Next week, finally, "The Omen 666" opens in theaters.
Buzz for the remake of the 1976 horror film has been building since March.
There were posters trumpeting "Heed the Omen" and "The Signs Are All Around You." Airplane banners reading "You Have Been Warned" flew over popular spring break destinations, prompting frightened calls to 911 dispatchers and the FBI.
Thirty years after the original classic, the story line remains the same: A couple suspects their son is the spawn of Satan. But the remake comes with a twist, debuting by design on June 6, 2006.
The folks at 20th Century Fox liked the tie-in with the No. 666, which is considered the "number of the beast," as written in the Bible.
Just one problem, according to a group of English biblical scholars. The number should be 616, which appears on ancient papyrus fragments of the Book of Revelation, they say.
Looks like the film's marketing gurus will miss their ominous release by five days.
So, why hasn't this 616 translation caught on?
"Because six-six-six rolls off the tongue easier," Daniel P. Winters, author of "Superstitions 101," said with a laugh. "Plus, `The Omen' would have to be rewritten, the related superstitions reconsidered, the stars realigned, a whole population re-educated. And, I'd have to rewrite my book."
Winters may be joking, but he has a point.
Just look at the marketing blitz planned for Tuesday.
In addition to "The Omen" opening, heavy metal rock group Slayer's Unholy Alliance tour starts in San Diego; albums by metal groups Deicide and As Blood Runs Black go on sale; and "Godless" by right-wing columnist Ann Coulter makes its way to bookstores.
Whether we fear it or simply are fascinated by it, the number 666 has mystique. Here are just a few of the more interesting - and surprising - stories and facts behind the number:
_In 1926, a two-lane highway from Colorado to New Mexico became U.S. Route 666, named so because it was the sixth spur off U.S. 66. It would become known as "The Devil's Highway."
In 2003, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson said a name change was necessary because of "infamy brought by the inopportune naming of the road." He cited protests from Navajo Indians whose land bordered the highway.
On May 31 of that year, the highway became U.S. 491.
But political pressure had little to do with the name being changed. The Department of Transportation simply had grown tired of having to replace stolen signs along the highway.
_Have you ever had to dial 666?
You might in Dublin, Ireland, if you were calling the Garda police stations, which has the prefix 666.
While the folks in Dublin don't seem to mind, Vancleve, Ky., was outraged when Kentucky Mountain Bible College was assigned the 666 prefix in 2003.
Ditto businesses in Tijuana, Mexico, when 666 became their area code.
Both lobbied and were awarded new numbers - 693 in Vancleve and 664 in Tijuana, although some phone books in Mexico still list the old area code.
_Conspiracy theorists love to play the 666 name game.
Officially, it's called gematria - where numeric values are assigned to the letters in a person's name and added together to form a final number. For example, Hitler adds up to 666 using a system that starts with 100 assigned to "A."
Some prefer just to count the number of letters in a person's name. That's how George Walker Bush Jr. and Ronald Wilson Reagan have been classified by 6-6-6.
"You have to applaud the imagination," said Los Angeles-based numerologist James Brighton. "But fact is, you can make almost any name add up to 6-6-6 if you manipulate the numbers."
The first Apple computer, Apple I, had an official list price of $666.
The book "Unexplained! Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences & Puzzling Physical Phenomena" by Jerome Clark has 666 pages.
Editing for the horror movie, "The Exorcist," occurred at 666 Fifth Ave. in New York.
Is it a coincidence?
Consider this: 666 remains an unassigned number by the Social Security Administration.
Then again, so is 000.
But 616 does exist as a social security number. It's an area code in Michigan. It's the route number for an eastern highway.
Maybe that's the real reason why the 616 translation remains the lesser-known tale.
---
666 SIGHTINGS
Whether by superstition, strange happenstance or clever intent, 666 has become a cultural phenomenon. Here are a few examples:
_In 1999, the Crystal Palace in London opened the Tower Building for meetings of the Fifth Parliament of Europe. The membership totaled 679; yet, the galley held 680 seats. Seat No. 666 remained empty.
_Heavy metal group Iron Maiden released its album "The Number of the Beast" in 1982. That same year, while touring, producer Martin Birch was reportedly involved in a car accident. When the bill for repairs came to 666 British pounds, Birch insisted on paying more.
_After his presidency and until his death in 2004, Ronald Reagan resided in a Bel Air house at 666 St. Cloud Road. Shortly after moving in, his wife, Nancy, had the number changed to 668.
_In 2004, some Rome, Ga., moviegoers were outraged when they discovered 666 printed on their tickets for a showing of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." Management explained that it was a prefix for a series of numbers that a computer randomly assigned.
_When added together, the numbers on a roulette table (1 to 36) total 666.
_In the movie "Pulp Fiction," the number was the code used to open a briefcase.
_In Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera" the famous chandelier is lot 666 in the opening auction.
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 725433.htm
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
