The director of The Da Vinci Code film, Ron Howard, responded to the calls for a disclaimer to be added to the movie, by saying the film did not need one any more than a simple fictional spy movie.
Ivereigh said, “From the start, the marketing strategy behind the Da Vinci Code has been to claim that it is based on respected theories. Brown and Sony have encouraged people to take it seriously, while hiding behind the claim that it is fiction. Our poll shows they should take responsibility for their dishonesty, and issue a health warning.”Tom Hanks and The Da Vinci Code movie team left London 16th May to make their way to the 59th Cannes Film Festival, where the film is being show on the opening day.
The outcry against the movie has been widespread, with public protests and boycotts called for in Thailand, India, El Salvador, Malaysia, Singapore as well as South Korea.
The Indian government, on 16th May, has applied a temporary block on the film's release, even though the country’s censor board had passed it. However, the country's broadcasting ministry said that, having received more than 200 complaints, it had to take time to consider the complaints.
A coalition of Christian groups in Bangkok have demanded that their government censor the final 15 minutes of the movie due to the sensitive and confusing content that insults Christian teaching. However, the sensor board have yet to reply on the matter with the movie due to be released 18th May.
In South Korea, a court has rejected the request from the Christian Council of Korea to block the release of the film. A judge at Seoul Central District Court judged, “As it is clear that the novel and movie are all fiction . . . there is no probability that the movie can make viewers mistakenly believe the contents are facts.”In the Philippines, censors have approved the film despite the outcry from the country’s churchgoers deeming the content of the movie to be blasphemous.
In El Salvador the Catholic Church has told its followers to boycott the movie when it opens. The Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle, of the Salvadorian Bishops Conference told that the film was dangerous fiction. He said, “It's dangerous because it tries to convert lies into truths and confuse the faithful.”
In Singapore, censors have tried to appease protestors by offering the movie a NC16 rating, so only those over 16 years of age can gain access to watch the movie. The board said only mature audiences would "be able to differentiate between fact and fiction".
The Da Vinci Code movie world premiere took place on 17th May 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival 2006.
