Thursday,
May
18,
2006
Cannes
(Reuters):
Most
critics
panned
The
Da
Vinci
Code
today
ahead
of
the
world
premiere
of
the
year's
most
eagerly
awaited
movie.
Opening
the
annual
Cannes
film
festival,
Ron
Howard's
adaptation
of
the
Dan
Brown
bestseller
was
described
variously
as
''grim'',
''unwieldy''
and
''plodding'',
though
one
reviewer
bucked
the
trend
and
said
''
You'll
Louvre
It!''
Even
before
its
general
release
on
May
18
and
19,
the
movie
starring
Tom
Hanks
generated
controversy
as
Christians
around
the
world
called
for
it
to
be
banned.
The
novel
has
enraged
religious
groups
because
one
of
its
characters
argues
that
Jesus
Christ
married
Mary
Magdalene
and
had
a
child
by
her,
and
that
elements
within
the
Catholic
Church
resorted
to
murder
to
hide
the
truth.
In
Thailand
on
Wednesday,
a
police-run
censorship
board
overturned
an
earlier
decision
to
cut
the
last
10
minutes
of
the
film,
but
insisted
the
distributor
add
disclaimers
stating
it
was
fiction.
In
Ireland,
volunteers
plan
to
distribute
free
copies
of
a
special
edition
of
The
Irish
Catholic
newspaper
outside
cinemas
showing
The
Da
Vinci
Code
over
the
weekend.
The
Vatican
has
called
for
a
boycott
of
the
picture,
and
the
Indian
government
said
it
would
show
the
movie
to
Christian
groups
before
clearing
it
for
release.
In
the
mainly
Catholic
Philippines
the
censors
have
given
it
and'adult
only''
rating.
Howard
and
Hanks
defended
the
film
at
a
news
conference,
saying
it
was
a
piece
of
fiction.
British
actor
Alfred
Molina,
who
plays
a
Machiavellian
bishop
in
the
movie,
blamed
the
media
for
creating
controversy
where
there
was
little
or
none.
At
a
screening
late
on
Tuesday
in
Cannes,
members
of
the
audience
laughed
at
the
thriller's
pivotal
moment,
and
the
end
of
the
125
million
dollars
picture
was
greeted
with
stony
silence.
Trade
publication
Variety
had
barely
a
nice
word
to
say.
''A
pulpy
page-turner
in
its
original
incarnation
as
a
huge
international
bestseller
has
become
a
stodgy,
grim
thing
in
the
exceedingly
literal-minded
film
version
of
The
Da
Vinci
Code,''
wrote
Todd
McCarthy.
Lee
Marshall
of
Screen
International
agreed.
''I
haven't
read
the
book,
but
I
just
thought
there
was
a
ridiculous
amount
of
exposition,''
he
said.
''I
thought
it
was
plodding
and
there
was
a
complete
lack
of
chemistry
between
Audrey
Tautou
and
Tom
Hanks.''
Lou
Lumenick
of
the
New
York
Post
was
far
more
upbeat:
''Ron
Howard's
splendid
The
Da
Vinci
Code
is
the
Holy
Grail
of
summer
blockbusters:
a
crackling,
fast-moving
thriller
that's
every
bit
as
brainy
and
irresistible
as
Dan
Brown's
controversial
bestseller.''
Critics
say
the
controversy
surrounding
the
film,
and
the
fact
that
more
than
40
million
people
have
bought
the
book,
will
ensure
a
strong
box
office
performance,
but
they
believe
word-of-mouth
is
likely
to
hit
sales
later
on.
The
movie
industry
will
be
watching
The
Da
Vinci
Code
particularly
closely
after
the
first
two
summer
blockbusters-''Mission:
Impossible
III''
and
''Poseidon''-stumbled.
Hanks
defended
the
film
against
its
critics.
''This
is
not
a
documentary.
This
is
not
something
that
is
pulled
up
and
says
'These
are
the
facts
and
this
is
exactly
what
happened.'''
Howard
had
some
advice
for
those
who
objected
to
the
story.
''There's
no
question
that
the
film
is
likely
to
be
upsetting
to
some
people.
My
advice
is
...
to
not
go
and
see
the
movie
if
you
think
you're
going
to
be
upset.''
Ian
McKellen,
an
openly
gay
actor
who
plays
Leigh
Teabing
in
The
Da
Vinci
Code,
tried
to
make
light
of
the
controversy.
''I'm
very
happy
to
believe
that
Jesus
was
married,''
he
said.
''I
know
the
Catholic
Church
has
problems
with
gay
people
and
I
thought
this
would
be
absolute
proof
that
Jesus
was
not
gay.''
The
Da
Vinci
Code
premiere
late
on
Wednesday
kicks
off
12
hectic
days
of
screenings,
interviews,
photocalls
and
partying
in
Cannes,
the
world's
biggest
film
festival.
Despite
more
bad
reviews
than
good
ones,
the
international
public
are
waiting
to
feast
their
eyes
on
the
movie.
First
reviews
for
The
Da
Vinci
Code
may
be
mostly
scathing
but
box
office
experts
say
they
expect
the
Mona
Lisa
to
keep
smiling
all
the
way
to
the
bank
this
weekend.
The
experts
say
the
religious-themed
thriller
can
expect
to
haul
in
between
$50
million
and
$80
million,
when
it
opens
domestically
on
Friday
--
more
than
enough
to
compensate
for
the
laughter,
jeers
and
sneers
it
received
when
shown
to
critics
at
the
prestigious
Cannes
Film
Festival
on
Tuesday.
Print
reviews
of
the
movie
version
of
the
world's
biggest-selling
novel
were
also
less
than
kind.
Daily
Variety
critic
Todd
McCarthy
said,
''Director
Ron
Howard
and
screenwriter
Akiva
Goldman
have
drained
all
the
fun
out
of
the
melodrama,
leaving
...
an
oppressive
talky
film
that
is
as
close
to
dull
as
one
could
imagine
with
such
provocative
material.''
The
Hollywood
Reporter's
critic,
Kirk
Honeycutt,
complained
the
film
''never
rises
to
the
level
of
a
guilty
pleasure.
Too
much
guilt.
Not
enough
pleasure.''
In
early
reviews,
only
Lou
Lumenick
of
the
New
York
Post
cheered,
The
Da
Vinci
Code
is
the
Holy
Grail
of
summer
blockbusters:
a
crackling,
fast-moving
thriller
that's
every
bit
as
brainy
and
irresistible
as
Dan
Brown's
controversial
bestseller.''
Movie
ticketing
service
Fandango
said
the
film
was
accounting
for
78
percent
of
all
the
agency's
advance
sales,
and
88
percent
of
those
buying
tickets
said
they
had
read
the
book,
which
has
sold
more
than
40
million
copies.
The
service
also
reported
that
74
percent
of
those
buying
tickets
said
their
religious
beliefs
did
not
affect
their
decision.
The
book
has
come
under
criticism
from
religious
groups
who
object
to
its
premise
that
Jesus
and
Mary
Magdalene
married
and
had
a
child
together.
By
comparison,
advance
ticket
purchases
for
DreamWorks
Animation
Studio's
''Over
the
Hedge''
also
opening
Friday,
accounted
for
4
percent
of
sales.
Box
office
watcher
Paul
Dergarabedian,
president
of
Exhibitor
Relations
Inc.,
said
the
bad
reviews
may
help
the
box
office,
at
least
in
the
short
term.
''It
means
people
are
talking
about
this
movie,
and
you
have
to
remember
that
there
is
often
a
disconnect
between
critics
and
audiences.
What
will
really
count
for
this
film
is
word
of
mouth,
and
that
will
not
make
itself
felt
until
the
second
or
third
weekend,''
he
said.
He
said
he
would
expect
that
the
film
would
make
about
$50
million
in
its
opening
weekend.
Chad
Hartigan,
box
office
analyst
for
Reel
Source
said
he
expected
the
film
to
do
between
$60
million
and
$80
million
in
its
first
weekend,
helped
in
no
small
part
by
the
public's
awareness
of
the
novel.
''Our
office
saw
the
film
and
thought
it
was
great.
The
general
public
will
be
more
forgiving
than
the
mainstream
critics,''
he
said.
MovieTickets.com
said
The
Da
Vinci
Code
was
tracking
very
high
in
advance
of
its
weekend
opener
and
had
10
times
more
tickets
sold
than
''Mission:
Impossible
III''
during
the
same
time
in
its
sales
cycle.
The
Tom
Cruise
action
film,
the
first
of
the
summer's
big-budget
movies,
opened
two
weeks
ago
to
a
disappointing
weekend
gross
of
just
under
$48
million.
Brandon
Gray
of
Boxofficemojo.com
said
he
thought
The
Da
Vinci
Code
would
gross
about
$70
million
in
its
first
three
days.
''It
has
real
audience
interest
and
a
real
fan
base,''
he
said.
In
another
green
signal
for
the
films
screening,
representatives
of
the
Catholic
Church
here
decided
not
to
press
for
a
ban
on
the
much-awaited
and
controversial
movie
slated
for
worldwide
release
tomorrow.
So
the
movie
will
screen.
The
catholic
Bishops,
who
watched
the
movie
with
Information
and
Broadcasting
Minister
P
R
Dasmunsi
last
night,
held
a
meeting
this
morning
following
which
they
sent
their
response
to
the
Minister
in
which
they
have
asked
for
only
a
disclaimer
telling
the
audience
that
the
film
was
a
total
work
of
fiction.
''Though
the
storyline
of
the
film
is
fundamentally
unacceptable
to
Christians
in
India,
we
have
not
asked
for
a
ban.
And
in
case
the
Censor
Board
goes
ahead
with
clearing
the
movie,
it
should
carry
a
disclaimer
about
the
fictitious
nature
of
the
story
and
the
film
should
be
given
'A'
certificate''
Dr
Donald
HR
De
Souza
of
the
Catholic
Bishops
Conference
of
India
told
UNI
after
the
meeting.
The
Bishops
in
their
response
to
the
Minister
have
also
pointed
out
some
scenes
which
they
would
like
the
Censor
Board
to
delete
from
the
film.
The
Censor
Board
will
take
into
account
the
views
of
bishops
before
finally
clearing
the
movie
which
is
based
on
a
novel.
The
book
has
enraged
the
Catholic
groups
as
it
suggests
that
Jesus
Christ
married
Mary
Magdalene
and
sired
a
child,
and
that
some
sections
within
the
Catholic
Church
resorted
to
murder
to
hide
the
fact.
The
Information
and
Broadcasting
Minister
had
yesterday
said
his
Ministry
would
not
interfere
in
the
matter
as
final
decision
in
such
cases
was
always
taken
by
the
Censor
Board.
Mr
Dasmunsi
said
in
the
case
of
films
which
have
impact
on
religious,
ethnic
or
any
other
social
susceptibility,
the
government
has
clear
guidelines
which
are
followed
by
the
Censor
Board.
So
in
the
case
of
Da
Vinci
Code
also,
the
Board
will
be
guided
by
the
specifications
and
the
views
of
the
Christian
experts.
The
Board's
decision
is
expected
by
this
evening.
Recent
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against
Da
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Code
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