Alas, Kevin Smith’s Dogma - which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year - has been rescued from the shackles of its executive producer, Harvey Weinstein.
Dogma is one of Kevin Smith’s most talked-about films. The film - which features a stellar cast that includes Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Alan Rickman, Linda Fiorentino, Jason Mewes, Jason Lee, Salma Hayek, George Carlin, Alanis Morissette, Chris Rock and countless others - follows two renegade angels who've been banished to Earth for all eternity, when they finally find a loophole to get back into Heaven. The result, however, would negate all of existence. It’s a film that was popular when it was released, but it’s been years since it’s been available on DVD and it’s never been on streaming.
What's taken so long for Kevin Smith's movie "Dogma" to become available again?
There’s a reason for that. The film was quite controversial when it came out, being protested by the Catholic League. When the studio behind the film - Miramax, then owned by Disney - started getting death threats, Disney wanted to distance itself from the film. So Miramax’s President - Harvey Weinstein - bought the film himself, and licensed it to Lionsgate to distribute theatrically. Because of this, that meant that the film has been owned by Harvey Weinstein for 25 years. When those licensing deals lapsed, the film has been in limbo with a man that is currently serving a life sentence in prison for sexual assault and rape.
Finally, after years of failed attempts, the film has been rescued away from Weinstein. Kevin Smith recently did an interview where he revealed all of the details.
“The movie’s been bought away from the guy that had it for years and whatnot,” he said in a recent interview. “The company that bought it, we met with them a couple months ago. They were like, ‘Would you be interested in re-releasing it and touring it like you do with your movies?’ I said, ‘100 percent, are you kidding me? Touring a movie that I know people like, and it’s sentimental and nostalgic? We’ll clean up.'”
So there you have it! Smith says he thinks 2025 will be the year that this can finally be a reality. The plan is for a home video release, a roadshow tour, and a theatrical re-release.
