Posted by NHPBob at spider-tp084.proxy.aol.com on November 15, 1999 at 03:15:20:
To Kevin and the View Askew folks and fans,
Thanks to a friend who was at Columbia University and saw someone drafting potential audience members, I saw "Dogma" at a distributors screening in May at the Manhattan Sony Village East theatres. Knowing that the Brothers Weinstein were there instead of the opening night ceremonies at Cannes "across the pond" proved to me that this was no ordinary test screening. (Especially when no cards were handed out like usual at the end.) I recognized Edgar Bronfman of Seagrams/Universal talking to Bob and Harvey afterwards, and I SO wanted to give them my thumbs up, but I left them alone.
The film was wonderful, and I've been talking its praises ever since. It's gratifying to see in its first weekend how well its doing nationwide, box office-wise, and review-wise.
And as for "Dogma"'s detractors....
I've always felt that if one's faith is strong, no mere movie will ever shake it. For those who would criticize Kevin about this film, I would say that not only is there that great banding-together-quest feeling in "Dogma" as there is in films such as "Wizard Of Oz", but like The Wizard handing out to the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion the things they always had, to write and convince Miramax to fund this film certainly took brains, heart, and courage. Things that God hands out to us when we're born.
Right now, as entertained people are leaving theatres across America thinking about God and faith, something that only a handful of entertaining movies have ever done, God is happy. Probably doing a handstand.....