As it stands, Hollywood studios are deadlocked in their contract negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild. That news stirs up foul memories of a year ago, when the Writers Guild of America was at a similar juncture with the studios… Soon after that there were no TV shows for about half a year.

And we all know what that did last year’s TV season.

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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.

Sure, it starred a mullet-wearing Forrest Gump and was helmed by Richie Cunningham.

But dammit, if The Da Vinci Code sucked.

However, it made $750 million. So it was obvious that the other best-selling Dan Brown novel Angels & Demons would head to the silver screen too.

After the WGA Strike delayed the adaptation from being finished by screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (i.e. the man who helped ruin Batman before Mr. Nolan fixed everything), the production is now moving full-speed ahead.

Ayelet Zurer (i.e. best known for having flashback sex with Eric Bana in Munich) and Sir Alec Guinness impressionist Ewan McGregor have joined the cast that also includes the returning Tom Hanks - who stands to walk away with a lot of money from this film.

Now that the writer’s strike is in full swing there appears to be quite a few planned films falling at the first hurdle. The most high profile being Angels and Demons, the sequel/prequel/virtual remake of The Da Vinci Code.

This is the film that Akiva Goldsman was paid four million dollars to write. Yes four million and it still needed work. Crazy.

What’s strange about this news, is that Naomi Watts has apparently signed on to play the female lead.