Kevin Smith Says Harvey Weinstein Called Him About a Dogma Sequel A Week Before Assault Claims Went Public

Kevin Smith has revealed that Harvey Weinstein tried to get on his good side by cold calling him about a Dogma sequel a week before sexual assault claims were made against the producer. Smith spoke with Business Insider promoting his new film Jay & Silent Bob Reboot and recalled that the week before the New York Times story on Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct was published, he got a call out of the blue from Weinstein.

“I said, ‘Hey, how are you?’ And he goes, ‘You know, we have ‘Dogma,’ I just realized, and we got to get it out there again,'” Smith said. “I said, ‘We do! People online are always asking where they can get it. And he then goes, ‘You know, that movie had a big cast, we might even be able to do a sequel.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah man, right on. I might think about that.’ And he was like, ‘We’ll talk.’ And a week later The New York Times story breaks. I felt sick to my stomach.”

Dogma has never been available on any streaming platform, as Disney was hesitant to do so due to the infamous controversay around the film’s satirical take on Catholicism. Weinstein helped launch Smith’s career by bringing Clerks to Miramax in 1994, and Smith said that he realized after the fact that Weinstein was “starting to circle the wagons.”

He continued, “It was him looking to see who was a friend still because his life was about to shift completely. And I used to be a defense guy. I wrote a piece in Variety on how he’s still got the edge when people would go after him like, ‘Harvey’s lost his touch’ [in 2004].”

Smith said, “There are people who are the real victims here, but I have to be honest with you, I felt like it was someone using something you love to provoke a reaction … Of all the people who have gripes against that individual — whose name used to be so easier to say — mine is a minor one and doesn’t come close to their real world issues. But the irony of having the one movie that’s about faith and spirituality locked down because of the situation that takes it out of public view is not lost on me.”

Weinstein’s spokesman Juda Engelmayer said, “I don’t know if that call even happened, and if it did, that there was any expectation other than making a creative business decision; it’s what Weinstein was well known for.”

Smith noted that while he is disappointed that the film can’t be celebrated for its 20th anniversary this year, he’s hopeful for the 25th anniversary in 2024, noting, “You know, it sounds like he’s got legal bills. That’s an asset you can sell to somebody.”