Hanks To Star in 'The Da Vinci Code'

Ending rampant speculation and betting on the Internet over who will play Harvard professor Robert Langdon in the movie adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, Sony's Columbia Pictures announced Tuesday that it had signed Tom Hanks for the role. Hanks' hiring was originally disclosed in last week's edition of Newsweek, but was not confirmed by the studio. Newsweek quoted producer-director Ron Howard as saying, "Tom is an exciting actor to watch thinking. ... We probably don't need his status from a box-office standpoint [the book has spent 87 weeks atop the New York Times'best-seller list] but he gives Langdon instant legitimacy."