Posted by sean at threshold5n.jpmorgan.com on June 17, 2002 at 11:35:40:
In Reply to: Dogma - a conspiracy from the get-go. posted by tomkinite on June 17, 2002 at 11:20:57:
: Dogma: A script stolen from the Internet. Backlash and hype roared it's ugly head. Dogma became an icon throughout the world. Well, maybe not.
: Could it be that Mooby's chi was as much at stake as the movie itself? I think yes. I accuse Kevin Smith of releasing his script deliberately to the Internet medium to create stir and controversy, to create hype surrounding Dogma.
It's not a bad theory, except that it doesn't make sense. The script that was read on the Internet was not the shooting draft. It had been up for a long time because, after "Clerks", a lot of people wanted to read "Dogma" and somebody somewhere stole a copy and began selling them at comic shows. It happens all the time. But Kevin would have no reason to release the wrong version of the script onto the Internet on the off chance that Bill Donohue or somebody would read it, dislike it, and start a protest. Wouldn't it have been far easier to just E-mail the script to Donohue? And yet we know this didn't happen -- or, at least, those of us who have met Donohue do. Those of us who went to the press conference.
: Think not? Think again.
Oh, good, for a second I thought you were going to make bold accusations with no proof.
: View Askew evangelists would have you believe otherwise. Smith Loyaltists would immediately pounce on such a thought. But truth is a hard thing to grasp, people.
: Dogma - just a normal movie or a plot thickened like the molassas puréed by a sick, cruel individual. You be the judge.
Well past the time, my friend, and you're wrong to boot.
To elaborate a little further ... the controversy had nothing to do with the movie. This is why it died down well in advance of the film, after Disney (by way of Miramax) had dropped it. They were going after Disney, which is why Disney tried to stop them from reading the script (this is why Kevin *couldn't* just send it to them when they asked, and, assumably, why he didn't send a newer draft over).
So you're wrong, but at least you're not an idiot.