PAGE SIX

By RICHARD JOHNSON with Jeane MacIntosh and Kate Coyne

ANGUISH OVER CHURCH-BASHING FLICK

MIRAMAX may have to dump promising young filmmaker Kevin Smith over his latest movie, which satirizes the Catholic Church and Catholic faith in a manner certain to offend the faithful.

Miramax and parent Disney are reportedly wringing their hands over what to do with the flick, "Dogma," which is expected to meet with protests the likes of which haven't been seen since the release of 1988's "Last Temptation of Christ."

Among the picture's elements are a trash-talking 13th apostle, the notion that Joseph and Mary had sex, a female descendant of Jesus who works in an abortion clinic, a Skee-ball-obsessed God, and an updated Christ who no longer hangs from the cross but instead offers a thumbs-up salute.

According to Premiere magazine, Miramax is considering selling the picture to another distributor - Paramount's Sherry Lansing has reportedly been approached - or editing it to make it less offensive.

Either move would rupture the studio's relationship with Smith, whose 1994 smash "Clerks" and later lesbian yarn "Chasing Amy" helped secure Miramax's place as an indie film institution. Miramax had "no comment" on the brouhaha.

Ben Affleck - who stars alongside Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek and Chris Rock - is so worried about the fate of "Dogma," he's lobbying Miramax co-chief Harvey Weinstein not to abandon it.

"I know Harvey Weinstein has his trepidations about this," Affleck recently told Mr. Showbiz on-line, "and he's gotta answer to Disney. Is Michael Eisner nervous about it? Probably. For a $5 million movie, which is small beans, he may take a disproportionate amount of heat over it ... But I certainly hope [Disney] supports the movie and stands behind it and [is] brave enough to say, 'Listen, this isn't necessarily Disney's credo - this is Harvey Weinstein and Miramax.'"

Under its Disney deal, Miramax can release any film it wants except those with an NC-17 rating. But family-friendly Disney - which already has enough problems with the Southern Baptists - may not be up to a run-in with Catholics.

"There will be a really intense storm," Independent Film Channel host John Pierson, who exec-produced "Chasing Amy" and has seen "Dogma," told Premiere. "The Catholic League probably will have a problem."

"[Kevin Smith] is a devoutly religious Catholic," says Affleck. "This is a criticism of the Catholic Church by someone who was raised in it."

04.03.99 - SHOWBIZ ON DOGMA DELAY, OUR OPINION...

The Deal on Dogma

Does anyone remember that scrap between me and Ben Affleck last August over Dogma? Affleck calling me a "chucklehead" because I quoted him accurately when he spoke about the film's uncertain distribution status at the hands of Miramax Films and its parent, the Walt Disney Company? Affleck saying "there is no Dogma controversy that I know of" and accusing me of massaging his quotes out of context?

Ben must have at least considered eating a little crow when Mr. Showbiz ran the full transcript of what he'd said, which showed that his quotes hadn't been manipulated or rearranged to change their meaning. Affleck had more or less confirmed what I'd been hearing last summer about Dogma, the latest film from writer-director Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy, Clerks) in which he'd recently co-starred. The buzz was that Smith's irreverent lampooning of Catholic mythology had stirred some intrigue between Miramax and Disney about its distribution prospects.

Dogma co-stars Affleck and Matt Damon as angels who've been tossed out of Heaven. Also featured are Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, and Alanis Morissette, who plays God. In Affleck's words, the film offers the notion that "Mary and Joseph had sex, and they had a kid, and therefore there's a [female] descendant of Christ on earth . who works at an abortion clinic." The subject matter, he said, is "definitely meant to push buttons. There are clearly things about it that will be incendiary."

I'd been told prior to the Affleck interview that Disney chairman Michael Eisner had read (or been told about) the Dogma script and was adamant about not wanting it released by Miramax, for fear that it might trigger protests from the Catholic right. Five years ago Catholics protested the release of Priest, a Miramax pickup about a closeted gay cleric in England.

A Miramax spokeswoman told me last summer that Dogma's subject matter was a nonissue since their contract with Disney only forbade the release of films rated NC-17. This cuts no ice with Eisner, apparently. He's allegedly made it clear to Miramax head Harvey Weinstein "in no uncertain terms that he won't release it . he's saying, not under my banner," according to one insider.

Affleck said "it would not surprise me if the political situation around Dogma was very tenuous. . I know [Miramax chief] Harvey Weinstein has his trepidations about this, and he's gotta answer to Disney." Allowing that Eisner was "probably" nervous about it, Affleck went on to praise Dogma as "one of the most original, funny, smart, interesting movies I've ever done" and said, "I hope Disney supports [it] and stands behind it."

Now the Dogma issue has reared up again, in a story by John Horn in the latest issue of Premiere magazine that'll hit the stands on or about April 13. It claims that the distribution of Dogma is still up in the air and that Miramax may be abandoning it. The article clearly indicates that when Affleck tapped out his "no controversy" remark last summer he either didn't know or wasn't saying.

Miramax said last summer that it intended to release Smith's satire early this year. That hasn't happened. The plan now, according to John Pierson, the Split Screen host who has seen Dogma and is friendly with Smith, is for the distributor to take Dogma to the Cannes Film Festival in May and then open it domestically in the fall.

But according to Horn, Miramax may not release it at all, and has in fact approached "executives of at least two distributors, including Paramount Pictures head Sherry Lansing, about taking over the project." It is suspected that the real Cannes agenda is to build interest in Dogma and attract a potential distributor.

More recently, Horn writes, "[Miramax] has discussed trimming some of the film's more outrageous moments. Horn also reports that Affleck "is so concerned about Miramax's plans that he has begun lobbying Weinstein to not abandon the movie."

A Miramax representative declined to comment about the Horn article, or say definitively whether or not Miramax would be releasing Dogma. The fact that Miramax didn't screen any Dogma footage at the recent ShoWest gathering in Las Vegas suggested to some that the distributor's plans for releasing the film were, at the least, unresolved.

Any way you look at it, Weinstein is in a tough spot. He doesn't want the indie-styled Miramax to be seen as kowtowing to conservative corporate values, as represented by Eisner's reported concern about the Catholic League. Nor would he want to be involved in any intrusive cutting of the film, given his long-established reputation as "Harvey Scissorhands" that he's been trying to live down.

According to reports on Kevin Smith's Web site (http://www.viewaskew.com), Dogma underwent additional shooting earlier this year and has been shown in test screenings at least three or four times, reportedly to positive reactions. I've read a draft of Smith's script and found it quite clever and funny. The film has been praised time and again on Harry Knowles' site by people who've claimed they've seen it in previews. Horn says that Dogma has been described "by all accounts [as] an intelligent allegory."

03.25.99 - MORE AFFLECK DOGMA PICS!

Amateur photographer Ben Affleck was VERY busy on the sets of his latest films, and it wasn't just with the acting stuff! Affleck.Com has quietly posted a TON of new shots from the sets of Armageddon, Forces of Nature, and... Dogma!!! We've placed local copies of these really nifty Dogma set shots here on the site for your enjoyment. They really are quite good, too! Nice to know that if Ben ever gets sick of standing in front of a camera that he can do a fine job behind one as well. So, enjoy folks. You can see the full collection over at affleck.com.

03.24.99 - MORE DOGMA PICS!

We gotta admit, these pics took us by surprise when we saw them this morning! These were sent to AICN by a scooper over there, and honestly, we have no idea how they got out! In fact, these shots don't even come from the trailer, but they ARE shots from the actual film, so these got leaked out by VA directly or at least a source very close to the inside! So, here's a summary of these character pics from Dogma.

Anyway, above you see 4 non-spolier shots of how some of the major characters appear in the film, and we must say, these are some very good stills. You know the guys in the first one up there, that's Loki and Bartelby, in the often talked about gun-buying scene. Off frame to the left? None other than Jeff Anderson behind the counter. The second shot gives you a look at how Jay & Silent Bob appear in the film. Keep in mind this is, by far, the duo's largest role yet. Our 3rd pic features Salma Hayek & Chris Rock as Serendipity & Rufus. We've seen shots of these folks on set before, but this is an actual shot of their appearance "in character". Finally, a very choice shot of the film's main character, Bethany (Linda Fiortentino). We won't go into the context of this scene, it's towards the end of the film and too spoiler-related.

Well, there ya have it, folks! A first look at some of the great ensemble cast that Kev & crew assembled for Dogma. Again, we dunno how these pics leaked, but if there's more, you can bet we'll have them for ya right here!

03.20.99 - AFFLECK'S DOGMA SET PICS

Ben Affleck, who does some amateur photography in his spare time, posted the first of his pics from the Dogma set today. There's some really cool stuff here, including the first pic we've seen of Chris Rock on set, and Ben with a couple, shall we say, close friends. That one's sort-of a spoiler, but it's a great pic, so we blurred it but posted it full size and uncensored. Click the thumbnails to blow them up. Thanks to Ben & the fine folks over at affleck.com for the pics.

03.16.99 - KEVIN ON DOGMA STATUS, RESHOOTS

Kevin spoke up on the latest goings-on with Dogma today, as well as what's coming up in the next few weeks:

There was another test screening of the flick last night - this time in Connecticut. I wasn't there, but Scott was, and he said it went well (though the scores dipped from the last test - normal for a challenging flick that's not really mass-audience entertainment). This is the locked picture now, clocking in at around 2:07, without credits (of which there is only a backend run). Tomorrow, we head into NYC to hear Howard's rough score (played by a small ensemble and synthesizers, I'm told), and at month's end, we head to London to record the score itself. Following that, we're back at Skywalker for the final mix.

By the way, we heard that Linda Fiorentino was in town last weekend for some reshoots for the film. We don't have any details on the extent or scenes that were reshot at this time, though we're sure they were quite minor.

03.15.99 - NEW SITE DESIGN

Welcome to the redesigned Dogma: Rumor Control website! You've stumbled upon THE place on the internet for everything you ever wanted to know about Kevin Smith's upcoming masterpiece, "Dogma". Surf around and read all about the cast, happenings on the set, stories in the news, and more. View exclusive pics from the set that you can't see anywhere else. Anything on this site that's sensitive spoiler material to the enjoyment of the film has been marked as such, to prevent you from accidentally seeing or reading something you don't want, in fact, we recommend going into the film knowing as little as possible. We've kept this in mind when designing the place, though, and feel that you can still learn a ton without actually spoiling any of Dogma's surprises.

Visit our home site, News Askew, for all the latest from the View Askew realm! And finally, Thanks for stopping by...

-Brad & Chris

03.15.99 - EXCLUSIVE DOGMA SET PICS!!!!!

Here they are, folks, 3 more shots of some unfortunate folks from Dogma, blurred for your protection, as usual. Click them to witness their full, uncensored glory. Heck, after seeing the shots we've placed online thus far, you're probably expecting an FX/Creature-filled splatterfest...But we're here to tell ya, you are WRONG. In fact, latest reports show that, while Kevin's been editing out only dialogue bits here and there, while keeping all characters and subplots intact, most of the horror-type elements have been generally removed or greatly downplayed. So, as far as the 3 pics above are concerned, the first two MAY be sceen in the background in the "aftermath", while the 3rd may NEVER appear in the final cut. Never fear, though, we're sure the right choices were made with this stuff, and, having viewed the 3 hour cut, we can imagine places where trims and edits were made to tighten it up a bit.

For a complete, SPOILER explanation of who/what you're seeing in the above pics, swoop the text ahead: ***BEGIN SPOILERS*** Towards the film's climax, Bartleby goes ballistic outside of the church, where quite a few (practically ALL) of the unfortunate crowd members get toasted. The first 2 shots above represent 2 of these folks. Again, we don't recall seeing the actual deaths onscreen, this is just aftermath, as quite a few corpses (and extras) are strewn about the scene. The third pic is yet another shot of a Stygian Triplet who has a run -in with a deep-fryer. Sources tell us that the sequence in which this little tyke appears (the hospital scene towards the film's end) has been edited, and that this make-up may NEVER be seen in the final cut, along with quite a few other action sequences (The Bethany/Bob smooch and the second Noman attack). We'll keep you posted. ***END SPOILERS*** As always, we've blurred these suckers out to prevent possible sensitive spoiler material for ruining any elements of the film that you'd rather not see before viewing the finished product. We recommend going into Kevin's flicks cold if possible...it just makes for a more enjoyable experience all-around, but hey, we can't stop ya if you wanna look. As for these pics, it's safe to say looking at them won't really ruin anything from the flick, especially since, as we stated above, this stuff may not even be visible in the final 2:07 cut.

03.04.99 - GAROFALO OUT OF DOGMA?

An anonymous scooper checks in with some inside info from Janeane Garofalo, who seems a bit worried about her future onscreen in Dogma :

I forgot to tell you that when I was out at Sundance I bumped into Janeane Garofalo, and I mentioned Dogma. She said she thinks her part, which she said was small, was cut.

Her part was indeed small, but we hope her face or a line or two at least manage to stay in. We find it hard to believe she was TOTALLY cut, though, given a very humorous line she delivers when she first appears. No word from Kevin on this one, but we'd guess Janeane's still around, just maybe not as much as originally intended.

UPDATE: Vincent Pereira tells us that Janeane's part has NOT been cut from the film, it's quite intact except for a stray line or two that was omitted for pacing purposes only. This is excellent news, since we were quite fond of her brief, yet amusing performance.

03.01.99 - HAYEK OUT OF DOGMA?

Seems Salma Hayek is a bit worried about some of Dogma's cuts...And rightfully so, as well. We wouldn't be surprised if quite a bit of her dialogue's been cut from the film from what she's saying here, though it's a bit cryptic:

Even a vaguely sexless film like Fools Rush In did her a lot of good, she thinks, because of the number of people who watched it on video. "Girls of 13 loved it, don't ask me why." [Hayek]

These are presumably a million miles from the fan base who will flock to see her in Kevin Smith's Dogma (even if the eye candy of Affleck and Damon are in the line-up).

"It is completely unconventional and so is Kevin. He leads an eccentric life," says Hayek. "But I'm afraid some of the great lines are being taken out in the editing because when they tested it, people thought there were too many words. People want the action." [Empire Movie Magazine]

Interesting, indeed. Maybe Salma knows something we don't, 'eh?

UPDATE: Judging from what we've heard, NO sequences or characters have been totally eliminated from the film, so, while Salma's lines may have been cut back, we expect quite a chunk of her performance in the film to remain.

02.10.99

We're really fond of this fan-made (and we stress, FAN MADE, UNOFFICIAL) movie poster for Dogma, though we think Alanis's face is a bit larger than her actual screentime lends itself to...But hey, this is some slick work by Bob from Camp Chaos -- Especially considering we probably played a minor role when we released those shit demon pics a while back...Nice likeness, Bob! Beautiful work.

02.09.99

A couple more reviews of that Dogma screening from the other night came in today. The first is very simple and non-spoiler; The second, from AICN, does have a few minor spoilers, so READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! We're quite fond of the review, though, and agree with many points the guy makes. It's quite complimentary:

REVIEW #1 - I saw Dogma last night at the Riverview United Artists here in Philly ...... Wow, the movie was unbelievable. Jay and Silent Bob were hilarious, as usual, Chris Rock was funny as hell, Jason Lee played a good bad guy, Salma Hayek looked unbelievably good, and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon played characters that make us question, laugh, and believe in religion. In other words, this movie completely kicked ass. [Scoop courtesy of Mike Porter]


REVIEW #2 - A few small spoilers ahead... The theater was packed. Guards armed with billyclubs had to escort two girls out who swore up and down that they had two seats reserved for them.

Before the film started, they said that we were watching a workprint. The music was temporary and some of the footage would be grainy. They also said the film was about two hours and fifteen minutes long. I guess that this is closer to the final cut of it, since the last cut was about two and a half hourse long, from what I heard. The only footage that was grainy were the dissolves and wipes. It looked like the special effects were mostly done. I wish they could keep some of the music, because it worked perfectly. They used the Danny Elfman "Batman" theme when Jay and Silent Bob were introduced, and it rocked! The roar of the crowd was deafening. Silent Bob's one line, aside from the whole "Fat Albert" rap, was classic. Sadly, I think I was one of the only people who caught that movie reference.

What really amazed me about the movie was the level of the acting, and the maturity and depth of the writing. Linda Fiorentino did a wonderful job, Alan Rickman was Alan Rickman, and Chris Rock flat-out surprised me. I knew he could be funny, but I didn't expect him to go beyond that. The sensetivity he showed at the fast-food joint and in the campfire scene impressed me. And the dialogue blew me away. Anybody that thinks that Kevin Smith can only do pop-culture laden, low-brow humor should listen to these conversations about faith, what's wrong with "beliefs", and why organized religion is being looked down on now.

I'm not a very religious person, but it made me think alot about religion in general. The film may deal with the Catholic church, but the same things could be said about all major religions. I hate the fact that I'm going to have to wait another six to eight months before I see it again.

We filled out another survey card at the end, asking what I thought about the film. I gave it mostly "excellent" or "very good" ratings across the board, except to Jason Lee's character, Azrael, who was a bit of a weak link, albeit a necessary one. Hopefully, my fellow audience members, especially those in the focus group, don't butcher it up too much. [Scoop courtesy of Ain't It Cool News]

02.03.99

Kevin was questioned and finally announced who will be scoring Dogma :

Said dude is Howard Shore, the man who scored (amongst other things) 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Nobody's Fool', and who was the musical director on 'SNL' for the first five years (even created the theme). We've had a spotting session already, and Howard's starting his process. I've got all the faith in the world in him (I was a big fan of the 'Nobody's Fool' score).

Definitely sounds like a win to us! As for some more info on the film's old "temp" track:

There were cues from anything and everything: 'Nightmare Before Christmas', 'Mission: Impossible', 'Nixon', 'The People vs. Larry Flynt', etc. Song-wise, we've got some old 50's/60's era standards ('Magic Moments' leaps to mind, as does 'Never on a Sunday'). Mosier was the music man this time out (you can thank him for the Ween), and I thought he did a stellar job for the temp.

The temp track was definitely a hoot. We also noticed a few 80's classics, some Batman & other Elfman-like music, and even a temp scene from "Event Horizon" stuck in there. The temp stuff was so good, it almost felt like the finished film when we watched it. Must have been a lot of fun laying it all down.

12.18.98

The FIRST public screening of Dogma is held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Reaction is very positive, though the general feeling is that the film runs TOO long. Kevin states that he will cut lines of dialogue (though no characters or scenes) to get the running time of 2:30 down to about 2:10 or 2:15.

We've added a new subpage dedicated to reviews from folks who saw the Dogma screening. This page also contains OUR first review of the 3 hour cut of the film that we watched with Kevin a few months ago (spoiler free, of course!). Again, we warn you: Try and stay away from reviews that give away lines or plot points. You'll enjoy the film MUCH more, as we did!

• Dogma Status: The film currently has a temp music track in place, with no composer yet announced. Special Digital Effects are not yet in place. Final cut will be an R-rated film with an approximate running time of 2:15. This cut will be delivered to Miramax and entered in Cannes for a possible May premiere.

12.02.98

We haven't said much in the way of Dogma news lately, or updated Rumor Control as a whole, but not much has been going on. The latest we've heard:

• The proposed composer has been lost due to scheduling conflicts, and a new composer is currently being sought.

• A test screening will be held somewhere in New Jersey with a full audience. No date has been announced, but it is rumored to be happening before Christmas 1998. We assume the version screened will run about 2 1/2 hours and consist of a temp music track, most or all of the sound effects missing, and all of the CGI effects missing as well. Last we heard from Kevin, all was going good in the FX department, but none of the optical CGI stuff was in place in the film that we saw.

• A trailer for the film has been cut by Scott and Kevin. It runs about 2 minutes, and features some dialogue from most of the cast in the first half, then some quick shots that give you a taste for the action and effects that you'll see in the film. It's a nice piece of work. Anyone who sees the trailer will be hooked. No word on if this will be the final Miramax trailer, or when it'll surface, but it DOES exist.

09.19.98

We're very pleased to have some more pics directly from the set of Dogma for your viewing pleasure today! These are News Askew exclusives, folks, at least until others manage to spread them around. Up above, you'll see the thumbails: The first pic is blurred due to it being a shot of an actor (one of the Stygian Triplets, to be exact) in makeup, so clicking it may be a slight spoiler for some of you. The next two were taken outside of the church in Pittsburgh. One's a far off shot, the other a closer one, of a body (dead, we assume) on a roadblock sign. Finally, we've got a pic of 2 FX fellas, Vincent Guastini, who's handling Dogma's FX (as well as working on the upcoming vampire flick "Friday Night" and the "NOTLD : Special Edition"), and Tom Savini.

(Click The Thumbnails For Larger Versions)

Again, we're proud to bring you the first shots from Dogma's production! Sorry they don't expand too largely, but that's the size we received them in. Remember where you saw them first!

09.15.98

(Click The Thumbnails For Larger Versions)
What we've got here, courtesy of FX God Tom Savini's website (http://www.savini.com), are what we believe to be the first pics unveiled from the set of Dogma. Nothing revealed about the flick at all, really, but apparently the guy had some snapshots taken while paying the gang a visit. The first features the gorgeous (and a deceptively tall-looking) Salma Hayek...Look close and you'll see she's on a crate, folks, though Tom's a pretty short fella as well...And second, a pic of Tom's daughter with a couple more familiar faces that need no introduction.

And remember, Kevin took a TON of digital photos of the entire production, that will surely make an amazing gallery over at the View Askew website as the film draws closer to release. We can't wait to see 'em.

08.05.98

Okay, let's get caught up on all the latest.

• Dogma's running time is definitely shaping up to hit close to 3 hours in the first cut. There's just over an hour and a half edited (probably more by now) and they're halfway through the written script. If he can get it down to 2 1/2 hours, the Max will allow it to stand! Nice running time, eh? Seems long, but trust us, it's gonna FLY by, and it will certainly be a shame if some of the spectacular dialogue needs to be trimmed.

• An outstanding score composer has been selected (and will sign any day now). We're sure that Kevin will make the official announcement on the View Askew site as soon as the deal is done. Hey, we're trying to keep some secrets here too, ya know.

• The pressure and concern from Disney over the flick is definitely genuine. Time will tell what problems, if any, this will bring as the film draws closer to distribution. We still can't see what the fuss is all about, but some execs over there are certainly shifting uncomfortably in their leather swivel chairs from the sound of things. Ben Affleck, however, resents the misquoting that went on regarding the article that Mr. Showbiz ran on the subject. We've posted a feature story on this over at our parent site, News Askew, which you can read HERE.

• Kevin seems confident in getting the first cut done with plenty of time to spare, but don't count on seeing the film in release until almost a year from now...October, 1999.

07.19.98

Kevin reports that, at presstime, Dogma is 1:30 into editing, and he's still got about half of the film to go. To say he's pleased with what he sees so far is an understatement.

07.16.98

We hear that a scene featuring Serendipity (Salma Hayek) and Noman will be filmed in Los Angeles sometime in August. No word on if this is a reshoot or an entirely new/different take on an already existing scene (the "limbo scene", it's called).

07.14.98

(Click The Thumbnail For A Larger Version)
We've managed to get a shot of the elusive Mooby's (that was once a Burger King) that will be featured in Dogma. We admit, it's not the clearest or the most revealing shot, but it's the place none the less. Word has it that the entire restaurant has been since demolished. As always, click the thumbnail for a better view.

07.09.98

Here's two interesting newsbites that have surfaced during the promotional tour for Lethal Weapon 4 :

1) In an interview about the soon to be released Lethal Weapon 4 with my local affiliate FOX station, Chris Rock mentions Dogma. He said that he appears naked in the beginning of the film when he falls out of the sky. He likens it to the Terminator because he has to get his clothes out of the dumpster. [Scoop courtesy of Brandawg]

2) Certainly you didn't miss selma hayek's appearance on the E! coverage of the Lethal Weapon 4 premiere last night. she was there supporting her "very dear friend" Chris Rock whom she got to know filming DOGMA! [Scoop courtesy of P. Mae Lee]

06.26.98

Here's a letter from Vincent Guastini, who supervised the effects and makeup for Dogma...He posted it for Kev, Scott, & the crew and asked that we pass it along to all of you as well:

Dear Kevin & Scott and crew of Dogma

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier for their support and confidence in me and my crew in contracting my company to create the makeup and creature effects for their feature film "Dogma".

Dogma was an extremely challenging project and I must admit a bit difficult to pull off, with just the sheer volume of the effects in the amount of time we had. But I have to say it was worth it. Because of the respect we have for Kevin and Scott, we wanted to do our best work and wanted to give more then what they asked for. In the end I feel that Dogma is some of the best work my crew and I has done on any project.

I would also like to thank my crew both East and West for there great work, support, and loyalty even when I may have pushed hard to get the best out of them. The goal was to attempt to portray everything from Kevin's great script.

Special thanks to those key crewmembers and production crew for Dogma should also be mentioned at this time. Makeup Effects Coordinators Louie Zakarian and Joe Macchia two talented and great artists who without them the project would have never have turned out as successful as it has. Key artists Vinny Schicchi, Thomas Deniere, Sandy Collora and Eli Livingston for all of their support and talent. Greg Ramoundous, Mechanics Coordinator and head puppeteer, without this man and his efforts the wings would not have flapped the way they did and the head of "Noman" would not have uttered a word. Wing mechanic designer Ken Walker who worked till his eyes bled, John Cherevka who also built the wing mechanics and Noman head, who also did some of his best work and puppeteering on this project. Feather girl Lisa Lowe who put a terrific team together who put the real feathers and dyed hundreds of them to get just the right shade of grey that Kevin Smith wanted. Fake Feather Sculptor and painter Mark Alfrey who pushed to make sure the fake feathers looked as good as the real ones. And feather application coordinator William "Tigger" Iverson who kept Lisa Lowe's crew on the right track. Key concept artist Frank Fruscello who I drove nuts with constant concept changes. Although I can't mention everyone, I want to thank you all; you guys are the best.

On the Production end of things I would like to thank Production designer Robert "Ratface" Holtzman for being behind me every step of the way. Production Coordinator Lisa Bradley who is simply the best in my books. She took care of ever need my crew had. Director of Photography Bob Yeoman who always made sure my screw-ups were lit just right, and lastly the person who introduced me to Kevin Smith and got me the job in the first place Scott Mosier who I consider to be a close friend and who is simply the best producer I ever had the honor to work with. He believed in me and stood by me through every bump in the road. Thanks to Kevin Smith for also giving me the freedom and trust to let my mind and imagination be free on his movie. I hope to work with you guys again.

In the end, I hope the fans like what we did and their expectations are satisfied and I that we gave justice to Kevin's script and ideas.

Sincerely
Vincent J. Guastini
Creator of "Dogma" Makeup & Creature Effects

06.20.98

RIBCAGE managed to get Kevin to answer a few good questions on the WWWBoard today :

RIBCAGE: WHAT'S THE ORDER OF THE CAST IN THE CREDITS FOR DOGMA?

KEVIN: IT'S ALPHABETICAL.

RIBCAGE: WILL LINDA OR ANYONES NAME GO ABOVE THE TITLE?

KEVIN: NOPE.

RIBCAGE: WHAT'S MIRAMAX'S DREAM RELEASE DATE? YOURS?

KEVIN: MIRAMAX FEELS THEY HAVE A CANNES COMPETITION FILM; WHICH MEANS THEY WOULDN'T RELEASE 'TIL AFTER MAY OF '99. ME, I'D LIKE TO GO OUT IN DECEMBER.

RIBCAGE: WHAT KIND OF NEWS CAN WE EXPECT IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS? (I ALREADY READ ABOUT THE SOUNDTRACK COMPOSER STATEMENT BEING NEXT MONTH)

KEVIN: NOTHING REALLY, EXCEPT THAT EDITING IS PROGRESSING ALONG NICELY.

06.18.98

In Japan, Miramax has struck its first significant deal with Gaga Communications (the distrib has bought several smaller Miramax pics before), selling it Kevin Smith's 'Dogma', starring Linda Fiorentino and Ben Affleck..." [Scoop courtesy of Neil Marks]

06.07.98

There's word that Danny Elfman may be doing the score for "Dogma".

06.06.98

Kevin previewed about 10-12 minutes of raw footage at his Ohio State Appearance on June 5. Here's a quick breakdown of what was shown :

A few scenes with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Lins Fiorentino, Chris Rock, Jason Lee and Jeff Anderson!

One seen with Alan Rickman walking on water.

There is one scene with Salma Hayek (who he said does not get naked).

Jay and Silent Bob were singing a nice little tribute sort of thing to Fat Albert.

A monologue delivered by Damon which was in the original script of "Clerks" relating Star Wars with organized religion.

Some amazing dialogue between Affleck and Damon in some sort of parking garage.

There is no music for DOGMA yet.

Dogma won't be ready for the Toranto or New York Film Festivals.

Only Station X will be doing FX for Dogma. None by Peter Jackson.

06.04.98

Dogma wrapped shooting today in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The last scene filmed, on the boardwalk, will be the first scene to appear in the film itself. [Scoop courtesy of Gramp]

(Click The Thumbnails For Larger Versions)

05.24.98

Twilight Man has found these two original drawings on the Fred Perry Fan Club site. Who is Fred Perry? You already have seen his work, Fred is the creator of Gold Digger, the character featured on the T-shirt that Jason Lee wore in "Chasing Amy" when he asked Ben, "The chick?". The sketches are from a contributer to that site "BADVIBESAROONIE". He lives in Pittsburgh, and only a few blocks from where "Dogma" is being filmed. He also got Jason Mewes and Chris Rock to autograph one and Salma Hayek to sign the other. [Scoop courtesy of Twilight Man]

05.13.98

Special Effects company Station X has now officially announced that they will be handling Dogma's FX...They will produce some 20 special effects sequences, most of which will be physical. Some others may involve some CG work on Noman, and possibly some flying characters. As you may remember we reported, this company has worked on effects for the recent films Phantoms and Titanic. How's that for range? [Scoop courtesy of Hal Phillips]

For Immediate Release

STATION X LANDS ‘DOGMA’
Santa Monica Studio To Create Digital Effects for
Kevin Smith and Miramax


(Santa Monica, CA) - May 12, 1998- Grant Boucher, CEO of Station X
Studios announced today that the facility has been awarded all digital
visual effects on Kevin Smith’s (Chasing  Amy, Mall Rats, Clerks)
upcoming film for Miramax, Dogma.

The film’s ensemble cast includes Academy Award winners Ben Affleck and
Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting), George Carlin, Dwight Ewell, Linda
Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Alan Rickman, Chris
Rock, Ethan Suplee and  Kevin Smith.  The supernatural comedy details a
roadtrip to save the world from dark forces and is the first time that
director/actor Smith will utilize digital effects in his work.

According to Boucher, visual effects supervisor Richard Payne will
oversee all digital visual effects for the picture which will include
approximately 20 shots.  Payne is most noted for leading the team that
created all of the 3D photo-real digital ship set extensions in the
feature film Titanic -- a significant contribution to the digital
effects work that took home an Oscar for best visual effects in 1997.
Payne’s first project for Station X was supervising digital visual
effects for Dimension Film’s Phantoms.

Station X Studios which opened its doors in Santa Monica in November
specializes in photo-real 3D/digital animation and effects utilizing a
state-of-the-art NT based systems.  Located in Santa Monica, CA  they
can be found at:  www.stationxstudios.com.

05.13.98

In the May 9th issue of Billboard (page 19) "The Reel Thing" aritlce states that Capital Records announced that they are doing the soundtrack for Dogma. [Scoop courtesy of Steve Cohn]

05.11.98

Hey guys, I don't know if this was discussed on the board or not and all... anyway, Mike Allred's Droog, Inc. page (at www.droog.com) says (and I quote) "Mike just came back from Pittsburg where he made his second cameo appearance for Kevin Smith in the gigantic Dogma production! Don't blink." Anyway. The fanboys will be happy. [Scoop courtesy of Phew Fighter]

05.09.98

Filming will be taken place at an old Burger King fast food restaraunt on the outskirts of town today...Rumor has it that the building's been painted purpleish psychadelic colors and will be called "Mooby's". Perhaps News Askew will be able to snag a few pics for ya...stay tuned. [Scoop courtesy of Cassie, Kim, & Danielle]

05.07.98

(Click To See A Larger Version Of Our Paycheck!)
Well, a pleasant surprise arrived in our mailbox today...Our "Bearclaw" checks! Yep, a whopping $52 and change (after taxes, of course) for a day's work...If you can call it that. If you missed it, be sure to check out our Bearclaw diary to hear all about what we went through to earn the cash. Hell, we would've did it for free, but an extra $52 will put some extra DVDs on the shelf or beers in the fridge. We're not complaining!

05.06.98

Miramax ran an advertisment in the April 4th edition of

(Click The Thumbnails For Larger Versions)
Variety Weekly. It features a nice cast list for 'Dogma'. It is the first time we've seen Alanis Morissette's name associated with the picture officially. No asumptions, though...The ad features JUST names, not their respective roles.

05.05.98

According to popawheelie.com, DJ Swamp has been asked by Kevin Smith to do some scratching for a scene in his new movie 'Dogma' in which Smith's charachter Silent Bob and his cohort Jay get into a tussle with some homies, but Bob saves the day by takin' to the turntables and mixin' the Fat Albert theme with something else. Swamp also provided scratchin' for the Dust Brothers remix of the X-Files theme. [SARAH]

04.16.98

Kevin has announced that Jeff 'Randal' Anderson will indeed make a cameo appaearance in 'Dogma'.

04.13.98

Amazon.com has the release date for the novel adaptation of 'Dogma' set at August 1998. It's going to be a 256 page, hard-cover novel published by Hyperion, with a list price of $22.95 (ISBN: 0786864060).

04.11.98

Kevin mentioned that we'd start seeing a full trailer for 'Dogma' in about 6 months or so.

04.10.98

Bud Cort [HAROLD AND MAUDE] has joined the cast and will play the part of the "Old Man". [Hal Phillips]

04.03.98

Ethan Supplee has himself confirmed that he will only be VOICING the character of Noman. When asked when he'd be on the set, he said, "Oh, they're just looping that in later." [Smalls]

04.02.98

Janeane Garofalo has joined the star-studded cast. She will play "Liz". Her part is reportedly small, but very funny.

04.01.98

Filming has begun on location around Pittsburgh. All the stars have arrived, rehearsals have been held, and star sightings have started to become more common.

03.30.98

Kevin tells us that the God role will remain secret until soon before the film is released. No official announcement will be made until this time.

03.27.98

Filming is slated to begin Friday, March 27th, when George Carlin will arrive in Pittsburgh, completing the cast.

03.25.98

Singer Alanis Morissette has been rumored to be playing the role of God, as we reported a few weeks ago. We just wanted to put it here so we stopped getting mail about it (since AICN is a little late but still reporting this rumor).

Pre-March 1998 News