A few months ago I blogged–not-so flatteringly, I might add–about one novel response to the upcoming movie release of “The Da Vinci Code.” Barbara Nicolosi–a former nun who’s now the executive director of Act One, a program that trains Christians to work in Hollywood–had suggested that Christians refrain from boycotting the movie, and instead “othercott” it. What’s an “othercott”? Othercotting means going to the movies this weekend to see something besides “Da Vinci”–specifically the animated family movie “Over the Hedge.” By doing so, Christians would be sending a message of disapproval to Hollywood by looking at the price of a movie ticket as a vote, a way to make their voice heard in Hollywood–and using that voice to vote against “The Da Vinci Code.”

Considering I am a former student of Barbara’s and I know first-hand how intelligent and passionate she is, I should know better than to underestimate her, which I did by pooh-poohing the othercott idea when I first heard about it. I shouldn’t be surprised that support for the othercott has really picked up steam. With the help of a Catholic group called The DaVinci Outeach, there is now a website devoted to the othercott, informing the religious community how to get involved. But even more impressive is the fact that The New York Times, USA Today, and many other media outlets have gotten wind of the othercott and are giving the idea some serious buzz. And that doesn’t include the fact that all three major networks have interviewed Barbara for soundbytes on the evening news.

So even if I wasn’t smart enough to pay attention to this idea a few months ago, I’m guessing that right about now, Sony Pictures, the studio releasing “The Da Vinci Code,” is hanging on every word that those of us planning to othercott have to say.