How Dogma Finally Escaped Harvey Weinstein

by

Kevin Smith had lost hope for his movie “Dogma.” By last year, the fan of hockey jerseys and resident of New Jersey, who is also a writer-director, no longer believed that his religious fantasy-comedy, which tells the story of fallen angels (played by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) trying to exploit a loophole in Catholic sin-forgiveness to reenter heaven, would ever be freed from cinematic purgatory. Released theatrically in 1999 at a cost of $10 million, this satire boasted supporting roles by Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Alan Rickman, George Carlin, and Alanis Morissette as God. The film sparked immediate controversy upon release due to its perceived disrespect for Christian teachings. It was criticized sight unseen, denounced by the Catholic League and other religious groups for mocking “God, the Church, the Mass, and Mary’s virginity,” and went on to gross a substantial $30 million at the box office. However, after its theatrical release and DVD run, the film became scarce in public consumption. It was not available on streaming services and its rights holder, Harvey Weinstein of the disgraced former Miramax/Weinstein Company, kept it away from digital rental.

As a passionate film enthusiast, I’ve always held “Dogma” close to my heart, and in 2009, I started my quest to bring this masterpiece back to the big screen for its tenth anniversary. However, my attempts were met with deafening silence from Harvey Weinstein, due to both personal and professional reasons.

In 2008, our partnership had taken a hit when I openly criticized his marketing strategy for “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.” This criticism effectively ended our relationship that dated back to the release of my debut film, “Clerks,” in 1994. I even attempted to rekindle discussions about “Dogma” in 2014, but by then, I had further strained our relationship during a heated argument at the Sundance Film Festival over his boisterous talking during a screening of my 2011 film, “Red State.”

In 2019, with the support of my wealthy friends, I offered to buy “Dogma” back from Harvey three times – first for $250,000, then $500,000, and finally $1 million. However, Harvey refused to sell, demanding a staggering $5 million for the rights, which was far beyond my reach.

Harvey continued to hold onto “Dogma,” despite facing numerous criminal charges for rape and sexual assault, and mounting legal bills. In frustration, I let it go and gave up hope. If I had $5 million, I would have made a whole new movie instead. That’s the story of my ongoing struggle to reclaim “Dogma.

In simpler terms, Dogma, one of Kevin Smith’s most successful movies, might never have seen the light of day in theaters or streaming platforms if not for Alessandra Williams, an independent producer who intervened unexpectedly. She rescued the film from being banned and confined to illegal torrent sites and expensive eBay DVDs by buying a portion of Weinstein’s most notorious and valuable films at a discount. Among these were Larry Clark’s “Kids”, a drama about NYC youth gone wild, and Michael Moore’s highest-grossing documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, which was sold to Flick Ventures Holding Ltd., based in the United Arab Emirates. Williams made it clear to the Flick investors that she needed control over Dogma, promising them that they could recoup their investment by selling all the other films, and then she would have Dogma.

Later, the producer negotiated a revenue-splitting agreement with AMC and prepared for the highly anticipated “Dogma: The Resurrection Tour” in 20 cities this spring. Smith was responsible for showing the movie nationwide and moderating lively question-and-answer sessions. Additionally, Williams arranged for the film to be included in the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a prolonged standing ovation of seven minutes last month. Furthermore, she successfully sold the foreign distribution rights to the French company Goodfellas during this time, culminating in a re-release of “Dogma” on June 5 in 1,500 theaters across the U.S. and Canada.

In simpler terms, a woman who is known for her yoga expertise and acting skills in films like “Spenser Confidential” and “Paul, Apostle of Christ”, and who also wrote, directed, and starred in her own production “Green Kola”, acknowledges that she may not be the typical savior, but managed to help a movie called “Dogma”. In an interview with Vulture via Zoom from Cannes, she said, “I’ve never saved any movies before, but I knew the right people at the right time.” Director Kevin Smith playfully calls her his guardian angel, praising her for outsmarting the infamous Harvey Weinstein, who is known for being vindictive. He says, “She rescued my movie about angels from the hands of the devil himself.

As a dedicated fan, I’m thrilled to share that the visionaries behind the project have some grand schemes in store next: Dogma 2, a screenplay penned by Smith during the Resurrection Tour, and an enticing streaming series nestled within the movie’s biblical cinematic universe. I can hardly wait to see what unfolds!

In his own words, Smith labels Dogma as one of his most intimate films. The plot revolves around the characters Loki and Bartleby, played by Damon and Affleck, who are exiled from heaven. They devise a plan to attend a New Jersey church’s rededication ceremony, hoping to secure a plenary indulgence that could erase their sins and allow them reentry into heaven. However, this act would contradict God’s will, potentially causing chaos in the universe.

At the time of Dogma‘s release, Smith was an active Catholic. He clarifies that the film was not meant as a critique of Christianity but rather as an examination of his family’s faith intertwined with a “comic-book cosmology” and a creative leap following his 1994 breakthrough films Clerks and Mallrats. As he puts it, he envisioned Dogma as “my idea of a Sunday service. But with some blue humor thrown in.

Williams, in her youth, frequently moved between Manhattan and Smith’s View Askewniverse in suburban New Jersey. Her family’s passion for cinema enabled her to watch “Clerks” and the R-rated “Dogma” at just 10 years old. She later created and directed short films, but what truly mattered was her work as an assistant to Martin Bregman, a producer whose extensive portfolio includes “Serpico,” “Scarface,” and “The Bone Collector” starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Under his guidance, she honed her skills in film development, finance, foreign sales, and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences politics.

Without knowing it, Smith and Williams separately embarked on similar journeys to obtain the rights for the movie “Dogma“. In October 2017, Smith received an unexpected call that he had long anticipated: “Hello Kevin, this is Harvey Weinstein. I’ve just realized we have Dogma and aren’t using it. This film boasts a fantastic cast who are still active, and I was wondering if you’d ever considered making a sequel or a streaming series?

Smith reminisces, “I felt incredibly excited.” Harvey said, “‘I believe we can make this happen. I’ll reach out to you next week.'” However, three days later, the New York Times expose on Weinstein’s repeated sexual misconduct deflated Smith’s enthusiasm. A reliable source at the Weinstein Company informed the director that Kevin had no intention of developing Dogma as a streaming series; he was merely checking if Smith was one of the sources for the New York Times report. The fact that Smith picked up the phone indicated to him that Smith wasn’t one of the leakers.

In 2019, Williams experienced a significant idea when she heard Smith express concern about the fading cultural impact of “Dogma” on a podcast. She remembers thinking, “I want to restore this movie and show it in as many theaters as possible.” She felt that if she could control this film, she could promote it widely and establish a new company around it. Her determination was, “There’s value in these hills, and I’m going to reach the summit if it’s the last thing I do.”

At first, studios and film financiers were hesitant about working with Weinstein. However, two years ago, Williams had a breakthrough idea. “It suddenly occurred to me who would be the ideal group of people,” she said. “I know some investors from Dubai who are wealthy but not Hollywood insiders. They don’t care about public opinion and they’re foreign. They were willing to invest in him. So I asked them to buy the film. Surprisingly, instead of just purchasing one movie, we ended up acquiring all nine films that he still had available.

As a movie connoisseur, I recall that last autumn, Kevin Smith and I had an unexpected conversation over the phone about re-releasing his film “Dogma” in 2000 theaters. He casually mentioned it, as if inviting me to discuss potential tour plans, similar to our past collaborations with “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” and “Clerks III”. The conversation took a peculiar turn when Smith’s dog, Mona Lisa, unexpectedly emerged from his luxury handbag. I remember thinking, “Ah, that must be Alessandra, the woman with the dog in the bag.” Little did I know that this seemingly insignificant detail was the catalyst for an exciting project.

In essence, Williams opted for an unconventional route to bypass a studio distribution ally. She arranged for the re-release of ‘Dogma’ through an innovative revenue-sharing deal with AMC, similar to the agreement Taylor Swift made with AMC and Regal for her ‘Eras Tour’ concert film self-distribution. Williams admitted, “I did take a risk in a way.” When releasing a film, one can either pay a distributor a percentage or pay per theater they book. If one chooses the per-theater option and no one attends the theater, significant losses can occur. If a percentage is chosen, the theater chain receives a percentage of that, but you’ll never lose money, albeit at a high cost. Williams was convinced ‘Dogma’ would be popular, so she chose the per-theater booking option.

As a frequent visitor to the Cannes Film Festival for five consecutive years, Williams leveraged her connections with festival director Thierry Fremaux and executive Gérald Duchaussoy to persuasively arrange a showing of the film “Dogma” in the Cannes Classic section. This section is designed to showcase “restored masterpieces,” although it primarily features films that are at least 50 years old. Williams casually explained, “I simply submitted the film on their website and kept following up daily, persistently. Most people might think, ‘That’s quite pushy,’ but I didn’t care. I was determined and felt, ‘I have nothing to lose.’

As a movie reviewer, I found myself harboring doubts about my agreement with Williams. The deal seemed too good to last, leaving me on edge, constantly anticipating the inevitable betrayal. I dedicated two months to meticulously scrutinizing the financiers of our film, fearing that perhaps Williams was a double agent working for Weinstein behind closed doors. The more I delved into the details, the more I kept asking myself, “What am I overlooking here? Is this too good to be true?”

The thought of Robert De Niro’s character, Louis Cypher, suddenly appearing out of nowhere to reveal a hidden trap, much like in ‘Angel Heart’, was never far from my mind. I couldn’t shake the feeling that at any moment, I would be confronted with the harsh reality that this dream project had been my downfall instead of my breakthrough. The whole experience felt eerily reminiscent of ‘Angel Heart’ to some degree.

He remains astonished, as he exclaimed, “I attempted it five years back. I bent over backwards! I made connections! It was meant to be my project! I knew the key figures! Yet, I couldn’t manage to bring it to fruition.

Inquiring about the plans for Dogma 2, I wondered if it would be a prequel. Since the characters portrayed by Affleck and Damon died in the original movie, I was curious to know if they would reprise their roles again for part two. Smith shared that he aims to invite all surviving cast members to return, should they wish. Affleck and Damon won’t be the main drivers of the story because Smith acknowledges their value. Previously, they were compensated fairly for the first film, but now Smith cannot ask them to work without pay for an extended period. He mentioned that Bartleby is a role dear to Affleck, as he fought for it in the past. If asked to participate in Dogma 2 for just a few days, there’s no doubt Affleck would accept the offer, given his appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

The main disagreement between Smith and Williams concerning their partnership seems to revolve around ownership rights for a project named “Dogma”. During our conversation, she hinted that she had given Smith a share in the film’s ownership, but declined to provide further details. After consulting with his producing partners during our interview, Smith clarified that he currently owns no percentage of the original film, but will have the opportunity to create projects related to “Dogma” in the future. Williams expressed, “I gave him a share in the film forever, so he’ll always be my partner, which is wonderful.

Smith mentions, “I’ve never owned ‘Dogma’ before, and I’m not planning to own it now either. My goal isn’t possession; instead, I enjoy playing with my acquired items long after they become mine.

Read More

2025-06-10 22:55