'The Da Vinci Code'

At the heart of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" is the Priory of Sion, an organization set up to vigilantly protect "one of the most powerful secrets ever kept." Once Brown's thriller became one of the fastest-selling books of all time, a similar organization — call it the Priory of Hollywood — was set up to protect what's as valuable to the movie business as any secret: a property that had the potential for enormous box-office receipts.

By Kenneth Turan

May 17, 2006