Ron Howard Shoots 'Angels & Demons' in Vatican City, Despite Ban

Oh, that deceptive Ron Howard. Perhaps he picked up this dirty trick doing research for Frost/Nixon, his exceptional new film that comes out in a week in some cities, two weeks in others.While he was making the Dan Brown Da Vinci Code prequel, Angels & Demons, Howard knew he would be banned from shooting in various locations in Vatican City. Turns out the Catholics aren't big fans of the idea that their religion is a fraud and that some within their ranks would kill to keep that fraud a secret. Go figure.So when the time came to shoot Angels & Demons, Howard had an uphill battle in front of him. "We just weren't allowed anywhere near them," the director said of filming in many of Vatican City's holy buildings, which figure prominently in the story. But he found a way around the restrictions, telling the TV show Shootout, "We didn't shoot at the Vatican... officially. But cameras can be made really small." Devious, devious devious. I don't think he would have picked up that lesson from Aunt Bea.Still, I think most casual observers and even Dan Brown fans are acknowledging that this book is better than The Da Vinci Code, which could mean the movie is better, not that it would require a Herculean effort.

Comments

[Lengthy Johnson]

Two things.

Angels & Demons is better and more cinematic than the Da Vinci Code. So the film should be better. In any case the first film wasn't awful. The book was ridiculous in many ways, the Babel Fish french included, but the film managed to maintain a certain dignity.

The Vatical is quite right to ban the crew. I'm not a Catholic, and no religion is free of problems, but it is important not to gratuitously offend the deeply held beliefs of others. Dan Brown is a pulp writer of suspense thrillers, which is perfectly simple to do without offending one of the world religions.

Still we'll see how the candid camera shots turn out.

[Rick]

As a praticing catholic, I am not offended by Dan Browns work. Angels and Demons was a well written thought provoking book. The fact that Mr. Brown artistically paints reality and fantasy together makes the work all that much better. The catholic church knows this story is fiction and not fact.. It is created solely as entertainment. I am sad that the church did not allow them to film in Vatican City. It was never intended to be disrespectful to the church and the true beauty of the actual vatican would have been a treat for movie audiences. The dignity of the church would have remained intact.