The Da Vinci Code Fun Facts, Quotes and Tweets

12^th January 2010

Quote: "I wish I did have faith. I think it would make life much easier. I just have not discovered God in my life. I mean, I don't see him. It's not that I'm closed off to the argument, but I do feel the burden of proof." The Da Vinci Code actor Paul Bettany professes his atheism.

21^st April 2009

Fact: The highly anticipated follow-up to Dan Brown's hit novel The Da Vinci Code has broken records before its release - it is the publisher's largest ever first print run, with 6.5 million copies set to hit the shelves in September (09). The movie adaptation of the first book, starring Tom Hanks, was a box office smash, grossing more than $758 million (£505 million) worldwide.

30^th January 2008

Fact: A cathedral in England is auctioning off a selection of props which featured in The Da Vinci Code. Lincoln Cathedral was transformed into Westminster Abbey by film crews on the 2005 hit film and now the wall hanging, paintings and statues seen in the film are to go under the hammer to raise funds for the historical building.

29^th March 2007

Fact: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA star TRICIA HELFER is in talks to play SUPERGIRL in the latest comic book heroine movie. The script for the film is currently being written by The Da Vinci Code's Akiva Goldsman.

23^rd March 2007

Fact: The Scottish Rosslyn Chapel, which was featured in The Da Vinci Code movie, has received $13.6 million (GBP7 million) in a grant so it can be fully restored.

20^th December 2006

Fact: Pirates Of The Caribbean: DEAD MAN'S CHEST was the highest-grossing film of 2006 in cinemas in the UK and Ireland, beating Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code and Ice Age 2: THE MELTDOWN.

25^th May 2006

Fact: Sri Lankan President MAHINDA RAJAPKSA has banned controversial blockbuster The Da Vinci Code from the nation's cinemas.

24^th May 2006

Fact: The north-east Indian state of Nagaland is the latest territory to ban The Da Vinci Code movie. The government there ruled the movie is "blasphemous and offensive".

19^th May 2006

Quote: "This sounds a little 'hucksterish', but people really respond to the movie better the second time than they do the first time." Director Ron Howard continues to defend The Da Vinci Code's poor reviews.

19^th May 2006

Quote: "I know I've been commercially successful, but I'm not really a guy looking for safe, middle-of-the-road success." Director Ron Howard revels in the controversy surrounding The Da Vinci Code.

16^th May 2006

Quote: "I don't think there is anything offensive about this film at all. It's a work of fiction, you'll find it in the fiction section in your local bookshop." Paul Bettany is baffled by widespread opposition to his new movie The Da Vinci Code.

4^th May 2006

Quote: "We corrected a little error that Dan Brown had made - that we don't have identity cards in the UK and if we did, I wouldn't use the title on mine." SIR Ian McKellen on helping get all aspects of The Da Vinci Code correct in the movie adaptation. The British knight plays SIR LEIGH TEABING in the much-anticipated film.

13^th April 2006

Quote: "Tom Hanks and I were looking at the Mona Lisa at about 2.30 in the morning. It was a rare, rare, amazing moment." Movie-maker Ron Howard on the highlight of making The Da Vinci Code in Paris, France, art Mecca The Louvre, which houses LEONARDO DA VINCI's great masterpiece.

20^th February 2006

Fact: <p>The Da Vinci Code movie backdrop Winchester Cathedral, England, will start charging non-worshipping visitors $7.20 (GBP4) after it's starring role in the film version of the best-selling novel. The location raised $36,000 (GBP20,000) by allowing film-crews to use it for the Holy Grail thriller by author Dan Brown. </p>

20^th December 2005

Fact: <p>The Mona Lisa which features in new movie 2006 blockbuster The Da Vinci Code was a replica, used because the real art piece would have been ruined by the high-wattage movie lights. </p>

16^th August 2005

Fact: <p>The bell at Lincoln Cathedral in England didn't ring yesterday (15AUG05) for the first time since World War II, as filming of new Tom Hanks movie The Da Vinci Code got underway. </p>