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Sunday, January 21, 2007

Amateur historian finds final resting place of (perhaps) the real “Mona Lisa”

An article about an amateur historian who has discovered the burial place of Lisa Gherardini, the woman some have identified as the model for the “Mona Lisa”: click here to read.



Posted by Admin on 01/21 at 10:28 PM
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Thursday, January 18, 2007

Dan Brown in the news, January 2007

Here are two recent news stories about Dan Brown, one from Time Magazine, and one from a Scottish newspaper about Dan Brown’s recent visit:




Posted by Admin on 01/18 at 04:10 AM
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Thursday, November 30, 2006

A review of “The Art and Mythology of the DaVinci Code”

Here’s a review of a book called “The Art and Mythology of the DaVinci Code” that was printed in The Norman (Oklahoma) Transcript.  Unfortunately the author isn’t named, and the piece is just attributed to a “staff writer”, but you might nevertheless find it interesting: book review.  If you want to actually read the book yourself you may be out of luck—a search of Amazon.com turns up no reference to it.



Posted by Admin on 11/30 at 04:39 AM
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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Akiva Goldsman may get $4 million paycheque for ‘Angels and Demons’ screenplay

According to LA Weekly and DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com reporter Nikki Finke, Goldsman has been offered a staggering four million dollars for Dan Brown’s ‘Angels and Demons’ - an amount that will set a new record for a pure screenwriting gig.  Finke claims that Goldsman will not do double-duty as producer and screenwriter on the ‘Sony Pictures’ and ‘Imagine Entertainment’ release, reports Zap2it.

Although ‘Angels and Demons’, slated for a December 12, 2008 release, was written before ‘The Da Vinci Code’, its production is not being conceived of as a prequel to the latter.  The film will see Robert Langdon, the character played by Tom Hanks in the first film, attempting to make sense of a series of murders that may involve the Vatican and the shady Illuminati.

Besides ‘The Da Vinci Code’, Goldsman writing credits include an Oscar for ‘A Beautiful Mind’. He is also regarded for scripting films like ‘Lost in Space’, ‘Batman and Robin’ and ‘Batman Forever’.



Posted by Admin on 11/28 at 12:31 AM
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Author McEwan denies “Atonement” copy claim

By Mike Collett-White
LONDON (Reuters)

Novelist Ian McEwan on Monday denied claims that he copied the work of another author when writing his acclaimed bestseller “Atonement”.  The Mail on Sunday reported that Lucilla Andrews had been planning to draw attention to the similarities between her autobiography “No Time For Romance” and sections of “Atonement” at an awards ceremony.  But the elderly writer fell ill and died last month aged 86.

Her former agent Vanessa Holt said that Andrews, who made a living from so-called “hospital romances”, had been aware of the parallels between her autobiography and “Atonement” about a year before she died, after a student drew attention to them.  But Holt denied Andrews had been planning to make a public swipe at McEwan, one of the country’s most revered authors.  “She may have taken a different view if she had been younger, but she was elderly when she found out,” Holt told Reuters.  When asked what she thought of McEwan’s rebuttal, printed on the front page of Monday’s Guardian newspaper, Holt replied: “I think I remain of the opinion that it was discourteous from one writer to another not to seek her approval.” She added that the matter was unlikely to go any further.

The claim is the latest plagiarism controversy to hit the literary world. U.S. author Dan Brown appeared in court in London in February and March to deny accusations he copied wholesale to write his bestseller “The Da Vinci Code”.  Brown won the high-profile case against two historians, although they have said they would appeal against the verdict.

McEwan, 58, said Andrews was a source of “inspiration” for his novel and its characters.  “An inspiration, yes. Did I copy from another author? No,” he said on his Web site (http://www.ianmcewan.com).  While researching “Atonement”, his 2001 work shortlisted for the Booker prize for fiction, he came across “No Time For Romance” in an Oxford library and drew on its descriptions of life in a London hospital during World War Two.  “As with the Dunkirk section, I drew on the scenes she described,” he wrote in his rebuttal.  “For certain long-outdated medical practices, she was my sole source and I have always been grateful to her.” He added that he acknowledged his debt to Andrews in the author’s note at the end of “Atonement” and spoke about her in numerous interviews.  “My one regret is not meeting her,” he continued. “But if people are now talking about Lucilla Andrews, I am glad.”

As with “The Da Vinci Code”, “Atonement” is being adapted into a Hollywood movie, starring Keira Knightley. It is due for release in August and September 2007.



Posted by Admin on 11/28 at 12:24 AM
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