COLUMBIA PICTURES ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO
#1 BESTSELLING THRILLER
THE DA VINCI CODE


Culver City, CA June 27, 2003

Columbia Pictures has secured the much sought after motion picture rights to Dan Brown's bestselling thriller The Da Vinci Code, it was announced today by Amy Pascal, Chairman of Columbia Pictures, and John Calley, Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The Da Vinci Code debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list and has remained near or at the top of the list for more than 14 weeks.

The Da Vinci Code is Brown's second novel centering on Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon, who first appeared in his successful Angels and Demons published in 2000, and now on the paperback bestseller list.

Da Vinci centers on one of the greatest mysteries of humankind, a 2000 year-old conspiracy, clues to which are encoded in the paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci. Brown is currently at work on a third novel featuring Professor Langdon.

Viewing The Da Vinci Code and the adventures of Professor Langdon as the basis for a potential franchise, Columbia also acquired the right to produce Angels and Demons, and future Langdon properties.

"Dan Brown is a master storyteller who has created an amazingly visual page turner," said Calley. "The Da Vinci Code is a thrill ride unlike any that we have read or seen in a long, long time. The Robert Langdon character is a compelling hero and sleuth and we can't wait to bring this puzzle to the screen."

The project will be developed by Matt Tolmach, co-president of production for Columbia Pictures.

The Da Vinci Code is published by Doubleday. Dan Brown and his literary agent Heide Lange of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates were represented in the negotiations by Michael Rudell of Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell, and Vassallo.

Originally posted by CloudsMountain
I keep getting a picture of Jeff Daniels in my head for Langdon, though I don't really want him to get the part. Just that sort of look, I guess.

The religious symbol is simply ANKH.

Sorry if this is a spoiler for anyone, I don't know how to do that black box thing that people do.

Originally posted by immortal_zeus
[B]Okay, I went out to Borders today, bought the book and just finished reading it. I literally only stopped reading to eat dinner, go to the gym, and shower. I could not stop reading. I do not consider myself very well read, so take this with a grain of salt, but this book was one of the best books I have ever read. If not the best. I am going to go get Angels and Demons soon.

Originally posted by Geofferson
Wow - impressive!

FWIW, I am 3/4 through Angels & Demons and it is the best book I've read in recent memory.

Originally posted by Blade
Well I read it and while I have to say that this guy puts together some amazing riddles, I found his storytelling style to be a bit lacking.

Especially in the beginning chapters of the book, the manipulation of the reader was extremely heavy handed, and the constant interruptions in the various storylines was kind of irritating to me.

But I do love all that stuff with daVinci and the meanings behind everything. That was very cool.

I thought the Church-bashing got a little heavy handed, both in the sense of what he left out, as well as how certain things were portrayed.

Spoiler:

And the Opus Dei stuff almost seemed wasted at the end of the book. It could have been any fringe religious sect, really. Heck, it could have been almost anyone for the part they played. It seems a shame to introduce such an unusual, yet very public sect like Opus Dei and then not really use them in any unique kind of way.

I think my favorite non-daVinci line was the "Harry Potter?" response from Langdon's publisher. Classic!

I think I'm going to try Grisham's King of Torts next.

Originally posted by immortal_zeus
Sorry to hear that you weren't as taken with the book as I was. I loved the book.

Spoiler:

Concerning the Opus Dei stuff, I have to disagree with your assessment that Dan Brown could've substituted any religious sect. I think Dan Brown used them because they are the ultra-conservative part of the Catholic Church. I mean, the self-mutilation and everything goes hand in hand with the old ways of heaping guilt upon yourself. These guys don't like the direction that the "new" Catholic Church is heading in (sure, the Catholic Church is taking forever to adapt to the 21st century, but it's definitely different now than it was even 50 years ago). Moreover, since Catholicism is the largest denomination of Christianity, and because the Opus Dei was so rich, they had a vested interest in the "real" Holy Grail not being made public. I don't think Brown gave Opus Dei a bigger conspiracy to perform because it might not make the story as realistic as it was. In the book they tried to stay incognito as much as possible. If they had like 5 assassins, then that might make things a little more difficult to keep under wraps. Besides, the bishop trusted his assassin...he might not have been able to get more guys that were as dedicated to the task at hand.

Originally posted by Blade
I should reiiterate that I thought a lot of the book was incredibly clever and inventive. I mostly had stylistic differences with the material.

Spoiler:

However, I disagree about Opus Dei. Remember, the key mover behind all this was Teabing, not the Bishop or Silas. They were just his pawns. And what did he use them for? To kill the 4 members of Sion and to gain access to the church at the beginning of the book. He could have gotten anyone to kill the 4 people, and it's not like the world isn't full of religious fanatics. And I'm sure he could have found another way into the church (I don't remember if it was owned by Opus Dei...if not, then he could have created/used any other prominent religious leader to have gained access). It just struck me that he used Opus Dei only because of it's own real life troubles, and that just smacks of sensationalism to me; which is fine, but, as I've said, he didn't really sell me on the idea that Opus Dei would be the best or easiest way to go. This is probably just a personal pet peeve though.

Originally posted by Blade
I think I'm going to try Grisham's King of Torts next.

Originally posted by immortal_zeus

Spoiler:

Okay, admit it. You belong to Opus Dei.

Originally posted by Kal Jedi
I've read that. Solid book. Not his best, but it's a good read.

On topic: One thing that I didn't catch right away is that Robert Langdon's editor, "Jonas Faukman" is an anagram of Dan Brown's editor -- Jason Kaufman.

Originally posted by Kal Jedi

On topic: One thing that I didn't catch right away is that Robert Langdon's editor, "Jonas Faukman" is an anagram of Dan Brown's editor -- Jason Kaufman.

Originally posted by Blade

Spoiler:

Ohh, that's too bad.... Now I have to kill you! ;-)

Originally posted by immortal_zeus

Spoiler:

If you do that, then I have explicit instructions for a "friend" of mine to post your picture on DVDTalk. If he doesn't hear from me every 48 hours, he posts the picture.

Originally posted by CloudsMountain
'The Da Vinci Code' was the first book I've read from Dan Brown. Since then, I've read both 'Angels and Demons' and 'Deception Point.' So far, 'The Da Vinci Code' has probably been my least favorite. If you liked the author, I'd suggest checking out these other too books too. I haven't read 'Digital Fortress' yet, but it's next on my list.