'Da Vinci' Sequel 'The Lost Symbol' Taking Shape

There is plenty of money to be made with or by or through Robert Langdon, so Tom Hanks and possibly Ron Howard will go at it again with The Lost Symbol. Collectively, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons made Columbia/Sony about $1.2 billion around the world, and in fact, the foreign markets are where these films are more aggressively targeted, so even if they don't blow up in the US, the studio is fine with that. Cinema Blend reports this week that the film is close to beginning the pre-production phase, which from the sounds of it, will take quite a while; Sony is looking at a 2012 release date. I don't know a thing about the book. I tried reading Da Vinci when it was the biggest thing in the world, discovered for myself Dan Brown writes worse dialogue than a truck stop men's room graffitist, and quickly put it away. Terrific story, but man, I couldn't get past whatever was in quotes. Hanks is reportedly "all but ready to return," and I can't say that I blame him. He fought sequels for a long time, but the ability to run a franchise is becoming a big thing for A-list actors. Hanks isn't getting any younger and he's striking out more often than not with character pieces over the past few years. These movies aren't bad, but they could sure be better. Third time's the charm? Maybe not, but it does provide Hanks more stroke down the line. As for Howard, I think he's more important as a producer than a director. These aren't really about the filmmaker, anyway, and I was slightly surprised he made the first one, to say nothing of the sequel (which was actually the prequel, if I understand the chronology correctly).

Comments

[Lengthy Johnson]

Dan Brown does write shit prose.

But he does know how to gently turn up the susense knob one click at a time, slowly escalating the storyline.

That's where both movies have failed. They have not transported the page-turning qualities of the books to the screen.

Ron Howard is a really good craftsman, but I think you need someone with Fincher-quality to translate Brown's books into good movies.