Kevin Smith has finally secured the rights to his long out-of-print classic from 1999, and he explains the complicated process of dealing with disgraced movie executive, Harvey Weinstein. Smith was one of the handful of independent filmmakers from the 1990s who helped revolutionize the small-budget movie. Following his breakout film, Clerks, with a string of irreverent and poignant comedies, Smith captured the zeitgeist of the final years of the decade. However, one of his most popular films was tied up in rights issues for years, but the director has finally resolved them over 25 years later.
In an exclusive interview with ScreenRant, Smith discussed the complicated process of securing the rights to Dogma, and revealed that Weinstein was reluctant to give the movie back. Due to a pre-streaming deal signed by Smith, the 1999 spoof on religion was held up in limbo and allowed to go out of print. When the director attempted to buy the movie back from the disgraced former Miramax executive, he was stymied at every turn. According to Smith, initial offers of $250 thousand, $500 thousand, and finally $1 million were all rejected, prompting the filmmaker to nearly give up.
Smith revealed that Weinstein’s lawyer countered with a demand for $5 million for the film, prompting him to reply, “Look, if I had $5 million, I’d make a new-a– movie, f–k buying an old movie, as much as I love it.” Eventually, Smith did reacquire the rights and has been touring the film in celebration of the 25th anniversary of its release. Smith has mentioned he’s working on the script for Dogma 2, but it’s unclear where that project currently stands.
“When I was pursuing it myself about five years ago, I made a serious push to try to get the rights back. Wrote three letters to a convicted rapist and made three different offers, like, $250,000, $500,000 and then collected some f—-ng [extra funding] from people, because I ain’t rich, so I had to call some rich people and s–t. And then, I was able to call back and be like, “A million dollars.” He wouldn’t let it go. His lawyer kept saying, “No.” I had heard at that point after the million dollar offer, “You’re not close, he wants 5 million.” I remember saying, “Look, if I had $5 million, I’d make a new-a– movie, f–k buying an old movie, as much as I love it.” So, it was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at that point.”
What This Means For Dogma’s Re-Release
There Is Clearly A Lot Of Pᴀssion Behind The Film’s Return
After all the hard work that Smith put into getting the film back, the director can channel that pᴀssion into delivering the best re-release possible.
As Kevin Smith discussed, getting the rights to Dogma was not an easy feat. However, there was clearly pᴀssion behind Smith’s mission, and he wouldn’t have gone after the movie with such zeal if it wasn’t one of his best films. Dogma has been one of the most difficult cult classics to view in the modern day, and it’s a key part of Smith’s filmography that has largely been lost to time for years. After all the hard work that Smith put into getting the film back, the director can channel that pᴀssion into delivering the best re-release possible.
Dogma was a modest box office success, grossing $30 million against a reported budget of $10 million (via Box Office Mojo).
Our Take On The Re-Release Of Dogma
The Movie’s Return Might Be Just What Kevin Smith’s Career Needs
Because it was so hard to find for so long, Dogma is a forgotten cult classic comedy that has largely faded into the background. I think that did a major disservice to Kevin Smith’s career, and it hid one of his greatest accomplishments as a filmmaker. While there’s no denying that his recent output has been mediocre, Dogma proves that Clerks and Chasing Amy weren’t just flukes. The re-release of the 1999 film could spur Kevin Smith to start a new chapter in his three-decade-long career.
