Fans of Dogma, Kevin Smith’s 1999 fantasy, have wondered why it’s not streaming. Now Smith has explained the reason.
Miramax International
Kevin Smith‘s movie Dogma has been the subject of controversy since its release in 1999, mainly because it has been attached to the subject of descendants of Jesus and fallen angels by religious groups. However, the film received generally positive reviews upon release and was a box office success. Over the years, Dogma has become a cult classic, but the film’s distribution has become a problem due to rights issues with Harvey and Bob Weinstein. Smith recently revealed exactly why the film hasn’t hit streaming platforms yet, which he says is due to the film being “held hostage.” He told the cover:
“I found out that he was trying to sell the rights to the film. [He was asking for $5 million, which was] overrated the movie. [To Smith’s lawyers] Please tell that company I don’t want anything to do with it, if he’s still attached to it. I’m working on a ‘Dogma’ anything, as long as he’s no longer associated with it. [We reached out to buy the rights ourselves] which we felt very dirty about because we didn’t want to give him money. But at the same time, it’s like my movie, and he’s got it. He’s holding it hostage. My film about angels belongs to the devil himself. And if there’s only one way out, maybe we can buy it away. [We sent an offer that was] mocked, [then a higher offer that was] also caught. Look, I love ‘Dogma’ as much as the next guy, but a) I don’t have $5 million and b) that’s not what the market is carrying anymore. We live in a streaming era. The last I heard was from another company saying they wouldn’t sell me my film back. I thought what else can I do? There isn’t much. You can make a public stench, but I don’t think that guy reads the news anymore.”
Kevin Smith has previously hinted at behind-the-scenes rights issues with Dogma
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Kevin Smith has mentioned in the past how Weinstein’s involvement was a huge stumbling block for Dogma‘s distribution, but this is the first time he has revealed the extent of the difficulties he faced in trying to acquire the rights himself. When Smith says that the $5 million requested by Weinstein is overvalued, it becomes very clear when we look at the budget for Dogma was only $10 million so to ask for half of that is almost on the brink of extortion.
Although it is fans of Dogma see the film coming to a streaming platform soon, Smith is currently concentrating on the release of clerks III, which will finally happen soon. In addition to that sequel, Smith also recently revealed that he is in the process of developing a sequel to other films such as Tusk and possibly Mallrats. Even with the issues surrounding the potential re-release and streaming debut of Dogmathere’s plenty to keep Smith fans happy in the meantime.