Courtesy Calgary Sun
By Louis B. Hobson

Kevin Smith's controversial film upsets Catholic Church

TORONTO -- Kevin Smith wants to make one thing absolutely clear.

He is not just a Catholic. He's a devout, practising Catholic.

That's why the 29-year-old filmmaker can't believe the Catholic Church is attacking his new film, Dogma.

William Donohue, president of the American Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, has labelled Dogma "hate mail'' and has been successful in getting Disney to sell off distribution rights of the film to the Canadian-owned Lions Gate Films.

"Mr. Donahue and his group are radicals. They have a hate on for Disney and its liberal/gay views,'' Smith said in an interview yesterday.

"Whether it's to condemn the company for its same-sex benefits, Gay Day at Disneyland or for releasing Priest (a film about a gay clergyman), Donohue loves to attack.

"I think Dogma became just another avenue for Donohue's personal vendetta.

"I've been working on this movie for five years and I've consistently been careful about not offending the church. This is a just a comic satire, so I thought it was safe. It's not The Last Temptation of Christ.''

Dogma follows the exploits of a pair of renegade angels (Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) as they try to use a loophole in Catholic dogma to re-enter heaven centuries after being expelled by God.

In his condemnation of Dogma, Donohue points out that God is played by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, a lapsed Catholic.

He says Dogma ridicules the apostles, prophets, clergy and many of the most sacred doctrines of Catholicism.

"I didn't make the movie for Mr. Donohue. I made it for movie-goers who have been faithful to my films and for people who like to laugh,'' says Smith, who wrote and directed Clerk, Mallrats and Chasing Amy.

Dogma was an audience favourite at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and was one of the hottest tickets at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Tickets to the sold-out screening Saturday were being scalped for up to $200.

Lions Gate will release Dogma on 1,000 screens in North America, including Calgary, on Nov. 12.

"Of course, all this controversy will benefit us, but I still wish it had not occurred,'' says Smith, who is now working on a prime-time animated series for ABC based on Clerks.

Dogma boasts an impressive cast that also includes Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Linda Fiorentino, Jason Lee, Janeane Garofalo, Alan Rickman and George Carlin.

"People like Ben, Matt, Chris, Jason and Salma were committed to the project before they became such high-profile stars and they loved the material so much they didn't back out," Smith said.