If you have not read The Da Vinci Code, or intend to see the upcoming film, please STOP READING THIS THREAD as I have some questions that may lead to comments that could be considered spoilers.
While I am glad to see Ron Howard is making the film, and think he can do a good job, I am wondering if Tom Hanks is the right actor…I mean, Harrison Ford would have been the obvious choice (as mentioned in the book), but who knows, maybe Tom can carry it off. The rest of the cast looks great, and the photo of the actor who will play Silas is, well, perfect. And Ian McKellan as Leigh? I thought the book portrayed him as a short, hefty person…but I think Ian is great in whatever he does and if anyone can pull off the role, I think he is the one to do it…especially in his final scene.
My main question regarding making this movie is how they intend to get all of the historical information into the film without turning this into a college 101 course. There is a hellofalot of info that has to be conveyed for the film to make any sense. Granted, the story moves along at a good clip, and I can see the action scenes being pretty straightforward and ideal for a film…but without a ton of flashbacks, and lots of “and then the legend goes” “and it is rumored that” “and this book says”…it sounds like a thin line between boring a film audience to death, or leaving them totally confused.
Will there be parts of the book they simply cut to make it easier to understand, and ensure the film is not seven hours long?
I am actually looking forward to seeing the film, but just wonder…to those of you who have read the book, how easy is this going to be to put into a coherent film version?
Notes: Paul Bettany, of A Knight’s Tale and Wimbledon, plays Silas, and yes, he’s definitely the best choice. Sir Ian McKellan may not be short or hefty, but he has both the gravitas (think Gandalf) and the cold, imperial menace (think Magneto) to pull off Teabing.
As for the historical facts, I hope they’ll cover it as quickly and clearly as possible (emphasis on quickly, because there really is an arseload of stuff), cut out as many subplots and unnecessary-but-cool information as they can, and expand for the extended edition DVD, like Lord of the Rings with Tolkien’s universe.
I liked the book (watches as everyone else faints with horror) and I can’t wait to see the movie–it’s sharing the top spot with V for Vendetta on my must-see movies list this year.
I think they’ll cut whatever they can. Beyond that, I imagine the historical stuff into the movie the same way it got into the book: one character saying to another “Of course, you know that this is an ancient symbol of fertility blah blah sacred feminine blah blah blah Catholic Church blah blah Templar blah.”
Sorry. I, um, have strong feelings about the book. But seriously, a goodly amount of information is delivered in that fashion in the book. So I expect that will be preserved in the film, to some degree. Otherwise they’d need to use a bunch of interstitial cards or have the audience sit through what amounts to an art course.
I just hope the screenplay dialogue doesn’t involve the tendency of characters in the book to repeat what another one has just said. After reading for a while, I started wondering if the characters were suffering from partial hearing loss.
Well, clearly they had inner ear damage, what with all that staggering backwards from shock they were doing. Perhaps the damage extended to hearing as well.
Hmm…doesn’t seem to be a lot of love lost for the book on SDMB…I just finished reading it and was only annoyed by the constant use of French throughout the book (yes, I am aware it mostly takes place in France) but hate when books throw in French phrases as if only an illiterate bore would not know what that means.
Still, I thought the book was good, kept my attention, and as a rabid ex-Catholic, it interested me. I am looking forward to seeing the film, but as stated in my OP, I am hard pressed to figure out how they intend to include the necessary background information and still keep the story moving along.
The authorities at Westminster Abbey would not allow filming there. Instead Lincoln Cathedral (just up the road from where I live) was given a temporary makeover to make it look like the Abbey. In return the movie production company gave a rather large donation to the cathedral for some much needed repairs.
Sir Ian McKellan may not be short or hefty, but he has both the gravitas (think Gandalf) and the cold, imperial menace (think Magneto) to pull off Teabing.
How much actual “historical information” is there in The Da Vinci Code?