Honorary Golden Bears to be Awarded to Sir Ian McKellen

The 56th Berlin International Film Festival will award this year’s Honorary Golden Bears for lifetime achievement to the Polish filmmaker and screenwriter Andrzej Wajda and the British actor Sir Ian McKellen. With Sir Ian McKellen, the Berlinale is honouring one of Britain’s most legendary actors of the stage and screen. By 1974 he was already a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Since then he has enthralled audiences around the globe as the eponymous protagonist in the screen adaptation of Richard III (1995), as well as for his performances in X-Men films and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In 1999 Sir Ian McKellen was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Hollywood director James Whale in Gods and Monster. He was again nominated for an Oscar for his performance as Gandalf in the first episode of Lord of the Rings. The actor, who was knighted in 1990, starred in David MacKenzie’s Asylum (2004), which was screened at last year’s Berlinale Competition. [More]

Double Oscar winner Tom Hanks to take stage at 2006 awards

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Double Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks will take a starring role at this year's Academy Awards as a presenter of the coveted golden statuettes, organisers said. Hanks, 49, has appeared in more than 50 films. He won back to back best actor Oscars for his roles in 1993's "Philadelphia" and 1994's "Forrest Gump," and has also become one of Hollywood's most powerful producers and directors. The actor, who shot to fame in 1984's mermaid tale "Splash" opposite Daryl Hannah, also won Academy Award nominations for his leading roles in 1988's "Big," the 1998 war drama "Saving Private Ryan" and "Cast Away" (2000). [More]

More 'Da Vinci Code' Stills

Several new images from 'The Da Vinci Code' film have popped up online again. These new ones feature Jean Reno, Paul Bettany and Ian McKellen. Also seen are more images of Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou. Take a look! [More]

TV Watch: Bettany on 'Ellen'

Paul Bettany will be a guest on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' Thursday, February 2nd. He is no doubt there to pitch his latest film 'Firewall' starring Harrison Ford and himself. They may mention 'The Da Vinci Code' as well! Stay Tuned!

'Da Vinci Code' movie to open Cannes film festival

PARIS (AFP) - The movie version of best-selling book "The Da Vinci Code", directed by Ron Howard, will open the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, two days before its worldwide release. The thriller, produced by Brian Grazer and John Calley for Colombia Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, will be not be competing for a festival award, said the statement Saturday evening. Dan Brown's book, about a series of high-profile murders behind a Vatican plot to conceal the true meaning of the Holy Grail, has sold more than 30 million copies in around 40 languages and provoked criticism from the Roman Catholic Church and historians. Producers invested 100 million dollars in the film version of the book, which stars US two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks, French favourites Audrey Tatou and Jean Reno, and British actors Sir Ian Mckellen and Alfred Molina. [More]

Call for Da Vinci 'adult rating'

Catholic group Opus Dei has called for the film version of The Da Vinci Code novel to be given an adult rating. The organisation says children should be protected from what it calls "insidious" lies about Catholicism. Spokesman Marc Carroggio said: "Any adult can distinguish reality from fiction. But you cannot expect a child to make proper judgements." [More]

New 'Da Vinci Code' Production Stills

Eight new production stills from 'The Da Vinci Code' have been released. Take a look! [Images]

Hans Zimmer to Score The Da Vinci Code

Oscar®-winner Hans Zimmer will compose the score to Ron Howard's film adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code. This highly-anticipated film from Columbia Pictures and Imagine Entertainment stars Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Sir Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Paul Bettany and Jean Reno, and is set for release on May 19, 2006. From director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, the Oscar®-winning team of A Beautiful Mind, and producer John Calley (the Oscar®-nominated The Remains of the Day), comes the film version of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, one of the most popular and talked about novels of our time. [More]

UK TV Watch: McKellen on 'Graham Norton'

Jenna writes: Ian McKellen will be on TV in the UK tonight (Jan 16th) on the tv show 'The Bigger Picture with Graham Norton' at 10.35pm on BBC1.

Watch the film then take the Da Vinci mystery tour

It is a tourist trail that has no place for Buckingham Palace or Stratford upon Avon. Instead, it encompasses the further flung and less sampled delights of Leicestershire, Midlothian and Fleet Street. The locations for the Hollywood film version of The Da Vinci Code are to be used to attract millions of visitors to Britain as part of the country's biggest film-linked tourist promotion. Visit Britain, the official tourist promotion agency, Eurostar, the cross channel train service and Thomson Holidays, one of Britain's biggest tour operators, are among dozens of companies hoping to capitalise on the success of the film. [More]

Howard tribute to feature his work on 'Da Vinci Code'

Bravo will pay tribute to Oscar-winning director Ron Howard in the special "Moving Image Salutes Ron Howard." The tribute, which will air Saturday, includes a first look at Howard's adaptation of the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code," due in theaters in May. Special guests and presenters include Jim Carrey, Edie Falco, Paul Giamatti, Howard's longtime producing partner Brian Grazer, Tom Hanks, Goldie Hawn, Bryce Dallas Howard, Michael Keaton, Kurt Russell, Jeffrey Tambor and Renee Zellweger. [More]

'Da Vinci Code' steps away from the pack of same old, same olds

The big movie story of 2005 was the yearlong slump in audience attendance, which ended up being a drop of between 5 and 7 percent: not as disastrous as seemed possible midyear, maybe, but still the biggest decline in 20 years. Yet, if Hollywood is running scared, you certainly wouldn't know it from the sheer volume of product it has lined up for 2006. During the next 12 months, more feature films are scheduled to play theatrical dates in Seattle than there are days of the year. [More]

Eurostar to Promote The Da Vinci Code Tourism as Film's Partner

WHITE PLAINS, NY--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 10, 2006 -- Eurostar, the high-speed train connecting the UK with France and Belgium, will lead an international campaign to promote tourism to London, Paris and Edinburgh in conjunction with the May 19 release of the Columbia Pictures' movie based on Dan Brown's bestseller, "The Da Vinci Code". Eurostar was today named the first global partner of the eagerly awaited film. [More]

TV Watch: Ron Howard on Conan O'Brien

Ron Howard is slated to be a guest on 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' tonight (Jan 10th) on NBC. Ron is expected to talk up 'The Da Vinci Code' during his visit. 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' airs on NBC at 12:35AM.

'Da Vinci Code' paperback due -- finally

NEW YORK (AP) -- At last, "The Da Vinci Code" is coming out in paperback. Dan Brown's historical thriller was published nearly three years ago and has so sold well, for so long, that publisher Doubleday didn't bother releasing a paperback. But in anticipation of the film version, scheduled for May 19 and starring Tom Hanks, 5 million paperback copies will be published March 28. "Given the tremendous excitement about the film version of 'The Da Vinci Code,' and the requests to have the book in paperback from our customers as well as the consumer, we decided the time was right to release the paperback editions," Doubleday spokeswoman Suzanne Herz said Monday. [More]

Looking forward to it: 'Da Vinci Code'

From USA Today: Why it could be an '06 sensation: So successful is Dan Brown's 2003 thriller about a conspiracy involving Leonardo da Vinci, the Catholic Church and the life of Jesus, that publisher Doubleday has yet to put it out in paperback. More than 20 million copies are in print. [More]

Ron Howard honored

Bravo will pay tribute to Oscar-winning director Ron Howard in the special, Moving Image Salutes Ron Howard, reports The Associated Press. The tribute, which airs at 9 p.m. Saturday, includes a first look at Howard's adaptation of the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code, due in theaters in May. Special guests and presenters include Jim Carrey, Edie Falco, Paul Giamatti, Howard's longtime producing partner Brian Grazer, Tom Hanks, Goldie Hawn, Bryce Dallas Howard, Michael Keaton, Kurt Russell, Jeffrey Tambor and Renée Zellweger. [More]

THE DA VINCI CON

Thousands of people have been conned out of cash by a scam based on bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. Those duped have been lured by the promise of good luck and immense riches if they fork out £25 for a "Codex of Leonardo da Vinci". But what they have received is a virtually worthless tin-pressed pendant sent by an anonymous "astro-medium". It is the latest in a string of scams which has reaped a fortune from an amazing five million victims in the UK, a consumer watchdog has warned. [More]

Da Vinci Code set for a premiere at The Louvre?

Producers of much-anticipated movie The Da Vinci Code are considering staging the film's European premiere at the Louvre art gallery in Paris, France, where the story begins. Film executives are impressed with record-breaking figures from last year, which show more people than ever before visited the famous gallery, which houses the Mona Lisa among other great works. And they believe many tourists were inspired to make the trip by the book the film is based on, written by Dan Brown. [More]

'Da Vinci Code' boost for Louvre

PARIS, France (AP) -- The Louvre Museum in Paris had a record number of visitors in 2005, with successful soirees for young people, crowd-pleasing exhibitions and promotion from "The Da Vinci Code," a top administrator said Tuesday. About 7.3 million people visited the art museum in 2005, up from 6.7 million in 2004 -- the previous record -- general administrator Didier Selles told The Associated Press. Definitive 2005 figures are expected in coming weeks. Selles said Dan Brown's mystical thriller "The Da Vinci Code" was in part responsible for drawing fans to the Louvre, though likely "not in gigantic proportions." Some travel companies offer Da Vinci code tours that make stops at the Louvre. [More]

New Cast Images & Bios Added

I have added new names to the cast section, check out photos and bios for the actors playing such notable characters as André Vernet, Remy & Sister Sandrine! [More]

Paris Via `Da Vinci Code'

PARIS -- St. Sulpice on the Left Bank of the Seine is a regal 17th-century church, but has never been much of a tourist draw. After all, it's not easy competing against Paris' many crown jewels: the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and the Bastille. Just within the neighborhood, the church of St. Germain des Pres is better known. And unlike Paris' well-attended showpieces, St. Sulpice shows its age. One of its two towers is wrapped in a protective shroud of scaffolding, a belated refurbishment, but the inside is brown around the edges -- like the pages of an old book. [More]

Publishers note huge success of 'Da Vinci Code'

Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code" has spawned an interest in religious thrillers, art history, Gnostic texts and speculations about the life of Jesus. (Registration Needed) [More]