Dogma (film)

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Dogma
Directed by	Kevin Smith
Produced by	Scott Mosier Kevin Smith (Uncredited)
Written by	Kevin Smith
Starring	Linda Fiorentino Ben Affleck Matt Damon Salma Hayek Alan Rickman Chris Rock Jason Lee Jason Mewes Kevin Smith George Carlin
Distributed by	Lions Gate Films
Release date(s)	November 12, 1999
Running time	130 min.
Budget	$10,000,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Dogma is a 1999 comedy film, written and directed by Kevin Smith, who stars in the film along with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo, and Alanis Morissette.

Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson, the stars of Smith's debut film Clerks., have cameo roles, as do Smith regulars Scott Mosier, Dwight Ewell, Walt Flanagan and Brian Johnson.

The comic portrayal of the Catholic Church throughout the film caused organized protests and much controversy in many countries, which resulted in long delays in releasing it and also at least three serious death threats against Smith ^{[1] [2]}.

Aside from some scenes filmed on the New Jersey shore, most of the film was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay as well as a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America honor for Best Screenplay.

This film was rated R by the MPAA "for strong language including sex-related dialogue, violence, crude humor and some drug content".

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Characters 4 Controversy 5 DVD 6 Sequel? 7 References to other View Askewniverse films 8 References to other media 9 Production 10 Trivia 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Plot

Two fallen angels – Bartleby (Affleck), who is a Grigori, and Loki (Damon) (formerly the Angel of Death –) were banished by God to spend all eternity in a place worse than Hell (namely Wisconsin) after Loki, who'd just slaughtered the first born in Egypt (The Tenth Plague), had gotten drunk and was convinced by Bartleby to resign as the Angel of Death. He renounced God and left Heaven, flipping Her off on the way out, thus costing their entitlement to eternal paradise; they were condemned not to go to hell, but to spend eternity outside of Heaven's gates. Azrael (Lee), a demon (and fallen muse) with a hidden agenda, secretly sends the duo a newspaper article about a church in New Jersey where a Cardinal (Carlin) has declared a blanket amnesty in the form of a plenary indulgence (a perennial misunderstanding of the term) and initiated a contemporary Catholic image campaign--"Catholicism Wow!" with the 'happier' savior: Buddy Christ! --in celebration of the centennial anniversary of his church. This blanket forgiveness would allow Bartleby and Loki to be removed of all sin and allow them entry into Heaven. However, amnesty for these fallen angels would necessarily constitute overruling the word of God (Alanis Morissette in a cameo role). And, as explained in the movie, the fundamental basis of creation in all forms is the principle of God's infalliability (in other words, what She says that is going to happen will, and that She is always correct). That means that since Bartleby and Loki were banished eternally from Heaven, their return to it would subvert God's word; the result would be not just the end of the world, but the annihilation of all creation.

The angel Metatron (Rickman), the Seraphim who acts as the Voice of God, appears to abortion clinic worker Bethany (Fiorentino) and tells her she is the Last Scion, the last living descendant of Mary and Joseph, and thus the last living relative of Jesus Christ, and gives her the job of preventing Bartleby and Loki's return. At first she is reluctant, but changes her tune after she is attacked by three teenagers (who were sent to Hell for bashing in a baby's skull to see what it looked like) under the command of Azreal. She is aided by Rufus (Rock), the thirteenth apostle who was left out of the Bible because he was black; Serendipity (Hayek), a writers-blocked muse turned stripper; and the prophets Jay and Silent Bob (Mewes and Smith).

The major theme of the film is about modern people regaining their faith in God, and the danger in faith being confused with dogma. The film also is critical of the usage of religion to justify greed, war, racism, and anti-homosexual beliefs. It also states that Heaven is for everyone, not just one religion, and that a person's race, religion, sexuality, and upbringing will not condemn him/her to eternal damnation, as long as s/he is a purehearted, good person.

Alanis Morissette plays God in Dogma; she also wrote and recorded the song "Still" for the movie.

[edit] Cast

• Ben Affleck as Bartleby
• Matt Damon as Loki
• Linda Fiorentino as Bethany Sloane
• Chris Rock as Rufus
• Jason Mewes as Jay
• Kevin Smith as Silent Bob
• Alan Rickman as Metatron
• Jason Lee as Azrael
• Salma Hayek as Serendipity
• George Carlin as Cardinal Ignatius Glick
• Barret Hackney as Stygian Triplet
• Jared Pfennigwerth as Stygian Triplet
• Kitao Sakurai as Stygian Triplet
• Alanis Morissette as God
• Bud Cort as John Doe Jersey
• Janeane Garofalo as Liz
• Brian O'Halloran as Grant Hicks
• Jeff Anderson as Gun Salesman
• Dwight Ewell as Kane, Gang Leader
• Ethan Suplee as Noman The Golgothan (Voice)

[edit] Characters

• Bethany Sloane - a worker at an abortion clinic who is given the crusade to stop Bartleby and Loki from returing to heaven. Her husband left her because a disease rendered her infertile. The last living descendant of Mary (who was the mother of Jesus) and Joseph of Nazareth. At the end of the movie, Metatron says that she is pregnant with a new last scion.

• Rufus - the 13th apostle who knew Jesus (Jesus still owes him 12 bucks) and comes to help guide Bethany, Jay, and Silent Bob to New Jersey in exchange for them helping him change the Bible (To ensure he is included and that Jesus' race is corrected. Jesus, according to Rufus, was black.)

• Bartleby - a watcher who knows everything about anybody, whose request of Loki to lay down his sword causes his expulsion from heaven and banishment to Wisconsin. Transubstantiates but is "killed" by God at the end of the movie.

• Loki - The former angel of death who after getting drunk with Bartleby one day lays down the sword and flips off God, causing his expulson from heaven and banishment to Wisconsin. He was killed by Bartleby in the climax of the movie.

• Azrael - A muse who was sent to hell after hiding during a war between heaven and hell, who returns to earth as a demon with a plan to destroy existence through Bartleby and Loki. His minions are the Stygian Triplets and Noman the Golgothan. Azrael was killed after Serendipity inspired Silent Bob to use Cardinal Glick's stolen driver as a weapon. Since the club was blessed by Glick for a better golf game, it was able to destroy Azrael, a demon.

• Jay and Silent Bob - two stoners/dealers/prophets from New Jersey who join Bethany on her quest after saving her from demon hockey players. They originally joined in the hopes Bethany would sleep with them, then because she would pay them, and finally to help save the world. Both do, in fact, help save the world: Bob finds the article about Cardinal Glick that leads to the two stoners stealing the blessed golf club that kills Azrael; Jay reveals where God has been hidden all this time.

• Metatron - the voice of God. Hates getting his clothing wet or dirty.

• Serendipity - muse who got a body on earth so she could get credit for her work, but caught a case of writer's block, reportedly God's idea of a joke, and began work as a stripper.

• Cardinal Ignatius Glick - Cardinal at a church in Red Bank who launches a campaign for a new form of catholicism called "Catholicism Wow!"

• Noman the Golgothan - Hell's Chief assassin, formed out of the excrement of all who were crucified at Golgotha. Defeated by Silent Bob.

• Stygian Triplets - Three teenagers brought from Hell by Azrael to aid in his machinations. It is revealed in a deleted scene that, in life, they had murdered a toddler by smashing its skull in, just to see what it looked like. They were killed in a car crash on the way to a detention center. Jay, Rufus and Serendipity defeat the three by dunking their heads in blessed water.

[edit] Controversy

Although there was no opposition to the film while the actual filming and pre-production was taking place, the following months of post-production and publicity were plagued with controversy over a perceived anti-Christian message read into the film. Over time, the filmmakers received over 300,000 pieces of hate mail, which Smith posted on his website. Among these were "two-and-a-half" death threats. Smith explained this in his movie An Evening with Kevin Smith: One of the letters was threatening to start with, then became more friendly further on. The Catholic League (U.S.) in particular attacked Disney and Miramax, the original distributors, for being anti-Catholic. The film's distribution rights, however, were eventually sold to Lions Gate.

When the film actually came out, Kevin Smith and Bryan Johnson participated in a protest at the Sony Multiplex in Eatontown, New Jersey, carrying a sign which read "Dogma is Dogshit." A news crew captured the incident and broadcast an interview with a disguised Smith on the evening Channel 12 news.

[edit] DVD

In 2001 a two-disc special edition DVD of the film was released with numerous extra features including:

• Commentary by director Kevin Smith, actors Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes and Jason Lee, producer Scott Moiser and View Askew Historian Vincent Pereria
• Commentary by director Kevin Smith, Producer Scott Mosier and View Askew Historian Vincent Pereira
• Complete Set of Storyboards from Three Major Scenes
• 100 Minutes of Deleted Scenes with View Askew Crew Intros
• Cast and Crew Outtakes
• Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash Spot
• Saints and Sinners Talent Files

The deleted scenes include one where Loki explains to Silent Bob his take on Star Wars and how it is actually about religious conflicts.

In a 2005 radio interview, Smith announced the possibility of a new edition of the DVD in the coming years.

In a recent interview, Smith said that the company is really wanting to release an extended edition DVD, much to his surprise. Some fans have stated that if a 10 year anniversary DVD is put out, scenes that should be made (a la The Lost Scene in Clerks X): Loki laying seige to Egypt, Loki giving god he finger, The Hosties Commerical, and The vision of hell.

See also: New Jersey films.

[edit] Sequel?

In late November 2005, Smith was asked about a possible Dogma sequel on the ViewAskew.com message boards. His response:

So weird you should ask this, because ever since 9/11, I have been thinking about a sequel of sorts. I mean, the worst terrorist attack on American soil was religiously bent. In the wake of said attack, the leader of the "Free World" outed himself as pretty damned Christian. In the last election, rather than a quagmire war abroad, the big issue was whether or not gay marriage was moral. Back when I made "Dogma", I always maintained that another movie about religion wouldn't be forthcoming, as "Dogma" was the product of 28 years of religious and spiritual meditation, and I'd kinda shot my wad on the subject. Now? I think I might have more to say. And, yes - the Last Scion would be at the epicenter of it. And She'd have to be played by Alanis. And we'd need a bigger budget - because the entire third act would be the Apocalypse. Scary thing is this: the film would have to touch on Islam. And unlike the Catholic League, when those cats don't like what you do, they issue a death warrant on yer ass. And now that I've got a family, I'm not as free to stir the shit-pot as I was when I was single, back when I made "Dogma". I mean, now I've gotta think about more than my own safety and well-being. But regardless - yeah, a "Dogma" followup's been swimming around in my head for some time now.

Smith later commented he was amazed that the post was picked up by the press and noted that he had only thought about it and had not actually written anything yet. Smith also stated that even if the project ever formulates, it is a very long way off.

[edit] References to other View Askewniverse films

• The "Got Nails?" poster in the train when Silent Bob throws out the two angels is the same as the one which is outside of the Quickstop in the movie Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II. Silent Bob also has a zippo lighter that says this.
• On the train, Jay can be heard describing the events of Mallrats to Bartleby and Loki.
• After the climatic scene at the church, Jay suggests to Silent Bob that they travel to "Quick Stop," the New Jersey convenience store that acted as the chief filming location in Clerks.
• Azrael (Jason Lee) says to one of the Stygian Triplets "One side, Red." Lee's character in Mallrats said the same line while pushing through the crowd in front of the mall comic book store.
• God in human form (Bud Cort) is seen outside a skeeball arcade. Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams' characters played skeeball at a boardwalk arcade in Chasing Amy.
• The newscaster played by Brian O'Halloran in the airport scene, when Loki is reading the newspaper article, is named Grant Hicks, a reference to Gil, Jim, and Dante Hicks who were all played by O'Halloran in Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Clerks, plus the other View Askewniverse movies. These Four people are known as the Identical Hicks Cousins, according to Kevin Smith, because they all look the same but are not brothers
• When Loki and Bartelby try to get tickets to New Jersey, there is a sticker on the window that says 'DERRIS', a reference to View Askew regular Rick Derris.
• At the end of the credits, it says "Jay and Silent Bob will return in Clerks 2: Hardly Clerkin'"

[edit] References to other media

• When Loki (Damon) is trying to talk the nun out of Christian faith in the beginning, he refers to "The Walrus and the Carpenter" from the book Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll.
• After the scuffle on the way to New Jersey (when Silent Bob (Smith) throws Bartleby (Affleck) and Loki (Damon) off the speeding train), Silent Bob looks at a man sitting in a seat near the door and says in a strong tone "No ticket," a direct reference to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Jones throws a German officer out the window of a Zeppelin.
• The Metatron (Rickman) refers to the Karate Kid movie series saying "Wax on, Wax off" when God places her hands over Bethany and resurrects her.
• The Metatron makes another reference to "The Six Million Dollar Man" telling Bethany "She can rebuild you. She has the technology. She can make you better, stronger, faster".
• On the bus, the angels reveal a bet that had been made between them: Loki bet Bartleby that the film Krush Groove would be more well-received than E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.
• In the diner, Jay and Bethany discuss such John Hughes-directed films as Sixteen Candles, Weird Science and The Breakfast Club.
• When Rufus (Chris Rock) first falls out of the sky, Jay comments, "Maybe he has a message written on him, like in Con Air!" In the movie Con Air, a dead Dave Chappelle (another African-American comedian) had a message written on him and was thrown out of a plane carrying prisoners to alert the authorities that the plane was hijacked.
• In the strip club, Serendipity tells Bethany that she was responsible for inspiring 19 of the 20 top-grossing movies of all times. When Bethany asks which one she wasn't responsible for, she responds by describing Home Alone. She mentions that the only reason why it was a success was because someone sold their soul to the devil to increase the gross.

[edit] Production

• Smith had this script written before he wrote and shot Clerks., shelving it only because he did not have the proper financing for special effects to pull it off at the time. The end credits of Clerks included the line "Jay and Silent Bob will return in Dogma".
• Before shooting, Kevin Smith warned Jason Mewes that he needed to be on point due to the involvement of "real actors" such as Alan Rickman. As a result, Mewes memorized not only his dialogue, but the dialogue for every character in the entire screenplay, much to Kevin Smith's surprise. [1]
• Kevin Smith originally approached director Robert Rodriguez to direct the film. Rodriguez turned him down citing the fact that the film seemed too personal, and suggested that Smith should direct it himself.

[edit] Trivia

• A one-shot comic featuring Bartleby and Loki was announced by Smith in 2000. It was going to be a 50 (or so) page story detailing how these two angels confronted God and were kicked out of Heaven and forced to stay in Wisconsin. As of January 2006, the comic remains on Smith's agenda, but has not been worked on.
• The word "fuck" is used 106 times in the film, for a rough average of 0.82 "fuck"s per minute. (See List of films ordered by uses of the word "fuck".)
• The word "shit" is used 38 times in the film, a rough average of about once every 3.34 minutes.
• The word "damn" is used twice in the film, the word "ass" 14 times, the word "bitch" 9 times, and "bastard" once. Rufus refers to Christ saying "nigga owes me twelve bucks." This line does not appear in most versions of the script, and in the commentary, Smith says Rock ad-libbed it. In the trailer, this was softened to "brotha owes me twelve bucks."
• Two prominent Pittsburgh buildings are used in this movie: the U.S. Steel Tower (Mooby Inc.), and The Grand Concourse (the fancy restaurant).
• Rufus tells Bethany that she is the descendant of one of Christ's half-siblings. (See Desposyni.)
• During the board room scene Loki (Matt Damon) refers to a board member as "Mr. Burton". This may be a reference towards director Kevin Smith's relationship with Tim Burton after an incident involving a press misquote.
• In that same scene, when Loki is carving a voodoo doll, the head of the doll can be seen falling off just as the camera pans over to Bartleby.
• The airport scene in the beginning of the film was shot at the Pittsburgh Airport.
• When Bartleby is listing off Mooby products and divisions, he apparently only misses the magazine, but he doesn't mention the fast food chain that is seen earlier in the movie.
• In this movie, Jay and Silent Bob say they took a bus from New Jersey to the abortion clinic. In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back the duo do not know how to take a bus, strange though this may seem.
• There is no church in McHenry, Illinois that looks like the one featured in the movie. The same church is seen in the Blues Brothers movie, though, which takes place in Illinois as well.
• Mooby the Golden Calf is a joke, based on the Golden Calf from the Bible.
• Azrael is actually the Islamic angel of death

[edit] References

1. ^ "Mr. Smith Goes to Austin" by Kimberley Jones, "Austin Chronicle", August 10, 2001
2. ^ "Kevin Smith is seldom 'Silent'" by Andy Seiler, "USA TODAY", October 24, 2001

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Dogma at the Internet Movie Database
• Why are Catholics so set on dogging "Dogma"?
• God Stuff: Kevin Smith Chases Jehovah
• Kevin Smith considers 'Dogma 2'
• Radio Interview with Kevin Smith from FBi 94.5 Sydney Australia

v • d • e Kevin Smith
Films
The View Askewniverse: Clerks | Mallrats | Chasing Amy | Dogma | Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | Clerks II Upcoming: Untitled Horror Project | Ranger Danger and the Danger Rangers | Clerks: Sell Out Other: Jersey Girl | An Evening with Kevin Smith | An Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder Abandoned: The Green Hornet | Superman Lives
Comics
Clerks | Chasing Dogma | Bluntman and Chronic | Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do | Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target
Notable characters
Jay and Silent Bob | Dante | Randal | Banky | Alyssa | Leonardo | Bluntman and Chronic | Mooby | Buddy Christ | Brodie | Willam | Minor characters
Miscellaneous
View Askew Productions | View Askewniverse motifs | The Flying Car | Clerks: The Animated Series | Clerks: The Lost Scene | Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash | Silent Bob Speaks | Trooper Clerks