The Hollywood Reporter: Risky Business

Angels, Demons & Boycotts

By Steven Zeitchik

It's never hurt the Harry Potter franchise that those who see the Antichrist in every Voldemoort utterance decry the move with the zeal of a hundred wizards.  And it hasn't hurt Michael Moore when actual evilists (read: archconservatives) call for boycotts on the documentarian's movies.

So it's probably not going to do a whole lot of damage to the box office that Vatican newspaper Avvenire has expressed disapproval, as THR's Eric Lyman writes, for Columbia's May tentpole "Angels & Demons," or that Torino paper La Stampa hints that calls for a boycott could be imminent.

After all, as Lyman notes, church officials wanted their flock to give a sinner's welcome to "The Da Vinci Code," and it didn't rain any brimstone on its $760 million of global box office.

But there's a touch of irony to the church saying no to this latest incarnation of Ron Howard's vision of Robert Langdon, since this is a book in which the hero actually is trying to save the Vatican (the plot, if you haven't read it, concerns anti-matter as a weapon, the secret-society Illuminati, etc, etc.)

Some inside the church apparently feel that  a strong reaction would only drive publicity. Plus, Dan Brown defenders say, isn't it all a fictional tale anyway? So what if it takes some liberties with history?

But  the Vatican isn't totally wrong, in at least one respect:

The original Da Vinci Code phenomenon was propelled by those who grew up with Catholic theology, and who now had a chance to see the mysteries of their childhood either revealed or debunked. It had roots in reality -- the story, but also the popularity. A story well-told is a story well-told, but remove real-world Catholicism from the equation -- replace it, say, with a marginal or fictional religion -- and it doesn't become a global juggernaut.

Don't get us wrong -- we're not preaching the church's gospel here; there are reasons both creative and philosophical to support the pic and scoff at a possible boycott . We're just sayin.'

World domination

Officially, the ShoWest program proper begins on Tuesday. Traditionally, International Day, which takes place on Monday, is a kind of curtain-raiser in which the concerns of international exhibitors are addressed. But listening to Andrew Cripps, president of the new Paramount Pictures International, rattle off the stats about how boxoffice growth in many territories last year outperformed that of the U.S., it's clear that Hollywood can't afford to treat overseas ticket sales as an afterthought. After all, as Cripps pointed out, two of last year's biggest hits, "The Da Vinci Code" and "Ice Age: The Meltdown" picked up 70% of their worldwide gross abroad. (Watch highlights of Cripps' ShoWest speech.) Chasing those foreign moneys is one reason that Paramount and Universal Pictures broke up their former joint venture, United International Pictures, which used to distribute films overseas for both studios. Now, both Paramount and Universal are busy launching their own, individual international operations in hopes of capturing bigger shares of all that foreign coin. If current trends continue, International Day could become the most important day of the entire ShoWest week. (posted by Gregg Kilday)

Da Vinci Code Trial Not Over

The Da Vinci Code courtroom drama, it seems, will not die.

Da Vinci Code Thrashing

The Toronto Star critic Peter Howell lets Ron Howard have it. Clearly, Howard & Co. went overboard in their reverence to Dan Brown's book. And were utterly unwilling for their leading man and lady to be sexy. They were afraid that some would find that offensive, I suspect.
[Via MovieCityNews]

Da Vinci Code Sequel

Sony's Amy Pascal says that Ron Howard and Brian Grazer will be back for the Da Vinci Code sequel. Why doesn't Slate's Kim Masters believe her?

Da Vinci Code Spin-Offs

They're all over Cannes.

Da Vinci Code Exit Polls

Movie ticketing service Fandango surveyed several thousand moviegoers with the following questions (answers are below):

Fandango Exit Poll Results (as of 5/21/06 11:00 a.m. PST)
1. “Now that you’ve seen THE DA VINCI CODE, do you feel the controversy affected your impression of the movie?”
* 93% say the controversy did not affect them.

2. “How would you rate THE DA VINCI CODE?”
* 64% say it was excellent or very good.

3. “Would you recommend THE DA VINCI CODE to a friend?”
* 55% say they would definitely recommend it.
* 32% say they would probably recommend it.

4. “Did you read THE DA VINCI CODE novel?
* 74% of ticket-buyers say they had read the novel (as of 5/21/06).

5. “How would you rate THE DA VINCI CODE movie?”
* Among those who did read the novel, 64% say the movie was excellent or very good.

* Among those who did not read the novel, 65% say the movie was excellent or very good

Virtual exit poll results on OVER THE HEDGE indicated that 74% of the adult audience brought children with them, and 79% said they enjoyed it as much as their kids.

OVER THE HEDGE viewers, when asked if they thought the movie was better than other CGI-animated movies they had seen:
80% said they thought it was better than THE WILD;
37% said they thought it was better than ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN;
56% said they thought it was better than CHICKEN LITTLE;
38% said they thought it was better than MADAGASCAR.

Da Vinci Code Opening

While the folks at Sony may have had a few bad days, they are now happy in the conviction that they were right all along— the movie will have a HUGE opening weekend in North America. It opened at about $28 million on Friday, and should do between $75 and 85 over the weekend. All the negative reviews haven't hurt it a bit. Well, maybe a little. Some adults wait and see. Which could bring a steep falloff.

Le Festival Commence

As I passed the Palais de Festival at 10:15 this morning, I caught an historic moment - the unrolling of the red carpet at the top of the grand staircase for tonight's premiere of The Da Vinci Code. Several of my colleagues caught the first press screening last night, but I'll have to settle for the world premiere and after-party, which a columnist suspected would be a "clusterf---." Hopefully the stars won't be too tired from their run at the longest press junket train ride in history, which CNN is chronicling.
[posted by Gregg Goldstein]

Cannes Unveils Da Vinci Code

The Cannes Festival got off to a rousing start Tuesday night as the press corps piled into the Salle Debussy to get the very first crack at solving The Da Vinci Code. It has been a long time since a film has been this eagerly awaited. The media juggernaut has been relentless—and global. I fell asleep the other night in my hotel room watching yet another breathless news feature unravelling the Da Vinci Code mysteries. The New Yorker, the NYT, The WSJ, the The London Times, all have weighed in on the backstory of the production and marketing and Christian tie-ins behind The Da Vinci Code. Which only serves to set it up more as a BIG DEAL Cannes launch.

The thing to remember about the Cannes press, especially the film critics, is that they are global, sophisticated, pretentious and quite often vicious. They love to slam the seats at a press screening, or hiss a movie during the closing credits. That level of rejection did not occur tonight. For the most part the movie unfolds like an engrossing glossy international thriller, and hews fairly closely to the book, which is a page-turner, if mechanically executed. But there were uncomfortable waves of titters throughout the film tonight, and when the BIG REVEAL comes, there was outright laughter.

That's because the movie errs on the side of caution in every way. It is so expensive (the budget is $125 million), and there's so much riding on its success, for Imagine producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard, who are both coming off flops, and for Columbia chairman Amy Pascal, who's coming off a rocky 2005 and badly needs a big summer blockbuster, that they couldn't afford to take any chances. So they make Tom Hanks handsome, smart and heroic and make sure he's leading the action, all the way (he even takes off his shirt to reveal a well-toned, tan, torso). Audrey Tautou is strictly window-dressing, nearly mute, drives backward quite well but does little of the clue solving (while her character was canny and sharp in the book) and is dressed like a New England schoolgirl. There's no hint of sexual interest between her and Hanks. They like and respect each other, Pelican Brief-style. There's also no hint of humor in Hanks' delivery of this Terribly Serious Story. (Scene- stealer Ian McKellan, on the other hand, is having a great time. As the albino killer monk, Paul Bettany is surprisingly sympathetic.) It's as if the film's religious content drove the fun out of the movie.

Perhaps Ron Howard's most grievous fault as a filmmaker is that he can be Very Earnest. The Da Vinci Code reads like Columbia and Imagine were afraid of the Christian reaction to the movie. While they pile on Opus Dei as a radical fascist sect made up of crazy monks (there are no monks apparently) who inflict pain on themselves to express their love of God (this is a common practice), the movie treads carefully when it comes to revealing the religious Mystery that it wants the audience to buy. It's quite reverent, in its way. But when a movie leans on the side of sincerity—in this ironic age—it may not play too well for stiletto-penned movie critics, many of whom were out for blood after this screening. It will play better to general audiences around the world, especially Christians like me who will probably find all the religious hocus pocus fascinating. But spare me the clumsy thrills and spills, please.

Fighting the Da Vinci Code

Religious groups scramble to figure out the best way to capitalize on The Da Vinci Code. Some have the smarts to recognize that trying to fight it is likely to be counterproductive.

Meanwhile, why is the studio hiding it? There is so much want-to-see for this movie that it would be hard to dampen audience ardor.

Priory of Sion Scam

Thanks to Tivo, I finally caught up with last week's 60 Minutes story on the Priory of Sion, the secret sect that author Dan Brown claims really existed in The Da Vinci Code. 60 Minutes goes to France, unearths the relevant documents, interviews experts and uncovers two French guys (now dead) who made the whole thing up and planted false documents (experts check the age of the docs) in the library. It's all one big fat delicious con. Which should have no impact on the movie's huge boxoffice. People are fascinated with this stuff. It's just ironic that having won his copyright breach court case, Brown's book turns out to be complete fiction anyway.

Da Vinci Code Debriefed

From that most useful mag, The Week, comes a round-up of all you need to know about the coming summer blockbuster. (Although Sony insiders are worried that the Euro-thriller skews too old.) Newsweek did a story about bad reactions to Tom Hanks' new hair. He seems to be trying to be be sexier than he is. He's never been a conventional leading man. He's always tended toward the Jimmy Stewart everyman type. And the LAT addresses the earth-shattering news that Hollywood uber-producer and PR-hound Brian Grazer has filed separation papers from his wife, perky novelist Gigi Levangie, who writes about high-end Hollywood marriages. Robin Acarian excerpts the second chapter of "The Starter Wife," called "The Seven Stages of a Hollywood Marriage":

1. Date.

2. Marry.

3. Swear you won't give up your career.

4. Give up your career when the charity work gets to be too much.

5. Have two kids ("a must" because "two kids = triple child support = a lifetime of yoga retreats").

6. Begin drinking.

7. Hire a decorator, become best friends with him, pay him exorbitant sums and "fight with husband over new best friend."

After that: divorce.