"Angels & Demons" to Be Film

[whigsgeek]

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) - Buoyed by the box-office success of "The Da Vinci Code," Columbia Pictures is planning to turn author Dan Brown's first best-selling religious thriller, "Angels & Demons," into a movie, the studio said Tuesday.

The Sony Corp.-owned film distributor has signed a deal with Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldman, who adapted "Da Vinci Code" for the big screen, to create a script for a sequel based on "Angels & Demons," a Columbia spokesman said.

"Angels," a bestseller published in 2000, was Brown's first novel to introduce the character of Robert Langdon, the crime-solving Harvard professor of iconography and religious art played by actor Tom Hanks in the "The Da Vinci Code."

A studio spokesman confirmed a report in Daily Variety that no deals have yet been reached for Hanks or "Da Vinci" director Ron Howard to return for the "Angels" project, but that both would have first crack at the new film.

Variety also said the studio was planning to reunite the producing team of Brian Grazer and John Calley for the "Angels" project.

In addition to "The Da Vinci Code," Goldman's screen credits include "Batman & Robin," boxing drama "Cinderella Man" and "A Beautiful Mind," for which he won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

Despite mainly negative reviews from critics at its world premiere at the Cannes film festival last week, "Da Vinci" went on to score the second-biggest opening tally of all time at the global box office, raking in nearly $232 million worldwide.

In "Angels," another murder investigation leads Langdon on a quest to thwart a plot by an ancient group, the Illuminati, to blow up the Vatican during a papal conclave.

After grossing $77.1 million domestically in its first weekend, "Da Vinci" generated another $8.9 million on Monday, an extremely robust weekday box-office figure for a film primarily aimed at an adult audience.

[Jonathan]

Some other book that I'll have to read before I see the movie. Or maybe I'll just skip the movie.

But...this announcement doesn't surprise me one bit.

[whigsgeek]

I haven't read any of Brown's stuff, but I know a lot of folks have. Tried to listen to the DaVinci Code on CD during a roadtrip, but couldn't get into it. I found Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (the book involved in the recent plagiarism suit againt Brown) for 50 cents at a used book sale, though, so I'll give that a shot at some point.

[Jonathan]

I've not read either. They're perennially on the list of "books I'll get around to at some point."

My problem is finding someone who actually has a copy of The DaVinci Code. Everyone I know borrowed it from someone else when they read it and doesn't actually own it.

And don't say the library. That's not a viable option for me as I would end up racking enough in overdue fees to buy the damn book myself.

[whigsgeek]

And don't say the library. That's not a viable option for me as I would end up racking enough in overdue fees to buy the damn book myself.

Heh -- you won't hear "library" from me. I think I still owe Penn State an overdue fine from back in the 1980s.  :-

[Jonathan]

Well, that's worse than anything I've done.

[Ella Minnow Pea]

My problem is finding someone who actually has a copy of The DaVinci Code. Everyone I know borrowed it from someone else when they read it and doesn't actually own it.

You just haven't asked your bookstore insider. I have a copy of the British paperback (as well as Angels & Demons). Just let me find them, and you're welcome to borrow them as long as you want. I have his other 2 books as well - or at least I used to - but they're rather mediocre and probably not worth your time.

[Jonathan]

I figured you probably had them.

I just never think about Dan Brown whenever we're talking, or else I would have asked you right now. You know how I have the attention span of a goldfish...