Story courtesy of Aug

Dogma: Crusade Or Hype?

The most NewYork/New York Daily News website reports that controversy is starting to brew surrounding Kevin Smith's religious comedy Dogma. Apparently, the script found its way into the hands of the president of the Catholic League, William Donohue, who is now demanding an audience with Disney's head honcho Michael Eisner. Donohue's complaint is that all too often Hollywood enjoys skewering Christians. "They love doing this," he says. "[They say], 'Let's see how we can stick it to Christians. What would really offend them?'"

The story further tells that there is a chance the meeting might happen, in part due to Eisner's own alleged discomfort with the project.

Furthermore, Ben Affleck recently speaking with Jeffrey Wells at the Mr.Showbiz site said, "It would not surprise me if the political situation around Dogma was very tenuous. I know [Miramax chairman] Harvey Weinstein has his trepidations about this, and he's gotta answer to Disney." Affleck goes on further, saying, "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. So if I were Eisner, I might be a little nervous, 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, whom we allow to make the kind of movies they want to make.'"

In spite of the seeming controversy, one should take into account that Affleck's comments were printed on a site owned by ABC News which in turn is owned by Disney.