“The Da Vinci Code,” first a book, is now a movie and a cultural phenomenon that's bound to leave behind a string of knockoffs or similarly inspired creations, from board games to t-shirts, and, yes, a diet book. One can now shed pounds the Da Vinci way.
The book, out last month ahead of this weekend's movie debut, is titled “The Diet Code: Revolutionary Weight-Loss Secrets from Da Vinci and the Golden Ratio” by Stephen Lanzalotta. It brings to the world a new twist on the Mediterranean diet.
But while the book, which proclaims “Eat bread, drink wine, lose weight,” has received solid reviews, fortune did not shine as brightly over its sales this past weekend as it did over the movie.
Despite a rough ride from critics, the movie managed a good showing in the box office, bringing in $77 million on its opening weekend. It was easily the No.1 movie.
By contrast, the diet book as of Sunday was ranked 3,716 on the Amazon bestseller list.
The diet, conceived by master baker Lanzalotta, seeks to drag artist and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci into the modern era’s obsession with weight.
How? Lanzalotta’s diet is based on an ancient mathematical formula called the Golden Ratio. Also called Phi, this ratio has been found in many things in nature. As such, Leonardo Da Vinci used the ratio to help proportion human bodies in his drawings. It is because of this connection that the Golden Ratio features in “The Da Vinci Code.”
To crack the diet code, according to Lanzalotta, who lives in Portland, Maine, a person needs to eat healthy meals with the following mix: one part grain, two parts protein and three parts vegetables and fruit.
One thing that the diet does not embrace is the low-carb habit of shunning bread. Lanzalotta, a 46-year-old who says he has been following the diet for 20 years, saw bread sales in his shop plummet after the low-carb craze took off. His diet allows bread as long as it is eaten in the right proportions. The diet book, which gives readers a bit of history on the Golden Ratio, also contains recipes for Mediterranean-style food and exercise tips.
Meanwhile, at the movies this weekend, “Code” knocked “Mission: Impossible III” from the top spot. It brought in $224 million worldwide. “Over the Hedge,” also in its first week, was No. 2 at $37.23 million.
New release “Munich” topped IMDb.com’s video rental chart, bumping “The Family Stone” to No. 2. It was one of four new releases in the top six.
Rihanna’s “SOS” surrendered the top spot on iTunes to Nelly Furtado, who performed a duet of “Promiscuous” with Timbaland on “Saturday Night Live” Saturday night and then saw her song climb to No. 1.
And among books, “Code” continued to put up big numbers, ranking No. 1 on the New York Times paperback fiction and USA Today top 150 books lists.
|
TOP MOVIES
Weekend Box Office Estimates
Weekend of May 19-21, 2006 |
|
Rank |
MOVIE |
Engagements |
Box office (millions) |
|
1 |
The Da Vinci Code (Sony) |
3735 |
$77.00 |
|
2 |
Over the Hedge (Paramount) |
4059 |
$37.23 |
|
3 |
Mission: Impossible III (Paramount) |
3450 |
$11.02 |
|
4 |
Poseidon (Warner Bros.) |
3555 |
$9.2 |
|
5 |
RV (Sony) |
2925 |
$5.10 |
|
6 |
See No Evil (Lions Gate) |
1257 |
$4.35 |
|
7 |
Just My Luck (20th Century Fox) |
2543 |
$3.76 |
|
8 |
An American Haunting (Freestyle) |
1265 |
$1.66 |
|
9 |
United 93 (N/A) |
1308 |
$1.43 |
|
10 |
Akeelah and the Bee (Lions Gate) |
751 |
$1.00 |
|
Source: Yahoo Movies |
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IMDb TOP VIDEO RENTALS
Week ending May 14, 2006 |
|
Rank |
TITLE |
Last week |
|
1 |
Munich |
- |
|
2 |
The Family Stone |
1 |
|
3 |
Last Holiday |
2 |
|
4 |
Big Momma’s House 2 |
- |
|
5 |
Rumor Has It … |
- |
|
6 |
The New World |
- |
|
7 |
Aeon Flux |
3 |
|
8 |
Tristan + Isolde |
6 |
|
9 |
Hostel |
5 |
|
10 |
Match Point |
7 |
|
Source: IMDB |
|
ITUNES TOP 10 SONG DOWNLOADS
for Sunday, May 21 |
|
Rank |
TITLE |
|
1 |
Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland, Promiscuous |
|
2 |
Rihanna, SOS |
|
3 |
Daniel Powter, Bad Day |
|
4 |
Cassie, Me & U (Main) |
|
5 |
The Fray, Over My Head (Cable Car) |
|
6 |
Chamillionaire, Ridin' |
|
7 |
Rihanna, Unfaithful |
|
8 |
Fort Minor featuring Holly Brook, Where’d You Go |
|
9 |
Lil John featuring E-40 & Sean Paul, Snap Yo Fingers |
|
10 |
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dani California |
|
Source: iTunes |
|
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending May 13, 2006 |
|
Fiction (hardback) |
|
Rank |
TITLE |
Last week |
Weeks on chart |
|
1 |
Beach Road by James Patterson and Peter de Jonge |
1 |
2 |
|
2 |
Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark |
2 |
6 |
|
3 |
Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me by Maya Angelou |
13 |
2 |
|
4 |
Digging to America by Anne Tyler |
4 |
2 |
|
5 |
I Say a Little Prayer by E. Lynn Harris |
3 |
2 |
|
Nonfiction (hardback) |
|
1 |
Marley & Me by John Grogan |
1 |
30 |
|
2 |
Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings by Tyler Perry |
2 |
5 |
|
3 |
Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick |
- |
1 |
|
4 |
Burnt Toast by Teri Hatcher |
4 |
2 |
|
5 |
The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman |
3 |
58 |
|
Fiction (paperback) |
|
1 |
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown |
1 |
7 |
|
2 |
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown |
4 |
138 |
|
3 |
Velocity by Dean Koontz |
2 |
3 |
|
4 |
A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber |
5 |
3 |
|
5 |
Broken Prey by John Sanford |
3 |
2 |
|
Nonfiction (paperback) |
|
1 |
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote |
2 |
65 |
|
2 |
The Covenant with Black America, introduced by Tavis Smiley |
4 |
10 |
|
3 |
Night by Elie Wiesel (New Translation) |
1 |
17 |
|
4 |
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls |
- |
18 |
|
5 |
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell |
5 |
92 |
|
Source: New York Times |
