Tom Hanks and the other stars of The Da Vinci Code were to arrive in Cannes on Tuesday ahead of an exclusive preview screening of the movie version of the bestselling novel by Dan Brown.
The sight of Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno, director Ron Howard and Brown sweeping into the French Riviera resort town on a specially chartered Eurostar train from London, and the projection of the film for 2 000 journalists and VIPs, was to effectively raise the curtain on the Cannes film festival a day early this year.
By the time the festival is officially opened late on Wednesday with another screening of The Da Vinci Code — the red-carpet world premiere with the cast and crew in black ties and glamorous gowns — the planetary publicity blitz will be at its height.
Such is the phenomenon of the book, 50-million copies of which have been sold since it came out in 2003, that blockbuster status for the film is assured when it hits cinemas everywhere this week.
In Cannes, $the 125-million movie dominated not only the programme, but also the skyline.
A sinister black pyramid emblazoned with the movie’s title squatted over multi-million-euro yachts in the town’s harbour — the venue of an invitation-only party after the premiere.
And along the shore, a billboard for the film took pride of place above posters for the upcoming Superman Returns and Miami Vice movies.
Newspapers and movie magazines covering Cannes noted the fillip that The Da Vinci Code has given to Europe’s tourist sector. It has boosted attendance at the Louvre museum in Paris and Westminster Abbey in London and spawned a whole industry of tours.
They also recounted the controversy that has dogged the book and its assertions about a Catholic conspiracy surrounding Jesus Christ. Some fringe Christian groups have called the work blasphemous.
Hanks, who earned $25-million for incarnating the role of hero Robert Langdon, has hit out at the film’s critics. He said the story was simply one filled ”with all sorts of hooey and fun kind of scavenger-hunt-type nonsense” and should not be taken too seriously.
Howard, the director, agreed, telling French television he considered the book to be ”a work of fiction”, gripping and kinetic but not the revelation of a centuries-old plot.
”What I really hope it sparks is a dialogue. It’s fascinating,” he said.
In France, the Catholic Church was trying to stay above the fray.
”It’s only a film. There are more serious things happening in the world,” said Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco, head of the communication council of the Conference of French Bishops.
He added that the church was against any violent protest action against the film and declined to admonish or approve the feature.
”I’m not going to talk about the film before I see it,” he told Agence France-Presse.
Tourists in Cannes were curious about the movie.
”I’m intrigued by the whole phenomenon,” said Denis O’Brien, who had brought his family from Northern Ireland to take in the sun and sights of the French Riviera.
Nearby, a group of tourists from San Francisco took photos in front of the Palais des Festivals building where the screening was to take place.
One of them, Jennifer Zirbel, said she would ”absolutely” go to see the film. The book, she said, was ”very good”.
”It taught me a lot of history, a lot of things, though whether they’re real or not, I don’t know”, she said.
For all the attention and hype The Da Vinci Code was generating, it was easy to forget that the movie was in fact little more than flamboyant window-dressing for the festival to follow.
The film itself was not in the official competition, where 20 films from around the world are competing for the Palme d’Or prize, which is to be awarded May 28.
Among the entries is Volver, the latest work by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, Southland Tales, a science-fiction satire of the United States by Donnie Darko wunderkind director Richard Kelly, The Cayman by previous Cannes winner Nanni Moretti and Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola.
Next week will see an out-of-competition screening of another Hollywood movie, X-Men 3: The Last Stand.
And away from the media gaze and black-tie functions will be the real meat-and-potatoes of the festival — the sprawling market section where deals are done over thousands of films and film ideas that are to trickle into cinemas and DVD players in the months and years to come.
Among the stars expected to appear in Cannes after the Da Vinci crowd are Monica Bellucci, Helena Bonham Carter, Penelope Cruz, Kirsten Dunst, Samuel L Jackson, The Rock and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
With the world’s lenses trained on the festival and the excitement surrounding The Da Vinci Code, security is being treated very seriously.
Nearly 1 000 police are being deployed in Cannes. Despite a largely symbolic 55-minute strike by local officers on Friday to protest at working conditions, they will be on hand to ensure the event passes off smoothly. — AFP
