Ron Howard

The Da Vinci Code, one of the most controversial movies, didn't receive good reviews from critics, was banned in many countries such as India and the Philippines, had protestors marching in front of theaters and angered many Christian leaders who asked their followers to boycott the movie. But that didn't stop it from earning $224 million worldwide on its opening weekend and become the highest grossing movie of 2006 with $750 million.

The movie is based on the best selling novel, The Da Vinci Code, written by Dan Brown â€“ he sold the movie rights at $6,000,000 â€“ was directed by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, How The Grinch Stole Christmas) and written by Akiva Goldsman (I, Robot, Cinderella Man). It stars Tom Hanks as Dr. Robert Langdon and Audrey Tautou as Agent Sophie Neveu.In short, the story states that Jesus Christ â€“ I'm talking about the son of God, the one who died on the cross then resurrected three days later, just in case you were wondering - was married to Mary Magdalene - the former prostitute - and that they had a child together and that Sophie Neveu is the last descent from that union. This means that the Holy Grail is not a chalice but Jesus and Mary Magdalene's bloodline. That's enough to stir up Christians and churches around the world. Don't you think? Certain countries requested that Sony puts a disclaimer at the beginning stating that the story was fiction but they declined.

Two years later, the heat has quite reduce as people have moved on and are more into movies such as Quantum Of Solace, Eagle Eyes, High School Musical 3 and Madagascar 2. But not for long; get ready for The Da Vinci Code's sequel: Angels And Demons, scheduled to be released on May 19th 2009. "It tells the story of Langdon's' brush with a shadowy secret society, the Illuminati, and his frantic quest for the worlds most powerful energy source, in the company of a beautiful Italian physicist whose father, a brilliant physicist, has been murdered."

The movie, also based on a book with similar title written by Dan Brown, was directed by Ron Howard and written by Akiva Goldsman. Tom Hanks comes back as Dr. Robert Langdon. He is joined by Ayelet Zurer as Victoria Vetra and Ewan McGregor as Carlo Ventresca. And no, Sophie Neveu doesn't come back. Too bad, I wonder if she figured out how to turn water to wine or walk on it.

Normally, the book Angels And Demons (2000) was published before The Da Vinci Code (2003), but Ron Howard decided to make it as a sequel rather than a prequel.

Even tough the movie is still half a year from theaters, it will definitely create as much controversies as its predecessor. The Vatican refused to give Ron Howard access to Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria for the filming. According to TheTelegraph.co.uk Father Marco Fibbi, a spokesman, stated "Usually we read the script but in this case it wasn't necessary. Just the name Dan Brown was enough." â€“ Isn't forgiveness one of Christianity's pillars? - The churches had to be recreated in soundstages.

The Trailers' Park

Letterman - Top Ten with Ron Howard