Fife, Rockwell and 'Da Vinci' Spawn an Internet Juggernaut
In just four weeks, "The
Norman Rockwell Code," a short film spoof of "The Da Vinci
Code" from writer-director Alfred Thomas Catalfo and
producer Marc Dole, has become a global hit in the brave new
world of Internet content, blogs and viral video. The
35-minute film recently made Entertainment Weekly's The Must
List ("Ten Things We Love This Week") which hailed the
"whimsical Web-based parody" and the film's website -
http://www.TheNormanRockwellCode.com - has had more than
750,000 hits since the movie became available for viewing
there on May 19, the same day the film version of "The Da
Vinci Code" was released. The first public screening of "The
Norman Rockwell Code" will take place at the real Norman
Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, at 2:00 p.m.
on Sunday, June 25.
Like that "other" story, "The Norman Rockwell Code" involves
a famous museum, a shocking murder, a distinguished (well,
sort of) symbologist and secrets written in code. But, in
this parody, the museum isn't the Louvre - it's The Norman
Rockwell Museum. And the symbologist isn't Professor Robert
Langdon of Harvard - he's Langford Fife of Stockbridge
Community College, the son of Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife of
Mayberry, North Carolina. The film is dedicated to Don
Knotts, who memorably played Barney Fife on "The Andy
Griffith Show," and includes references to Opie Taylor, the
character played by "Da Vinci Code" director Ron Howard on
the same show.
Equipped with an Ovaltine Secret Decoder Ring, Langford and
cryptologist Sopha Poisson of the Quebec Secret Service set
out to uncover the clues hidden in the paintings of Norman
Rockwell ... clues that will lead them to a secret society,
a legendary bloodline and a battle with sinister forces.
"I wondered what would happen if you took the
European-centered, controversial storyline of 'The Da Vinci
Code' and infused it with classic Americana," says Catalfo,
a winner and finalist in 21 international screenwriting
competitions. The low-budget film was shot over four
weekends in seacoast New Hampshire, where "Da Vinci Code"
author Dan Brown also lives. Now Hollywood is getting into
the act with studios, producers and investors inquiring
about having the filmmakers expand the concept into a
feature film. "We already have the decoder ring so what the
heck," laughs Catalfo, an attorney who also plays a
detective in the film. "The nice thing is that this has
really opened the door and there's now tremendous interest
in the other feature projects we have in development." "The
Norman Rockwell Code" is a joint production of Big Cannoli
Pictures and Hatchling Studios.
