Sprinkling Holy Water on 'The Da Vinci Code' - New York Times

Sprinkling Holy Water on 'The Da Vinci Code' - New York Times: "ON the face of it, Hollywood projects don't get much simpler than 'The Da Vinci Code,' a movie being shot in Europe this summer, based on the international publishing phenomenon by Dan Brown. All the ingredients are there: a blockbuster book with 36 million copies in print, an Academy Award-winning team in the writer Akiva Goldsman and the director Ron Howard (for 'A Beautiful Mind'), and an Oscar perennial, Tom Hanks, in the lead, as the Harvard professor Robert Langdon. Sony Pictures, the studio behind the film, would seem well on its way to that rarest of successes: an adult-oriented franchise with a built-in audience and plenty of potential for sequels. But 'Da Vinci,' set for release in May, is shaping up as one of the movie world's more complicated exercises - so much so that Sony has dropped a scrim of secrecy over the affair, refusing to discuss anything but the barest details. The script has been closely controlled. Outsiders have been banned from the set. And those associated with the film have had to sign confidentiality agreements. 'There isn't a hidden agenda, there isn't any secrecy, it's just because it's so well known,' said Geoffrey Ammer, Sony's president of worldwide marketing, explaining the low profile. 'They've got a job to do to make the movie. It was easier for everybody to just go make the movie.' But executives and others connected with the project acknowledge that their silence is also a measure of concern about the potentially incendiary nature of the subject matter. The book, which is fiction, takes aim at central Christian dogma, claiming that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene, who was meant to be his true heir. It alleges an enormous coverup by the Roman Catholic Church, which, according to the book, usurped Mary's place in favor of a male-oriented hierarchy that has suppressed what Mr. Brown calls the 'sacred feminine.' Even before production began, the studio and the producers Brian Grazer and John Calley received letters from groups like the Catholic League and Opus Dei expressing concern. The Catholic League asked that Mr. Howard include a disclaimer acknowledging that the movie is fiction. Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic group, was particularly worried about its own depiction, because it is a central villain in the book. 'The novel portrays Opus Dei in a completely inaccurate way; if the movie does the same thing it's something we'd be concerned about,' Brian Finnerty, a spokesman for the group, said. Studio officials have consulted with Catholic and other Christian specialists on how they might alter the plot of the novel to avoid offending the devout. In doing so, the studio has been asked to consider such measures as making the central premise - that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene - more ambiguous, and removing the name of Opus Dei."

Chappelle's Show Is 'Done,' Murphy says

Yahoo! News: "NEW YORK - Time to face the facts: Dave Chappelle's hit Comedy Central series isn't coming back, says one of its stars. '`Chappelle's Show' is over, man. Done,' comic Charlie Murphy told TV Guide. 'It took me a long time to be able to say those words, but I can say it pretty easy now, because it's the truth.' Chappelle's sudden 'spiritual retreat' to South Africa on the eve of his show's third season has left the series in limbo since May. About half of a new season had been filmed before Chappelle left, Murphy said. 'I'm disappointed it ended the way it did, but I'm not angry with anybody,' he said. '`Chappelle's Show' was like the Tupac of TV shows. It came out, it got everybody's attention, it was a bright shining star, but it burned out and for some strange reason, it burned out quick.' Comedy Central has always said the door is open for Chappelle to return, spokeswoman Aileen Budow said Wednesday. Network chief Doug Herzog met with Chappelle on June 3, but that has been their last communication, she said. Murphy, the older brother of comic Eddie Murphy, said his two seasons with Chappelle made him a star. 'Now I can go out and do stand-up,' he said. 'I'm getting movie offers. It's off the hook. Me getting to the next level or whatever's going to happen is going to come from the next things I do, but `Chappelle's Show' served its purpose and I'll always be grateful.'"

The Great Hollywood Refund

The Wire : Radar Online: "Do you remember going to a theater to see A Knight’s Tale, like, four years ago? How about The Animal starring Rob Schneider? If you can locate the yellowing ticket stubs in your wallet close to half a decade later, you’re in luck: Sony’s giving you your money back. As reported at the time, marketing execs at Sony had invented a film critic (David Manning of the Ridgefield Press) and used his fake blurbs in movie advertisements for five films, including The Animal and A Knight’s Tale. After the scam was exposed, lawyers quickly jumped into the thick of things and filed a class action suit which claimed that poor, innocent people had been duped by Manning (and his over-the-top one-liners) into seeing the movie. (We’d argue that if your own mother can convince you to see a Rob Schneider movie — much less someone you don’t know — you’ve got problems.) Today, a judge in California signed off on an agreement that will have Sony Pictures Entertainment pay $1.5 million to settle the class-action lawsuit, an amount that will be divvied up so that anyone who purchased a ticket to one of the movies will receive $5. All you’ll have to do is fill out some forms and submit some proof, and your claim will be processed. As to whether you want to go on the legal record as having paid for a ticket to A Knight’s Tale is another matter altogether."

Book: Hendrix avoided Vietnam with gay ruse - ROCK MUSIC - MSNBC.com

Book: Hendrix avoided Vietnam with gay ruse - ROCK MUSIC - MSNBC.com: "SEATTLE - Jimi Hendrix might have stayed in the Army. He might have been sent to Vietnam. Instead, he pretended he was gay. And with that, he was discharged from the 101st Airborne in 1962, launching a musical career that would redefine the guitar, leave other rock heroes of the day speechless and culminate with his headlining performance of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' at Woodstock in 1969.Hendrix's subterfuge, contained in his military medical records, is revealed for the first time in Charles R. Cross' new biography, 'Room Full of Mirrors.' Publicly, Hendrix always claimed he was discharged after breaking his ankle on a parachute jump, but his medical records do not mention such an injury."

Gore%u2019s Current TV hits screens Monday - TELEVISION - MSNBC.com

Gores Current TV hits screens Monday - TELEVISION - MSNBC.com: "The Associated PressUpdated: 2:22 p.m. ET July 31, 2005NEW YORK - Much of the talk around Al Gores new Current TV network has been broadly philosophical, like the former vice presidents statement that we want to be the television home page for the Internet generation. With its debut Monday, Current TV will be judged by the same mundane standards as other networks on whether its programming can hold a viewers interest.Gore and his fellow investors envision Current as a sounding board for young people, a step beyond traditional notions of interactivity. They want viewers to contribute much of the networks content now that quality video equipment is widely available."