Kevin Smith Once Joined a Protest Against One of His Own Movies

Kevin Smith is no stranger to controversy. Despite his reputation for writing and directing films about society’s lovable misfits, slackers, and stoners, the New Jersey native’s body of work has often been dogged by uproar and condemnation by various special interest groups. Clerks, his 1994 debut, ran afoul of the MPAA for its coarse language and was nearly hit with an NC-17 rating, while his third effort, Chasing Amy, generated controversy for its depiction of a lesbian engaging in a romance with a man. And four years later, Smith’s farcical Jay and Silent Bob Strike Backwas accused by GLAAD of promoting comedy steeped in homophobia.

For all the backlash Smith’s films have generated, however, none have incurred as much ire as Dogma. A satirical tribute to faith that’s unafraid to poke fun at religious institutions, particularly Catholicism, the fantasy-comedy featuring an all-star ensemble cast was the subject of a damning smear campaign before it even hit theaters in November 1999. Once the film was finally released, Smith, curious about the hubbub and those seeking to censor Dogma without seeing a single frame of the film, went incognito and joined a group of protesters outside a theater near his home in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Dogma

An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loop-hole and reenter Heaven.

Release Date

November 12, 1999

Cast

Bud Cort , Barret Hackney , Jared Pfennigwerth , Kitao Sakurai , George Carlin , Brian O’Halloran

Runtime

130

Catholics Accused ‘Dogma’ of Blasphemy and Called for Boycotts

Though he’d had some experience ruffling feathers with his first trio of films, each an enjoyable exercise in crude and vulgar humor, Kevin Smith was taken aback by the controversy generated by Dogma. « It has been a trying six months to say the least, » he acknowledged before the film’s release. The Catholic League, an organization created in 1973 with 350,000 members in 1999, caught sight of Smith’s screenplay for Dogma after it was leaked online. Incensed over what they perceived as blasphemous content, mouthpieces for the organization went to work bashing a film they hadn’t seen.

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« He doesn’t get a free pass to make an anti-Catholic movie because he happens to be a Catholic, » media director Patrick Sully said of Smith. Furthermore, the organization asserted that « Catholic-bashing has become a staple of American society, » with Dogma serving as the entertainment industry’s latest such example. According to Smith, The Catholic League had a history of targeting religious-themed films and television released by Disney and its subsidiaries. Years before, the organization directed similar criticism towards ABC’s Nothing Sacred and the 1994 film Priest, the latter of which was set to be released by Dogma‘s original theatrical distributor, Disney-owned Miramax Films. As Smith’s film approached its debut, the condemnation, calls for boycotts, and protests by The Catholic League worsened, raising the already high stakes surrounding the controversy.

Miramax Films Received Death Threats Over ‘Dogma »

Simply writing a negative review, or going so far as to condemn a film, is one thing, but threatening the lives of others is something else entirely. As the brouhaha generated by The Catholic League over Dogma dragged on, the yet-to-be-released comedy’s most vocal detractors took things to the extreme when they targeted Miramax films with hate mail and death threats. « I’ve seen it called anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, anti-faith, anti-God, » Kevin Smith told CNN. « To say the least, it’s none of these things. » According to the filmmaker, one of the more particularly sinister and threatening pieces of mail read: « You Jews better take that money you’ve been stealing from us and invest in flak jackets because we’re coming in there with shotguns. »

While it wasn’t lost on Smith and Miramax that any publicity is arguably good publicity, and that the controversy was likely to boost the public’s interest in Dogma, the disconcerting nature of the backlash affected the film’s planned release. Eventually, enough pressure was exerted to force Miramax to buy the film back for a reported $2 million, taking some of the heat off Disney, and sell it to Lionsgate for theatrical distribution, but not before threatening a lawsuit against The Catholic League. In an attempt to acknowledge and make light of the controversy that had dogged his film, Smith, at the urging of Harvey Weinstein, added a satirical pre-credit disclaimer to Dogma. But Smith’s sense of humor regarding the situation wouldn’t be limited to playful rhetoric. After screening at the Toronto Film Festival, Dogma was finally set to hit theaters on November 12, 1999, and the filmmaker had another surprise up his sleeve on the eve of the film’s premiere.

Kevin Smith Joined a Protest Against ‘Dogma’

Hunkering down as his new film debuted, Kevin Smith caught wind of a protest against Dogma that would be taking place at a nearby theater in Eatontown, New Jersey. According to Smith, 1,500 people were reported to attend and the likelihood of encountering people he knew from the region was too enticing to pass up. Along with a friend, Smith crafted a protest sign that read « Dogma is dogshit » and arrived at the Eatontown theater, where the expected crowd of 1,500 protesters amounted to no more than two dozen. Joining the protest of devout Christians, Smith held his sign with faux pride and recited prayers alongside the small group of significantly older detractors.

Making Smith’s characteristically irreverent stunt even more comical was the arrival of a local news team. Interviewing various protesters about why they were so vehemently opposed to Dogma, a reporter ultimately made her way to the filmmaker who, remaining incognito as an incensed Catholic, explained why he was protesting the film. « I don’t think it stands for anything positive, » he said of his film with a straight face. While the reporter appeared to realize who she was speaking to, Smith played the encounter cool, denying his true identity and giving the reporter a fake name. Shortly after giving his interview, Smith received a phone call from his mother, who said, « There is somebody on TV who looks just like you. »

Ultimately, Dogma was released to a mostly warm reception from critics and viewers alike, grossing $43 million worldwide. As expected, Smith and his collaborators were never punished by God for making the film, nor were moviegoers for seeing and enjoying it. Though it remains one of Smith’s most highly regarded films, Dogma is in a state of limbo in terms of access via streaming and home video due to Harvey Weinstein retaining ownership of the rights.According to IndieWire, Blu-ray copies of the film can be purchased but at a whopping expense of $100. « He’s holding it hostage, » Smith told The Wrap. « My movie about angels is owned by the devil himself. And if there’s only one way out of this, maybe we could buy it away. »

Dogma is available to purchase on DVD via Amazon.

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