By EVELYN BARGE Palisadian-Post Intern When Palisadian producer David Carr read “The Da Vinci Code” by author Dan Brown two years ago, he said he was initially taken in by some of the book’s factual claims. “The way the book reads is pretty compelling, and it seems as if it’s all true,” Carr said of the New York Times bestseller about a murder mystery wrapped in religious conspiracy theories. The meticulously researched book even includes a fact page, which states that all the documents, rituals, organizations, artwork and architecture cited in the novel exist. Since its publication in 2003, “The Da Vinci Code” has fascinated millions of readers, from those who believe the book is more than a work of fiction to those who harshly criticize the novel’s assertions about topics such as secret religious societies and the Holy Grail. “The Da Vinci Code” has also inspired dozens of documentaries that attempt to either support or debunk the legends found in Brown’s novel. When Carr and his production company, Beantown Productions, were approached by The Learning Channel to pitch their idea for a special program on “The Da Vinci Code,” he said they decided to take a fresh approach to a well-worn topic. “We gave them a little taste of what we were going to do,” Carr said. “During one portion of the pitch, we took the image of Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’ painting and lifted some of the images out and zoomed around in the painting. It brought the painting to life.” Several companies pitched their proposals for the special to TLC, and Beantown was hired to produce the project. “There have been a few different specials on ‘The Da Vinci Code’ that have that A&E-Biography pace,” Carr said. “Our show isn’t like that at all.” Carr, who co-directed and co-produced the program with his Beantown partner David Comtois, said they wanted to produce an hour-long special with a younger, hipper spin than other “Da Vinci” documentaries. “It’s not your father’s ‘Da Vinci Code’ show,” Carr said. “It’s really fast, and the information still comes through. We try to make it more visually stimulating and more accessible to a wider, younger audience.” Titled “Da Vinci Declassified,” the documentary takes an oftentimes comedic look at Brown’s assertions about the Priory of Sion, a secret religious society in “The Da Vinci Code” that protects the secret of the Holy Grail. On its second page, the book states the Priory of Sion was founded in 1099 and that it is a real organization. “We wanted to see if it was true, so we went to the real locations and investigated,” Carr said. “We actually found that it is not true.” In the process of probing and debunking “Da Vinci” legends, the production team traveled around Europe in spring 2005, visiting the real locations mentioned in the book and filming segments of the documentary at each site. “Traveling Europe was the most fun part,” Carr said. “It was really fascinating, because wherever we went, there were tons and tons of other visitors touring the places in the book.” During their travels, the team visited Rosslyn Chapel in the village of Roslin, Scotland. According to the book, the chapel once contained the Holy Grail, which was supposedly buried beneath the Star of David, which is engraved on the chapel floor. Tour guides at the chapel told Carr that they have been receiving close to 25,000 visitors a year since the release of “The Da Vinci Code.” Carr said the production team’s visit to the Louvre in Paris was also a testament to the popularity of “The Da Vinci Code.” “There were 500 people there, jumping on each other’s shoulders to take pictures of the ‘Mona Lisa,'” he said of Da Vinci’s famous portrait that figures prominently in the solution to the murder mystery in Brown’s book. “This was three whole years after the book was published.” “It’s really been a tourist phenomenon,” Carr added. “People in Paris have been inundated with groups of tourists looking for ‘Da Vinci Code’ sites. We investigated that a little, too, and went with some tourist groups and interviewed some of those people.” In addition to tourist interviews, “Da Vinci Declassified” uses interviews with historians, art specialists, scientists and mathematicians in its quest to discredit some of the myths and legends surrounding “The Da Vinci Code.” Carr and his team also interviewed the authors of source books used by Brown to compile his novel, such as “Holy Blood, Holy Grail.” The 1983 bestseller popularized a legend that claims Jesus survived the crucifixion, had children with his wife Mary Magdalene and established a bloodline of holy kings. “We wanted to separate the truth from the myth,” Carr said. With so much information to convey in the hour-long program, Carr said Beantown’s style of production was well suited for the task. “There’s a lot packed into an hour, and there’s a lot of story to tell,” he said. “That’s one reason why it’s so fast-paced.” The program’s dynamic style is also the signature style of Beantown Productions, which was founded by Carr and Comtois in 1992. “Our style of documentary is faster, more graphics-driven and more music-driven,” he said. “That’s our brand of production.” The company began by producing television promos for big-name shows such as “The Simpsons” and “Cops.” They started producing documentaries seven years ago. Carr graduated in 1986 from Boston University, where he met Comtois, his Beantown partner and co-founder. A Palisades resident for 10 years with his wife Carol and their two children, Stephen and Jacqueline, Carr said he hopes Beantown’s latest documentary will inspire viewers to question their assumptions about “The Da Vinci Code.” “Just like we did, the book asks some hard questions,” he said. “It’s good for people to go out and find this stuff out for themselves.”
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