The Vatican appears ready to launch a campaign against the movie Angels & Demons, the prequel to box office sensation The Da Vinci Code, both starring Tom Hanks.
The Vatican’s official newspaper, Avvenire, ran a story Friday saying the Roman Catholic Church “cannot approve” of such a film.
And on Saturday, Turin daily La Stampa reported the Vatican will soon be calling for a boycott of the Ron Howard-directed film.
The Vatican had called for a boycott of The Da Vinci Code — based on a bestselling book by Dan Brown — back in the spring of 2006. That call may have had the opposite effect, with the film grossing about $760 million US worldwide.
The book suggested that Jesus Christ had married Mary Magdalene and had children.
Angels & Demons involves a plot by a shadowy elite group called the Illuminati who want to install one of their own as pope and blow up the Vatican.
The filmmakers had asked to use two churches in Rome that are crucial to the plot of the religious thriller. But the production was swiftly barred by church officials from filming there and in other locales.
The Vatican has described the prequel as “an offence against God.”
Angels & Demons is due to open worldwide May 15.
Mar 25 2009
March 25th, 2009 9:36 am
The Vatican complaining about what are fictitious movies based on fiction books I find a bit strange. I found the The Da Vinci Code on ok movie, even though the plot had enormous holes. Such as why would the secret archives of the holy grail be guarded by a simple ‘private’ sign. And the hilarious scene where Hanks says “I have to get to a library, fast”. I know it is fiction. It will not change my belief in God, and the Divinity of Jesus.
So the Vatican is complaining about the new movie because it portrays shadowy happenings inside the Vatican. The apparent murder of ‘Gods Banker’ in the early 1980s, the strange death of John Paul I after only a month in the late 1970s, the Vatican’s constant cover up of sexual abuse by priests – ’shadowy’ and the Vatican – it’s nothing new. And the movie is fiction.
March 25th, 2009 9:37 am
I don’t think that this movie would be anything like the other,it probably would be pretty good.. after all the Roman Catholic Church and I don’t mean to offend anyone,well they worship Mary,more than God,and the Pope, well, Is he really a man of God?
March 25th, 2009 11:38 am
Yawn … sorry, I have better things to do.
If it makes anyone feel better, you can consider me part of the boycott because I can’t think of a reason why I’d want to go see this movie.
Not that I’m opposed to it, just … really, not even slightly interested. In fact, this comment took longer than I plan to commit to thoughts about this movie in the future.
March 25th, 2009 9:53 am
NT, I agree. I was discussing with some one and we agree what the resources of the Vatican could be better spent on combating a whole host of other issues. All this does is to call attention to the movie.
March 25th, 2009 11:46 am
Ha, Wickle, haha!
Personally, I think Brown was stealing another idea when he wrote it. I mean in the scheme of conspiratorial novels, Rome is generally the big bad guy.