Cathedral uses Da Vinci Code film money to critique book
-02/05/06
Proceeds from a rep
Cathedral uses Da Vinci Code film money to critique book
-02/05/06
Proceeds from a reported £20,000 paid by the Sony Corporation for permitting scenes from The Da Vinci Code to be filmed in Winchester Cathedral have funded an exhibition which critiques Dan Brown’s ecclesiastical fiction thriller ñ writes Martin Revis for Ecumenical News International.
The filming took place in southern England during October 2005. “Cracking the Code”, which visitors can see as part of the standard £4 admission fee to the cathedral, opened on 24 April and will run until 21 July 2006.
It includes a programme of lectures expounding elements of the Christian faith and pointing to mistakes in the best-selling book, which has sold 40 million copies worldwide.
In an opening lecture, Professor Michael Wheeler, a lay canon, said the book was “good as a white knuckle narrative of the kind seen in action pictures” but it did not have much to do with religion. The prose was “stilted and often worse” and “even at the simplest level of accuracy, nobody has bothered to check the text for verbal slips”.
Storyboards in an area filmed invite visitors to consider some of the ideas in the book, such as the role of Mary Magdalene, her purported marriage to Jesus and suggestions she figures in Leonardo’s painting of The Last Supper.
A spokesperson for Winchester Anglican diocese told Ecumenical News International the fee included some preparation costs for the filming, the mounting of a subsequent exhibition and educational programme, so it was not possible to give a precise figure.
The Winchester Cathedral Chapter took the decision to allow filming after London’s Westminster Abbey refused a similar request. It explained that the money would help defray cathedral maintenance costs which amount to 6000 pounds daily.
A press statement at the opening said: “We want to offer visitors the opportunity to make their own minds up on The Da Vinci Code, to learn about some of the mistakes in the novel as well as something of the history of the Church, and to understand more about the great spiritual mystery lying at the heart of Christian belief.”
[With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.]
Cathedral uses Da Vinci Code film money to critique book
-02/05/06
Proceeds from a reported £20,000 paid by the Sony Corporation for permitting scenes from The Da Vinci Code to be filmed in Winchester Cathedral have funded an exhibition which critiques Dan Brown’s ecclesiastical fiction thriller ñ writes Martin Revis for Ecumenical News International.
The filming took place in southern England during October 2005. “Cracking the Code”, which visitors can see as part of the standard £4 admission fee to the cathedral, opened on 24 April and will run until 21 July 2006.
It includes a programme of lectures expounding elements of the Christian faith and pointing to mistakes in the best-selling book, which has sold 40 million copies worldwide.
In an opening lecture, Professor Michael Wheeler, a lay canon, said the book was “good as a white knuckle narrative of the kind seen in action pictures” but it did not have much to do with religion. The prose was “stilted and often worse” and “even at the simplest level of accuracy, nobody has bothered to check the text for verbal slips”.
Storyboards in an area filmed invite visitors to consider some of the ideas in the book, such as the role of Mary Magdalene, her purported marriage to Jesus and suggestions she figures in Leonardo’s painting of The Last Supper.
A spokesperson for Winchester Anglican diocese told Ecumenical News International the fee included some preparation costs for the filming, the mounting of a subsequent exhibition and educational programme, so it was not possible to give a precise figure.
The Winchester Cathedral Chapter took the decision to allow filming after London’s Westminster Abbey refused a similar request. It explained that the money would help defray cathedral maintenance costs which amount to 6000 pounds daily.
A press statement at the opening said: “We want to offer visitors the opportunity to make their own minds up on The Da Vinci Code, to learn about some of the mistakes in the novel as well as something of the history of the Church, and to understand more about the great spiritual mystery lying at the heart of Christian belief.”
[With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.]