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| Tom Hanks is one of the most respected actors
in Hollywood (Agencies) |
Actor Tom Hanks is being lined up to star in the movie
adaptation of the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron
Howard, who won an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind, said Hanks was the man he
wanted to play Professor Robert Langdon in the thriller.
"Tom is an exciting actor to watch thinking," Howard told Newsweek.
Meanwhile, Hanks' animated Christmas tale The Polar Express set a $2.1m
(￡1.1m) record for the biggest opening at Imax cinemas in the US.
The film, which was shown on the giant screens of 59 Imax cinemas, beat
the previous records of movies including Harry Potter and the Matrix
sequels.
"We're extremely pleased in terms of its absolute performance in Imax,"
said co-chief executive Brad Wechsler.
"We've set a new weekend record for us, we've had a ton of sold-out
shows and our advance sales to consumers have been great."
The film, which is said to have cost $270m (￡189.3m) to make, was
directed by Forrest Gump's Robert Zemeckis with Hanks as an executive
producer.
But The Polar Express failed to make a dent in the fortunes of the
Pixar/Disney adventure The Incredibles which has remained at the top of
the box office chart.
Hanks is one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, with his presence in
a movie almost guaranteeing box office success.
Hanks' representatives confirmed he was in negotiations to work on The
Da Vinci Code, which would see him once again team up with Howard, who directed
Hanks in Splash and Apollo 13.
The book by Dan Brown has become a publishing phenomenon, consistently
topping book charts in the UK and US.
The proposed movie adaptation would almost certainly be a hit, with or
without Hanks.
"We probably don't need his (Hanks') status from a box-office
standpoint, but he gives Langdon instant legitimacy," said Howard.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2004-11-17 10:22