Kennedy, Michael (October 5, 2017). "Kevin Smith Says Dogma 2 Will Never Happen." ScreenRant.com. Retrieved 2018-04-24. Other unorthodox casting decisions included George Carlin, who had made his atheism [12] a cornerstone of his public image, as a Catholic priest; Mexican actress Salma Hayek as Serendipity — "the [Muse] who throughout history inspired all the geniuses of art and music, like Mozart and Michelangelo, and never got any of the credit" — and singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette as God. "There's a Zen Buddhist serenity to Alanis that calls to mind something otherworldly," Smith explained. "She's definitely ethereal in nature, even when not speaking, and she carries an air about her that played into the role." [6] Dogma is way too ambitious for its breeches. It’s just a nonstop, nonsensical bombardment of stuff happening with sex jokes, shootouts, and poop monsters stuffed in wherever they’ll fit. But it’s kind of charming. I was like, ‘That makes perfect sense,'” Smith recalled. “I’m guileless, I don’t see all the angles. He was calling not because he wanted to do anything with ‘Dogma.’ He wanted to see if I was one of the people who had spoken to the New York Times. I hadn’t, because I didn’t know any of that stuff.”

Smith was the Next Big Thing in 1999, hot off a string of beloved indie hits. He was like if Jim Jarmusch was hip and wrote masturbation jokes. Just as Harvey Weinstein initially invested in Clerks to bolster his company’s image as a studio that supports indie filmmakers, it stands to reason that some of Dogma ‘s cast is there to similarly prove their indie bona fides. source: Lionsgate Films Dogma is clearly a beloved film. Smith continues to hold appeal among cinephiles (and New Jerseyans), and despite getting larger budgets and bigger casts, he doesn’t seem to have changed his sensibilities much since 1999. But I wish he were given a smaller budget for something like Dogma. Clearly, he’s here for the dialogue, as the large-scale ambition of his storytelling pales in comparison to his only true loves: pop culture references and people talking about stuff. Caro, Mark (November 7, 1999). "A Practicing Catholic on the Religious Storm of 'Dogma' ". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 21, 2013 . Retrieved November 1, 2022. Smith formerly claimed Weinstein refused to pay royalties for “Clerks,” with a total of seven years before being able to see profits from the now-classic feature that spurred a trilogy.

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As someone who values his parochial school education and still gets into interminable debates about church teachings, I enjoyed the "Dogma" approach, which takes church teaching jokingly and very seriously indeed--both at the same time. It reflects a mentality I'm familiar with. (For example, it's a sin to harbor an impure thought, but how many seconds counts as harboring?) I am also familiar with the types at William Donohue's small but loud Catholic League, which is protesting this film as blasphemous. Damon returned to reprise his role as a reborn Loki in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. In a fourth-wall breaking monologue, he explains after the events of Dogma God once again banished him to Earth, this time to the Mediterranean Sea where he was rescued by Italian fishermen after getting amnesia, describing the plot of Damon's film The Bourne Identity: he remarks that would make his current form his " reborn identity". One week later, The New York Times published the investigative report alleging Weinstein raped and assaulted dozens of women. What's more, I think a Catholic God might plausibly enjoy a movie like "Dogma," or at least understand the human impulses that made it, as he made them. ("He's lonely--but he's funny," an angel says in the movie.) After all, it takes Catholic theology absolutely literally, and in such detail that non-Catholics may need to be issued Catechisms on their way into the theater (not everybody knows what a plenary indulgence is). Sure, it contains a lot of four-letter words, because it has characters who use them as punctuation. But, hey, they're vulgarities, not blasphemies. Venial, not mortal. Sure, it has a flawed prophet who never gives up trying to get into the heroine's pants, but even St. Augustine has been there, done that.

It feels like an extension of the same ethos that got Clerks made — everyone’s having fun, saying witty, punchy dialogue. For many of these performers, I’m sure movies like Dogma are why they got into acting in the first place.In late November 2005, Smith responded to talk of a possible sequel on the ViewAskew.com message boards: Marcus Errico (April 8, 1999). "Miramax, Disney Dogged by "Dogma" ". E! Online . Retrieved November 21, 2020.

Annual SATELLITE™ Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009 . Retrieved November 1, 2022.

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When asked about the sequel in October 2017, Smith said it would not happen, as he no longer desired to make any new religious films. [33] Oliver Jones (September 9, 1999). " 'Dogma' goes to Lions Gate". Variety . Retrieved November 21, 2020. Election," "Limey" Up for Indie Oscars" ". E! Online. January 13, 2000. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013 . Retrieved November 1, 2022.

I mean, honestly, not even a thought. I don’t think he realized that he still owned that movie,” the “Clerks” star explained. “I don’t think he realized that it went out of public distribution or anything like that.” a b Seiler, Andy (October 24, 2001). "Kevin Smith is seldom 'Silent' ". USA Today . Retrieved July 19, 2010. They talk about pop culture because the only power they’re afforded is that of the consumer. The joke of the film is that Jay and Silent Bob are two normal people whose entire lives will likely have zero impact on the universe. They have no power, no responsibility, no influence. But Smith puts them in a situation where suddenly they have to save all of humanity, and the punchline is that they don’t seem psyched about it in the least. Mewes gets one dramatic line in the whole film when he declares his (and Silent Bob’s) love for Bethany, and bless his heart, Mewes just can’t do it. The rest of the film doesn’t bother with stakes or emotion for these two. It’s just all sex jokes and Star Wars references — another Tuesday for Jay and Silent Bob. Dogma ’99Dogma was released on DVD and VHS by Columbia TriStar Home Video in May 2000. This was followed by a 2-disc Special Edition DVD in 2001 and then on Blu-ray in 2008. [19] [20] Rights issues [ edit ] Of course the faith itself does not depend on temporal rules, and "Dogma" knows it. Catholicism, like all religions, is founded on deeper mysteries than whether you will go to hell if you eat meat on Friday. I am reminded of the wonderful play "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," in which a pre-Vatican II nun tries to cope with changes in church law; as I recall, her advice was to eat meat once on a Friday, to show you know the pope is right--and then never eat it again.