The Lost Symbol is the third book in a series of them written by Dan Brown. Already the first two books in the series, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, have been made into big time film adaptations starring Tom Hanks, and the longtime plan has been for this third book to become a movie as well. But recent events have show that it’s going to be made by a different creative team than the people who were behind the first two.

If you ever go to an airport, it becomes clear pretty quickly how much people love Dan Brown novels. Or at least, how much people love Dan Brown novels when they have to sit around in public for hours and there’s a convenient little newsstand across the way. So, even though he’s one of the biggest names in the business, it was a coup when Ron Howard got to direct the film adaptations of Brown’s Robert Langdon books. That first movie alone, The Da Vinci Code, has made $750 million worldwide. That’s a lot of cheese. But now that it’s time to start adapting the third book in the series, The Lost Symbol, it seems that Howard wants out. Why would someone want off of a proven cash cow like a Dan Brown adaptation? Deadline Duncan is reporting that Howard informed Sony producers that he didn’t want to keep doing the same kinds of stories with the same characters anymore, and that for The Lost Symbol, he wished to step back from the director’s chair and only produce. For someone who just spent a lot of time trying to get a Stephen King series adapted into three films and a television series, but ultimately got turned down by Universal, that kind of sounds like sour grapes. Is Howard upset at the studio system and punishing them by sabotaging a proven earner?

Why Watch? This look at interwoven lives brought together by a gas station robbery asks the tough question of what happens to humanity when a slip of paper is tossed into the mix. In this case, the piece of paper happens to be a winning lottery ticket. Something so small, can change the course of violence. It’s a tight, yet fairly predictable exercise in human nature, but it’s best feature is undoubtedly Rider Strong. The guy from Boy Meets World is in this thing. Seriously. Check it out. Plus, festival favorite Lynn Shelton (Humpday) has a small but important role. What Will It Cost? Just fifteen minutes of your time. Does it get better any better than that? Only if we bought you a winning lotto ticket while you watched. Check out Your Lucky Day for yourself:

“The Lost Symbol” has the best chance of being a great movie out of its already-adapted group of novels for several reasons. The most obvious is that it’s got far more action than Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code combined. The result of that action is a drastic reduction in exposition – the second most obvious positive trait the book has going for it. Now, Sony wants the author himself to play script doctor for The Lost Symbol film. It’s not a bad idea, but it’s a wild card. Brown is a great writer in the way that Louis L’Amour is a great writer. He’ll never go down in history as being deeper than a casket full of water, but he entertains far better than most. Whether his florid writing can translate to the tight-as-a-drum medium of screenplays is anybody’s guess, but his inclusion in the script process means the film either just lost or intensified its potential to be a threequel that far outshines its two predecessors. [THR]

A Dan Brown novel adaptation just got a serious pedigree at the pen.

Angels and Demons is the somewhat anticipated follow-up to The DaVinci Code, and by almost every measure the new film is superior. Better action, more entertaining, shorter hair… and yet it still manages to be one of the most ridiculous movies of the year.

Kevin Carr vents his spleen about an unexpected consequence of the failure of last year’s bomb The Love Guru.

Remember The Da Vinci Code, Ron Howard’s first adaptation of a Dan Brown novel? It was boring. Long, slow and downright boring. Angels & Demons however, appears to be anything but.

The official site for the new Ron Howard film, Angels and Demons, has premiered a new teaser and the most notable thing about it is the improvement in Tom Hanks’ hair style.

The Vatican has banned Angels & Demons from filming in any church in the City of Rome on the charge that it is an “offense against God” and “wounds common religious feelings.” We wonder how God let them know He was offended.

Angels & Demons moving along nicely after writers strike. Hanks and Howard return with more adventures of Dr. Robert Langdon: Harvard symbologist by day, terrorism fighter by night.

Ewan McGregor is joining Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code prequel/sequel Angels and Demons. With a much better storyline, this Hanks/McGregor combo could prove to be better than the first flick.

In his new documentary Bloodline, director Bruce Burgess goes looking for trouble in the way of a Jesus-Mary Magdalene bloodline. In an adventure “worthy of Indiana Jones,” Burgess and team seek out the truth only to find that there are plenty of people who take notice when you start asking all the right questions.

The prequel to the hugely successful and highly controversial DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons, has been put on production hold due to, you’ve guessed it, the WGA strike.

After the great commercial success of The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons announced to hit theaters in December of 2008. According to /Film, production is set to start in February of 2008.