| The Wait of the World's on Dan Brown
There are more than 80 million copies in print world-wide, according to Ms. Lange. It served as the basis of a blockbuster movie of the same name, released in 2006. Mr. Brown's earlier titles subsequently became wildly popular, too, each of them selling millions. "Angels & Demons" has 39 million in print. Mr. Brown's income from all four books, including "The Da Vinci Code" and revenue from the film, has made him a rich man. Forbes magazine estimated Mr. Brown earned $88 million between June 2005 and June 2006, minus management, agent and attorney fees. Dan Burstein, editor of the best-seller "Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code," thinks Mr. Brown may have earned as much as $250 million to $300 million from all related properties. Many writers have struggled.
Bollywood stars told to put their cigarettes out
The exchange marked a rare public debate about smoking in India, where at least 250 million people smoke or chew tobacco and 2,200 people die daily from tobacco-related diseases. A recent study backed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that the prevalence of smoking among Indians aged between 13 and 17 years old had risen from 4.8 per cent in 2000 to 15.9 per cent in 2006. The Government outlawed smoking in public places and banned advertising for tobacco products in 2004, but is struggling to reduce addiction rates. A recent attempt to introduce pictorial warnings on cigarette packets, which are recommended by the WHO, ran into legal delays. The Government's efforts have also been undermined by Indian films, which regularly show male stars smoking while surrounded by beautiful women and fast cars or motorbikes.
Universal's American Gangster to be next big HD DVD exclusive
With HD DVD losing movie releases from Warner Bros. starting June, the HD DVD landscape could change drastically – something that the Promotional Group doesn't yet have an answer for. "To be very honest with you, we have not addressed that yet," Graffeo admitted. "Warner is still releasing HD DVD titles up until May. Warner has always been in two formats, and prior to Paramount's switch, they had been in two formats, so now that Warner is exclusive... we just haven't addressed it yet." One of the first rumors from Daily Variety to hit following Warner's move was that Universal and Paramount were both poised to make the switch to Blu-ray Disc, but Graffeo refutes such reports. "I want to say that none of those rumors were substantiated. Nobody ever talked to us. I know nobody talked to Paramount ...
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