"Da Vinci Code" breaks Italian box office records
Earl Evleth
Italian moviegoers are paying no
attention to movie reviewers.
A lesson to some on this New group!
:-)
****
"Da Vinci Code" breaks Italian box office records
05/20/2006
The movie adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller earned 2 million euros ($2.6
million) on its opening night, nearly double the takings of Italy's previous
top film, Oscar-winner Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful".
"The Da Vinci Code" has broken box office records in Roman Catholic Italy as
tens of thousands of Italians ignored Vatican calls to boycott the film. The
movie adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller earned 2 million euros ($2.6
million) on its opening night, nearly double the takings of Italy's previous
top film, Oscar-winner Roberto Benigni's 1997 tragi-comic Holocaust drama
"Life is Beautiful".
Italian news agencies reported record queues around the country to see the
film of the novel that ignited Vatican ire by saying Jesus had a child with
Mary Magdalene and the Catholic Church hushed this up.
Millions worldwide are expected to flock to see the film on its opening
weekend, shrugging off protests by Christian groups and tepid reviews at its
Cannes film festival premier this week.
Many Christians across the world believe the theories in "The Da Vinci Code"
are blasphemous, and the Vatican has led an offensive against the book and
the film, calling for a boycott.
Members of ultra-Catholic group, Christian Militants, picketed some cinemas
in central Rome, close to the Vatican, chanting "Dan Brown remember you will
also be judged by Christ". Many Italians are fans, however, buying tens of
thousands of the more than 40 million copies of the books sold worldwide.
Italy's tourist industry has also leapt on the Dan Brown boom. Special tours
are running in Rome and to the church in Milan containing Leonardo da
Vinci's "The Last Supper", a painting central to "The Da Vinci Code" plot.
Florence, where the Renaissance master lived, is holding a series of
exhibitions throughout the European summer focused on cracking the code of
Da Vinci's paintings and designs.
Jigsaw1695
The Vatican owns ten points if the da Vinci Code.
Railing against it is a well known marketing ploy. Consider how many
people went to see it just because the Catholic leadership was against
it.
Geez are you dumb Earl.
JIgsaw
PS: Dan Brown is really 8 jesuit priests who wrote the story. The
letters that make up his "name" are really an anagram of the last names
of the writers.
nosferatu
opening night box office figures are made up to add to the hype?
-
Daz
"Earl Evleth" <evl...@wanadoo.fr> wrote in message
news:C094FBED.A550A%evl...@wanadoo.fr...
David Haley
> Do you you beleive all this bullshit or are you like me in thinking these
> opening night box office figures are made up to add to the hype?
>
You're right Dazzler, the box office figures are all really a global conspiracy
to trick people into going to the movies. In fact, the evil minions of Darkness
are preparing to fake even more box office figures as we speak:
"One Box Office to rule them all,
One Box Office to find them,
One Box Office to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them."
Pfft.
--
David C. Haley
david-...@the-haleys.com
(no unmunging necessary)
Mr Q. Z. Diablo
> On this day of 5-21-2006 5:07 PM, nosferatu saw fit to scribe:
>> Do you you beleive all this bullshit or are you like me in thinking
>> these opening night box office figures are made up to add to the hype?
>>
>
> You're right Dazzler, the box office figures are all really a global
> conspiracy to trick people into going to the movies. In fact, the evil
> minions of Darkness are preparing to fake even more box office figures
> as we speak:
>
> "One Box Office to rule them all,
> One Box Office to find them,
> One Box Office to bring them all
> and in the darkness bind them."
>
> Pfft.
They can't be that good at it. They can't even hide the fact that box
office takings are going down the toilet, indicating a serious malaise
in Hollywood.
--
Mr Q. Z. D.
Earl Evleth
1148253196.0...@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com, "Jigsaw1695"
<Jigsa...@aol.com> wrote:
> The Vatican owns ten points if the da Vinci Code.
>
> Railing against it is a well known marketing ploy. Consider how many
> people went to see it just because the Catholic leadership was against
> it.
>
> Geez are you dumb Earl.
Nope, just reporting the facts. The film is reported doing a record
business in Spain and South America, but not so much in France, which
is suprising since it has several top French actors in the film.
What we are seeing is a repeat of what happened when the Church use
to put books on their book "censorship" list, the index. The books
sold better.
This is all "September Morn" déją vu.
http://www.bullworks.net/ffg/sptmrn/sptmrn.html
The web site has a reproduction of the famous painting.
***
On a September morning in 1912, French painter Paul Chabas finished the
painting he had been working on for three consecutive summers. Thus
completed, it was aptly titled "Matinee de Septembre" (September Morn). As
was typical of his style, the painting was of young maiden posed nude in a
natural setting. This time the icy morning waters of Lake Annecy in Upper
Savoy formed the natural setting and the maiden was a local peasant girl.
The head, however, had been painted from the sketch of a young American
girl, Julie Phillips (later Mrs. Thompson), which he had made while she and
her mother were sitting in a Paris cafe. Apparently, he had found her
profile to be exactly what he was looking for. The completed painting was
then sent off to the Paris Salon of 1912 to be exhibited. Although the
painting won Mr. Chabas the Medal of Honor, it caused no flurry of
attention. Hoping to find a buyer, the artist shipped the painting overseas
to an American gallery.
It was here in America that the painting was destined to receive undreamed
of publicity and popularity. One day in May of 1913, displayed in the window
of a Manhattan art gallery, it caught the eye of Anthony Comstock, head of
the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. Horrified by what he saw,
he stormed into the store, flashed his badge, and roared: "There's too
little morn and too much maid. Take her out!" The gallery manager, however,
refused to do so. The ensuing controversy was given wide publicity by the
press and the painting was simultaneously denounced and defended across the
entire country. Meanwhile, curious crowds filled the street outside the shop
straining to see the painting that caused such a stir.
Soon enterprising entrepreneurs were reproducing September Morn on
everything conceivable: calendars, postcards, candy boxes, cigar bands,
cigarette flannels, pennents, suspenders, bottle openers, and more. Purity
leagues tried to suppress it. Postcard reproductions were forbidden in the
mails. The painting became the object of stock show gags and even inspired
an anonymous couplet that swept the country, "Please don't think I'm bad or
bold, but where its deep it's awwful cold."
The painting went back to Paul Chabas who sold it to a Russian collector for
the ruble equivalent of $10,000. After the Russian Revolution it turned up
in Paris in the Gulbenkian Collection. Ultimately the painting was purchased
by Philadelphia Main Liner Willaim Coxe Wright and donated to Manhattan's
Metropolitan Museum in 1957 after being refused by the Philadelphia Museum
of Art because it had no significance in the twentieth century stream of
art. It's estimated market value in 1957 was $30,000. The painting still
hangs in the Metropolitan Museum as an example of 20th century French works
and reproductions can be purchased in the museum's gift shop.
Of special interest to flower frogs collectors: the image of September Morn
was also reproduced in the form of a figural flower holder. Three American
companies are known to have produced and marketed her in the late 1920's.
They are the Cambridge Glass Co. of Cambridge, Ohio; Fenton Art Glass Co. of
Williamstown, West Virginia; and the Owen Glass Co. of Minerva, Ohio. An
article appearing in the April 30, 1928 issue of China, Glass & Lamps
mentions seven different types of girl-figure flower holders made by Owen
China Co., one of which is a September Morn figure. Cambridge made the
figure in two sizes, 6.5" and 11.5", on smoothe base in a dozen colors.
There is also a 6.5" Cambridge nymph on a ribbed 3 base seen in crystal
only. The Fenton nymph is pictured and described in the article A Visit to
the Fenton Glass Factory and Museum. Also see September Morn Flower Frogs.
Earl Evleth
"nosferatu" <grea...@oldies.net> wrote:
> Do you you beleive all this bullshit or are you like me in thinking these
> opening night box office figures are made up to add to the hype?
>
Hype or real, I am enjoying it, and just sharing my joy.
***
Print
`Da Vinci Code' Brings in $77 Mln, Exceeding Analyst Estimates
May 22 (Bloomberg) -- ``The Da Vinci Code'' generated $77 million in box
office sales in its first weekend, overcoming negative reviews to beat
analysts' estimates.
The movie was the No. 1 film in the U.S. and Canada, beating the animated
movie ``Over The Hedge,'' which opened as the second-most watched film with
$37.2 million.
``The Da Vinci Code'' opening is a relief for Sony Corp., which spent $125
million making the film and half as much again to market it. ``The Da Vinci
Code'' was helped by legions of fans who bought more than 60 million copies
of the Dan Brown novel it was adapted from, about a deadly conspiracy to
hide the true origins of Christianity.
``Obviously this is a film with a built in audience,'' said Gitesh Pandya,
editor of Boxofficeguru.com. The reviews ``didn't have a big impact.''
The first-weekend take of ``The Da Vinci Code,'' provided by box-office
tracker Exhibitor Relations Co., exceeded the $59.8 million average estimate
of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The movie took in $224 million
worldwide.
``I think Sony is popping a lot of champagne right now,'' Pandya said. ``It
proves that the built-in interest in the book superseded the opinions of the
critics. There were millions of people who decided they were going to see
this movie as soon as they heard it was being made.''
Allaying Concerns
``Da Vinci's'' performance may allay concerns about the overall summer box
office after previous disappointments. News Corp.'s ``X-Men: The Last
Stand'' opens May 26, followed by Walt Disney Co.'s ``Cars'' on June 9. The
debuts of ``Mission Impossible III'' and ``Poseidon'' this month fell below
forecasts.
``Mission Impossible III'' this month opened with $47.7 million in ticket
sales, below the $71.3 million average estimate of three analysts surveyed
by Bloomberg News. The film, distributed by Viacom Inc.'s Paramount
Pictures, had a production budget of $150 million, according to Box Office
Mojo.com.
``Poseidon,'' with an estimated budget of $160 million, opened with sales
of $26.4 million, according to Box Office Mojo.com. The film, a remake of
the 1972 cruise ship disaster film ``The Poseidon Adventure,'' is
distributed by Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros.
``I think the word `wow ' sums up how we feel about the film's
performance,'' said Rory Bruer, president of distribution for Sony Pictures.
``To hit the figures we did is a phenomenal feat, especially for a film that
targets an adult audience.''
Pandya said he expects ``Da Vinci'' to finish ``a strong second'' next
weekend behind ``X-Men.''
Critics
Sony ranks second among studios in 2006 ticket sales with $489.4 million,
through May 14, according to Nielsen EDI Inc. News Corp. is first with $540
million.
In ``The Da Vinci Code,'' Tom Hanks plays a Harvard professor who is helped
in unraveling the mystery by a French cryptographer played by Audrey Tatou.
Ian McKellen also co- stars.
Critics assailed the film, leading the Hollywood Stock Exchange to cut its
forecast for the film's opening weekend to $75 million from $80.5 million.
Reviewer Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune dubbed the movie
``clueless'' and Steven Rea at The Philadelphia Inquirer called it
``lethally long-winded.''
``I think the best critic you can have is the audience and it has certainly
spoken,'' Bruer said.
Sales for ``The Da Vinci Code'' and ``Over the Hedge'' weren't enough to
lift box-office revenue for the year, according to Exhibitor Relations.
Sales fell for a second straight weekend.
``Over the Hedge,'' about a group of wild animals who venture into
suburbia, was expected to bring in $43.3 million in ticket sales over the
weekend, according to the average estimate of four analysts surveyed by
Bloomberg News. The film features the voices of Bruce Willis, Garry
Shandling and Steve Carell.
``Mission: Impossible III'' dropped to third place with $11 million after
spending two weeks at No. 1. The film, which stars Tom Cruise as secret
agent Ethan Hunt, is based on the 1960s and 1970s television program. The
three ``Mission Impossible'' films have grossed more than $1 billion
worldwide.
``Poseidon'' fell to fourth place from second in its second weekend with
$9.2 million, according to Exhibitor Relations. The movie follows the story
of a man, played by Josh Lucas, who leads a group of survivors through a
ship after a freak wave capsizes it during a New Year's Eve party.
The following chart has figures provided by studios to Exhibitor. The
weekend amounts were based on actual grosses for May 19 and estimates for
yesterday and today.
Rev Movie Wks Avg/ Pct Total
($Mln) Screens Out Screen Chg ($Mln)
1. Da Vinci Code $77.0 3,735 1 $20,616 - $77.0
2. Over The Hedge 37.2 4,059 1 9,172 - 37.2
3. Mission: Impossible 11.0 3,450 3 3,193 -56 103.2
4. Poseidon 9.2 3,555 2 2,588 -58 36.8
5. RV 5.1 2,925 4 1,744 -49 50.4
6. See No Evil 4.4 1,257 1 3,461 - 4.4
7. Just My Luck 3.4 2,543 2 1,327 -41 10.5
8. An American Haunting 1.7 1,265 3 1,315 -53 13.6
9. United 93 1.4 1,308 4 1,070 -60 28.3
10. Akeelah and the Bee 1.0 751 4 1,332 -58 15.7
Earl Evleth
<evl...@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
> On 22/05/06 1:13, in article
> 1148253196.0...@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com, "Jigsaw1695"
> <Jigsa...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> The Vatican owns ten points if the da Vinci Code.
>>
>> Railing against it is a well known marketing ploy. Consider how many
>> people went to see it just because the Catholic leadership was against
>> it.
>>
>> Geez are you dumb Earl.
>
>
Shocking, even.
http://www.sniggle.net/septmorn.php
But he describes what was perhaps his most poetic hack in the book Phantom
Fame:
I applied for work at a small art shop that had printed a lithograph of a
Harry Reichenbach is best known for the publicity stunts he used to bring
crowds into early B-movies:
€ Setting apes and lions loose in big name hotels to get the Tarzan
movies mentioned in the press.
€ Hiring a woman to fall into a łtrance˛ after viewing one spooky
film, then making sure there was enough rampant speculation about whether
movies could hypnotize people that everyone wanted to try it out.
€ Having actors pose as a Turkish rescue party coming to the U.S.
to return a young woman who had eloped with an American soldier to her
scheduled royal wedding. Allegedly hush-hush, details of this mission were
leaked to the eager media, whose scoops turned into big publicity for the
upcoming film The Virgin of Stamboul.
But he describes what was perhaps his most poetic hack in the book Phantom
Fame:.
I applied for work at a small art shop that had printed a lithograph of a
nude girl standing in a quiet pool. The picture sold at ten cents apiece
but nobody would buy it. I could earn my monthąs rent if I had an idea for
disposing of the two thousand copies in stock. It occurred to me to
introduce the immodest young maiden to Anthony Comstock, head of the
Anti-Vice Society and arch-angel of virtue. At first he refused to jump at
the opportunity to be shocked. I telephoned him several times, protesting
against a large display of the picture which I myself had installed in the
window of the art shop. Then I arranged for other people to protest and at
last I visited him personally. łThis picture is an outrage!˛ I cried. łItąs
undermining the morals of our cityąs youth!˛
When we arrived in front of the store window, a group of youngsters I had
hired especially for this performance at fifty cents apiece, stood pointing
at the picture, uttering expressions of unholy glee and making grimaces too
sophisticated for their years. Comstock swallowed the scene and almost
choked. łRemove that picture!˛ he fumed, and when the shopkeeper refused,
the Anti-Vice Society appealed to the courts. This brought the picture into
the newspapers and into fame. Overnight, the lithograph that had been
rejected as a brewerąs calendar, became a vital national issue. Songs were
written about it, actors wisecracked about it, reformers denounced it, and
seven million men and women bought copies of it at a dollar apiece, framed
it and hung it on the walls of their homes. The name of the picture was
łSeptember Morn.˛ There was no more immorality or suggestiveness to it than
sisterąs photograph as a baby in the family album.
The painting, by Paul Chabas, went from being łrejected as a brewerąs
calendar,˛ to being, for a time, a celebrated icon on par with the Mona
Lisa. Curtis MacDougal, in Hoaxes, writes that there łwere ŚSeptember Morną
dolls, statues, calendars and umbrella and cane heads; sailors had the
modest, shivering damsel tattooed on their hairy chests and amateur artists
drew their versions on bathroom floors,˛ to which another commentator adds:
łpostcards, candy boxes, cigar bands, cigarette flannels, pennants, [and]
suspenders.˛
MacDougal ends by saying that łthe most controversial nude of modern times
went on public exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art˛ in Manhattan
where it can be seen to this day.
nosferatu
"David Haley" <david-...@the-haleys.org> wrote in message
news:e4r89n$4f7$1...@news.Stanford.EDU...
> On this day of 5-21-2006 5:07 PM, nosferatu saw fit to scribe:
>> Do you you beleive all this bullshit or are you like me in thinking these
>> opening night box office figures are made up to add to the hype?
>>
>
> You're right Dazzler, the box office figures are all really a global
> conspiracy to trick people into going to the movies. In fact, the evil
> minions of Darkness are preparing to fake even more box office figures as
> we speak:
Hey, dirty dealing are all part of business. That's capitalism for you.
-
Daz
nosferatu
> On 22/05/06 2:07, in article Zg7cg.7776$UR3....@newsfe7-win.ntli.net,
> "nosferatu" <grea...@oldies.net> wrote:
>
>> Do you you beleive all this bullshit or are you like me in thinking these
>> opening night box office figures are made up to add to the hype?
>>
>
Whatever rocks your boat.
-
Daz