Director Kevin Smith did not receive good wishes after the release of “Dogma” in 1999.
Smith told Entertainment Weekly on Friday that he remembers receiving “400,000 letters of hate mail and three death threats” after the film premiered. The comedy stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as two fallen angels trying to get from New Jersey back to heaven.
“The film had a rubber band,” Smith told the outlet. “Do you think you’d be offended by a movie with a rubber poop monster?”
KEVIN SMITH EXPLAINS HIS ‘PERFECT BREAK FROM TRUTH’: ‘It was terrifying’
Director Kevin Smith received death threats for “Dogma.” (Getty Images)
Smith recalled the many hateful messages he received focusing on his conversion. Another message that he remembers well was: “You Jews better take the money you stole from us and start wearing thick jackets, because we will go in there with guns.”
LIKE YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE FUN NEWS
“The movie had a rubber monster in it. Can you think you’re going to be offended by a movie with a rubber monster? I hope whoever wrote that, that’s wrong, finds peace.”
“I hope whoever wrote that, that’s wrong, finds peace,” Smith told the outlet.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck star in “Dogma.” (Getty Images)
“Dogma” is not currently available on streaming services. Smith told The Wrap in 2022 that producer Harvey Weinstein was “holding it.”
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Kevin Smith received three death threats after the 1999 comedy premiered. (Photos by Tommaso Boddi/Getty)
“My film about angels is about the devil himself,” he told the newspaper at the time.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison after being convicted in February 2020 of forcing oral sex on TV with film production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006 and third-degree rape of hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013.
He was acquitted of first degree rape and two counts of sexual assault in actress Annabella Sciorra’s alleged rape in the 1990s. Weinstein has denied ever having sex without consent.
Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob own the rights to “Dogma.” (Getty Images)
Ultimately, the appeals court found that the trial judge should have only allowed witnesses to testify about the sexual assault incidents from which Weinstein’s charges stemmed. During his trial, several women testified about alleged sexual harassment by Weinstein, even though he was not charged.
Weinstein’s retrial is scheduled to begin in November. Earlier this month, he was charged with other sex crimes. He will appear in court on those charges on September 18.
Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.