." Smith speculated on a September or October release date for the movie, dependent upon whether the film screens at the New York Film Festival.

"It's nice that Harvey and Bob are still involved with the movie," Smith commented in indieWIRE over the weekend, "Eventually it'll find a home, hopefully, you know -- it's got those 'Good Will Hunting' guys so maybe we'll make a dime off it."

While the "Dogma" cast includes Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Janeane Garofalo, and Bud Cort, as well as Smith-regulars Jason Lee and Jason Mewes, an emerging issue is whether the film should be considered a smaller "art-house" film or -- given the high profile cast -- a larger, more mainstream release. During the impromptu news conference following Friday's Cannes press screening, Harvey Weinstein stated more than once, "This movie is not a small movie, it's not an art house movie." He offered, "It's going to be the size of 'Pulp Fiction,' if they [the distributor] do it right." In a conversation with indieWIRE yesterday, an IndieWood studio insider who saw the film in Cannes pegged the movie as a smaller art-house release, despite its stellar cast.

Critical response to the film has been lead by major mentions in high-profile dailies stateside. As indicated, Janet Maslin from the New York Times weighed in over the weekend, as did Kenneth Turan in the LA Times. Turan called the movie, "A lively, if uneven, film of ideas that combines a breezy and brazen save-the-world comic fantasy with crude adolescent humor and a sincere exploration of questions of religious faith."

Roger Ebert offered his take on Monday, delivering a supportive review. "Smith's dialogue is funny and smart, getting laughs with concepts and paradoxes that would be beyond the reach of many filmmakers," he wrote. Addressing the controversial aspects of the picture which forced the Winsteins wallet in the first place, Ebert added, "My own suspicion is that 'Dogma' will play funnier and be more entertaining for Catholics than for any other group. Stand back to get the big picture, and the movie isn't blasphemous so much as devout by an extremely indirect route." Meanwhile, Amy Taubin of the Village Voice added to the heat yesterday, writing, "Disappointed Star Wars devotees take note: Kevin Smith's Dogma is the real 'Phantom Menace,' as inspired, goofy, subversive, and thought-provoking a pop-culture vision of the battle between good and evil as has been presented on the movie screen."

If any singular review stung the "Dogma" camp it was clearly Todd McCarthy's slap published Monday morning in Variety. "A very vulgar pro-faith comedy rather than a sacrilegious goof, 'Dogma' is an extraordinarily uneven film that significant cutting might be able to transform into a playable one," the critic offered, adding that the 135-minute film needs to be shortened by 30 - 40 minutes.

McCarthy is not the first critic to recommend cutting the movie. In his post-Cannes dispatch, Smith indicated that the journalists he spoke with in Cannes, while positive about the movie, encouraged that it be shortened. "They almost all threw out a figure of ten to fifteen minutes, though - a far cry from a half hour or more," Smith wrote, "So once we've settled in, it's back to the Avid for some more trimming."

05.22.99 - DOGMA PLAYS CANNES; ARTISAN, TRIMARK POSSIBLE DISTRIBUTORS...

'Dogma' dares church with dark humor

CANNES, France - The most controversial film at Cannes this year was Dogma, the latest from Clerks director Kevin Smith. The film stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as fallen angels trying to get back to paradise. But if they do, the history of mankind will be undone, so a lapsed Catholic (Fiorentino) is recruited to stop them. The fast and witty result may incite protest by Catholic groups that do not see Scripture as a jumping-off point for art - language, sex and a walking pile of excrement sent from the devil to carry out the wayward angels' mission. It's not Catholic people but the Catholic League that Miramax co-chief Harvey Weinstein is concerned about, he said after the Dogma screening.

Variety also gave their final impressions on the festival's events surrounding Dogma:

CANNES (Variety) - Kevin Smith's "Dogma" turned out to be less controversial than some detractors prematurely predicted it would be, but its unspooling midnight Friday at the Cannes Film Festival did cause something of a stir among distribution types. The Matt Damon/Ben Affleck/Salma Hayek starrer sparked interest from a number of distributors, including MGM, Lions Gate and Artisan, all of whom are said to have had preliminary talks for domestic rights with the film's owners, Bob and Harvey Weinstein. The Miramax co-chairmen personally bought "Dogma" from Miramax in order to spare corporate parent Disney the potential P.R. debacle of releasing the comedy, which takes an irreverent approach to religious issues. Distribution rights in most foreign territories are already sewn up. A number of observers said the screening afforded festgoers a little excitement at the end of what was largely a somnambulent festival. But one acquisition executive present at the 12:15 a.m. out-of-competition screening was less effusive, describing audience reaction as "positive if not enthusiastic" and distributor reaction as "mixed." As far as the pic's potentially offensive material, said the source, "It's basically much ado about nothing."

Finally, NewsWeek had some very kind words:

How dull is this year's Cannes film festival? After the first week, the only movies getting any buzz weren't even in the official competition. Kevin Smith's "Dogma," which Disney found too sacrilegious to distribute, was the comic sensation. It stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as fallen angels at war with Linda Fiorentino.

Thanks to Discobuc, R.S. Raphael, & Steve Rhodes for their contributions.

05.22.99 - DOGMA PLAYS CANNES; ARTISAN, TRIMARK POSSIBLE DISTRIBUTORS...

Latest rumor has it that Artisan was the frontrunner for nabbing up Dogma's U.S. distribution rights, and that Harvey Weinstein was hoping to get the film on the fast track for a LABOR DAY release (though it was out of his hands)! No word yet on whether Artisan actually bought up Dogma OR when we'll see the film released, but you can bet you'll hear it right here first.

05.17.99 - MORE FROM CANNES, & REVIEWS...

Today at the American Pavilion, Hollywod Reporter and Kodak sponsored "A Conversation with Harvey Weinstein and Roger Ebert." The hour-long conversation brought up many interesting topics, but no DOGMA. So during the Q&A, yours truly asked Harvey to talk about the film and its current status. He basically said that a lot of the controversy was coming from people who didn't even see the film, and the film will prove itself this week when it screens. A reporter from ET then asked him to talk more about it, so he just commented that the film has screened for "the people" and it's getting great feedback and positive responses. He ended by saying that for him, it's an honor to be able to "go along for the ride" with filmmakers like Kevin and Tarantino as they "paint their unique pictures."

Also, be sure to check the Press/Reviews page for a TON of new Dogma reviews, both positive and negative.

05.13.99 - NEW YORK SCREENING REVIEWS...

05.13.99 - LATEST FROM CANNES...

05.6.99 - CANNES DOGMA PAGE POSTED

05.1.99 - CANNES SCREENING DATE/TIME ANNOUNCED

04.22.99 - DOGMA NOT COMPETING AT CANNES

Don't be disappointed at all that Dogma won't be in official competition. This is really an excellent situation for the film - No pressure to win any awards (in fact, we expect speculation that the flick WOULD have taken awards would it have competed, which is even better), plenty of studios to expose the film to, and, best of all, a PREMIERE at CANNES! How cool is that? Kevin made some comments as well, that we thought we'd share with you:

*Phew*!

Now that's a load off.

Based on everything I've read and heard, it looks like we'll be going to Cannes. We're not competing, but hey - beggars can't be choosers.

I would like to point out, however, that as a 'special screening', we're in such historically esteemed company as 'Blues Brothers 2000' and 'Godzilla' (amongst many more reputable films, over the years, including 'Trainspotting' and 'Reservoir Dogs'). Just wanted to keep things in perspective.

But we're in, and that's fantastic, because now the flick'll finally get seen by the press and the critics, and we'll just see if it's considered a 'controversial' film or not. My bet? They dismiss it as harmless; maybe even an inconsequential entertainment (wouldn't that be nice? Then we could put this whole brouhaha behind us and get down to the business of enjoying the flick for what it is).

My only regret in not having gotten into the competition is that Affleck won't pick up any awards (at least not for almost a year). The whole cast is wonderful, but Affleck broke through his ceiling on this flick, and deserves a heap o' kudos.

And my only other regret in regards to Cannes...

Now I've gotta squeeze my fat ass into a damn tux.

And, since many of you have been asking: No, we won't be attending the festival, unless some strange benefactor stepped out of the shadows and handed us two festival passes and plane tickets to France. Anyone listening? :)

04.21.99 - DOGMA AN OFFICIAL SELECTION AT CANNES!!!

A source tells us that that tomorrow, the Cannes selection committee will be announcing the selections for the Cannes Film Festival and among the official selections will be Kevin Smith's "Dogma". They will be stating that they are recognizing it for the satire that it is. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!!!!! Our scooper read the OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE today that will actually not be released to the press until tomorrow.

Now, before we go saying this is completely legit, we hafta say this IS a new source for us, but a very reliable-sounding one (you usually get the hang of who's yanking your chain after doing this stuff for a while), and we just wanted to be the first to spread the good news around the web.

Congratulations to Kevin, Scott, the Weinsteins, and the rest of the cast and crew of Dogma on a HUGE victory for the flick. Now, if we could only get sponsored for that flight to France...

UPDATE: One of the apparently 2 official Cannes Sites has listed Dogma as a selection!

04.15.99 - DOGMA ACCEPTED INTO CANNES?

As for Cannes... well, I've yet to hear anything myself, so I wouldn't put too much stock in those internet reports. Believe me - when I know, you'll know.

That being said, keep your fingers crossed.

We sure will.

04.13.99 - DOGMA MAKES TIME, NEWSWEEK

Lord, Have Mercy

Oddly, a movie that features a trash-talking Apostle and a female God is not one with which Disney is eager to be associated. Dogma, written and directed by Kevin Smith, takes an unorthodox look at religion, and Disney, producer Miramax's parent company, fears it will offend Roman Catholics. So Miramax honchos Bob and Harvey Weinstein have said they'll but the rights to the film and sell it to another distrubitor. Smith, a practicing Roman Catholic, says the movie "was always intended as a love letter to both faith and God almighty."

Again, just a very brief rehash of some of the larger stuff we printed and discussed earlier, but it's nice to see the publicity spreading. We'll have more for you in the coming days, we expect a few more stories before this all dies down (for a little while, anyway!).

04.09.99 - TONS OF DOGMA NEWS STORIES & REVIEW ADDED

04.08.99 - DOGMA DIGITAL FX COMPLETED

04.08.99 - DOGMA TO BE SOLD - CONFIRMED

Disney and Miramax Collide Over Church Issues in Film

By BERNARD WEINRAUB

HOLLYWOOD -- In an embarrassment for Miramax Films, its owner, Walt Disney Co., has termed a new Miramax movie "inappropriate" because of content involving Roman Catholics, and has said the film should not be released under a Disney label.

As a result, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairmen of Miramax, announced Wednesday that they would acquire all rights to the film, "Dogma," and seek to sell it to another distributor. The film, written and directed by Kevin Smith, who made "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy," was described by Miramax as a satire that deals with religious issues.

"We all agreed this is the best way for the film to be presented," the Weinstein brothers said in a statement announcing that they would personally buy the negative and film rights. "All of us look forward to the time when audiences will be able to see the film; it will be properly understood and viewed for film as film's sake."

Harvey Weinstein said in a telephone interview Wednesday night that Disney did not directly ask him to shelve the film. "What they said is, 'We have a problem,"' Weinstein said. "So we came up with a solution." He expressed concern that "Disney is too easy a target."

"Why make trouble?" he said. "I just thought it was time to pre-empt the situation."

In setting up a corporation solely to acquire the rights to the film and sell it to a distributor, the Weinsteins said, "We intend to work with a distributor that shares our vision of the film." The brothers also said they would seek a marketing and distribution partner "that will fully realize 'Dogma's' potential as broad entertainment."

One Miramax executive said that the Weinsteins, who were triumphal this year at the Academy Awards with films like "Shakespeare in Love" and "Life Is Beautiful," would buy "Dogma" for its cost, more than $10 million.

The film has a stellar cast including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Alanis Morisette, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Linda Fiorentino and George Carlin. It was described by Miramax as an adult tale about a hero joined by a band of misfits seeking to save humanity.

A handful of Disney executives have seen the film. One, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that parts of the movie could be construed as an attack on Catholic dogma. There has been no official comment from the church.

Responding to the criticism, the Miramax statement said, "While plot points and characters may be taken out of context, appearing as if Smith is attacking organized religion, the film should be taken as a whole: a satire from a filmmaker who himself is a practicing Catholic with a solid foundation of love and reverence to faith."

Smith, the writer-director, said Wednesday that "Dogma" was "from first to last always intended as a love letter to both faith and God almighty." He added: "It's mind-bending that as we come to the close of this century that anyone would still attack a work that has yet to see the light of day without having seen it themselves."

Miramax has collided with its owner, Disney, before, but never quite so publicly. In 1994, Miramax released a British film, "Priest," about a gay Catholic priest. The film received strong reviews, but some Catholics demonstrated against Disney in protest.

The following year, another film, "Kids," about aimless teen-agers, was released with an NC-17 rating, meaning no one under 17 allowed. Because of the Disney stricture that the studio would never release an NC-17 rated film, Miramax set up its own distribution to release the movie, which was panned by critics and failed at the box office.

With more and more conglomerates like Seagram, Viacom and Sony owning independent film companies, collisions have become inevitable between the smaller companies producing unconventional films and their more conservative parents. Last year Seagram's studio arm, Universal, refused to release an October Film movie, "Happiness," because of its sexual themes and content. The film was released at another company.

It is not known whether Michael Eisner, the chairman of Disney, has seen "Dogma." But other top company executives at the Burbank, Calif., headquarters saw the film recently. The one who spoke on condition of anonymity said he was dismayed by it. He said the film was "inappropriate for all of our labels."

Paying tribute to the Weinsteins, Smith said, "As per usual, Bob and Harvey are the only ones willing to stick by us or back our goofy little flicks." Smith applauded their "great courage," and said, "'Dogma' is in no way blasphemous or worthy of the mild controversy that seems to be brewing around it."