Angels and Demons re-teams director Ron Howard and star Tom Hanks for the sequel to their international blockbuster adaptation of Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code. Although the book Angels and Demons was written before the novel The Da Vinci Code, the movie transpires after the events of the earlier movie.
A full-scale battle has been joined between producer-director Ron Howard on one side and William Donohue, head of the Catholic League, the largest Catholic lay organization in the U.S., with about 100,000 members. On Tuesday Howard accused Donohue of being on a "mission" to smear him by portraying him and his upcoming movie, Angels & Demons, as anti-Catholic without having actually seen the movie. In a commentary posted on the liberal Huffington Post blog, Howard wrote, "Let me be clear: neither I nor Angels & Demons are anti-Catholic. And let me be a little controversial: I believe Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will enjoy the movie for what it is: an exciting mystery." Responding to Donohue's charges that the movie -- and the Dan Brown book on which it was based -- are replete with "lies" about the Catholic Church, Howard responded, "It would be a lie if we had ever suggested our movie is anything other than a work of fiction," and he acknowledged that he, like other classic filmmakers, had taken "liberties with reality." He concluded: "I know faith is believing without seeing (and a boycott would be disbelieving without seeing). But I don't expect William Donohue to have faith in me, so I encourage him to see Angels & Demons for himself." Donohue wasted no time responding. "Howard must be delusional if he thinks Vatican officials are going to like his propaganda -- they denied him the right to film on their grounds." And he implied that either the Church or the Catholic League may have planted a spy among the movie's crew. "We know from a Canadian priest who hung out with Howard's crew last summer in Rome (dressed in civilian clothes) just how much they hate Catholicism." Donohue did not identify the priest, nor did he indicate what the priest had learned about the crew's views about the Church.
And now, Just as The Da Vinci Code drew condemnation from the upper echelons of the Vatican, so, too has its sequel, Angels & Demons. On Friday, the Vatican's official newspaper Avvenire commented that the church "cannot approve" of the film, much of whose plot takes place in Vatican city. The following day, the Turin daily La Stampa suggested that the church has been considering boycotting the film but that officials are concerned that such an action could result in a "boomerang effect" that would result in even more people going to see it. The film is scheduled to open worldwide on May 15.
A full-scale battle has been joined between producer-director Ron Howard on one side and William Donohue, head of the Catholic League, the largest Catholic lay organization in the U.S., with about 100,000 members. On Tuesday Howard accused Donohue of being on a "mission" to smear him by portraying him and his upcoming movie, Angels & Demons, as anti-Catholic without having actually seen the movie. In a commentary posted on the liberal Huffington Post blog, Howard wrote, "Let me be clear: neither I nor Angels & Demons are anti-Catholic. And let me be a little controversial: I believe Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will enjoy the movie for what it is: an exciting mystery." Responding to Donohue's charges that the movie -- and the Dan Brown book on which it was based -- are replete with "lies" about the Catholic Church, Howard responded, "It would be a lie if we had ever suggested our movie is anything other than a work of fiction," and he acknowledged that he, like other classic filmmakers, had taken "liberties with reality." He concluded: "I know faith is believing without seeing (and a boycott would be disbelieving without seeing). But I don't expect William Donohue to have faith in me, so I encourage him to see Angels & Demons for himself." Donohue wasted no time responding. "Howard must be delusional if he thinks Vatican officials are going to like his propaganda -- they denied him the right to film on their grounds." And he implied that either the Church or the Catholic League may have planted a spy among the movie's crew. "We know from a Canadian priest who hung out with Howard's crew last summer in Rome (dressed in civilian clothes) just how much they hate Catholicism." Donohue did not identify the priest, nor did he indicate what the priest had learned about the crew's views about the Church.
And now, Just as The Da Vinci Code drew condemnation from the upper echelons of the Vatican, so, too has its sequel, Angels & Demons. On Friday, the Vatican's official newspaper Avvenire commented that the church "cannot approve" of the film, much of whose plot takes place in Vatican city. The following day, the Turin daily La Stampa suggested that the church has been considering boycotting the film but that officials are concerned that such an action could result in a "boomerang effect" that would result in even more people going to see it. The film is scheduled to open worldwide on May 15.
TRAILER
Cast and Crew:
Tom Hanks
Ewan McGregor
Stellan Skarsgard
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Directed by: Ron Howard
Screenplay by: Akiva Goldsman
Based on the Novel by: Dan Brown
Tom Hanks
Ewan McGregor
Stellan Skarsgard
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Directed by: Ron Howard
Screenplay by: Akiva Goldsman
Based on the Novel by: Dan Brown
No comments:
Post a Comment