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Ron Howard: No 'Da Vinci Code' Disclaimer
NewsMax ^ | 5/12/06 | NewsMax

Posted on 05/12/2006 2:12:02 PM PDT by wagglebee

"Da Vinci Code” director Ron Howard has said there would be no disclaimer in the film labeling it as a work of fiction – and Catholic League President Bill Donohue is deeply disturbed by Howard’s stance.

"The book which the film is based on begins with three ‘facts,’ all of which are malicious lies, yet Ron Howard says no disclaimer is needed because ‘this is a work of fiction,’” Donahue said in a statement. "He is disingenuous.”

As Donahue points out, the following got a disclaimer in a fictionalized TV show or film:

Asians: "Year of the Dragon”

Blacks: "Birth of a Nation”

Gays: "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”

Jews: "Merchant of Venice”

Mormons: "Big Love”

Muslims: "True Lies”

Native Americans: "Pocahontas II”

Nearsighted: "Mr. Magoo”

Wolves: "White Fang”

Donahue declares: "That’s right — even wolves merited a disclaimer. Disney put a disclaimer in ‘White Fang’ saying there is no evidence of a healthy pack of wolves attacking a human in North America.

"Forget about wolves. If Howard were as sensitive to Catholics as those responsible for ‘La Vita E Bella’ were to Jews, he would have acceded to our request to inject a disclaimer. That 1998 film — a dark comedy about the Holocaust — opened with a voice-over saying it is a fable. So is ‘The Da Vinci Code.’”

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, Howard rejected calls for a disclaimer, stating: "This is a work of fiction that presents a set of characters that are affected by these conspiracy theories and ideas. Those characters in this work of fiction act and react on that premise.

"It’s not history. To start with a disclaimer … spy thrillers don’t start off with disclaimers.”

However, in the book the movie is based on, author Dan Brown claims on the first page that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate,” indicating the book is based on historical fact.

Donahue said in his statement: "John Calley, a co-producer of ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ has admitted that the film is anti-Catholic.

"Apparently, Ron Howard is more of a gambler than I thought. Had he done what other directors have done before him and put in a disclaimer, the risks to his reputation would have been minimal. Now it’s show time for Mr. Howard, and not just his movie.”


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: billdonohue; catholic; catholicleague; christianity; davincicode; hollywood; itsfiction; ronhoward
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To: wagglebee
Catholic League President Bill Donohue is deeply disturbed by Howard’s stance.

Isn't Donahue the guy who regularly gets publicly upset over South Park episodes? Probably helps Catholic League fund raising. It's just a story - and not a very good one, IMHO. Most people are smart enough to realize they shouldn't take lessons on reality from the movies.
61 posted on 05/12/2006 2:47:49 PM PDT by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: wagglebee

Figures.


62 posted on 05/12/2006 2:47:53 PM PDT by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: Borges

Agreed! Polanski did an excellent job of capturing the satirical paranoia of Ira Levin's novel.


63 posted on 05/12/2006 2:48:38 PM PDT by A.P.M.
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To: Dane
I did say 'Black' comedy. Perhaps you have to be Eastern European. Hitchcock regarded Psycho as a comedy. If I recall it was also based on a best selling novel. I don't know what imposition is being made...other then just releasing the product and letting people decide for themselves.
64 posted on 05/12/2006 2:50:06 PM PDT by Borges
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To: Borges
I did say 'Black' comedy. Perhaps you have to be Eastern European. Hitchcock regarded Psycho as a comedy. If I recall it was also based on a best selling novel. I don't know what imposition is being made...other then just releasing the product and letting people decide for themselves

And that is what I have done, decided for myself, and you seem to have a problem with that.

65 posted on 05/12/2006 2:52:04 PM PDT by Dane ("Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" Ronald Reagan, 1987)
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To: Wormwood; wagglebee

That one I have not seen. Is that it? I think so.


66 posted on 05/12/2006 2:52:32 PM PDT by eleni121 ('Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!' (Julian the Apostate))
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To: Dane

No problems. Just the idea of someone trying to impose their values on you by merely making a movie.


67 posted on 05/12/2006 2:53:00 PM PDT by Borges
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To: eleni121

Rent "Cinderella Man" you won't be dissapointed.


68 posted on 05/12/2006 2:54:18 PM PDT by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
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To: American Quilter
Killer Kane went bye-bye already.

Killer Kane is dead?

Oh sob, I didn't even know he was sick.

69 posted on 05/12/2006 2:56:47 PM PDT by Ole Okie
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To: Ole Okie
Killer Kane is dead? Oh sob, I didn't even know he was sick.

It was very sudden. He succumbed in just a few hours.

70 posted on 05/12/2006 2:59:07 PM PDT by American Quilter
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To: A.P.M.
You must not be much of a Catholic if you don't get it.

The book/movie should be offensive to all Christians because, whether fiction or not,

(1) it portrays Christ as a liar and a fake;

(2) it denies the most central tenets of Christianity -- the divinity of Christ and the Resurrection;

(3) It portrays a Christian Church of almost a billion members as conspirators who have perpetrated a fraud on the entire world for the last 2,000 years; etc.

If you are not offended by this, then how about I write a book about your mother and portray her as a lying crack-whore? Hey, what's the problem? It's only fiction, right? Right?

Do you get it now?

71 posted on 05/12/2006 3:01:43 PM PDT by CWW (GOP 2008 Dream Ticket -- George Allen (Pres) and Mark Sanford (V.P.))
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To: American Quilter
Kane is dead? Oh sob, I didn't even know he was sick.

His last word was Rosebud.
72 posted on 05/12/2006 3:01:47 PM PDT by Borges
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To: cryptical
It's two, two, two shows in one!

If that motto works, advertisers will next work on "It's three, three, three mints shows in one!"

And if that motto is successful or marginally so, guess where it goes from there.

73 posted on 05/12/2006 3:02:46 PM PDT by Ole Okie
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To: Borges
His last word was Rosebud.

And his last sensory impression was the smell of ozone.

74 posted on 05/12/2006 3:03:19 PM PDT by American Quilter
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To: wagglebee

It is a Hollywood movie. It is, by definition, a work of fiction. What other disclaimer does one need?


75 posted on 05/12/2006 3:06:29 PM PDT by Non-Sequitur
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To: Non-Sequitur
Historical fiction to be exact...Fiction using historical figures. It's always bound to upset some group of people. The French still don't like the way Shakespeare portrayed Joan of Arc.
76 posted on 05/12/2006 3:08:08 PM PDT by Borges
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To: CWW

(1) it portrays Christ as a liar and a fake

Do you get it now?

___________________
But as Christians, we're not called to be offended, we're called to share the gospel of Jesus. Don't go see the movie if your offended by it. I'm not a Tom Hanks fan so I won't see it - I do agree that it is terribly offensive to try to show Jesus anything less than perectly sinless - BUT it's not up to us to be offended if people choose to not believe the same as us. That's what makes us different than the muslims who believe they have to kill and make others see their point. That right there is the core of Christianity - God gives us the choice to believe or not believe and no one twists our arms.


77 posted on 05/12/2006 3:09:59 PM PDT by justche ("Art, like morality, consists of drawing a line somewhere." G. K. Chesterton)
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To: CWW

I remember back in the '80s the movie "The Last Temptation of Christ" came out. From what I heard of it, it was vile and nasty. I was a little girl and had no desire to see it, but I remember people saying, "No one is going to tell me I can't see that movie." I would have hoped that the Catholic church would have learned from that. A movie that most people wouldn't have bothered with became a movie to go see because it was forbidden.


78 posted on 05/12/2006 3:11:25 PM PDT by HungarianGypsy
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To: CWW

Think however you'd like, it's really no skin off of my back.

Have a good evening! :)


79 posted on 05/12/2006 3:11:50 PM PDT by A.P.M.
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To: wagglebee
Muslims: "True Lies”

No disclaimer on my DVD at all.

Of course there's also no disclaimer on my copy of Blazing Saddles either.

80 posted on 05/12/2006 3:12:20 PM PDT by Centurion2000 (The social contract is breaking down.)
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