Everybody loves Tom Hanks, right?
The everyman actor has a box office golden touch stretching back almost 20 years, and with The Da Vinci Code Hanks made his first film with sequel potential. Okay, I know that we could have seen Turner and Hooch 2 by now, but we won’t get into that!
Hanks returns as Robert Langdon in Ron Howard’s adaptation of Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, but one guy who isn’t happy is The Pope.
Sure, he had to have been pretty miffed over the contents of The Da Vinci Code movie (and book) but he isn’t willing to turn the other cheek. His Holiness has now banned the production from filming on the grounds of The Vatican or in any church in Rome.
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Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, the head of the Vatican’s Prefecture for Economic Affairs said:
“It would be unacceptable to transform churches into film sets so that his blasphemous novels can be made into films in the name of business.”
I’m sure that De Paolis could also have said that he has possibly the longest title that anyone, in any job could ever have. However to my knowledge he didn’t. Although, he might have. At some point.
The new film follows a secret organization called The Illuminati who plan to elect their own member as pope and blow up The Vatican.
The Catholic Church wasn’t so hot on The Da Vinci Code, so it’s no surprise that this has happened. Howard and company now plan to build the church interiors on sound stages in the blasphemous depths of Hollywood. A place where sin runs deep.
Meanwhile it is good to note that Hanks has shed that terrible hair from the previous Brown adaptation, and he now looks pretty respectable.
Angels and Demons opens on May 19, 2009
Source: The Times
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31 Comments
@baker2d - ah, ok. Gotcha.
Vic
I don’t think it’s weird at all, especially considering how anti-church The Da Vinci Code was. The Harry Potter movies didn’t try for religious filming sites because they expected this kind of reaction; plenty of cathedrals are government-owned and look fantastic on film. I know Dan Brown’s books are generally set in a particular historical location, but surely they can work some CGI magic.
Greenknight333,
When you open a building to tourists you will have people who are there simply as tourists. Like you said there is beautiful architecture, artwork and sculptures to behold and that is sometimes the sole reason people go there. My guess is the tourists that you saw on the altar are not religious at all. Almost any religious person, be they Christian or any other religion, would recognize an altar and treat it with respect.
I agree INK but that doesn’t okay that type of behavior in a religious shrine..be there, take your pics, admire the place but do it tastefully, not like a couple of egomaniacs…
Cheers
I agree with you as well. And it was right that they be escorted out. Bloody tourists.
I’m kind of confounded that anybody could even ask to film such a thing. With several scholarly books written repudiating Mr. Browns “The Da Vinci Code” one wonders why all the Hollywood interest?? They would have better success filming a sequel to “GANDHI!”
I think a lot of people are forgetting that Dan Brown’s books are works of FICTION. Yeah, they may be based on mythology/rumor/legend, but otherwise are completely made up. Seems he has a gripe with Catholicism - that’s his right.
I’ve read both books and enjoyed them immensely. I thought Angels was a bit more far-fetched than Davinci. The movie was confusing for those that didn’t read the book, but I enjoyed it ( I actually didn’t like how they changed the very end, but no biggie). Angels was even more confusing as a book, so hopefully Opie is more careful in the storytelling.
I have to agree with everyone else, the Vatican has every right to not allow filming in their churches. I’m sure if the film makers really wanted some authenticity, they could try some other denomination church from the same historical period.
Oh, it’s fiction all right be he says quite strongly that everything in the book is based on extensive research and implies that there’s more fact to his story than there is (which is almost none).
Vic
Vic’s absolutely correct, the books that Dan Brown wrote were said to be factual based. Meaning that the characters are fictional, but the background is nonfiction. Now I’m not Catholic, but I totally understand their anger with this book. I just wish they would show at least the same amount of emotion with what’s really happening in their churches in California, instead of getting a little pissed about a work of fiction. On the other hand I loved the books I just wish that Tom Hanks not playing main character.
I have this book sitting on my shelf - but I’m loathe to read it before I see the film.
I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code; as a book, but I saw the film as “painting by numbers”.
Also, Hanks is the wrong actor!
Niall
NO OFFENSE, BUT SHOULDN’T THE VATICAN BAN THE PHEDIPHILE PRIESTS FIRST OR TOO?
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