Hey, that’s all she wrote, folks. We’ll see ya next time…
Today’s New York Times has a very good article, but that’s really it for the major news going on. You’d think there’d be more, but things have just been slowing down, now that Kevin’s got his appearances out of the way and we’ve got a lull before Dogma takes the country by storm. So, bear with us, we’ll be around, but probably a lot more silent than you’ve been used to, at least until things kick into gear again.
By the way, due to some complications moving the CGI scripts (the stuff that runs the counter and the poll topic), we’re STILL on the old server, but are working hard behind the scenes to fix it all up. We DO have a new poll topic for ya today, of course, courtesy of Sundeep.
We’ve enclosed the article in full today (as well as a nice new publicity shot from the film), since we’ve got the space. For the devout Dogma purists, there ARE some MINOR SPOILERS relating to the film’s plot here, but nothing that we feel ruins anything for ya:
 Chris Rock, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes and Linda Fiorentino in a scene from ‘Dogma’. |
Deflator of the Faith? Director Begs to Differ
by Dave Kehr(NY Times)
Cannes, France
Crisis of faith are not the usual topic of discussion on the roof of the Martinez, one of the great, white luxury hotels that line the waterfront of this storied Cot’e d’Azur resort town.
During the commercial frenzy of the annual Cannes International Film Festival, conversation in high places is more likely to turn to back-end deals and ancillary rights.
But here is Kevin Smith, the 29-year-old director of the ribald, raucous independent comedies “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy,” explaining the complicated history of his relationship with the Roman Catholic Church.
“I was raised a strict Catholic,” said Mr. Smith, an earnest, outgoing, slightly pudgy child of Red Bank, N.J. ” I came to my crisis later, when I was about 22. Sooner or later, no matter how devout you are, even if you’re the Pope, you have to step back and say, ‘What’s the difference between this book, the Bible, and Greek mythology?
“A thousand or however many years ago, people used to adhere to Zeus and Hera. They believed; that was the religion of the time. Two thousand years later, we just kind of chuckle. They’re fine literary stories, but how could anyone ever believe in this nonsense? In a few thousand years, will people view the Bible and my religion as the same?”
The occasion for Mr. Smith’s confession was the world premiere of his new film, “Dogma,” a free-form theological fantasy that pits two fallen angels, Loki and Bartleby(played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, the “Good Will Hunting” team),against Bethany(Linda Fiorentino), a counselor in a Chicago abortion clinic who happens to be a linear descendant of Jesus Christ. In the balance: the fate of the universe if the two angels can take advantage of a loophole in Catholic dogma – a plenary indulgence to be granted at the rededication of a New Jersey church – to reclaim their positions in heaven.
Along the way, there are encounters with a muse who moonlights as a striptease dancer(Salma Hayek), a sarcastic seraphim who likes his tequila neat(Alan Rickman), a man who proclaims himself the Thirteenth Apostle but who says he has been overlooked because he is black(Chris Rock), and a supreme being of a distinctly female persuasion(the rock singer-songwriter Alanis Morisette).
Among the members of the American press in Cannes, the reception was ecstatic. But Mr. Smith’s additions to the standard text have disturbed some religious conservatives, including William A. Donohue, the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which describes itself as the nation’s largest Roman Catholic civil rights group. Clouded by the threat of protest, the film’s release in the United States has been delayed.
“Smith says his movie is ‘intended as a love letter to both faith and God Almighty’ “, Mr. Donohue said at a press conference in June. “But in the movie, Joseph and Mary have sex and a descendant of theirs works at an abortion clinic; God is played by a singer known for her nude videos and songs about oral sex; the Thirteenth Apostle resembles Howard Stern; Mass is compared to lousy sex. This sounds more like hate mail than a love letter.” (Mr. Donohue said he had not seen the film but based his objections on a draft of the script posted on the Internet.)
“Dogma” was produced by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairmen of Miramax Films, the art house subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. In April, shortly before the Cannes festival, let it be known that “Dogma” would be “inappropriate: for the Disney label, and the Weinsteins agreed use their own money to buy the film back from Disney for a price(variously reported as $10 million or $12 million) close to its production cost.
With Disney demurring, the Weinstein brothers have since been looking for another distributor to take on the film, a package, Mr. Smith says, that will come complete with the Weinsteins’ famous marketing savvy. Although a deal has been rumored, no announcements have been made.
Mr. Smith remains confident that “Dogma” will arrive in theaters this fall, though the Catholic League – which takes credit for the cancellation of the ABC series about a freethinking priest, “Nothing Scared,” and which organized the protests against the “Terrance McNally play about a gay Christ-like figure,”Corpus-Christi” earlier this year – is not abandoning its efforts. The League’s most recent press release identifies the Weinsteins as “among the top fund raisers for the Clintons” and calls upon Hillary Clinton to “summon the courage to slam ‘Dogma’, with its filthy humor targeted at Catholics.”
Mr. Smith however, remains a regular churchgoer, though he prefers not to identify his parish: “So far I’m kind of anonymous, I can slip into church and nobody says anything. Sometimes I sit there and think ‘Please don’t mention me in the Homily!’ But so far it hasn’t come up. I’m under the radar.”I went out and sampled other religions, but eventually I came back to Catholicism, because that’s where the groundwork is. I’m Catholic because of my belief in God and my belief in Jesus Christ, so I don’t want to get lost in whether or not the Church is right in its stance on abortion or whether the Church is right in everything they play out in their dogma. Let’s just agree to disagree and do what we came here to do, which is worship God.”
Dressed in black Bermuda shorts and a hooded sweatshirt(with a “Clerks” T-shirt peeking through), Mr. Smith looks more like a kid who checked his skateboard at the door than a satirist following in the footsteps of Swift and Voltaire. In fact, his main frame of cultural reference is comic book art – “It’s the ghetto of all entertainment mediums, because no one owns up to reading it” – and he was the author of the first draft of the planned new “Superman” movie starring Nicholas Cage under Tim Burton’s direction.
“I didn’t treat Superman like a Messiah,” said Mr. Smith, “But I did treat him as more of a god than in the other versions. Warner Brothers seemed to like it, but then Tim Burton just wanted to go another way.”
“Dogma” blends the gross-out humor that has recently found so much favor at the box office(there is a demon named “the Golgothan” who emerges from the nether regions of a men’s room) with loopy metaphysical speculation of the kind that keeps caffeinated college sophomores up all night. Mr.Smith creates unchecked verbal disquisitions on free will to sexual references that would make a broadminded stevedore blush. Seldom has the Catholic distinction between body and soul been so fiercely and funnily drawn.
“I think ultimately that serious-minded people will be embarrassed to protest this film,” said Mr. Affleck, its leading man. I mean. come on, it’s not like ‘The Last Temptation of Christ.’ ” It’s really pro-faith. It’s somebody who’s trying to reconcile what he was taught in the church with the things he saw in the world., and the way that those things sometimes seem to contradict one another.
His co-star, Ms. Hayek, jumps in here. “And Disney is right not to distribute it!” she said, seated with Mr. Affleck at the Martinez’s rooftop patio. “Many years ago, they decided to do one specific product. This is what they do for a living. They work for a specific audience. They know that, and we can’t look down on them for what they are.”
This, teased Mr. Affleck, is evidence that “Salma’s just trying to get into ‘Jungle Book II.’ ”
On another corner of the terrace, Mr. Smith seemed unconcerned with brute commercial considerations. He concluded , “This movie, for me, was a way of exercising my faith, of showing my passion for something they’re not showing me in church.”
“To me, hell would be the absence of God. You want to be with him or her, and take that splinter of the divine that’s in you and add it to the whole of the divine that’s waiting, presumably, in the next life.
“I don’t know if hell is something that the Catholic Church created or something we just bought into. But I can’t risk it – I’m too chicken.”
What movie did THEY see? Have a fun weekend. We’ll check in sometime.
Today on the News Askew front, a bunch of small stuff – Some last minute pics and notes on the Wizard appearance came in, so surf back to the Wrapup page if you wanna check that out. Other than that, your usual assortment of bits and pieces to fill that empty void that the lack of a Dogma release announcement is leaving in your View Askew world. Here we go, kids:
pg. 10-11 -Letters Page- Two letters about Kevin (well, 1 1/2 really). The first one is a letter that questions the veracity of the story behind Kevin selling his comic collection to make Clerks. Basically the person states that no true comic collector would ever sell his/her collection. Kevin replied with, “I can say only that my passion to make Clerks superseded my passion to own every issue of Hawk & Dove.” The second letter compared Ann Nocenti’s run of DareDevil to Kevin’s (angels & demons & stuff).
pg 73 -Casting Call for the “Mage” movie – I know what you’re all thinking, Kevin Smith as Kevin Matchstick. Well… you’re wrong. The Wizard staff sees Aidan Quinn in that role. But, they do see Jason Lee as “Hornblower” the wanna-be squire to Kevin Matchstick. Kevin Smith is actually listed as being perfect for the role of “Gretch,” who is Isis’ giant husband.
pg. 117 – A quick preview for Clerks: The Lost Scene.
pg 120 – Joe Quesada in the “What I’m Reading” section – After answering a few other books (Preacher & Thor to name two), Joe Q. couldn’t resist throwing this barb at Kevin: “And I read Jay and Silent Bob whenever Kevin Smith gets around to it.”
pg 123 – Top 10 Hottest Writers – Wanna guess who’s number 1 again?
PREVIEWS
1) Page 274 -Jay & SB Trade Paperback – The legendary comic book series all in one volume -and since it’s all done, it’ll actually come out on time! Follow the adventures of everyone’s favorite duo as they bug out of Jersey and head for Shermer, Illionois, in search of the idyllic paradise of the John Hughes films. Along the way they run into has-been actors, porn-stars, and a super intelligent monkey, all the while offending the populace, enjoying the gifts of the earth, and getting ever closer to the elusive heavy metal idea. In addition to all of Kevin Smith’s fabulous writing and Duncan Fegrado’s astounding artwork, this collection features an 8-page color gallery with all the covers from the comics, including artwork by Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti, Mike Allred, and Jaime Hrenandez, as as the limited edition San Diego photo covers with an introduction by Grammy award-winner Alanis Morrisette.
-There is also an ad for the book next to the solicitation which reads “Here’s something for your shelf. Stck this one in your stash. Jay & Silent Bob -Chasing Dogma.”
Pg. 372 – Two new t-shirts from Graphitti Designs
a) “Jay & Silent Bob… Prophets” t-shirt. -Jay & Silent Bob’s new mission is revealed on the new Jay & Silent Bob Prophets” t-shirt. Screenprinted on a white 100% cotton shirt, this shirt portrays the boys in their forthcoming Dogma roles. Take comfort in knowing that our eternal souls have been placed in the care of this illustrious pair. Holy Snootch!!
b) “Catholicism Wow: Sunday Yeah T- Shirt -Get your butt out of bed…it’s time to get all gussied up for the services with the new “Sunday Wow” t-shirt. This t-shirt with a message is screenprinted in full-color on a black 100% cotton shirt. Be part of the movement that’s taking the world by storm!!”
ABP is still slated for a DVD release sometime this fall. Vincent’s taking special care and supervising every facet of the production to make sure that it’s perfect. For now, this is the only way you can catch the flick, up on the big screen!
Episode 2: The ‘Clips’ episode (based on Paul Dini’s idea). Randal & Dante get locked into a freezer and start reminiscing. The first thirdof the episodes shows clips from the first show. The rest of episodeis other memories like the time they won a contest to be clerks inEngland. There’s a funny bit based on the UK vs. US meanings of”fags”. Also, clerks in India w/ customers complaining “you clerks are all alike, speaking English. Will you speak Hindu!?!”.
Episode 4: The “Outbreak” episode. Randal thinks the monkey in thepet shop at the end of the strip mall is carrying a deadly virus.The entire strip mall in quarentined in a hermetic bubble. Jay &Silent Bob try to teach the monkey to smoke.
Scene most likely to be censored, but will be on the video release:Spielberg combines his family-geared productions with his documentingof the Holocaust in “Flinstone’s List.”
One of the shows writers used to write for SNL & Seinfeld. He wrote the famous “Bizarro” Seinfeld episode, for one.Also, the censorship has started: ABC’s censors wouldn’t let Randal say “bitch, bitch, bitch.” Now he says “nag, nag, nag.”
We’re hoping to somehow nab the first shots of what the animated characters, quick stop, etc. are gonna look like — So ifyou come across any, please send ’em in…Even if ya gotta do it anonymously. We’ll thank you, and we’re sure the fanswill, too.
Now, this raises a TON of questions. First of all, we’ll explain some stuff, though. Alliance is basically Miramax’s armin Canada. They’ve been handling all of Miramax’s DVD distribution. Some of you may recall the Good Will Hunting SpecialEdition that was released by Alliance? Not only did it contain an extra deleted scene, but a 16:9 enhanced transfer (which,upon further examination, looked good to us, though some argued that it was a “cheated” enhancement and not a true one).Also, Canadian DVDs are indeed Region 1, same as the United States, so anyone willing to cover the shipping charges fromCanada to whereever they live can own AND play these titles in their region 1 units.
Now, here’s what worries us: What happens to all of Criterion’s Special Edition material? Obviously Kevin and the ganghaven’t done anything NEW for this release (or we’d have heard SOMETHING about it), so the only real Special Edition materialthat’s out there would be the commentary, deleted scenes, and other little extras that were done exclusively for Criterion.As for the laserdisc commentary and Kev’s now famous comments on DVD at the start of it, we don’t care. Leave it alone.Better to leave the track untouched and a bit out of place on DVD than to try and tweak it, or replace it. It’s an outstandingcommentary, and one we’re sure DVD fans everywhere would be proud to own.
Now, a 16:9 enhancement would be great, so long as it is indeed a TRUE 16:9. Amy’s 1:85 ratio will fit nicely into thisformat. We at least expect this feature to be included on the disc, though, regardless of the other extras. Alliance loves16:9, god bless ’em. However, if you’re gonna do Chasing Amy on DVD, why not add even MORE? Sure, we want the commentaryand the deleted scenes, but how about an isolated track with Dave Pirner’s fantastic score? Or still photos of all the comicpages used in the film? Any more deleted scenes missing from the Criterion laser? Stick them on there, too. Let’s loadthis puppy!
So, the question remains, to buy, or not to buy? Hopefully, we can get some clarification on not only what’s on thisupcoming Alliance disc, but what Buena Vista plans to do about a release stateside as well. If a better release is cominghere, with more extras, a new transfer, whatever…We’ll wait. If Alliance can promise a disc that delivers a 16:9 transferAND all of the extras on the Criterion laserdisc, WE ARE SOLD! In fact, we have a feeling that a LOT of DVD-shaped packages are goingto be crossing that Canadian border on September the 28th. After seeing Mallrats and the amazing work that was done withit, though, Amy’s gonna be a tough disc to follow up with.
In closing, if ANYONE from Alliance or with connections to them is reading this, we’d LOVE to hear from you. If you can supply us with details, even test pressings of the disc, that would help even more. Hell, we’d love to see what you’re doing with From Dusk ‘Til Dawn, too! Another great movie with a fantastic laserdisc edition that fell flat on DVD. Bravo to you, Alliance. Best news we’ve heard all week.
We’ll keep you posted on this situation as it develops.
Now then, as we’d predicted (and sort of hoped), things have calmed down quite a bit this week after a VERY busy run last week. We HAVE managed to scrape together a story and a chunk of NewsBites to help pass your time, though. Hope ya dig ’em. We’ll be back when there’s more to be said!
