Now this is exactly what should have happened with Dan Brown’s shitty book “The Da Vinci Code”, it should have gone directly to TV. Either that or they should have gotten Nic Cage to star and Jon Turteltaub to direct because those two managed to turn something vastly similar into two oddly entertaining films. I bring these projects up because word out of Variety is that Raymond Khoury’s bestselling novel “The Last Templar” is heading into production as an NBC miniseries. Television is where this silly story will work, the big screen is too demanding on quality – and strength – of story.
I tried reading “The Last Templar” about a year ago and only after a few pages did I realize I was in for a “Da Vinci Code 2” scenario. Even “Publisher’s Weekly” agrees with me, here is a snippet of their description giving you insight into what it is all about:
The war between the Catholic Church and the Gnostic insurgency drags on in this ponderous Da Vinci Code knockoff. The latest skirmish erupts when horsemen dressed as knights raid New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, lopping off heads and firing Uzis as they go. Their trail leads FBI agent Sean Ryan and fetching archaeologist Tess Chaykin to the medieval crusading order of the Knights Templars. Anachronistic Gnostic champions of feminism and tolerance against Roman hierarchy and obscurantism, the Templars, they learn, discovered proof that Catholic dogma is a “hoax” and were planning to use it to unite all religions under a rationalist creed that would usher in world peace.
Victor Garber plays Monsignor De Angelis while Mira Sorvino will play lead character Tess Chaykin. Shooting begins next month in both Montreal and Morocco for an airdate later in the year.
I am not sure why Sorvino has gone from Oscar-winner to made-for-TV movie actress, but that appears to be the situation. She last had a bit role in the unimpressive Reservation Road and in 2006 starred in “Covert One: The Hades Factor” based on a Robert Ludlum novel. I know she has been playing mommy at home for quite some time now, but that doesn’t mean she is no longer good for feature films. Someone snatch her up and give her a role please!
