Some word on the movie, consistent with what we’ve been hearing

Word is that screenwriter Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind," "Cinderella Man") is making plenty of changes – and that downplaying author Brown’s anti-Catholic theme is one of them.

For example, the Catholic organization Opus Dei will not play a significant role in the movie, according to one of the select few who have read one of the carefully numbered scripts. "They’re not out to make a religious movie," he says.

Umm…good luck.

I’d much rather spend time pondering The Asti Spumante Code, myself

The Asti Spumante Code parallels the Da Vinci plot. There is a hero (Jim Crack) and a heroine (Emily) who are trying to figure out a code. Well, kind of a code.

It’s more, really, a barcode or a product code, the kind usually found on the back cover of a book.

And instead of searching for the Holy Grail, they’re looking for the greatest book that will ever be written.

As Jim explains to Emily, there was once a "more innocent age" before chick lit.

This was an age "when writers wrote books that both men and women read. Some of the earlier writers are a bit obscure, but think Charles Dickens. Think Jane Austen. Think Henry James."

But then publishers realized they could "double their profits if they forced writers to write books only for men, say, or women, or even children."

So Clements’ Code, it turns out, is more than just a spoof on Da Vinci; it’s a spoof on the whole publishing industry.