Variety/Cannes:"DaVinci Code" not fun

[KvHagedorn]

Considering that's the reading level of most American adults, it should be right on the money.

I agree.. this is why Harry Potter books are so popular, too. Don't challenge the intellect, but give people the illusion that you're challenging their intellect, and you've got a solid winner.

btw, follow my advice and write a best seller, and I expect 10%.

[KvHagedorn]

It pulled in $77 million opening weekend in the US alone. I would say it's going to make a profit. I think a lot of people will see it just to spite the wacko protestors, or to find out what all the hoopla is about.

I'm not surprised it's successful.. see my above post. Someone must have greased someone's palms on the cable networks, or else they got some huge free publicity. Have you seen Discovery/History/TLC lately? All this crap about Templars and Opus Dei and everything is just everywhere.

[Umfriend]

Dan Brown, on the other hand... well, it was painful. No GLARING grammatical errors, but we're definitely talking about someone writing on an eighth-grade level.

Anyone read "Angels & Demons" and/or "Digital Forstress"? Is that eigth-grade level as well?

Of course, English is not my first language and it is true that neither of these books were challenging in any way, I still do not find these to fall short that much of, say, the matarese circle or the icarus agenda by ludlum.

[Gurm]

Considering that's the reading level of most American adults, it should be right on the money.

Wifey got the book for Mother's Day from a friend, so I should get to read it in a week or two. I'm still recovering from my slog through the "Lord of The Ring" trilogy.

Kevin

Well yeah, that's definitely a "slog". Nobody ever claimed Tolkien was an easy read.

[Gurm]

I'm not surprised it's successful.. see my above post. Someone must have greased someone's palms on the cable networks, or else they got some huge free publicity. Have you seen Discovery/History/TLC lately? All this crap about Templars and Opus Dei and everything is just everywhere.

Either the palms there are always greased, or more likely they just ride current trends - every time there's a blockbuster coming out that's even vaguely historical, those channels are all over it. The number of specials on King Arthur that were on a couple summers ago when that Clive Owen/Kiera Knightley movie came out... were just astonishing!

[Jessterw]

I'm not surprised it's successful.. see my above post. Someone must have greased someone's palms on the cable networks, or else they got some huge free publicity. Have you seen Discovery/History/TLC lately? All this crap about Templars and Opus Dei and everything is just everywhere.

Yeah, it's been a bit much, but I've noticed they hardly lend the book/movie any credit, or rather, anything but the confirmation of 'facts' Brown would like.

Of course, publicity is publicity and given that most people won't stay tuned into a whole show on any of those channels, they'll only catch the parts of the shows that are only posing questions, not answering them.

[Nowhere]

Hmmm...I wonder if one of the reasons why the books you usually criticise aren't critised that much here is...they have at least good translators.