While executives and members of the press were settling into suites in Cannes last week, Harvey and Bob Weinstein were screening Kevin Smith’s new film, “Dogma,” for a select group of acquisitions folks, executives, and others in New York and Los Angeles, in advance of what will be the film’s world premiere out of competition on Friday in France. Miramax recently announced that it would not distribute the film because of its potentially controversial content involving the Roman Catholic church — the Weinsteins are currently seeking a distributor for the movie.

On Wednesday night the Weinsteins, along with Smith and producer Scott Mosier, attended a screening of the film in downtown Manhattan. While one insider clearly labeled the showing a “distributor screening,” another called it a “research screening without the research.” The showing was hardly a private affair, an audience was recruited in New York at sites including Columbia University, however unlike many such screenings, attendees were not polled with research surveys. The film screened the following night in Los Angeles.

Advance reviews from fans who attended the screenings began showing up late last week on Internet sites including Harry Knowles’ “Ain’t it Cool News” and the “News Askew” site. The NewsAskew site is offering links to a handful of the reviews .

Chevy Chase tries a career Hail Mary pass by choosing indie icon Kevin Smith to write and possibly direct a speculative third installment. Smith claims he learned to write dialogue from Gregory McDonald’s classics about the wise-ass crime reporter, and he’s taken a shot at scripts and story lines for Superman and Jaws sequal projects, so he could be a natural.

WHY IT MIGHT NOT SUCK:Because in the right role, Chevy is God. Fletch is the right role.