Opie’s out of control
Published by punkass marc May 19th, 2006 in Punkass!, Film
“If you’re not willing to take some chances, particularly at this stage of my career, then what are you doing? I know I’ve been commercially successful, but I’m not really a guy looking for safe, middle-of-the-road success.”
-Opie on his latest project
Thank god for artists like Ron Howard. Without them, the unsung voices in this country might never get their moment on stage.
Fortunately, per his self-expressed desire to put his rep on the line, Howard continues to push the envelope. His latest directorial effort brings to life a little-known American novel, “The Da Vinci Code.” According to the BBC, whoever that is, the book has sold a mere 40 million copies, and despite its continuing reign atop this week’s paperback bestseller list, few people seem to have caught the fever. Sure, there are some underground cult movements like these:
The Da Vinci Code has been translated into 42 languages and has spawned its own cottage industry of publications, including guides on to how to read the book, rebuttals and counter claims.
…but how could we expect Hollywood to go out on a limb with such avant garde material? Ron Howard’s rebellious will is truly the guardian angel of our entertainment dollar.
It starts with the script, of course, but the veteran director of indie thriller Apollo 13 and the black comedy Willow also knows how to pluck a budding screen star from the teeming masses of Hollywood hopefuls. The lucky actor this time around is one Thomas Hanks, the portly middle-aged fellow flashing his pearly whites here:
The previously unknown Mr. Hanks must be quite the thespian; heaven knows he wasn’t cast for his looks. But if Howard wanted a movie full of beautiful people, he’d tap LA hunks like his ultra-famous brother Clint. No, Howard the maverick knows audiences care far more about the quality of performance than the name on the bill, and for that, the hungry actors of the world are grateful.
It’d be easy for a director of Ron Howard’s stature to pluck the next big literary phenomenon, plug in a couple Oscar winners, and ask the CGI staff to make his movie for him, but nobody’s ever done it like Ronnie. May we all prosper from treading the adventurous paths he blazes.
Look for “The Da Vinci Code” in an art house near you sometime this summer.
I really want somebody to tell me what new challenges The DaVinci code raises to Christian faith that aren’t already raised by the Council of Nicea and the discovery of the Nag Hammadi scrolls, which happened, respectively, 61 and 1700-odd years ago.
The Council of who now? Is that like an independent movie studio? Dude, no one watches that shit.
When Pterry has already spoofed the book, you know that a movie version is going to be an exercise in postmodernist self expression by this little unsung director and his cast of a thousand hobos.
Is hank’s head growing while his facial features stay the same size? was his head that big in castaway?