Kevin Smith has shared that he received death threats over his 1999 comedy film Dogma. The fourth film in Smith's View Askewniverse series deals with religious themes and Catholicism. Singer Alanis Morissette even played Smith's version of God in the film.
While speaking with EW, Smith reminisced about his films, including Clerks (1994) and Mallrats (1995). When talking about Dogma, Smith said that the film received thousands of angry letters due to the film's religious subject matter. This included receiving three death threats. Smith's full quote about the angry reaction to the film can be found below:
"[
Dogma
] was my fourth motion picture, and I almost got killed over it. 400,000 pieces of hate mail and three bona fide death threats."
Dogma Was Another Personal Story From Kevin Smith
The Filmmaker Has Talked Many Times About Growing Up Catholic
Having grown up Catholic himself, Smith tapped into that experience for Dogma, using it to comment on themes of faith and organized religion. In addition to Morissette as God, the film featured Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as fallen angels and the villains of the movie, as well as a star-studded cast including Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, and George Carlin. Jason Mewes and Smith would also reprise their iconic characters of Jay and Silent Bob, this time appearing as prophets.
Many of Smith's best films have been ones that told personal stories from his life. Clerks talked about his feelings of working in a convenience store before becoming a filmmaker. Clerks III, the latest installment in the View Askewniverse, dealt with Randal Graves having a heart attack, something Smith himself experienced in 2018. The film also showed Randal making a movie of his own that is similar to the very first Clerks movie. Smith's latest film, The 4:30 Movie, is also a personal story for the director as it's a nostalgic look at going to the movies in the 1980s. It was even filmed at Smith's childhood movie theater, which he now co-owns.
The angry response to Dogma over its religious subject matter led to more than hate mail and death threats, however. Due to the controversy it stirred, the film was purchased and is now personally owned by disgraced former movie producers Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein. The Weinsteins were the founders of Miramax, which had previously distributed Clerks and Chasing Amy. Dogma being personally owned by the Weinsteins is why the movie is no longer available on home video or available to watch on any streaming service.
Our Take On Dogma's Controversy
A Shame To See The Reaction Smith Received For Telling A Story
Since Smith grew up Catholic, it's a shame that a movie about a topic so personal to the filmmaker led to such controversy. Smith even teased the film during the end credits of Clerks, by announcing that Jay and Silent Bob would appear in the film, showing that he had been thinking about making the movie for a while. Despite the film creating controversy, Smith was able to have fun with it. While the film was being protested by a small group, Smith joined them, pretending to be a protester himself. He was even interviewed by a local TV news channel, and claimed that he was not the director of the film.
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