Angels & Demons (2009)

Angels & Demons is an upcoming film adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel of the same name, due for release on May 15, 2009. It is the sequel to The Da Vinci Code (2006), another Brown film adaptation, although the novel Angels & Demons takes place before the novel The Da Vinci Code. Filming took place in Rome and the Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles. Tom Hanks reprised the lead role of Robert Langdon, while director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman also returned.

Premise

Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned by CERN to investigate a murder victim, branded with the Illuminati ambigram, leading him to discover the secret society’s scheme to murder four cardinals and destroy St. Peter’s Basilica during a papal conclave using antimatter.

Production

In 2003, Sony acquired the film rights to Angels & Demons (2000) along with The Da Vinci Code (2003) in a deal with author Dan Brown. In May 2006, following the film release of the 2006 film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, Sony hired screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who wrote the film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, to adapt Angels & Demons. Director Ron Howard chose to treat Angels & Demons as a sequel to the previous film, rather than a prequel. He was also more comfortable taking liberties in adapting the story because the novel is less popular than The Da Vinci Code. Producer Brian Grazer said they were too “reverential” when adapting The Da Vinci Code, which resulted in it being “a little long and stagey”. This time, “Langdon doesn’t stop and give a speech. When he speaks, he’s in motion.” Howard concurred “it’s very much about modernity clashing with antiquity and technology vs. faith, so these themes, these ideas are much more active whereas the other one lived so much in the past. The tones are just innately so different between the two stories.” David Koepp rewrote the script before shooting began.
Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer outside the Pantheon.

Filming was originally to begin in February 2008 for a December 2008 release, but because of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, production was pushed back for a May 15, 2009 release. Shooting began on June 4, 2008 in Rome under the fake working title “Obelisk”. The filmmakers scheduled three weeks of exterior location filming because of a predicted 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike on June 30. The rest of the film would be shot at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, California, to allow for this halt. Additionally, Roman Catholic Church officials found The Da Vinci Code offensive, so the filmmakers were unable to shoot inside the churches Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria. The Caserta Palace doubled for the inside of the Vatican, and the Biblioteca Angelica was used for the Vatican Library. A full scale replica was also built at Sony.

CBS News interviewed a priest working in Santa Susanna, who stated the Church did not also want their churches to be associated with scenes of murder. A tour guide also stated most priests do not object to tourists who visit out of interest after reading the book, a trend which will continue after people see the film. “I think they are aware that it’s, you know, a work of fiction and that it’s bringing people into their churches.” Grazer deemed it odd that although The Da Vinci Code was a more controversial novel, they had more freedom shooting its film adaptation in London and France. Italian authorities hoped the filmmakers corrected the location errors in the novel, to limit the amount of explaining they will have to do for confused tourists.

The second unit took photographs of the Large Hadron Collider for visual effects shots of the facility. The Moving Picture Company would combine these into footage of actors shot against bluescreen in Los Angeles. Ron Howard also met with CERN to make the film more scientifically accurate. Filming also took place at the University of California, Los Angeles in July 2008.

Other Information

• Genre : Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
• Tagline : The holiest event of our time. Perfect for their return.
• Runtime : USA:140 min
• Release date :  May 15, 2009
• Country : United States
• Filming Locations : Backlot, Universal Studios – 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
• Company : Columbia Pictures
• Language : English, Italian, Latin
• Preceded by : The Da Vinci Code

Cast and Credits

• Directed by : Ron Howard
• Produced by : Brian Grazer
• Written by : David Koepp, Akiva Goldsman (screenplay), Dan Brown (novel)
• Starring : Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer, Ewan McGregor
• Music by : Hans Zimmer
• Cinematography : Salvatore Totino
• Distributed by : Columbia Pictures

Trivia

• This movie became the first big-screen casualty of the Hollywood writer’s strike in 2007, because Akiva Goldsman’s script still needed work, and he was on strike with the Writers Guild of America. So, production of the movie had to be postponed.

Links

• Official site
• Altars of Science – viral site
• Angels & Demons at the Internet Movie Database
• Angels and Demons at Wikipedia.org
• Angels and Demons at Allmovie

Tags: columbia pictures, Ewan McGregor, sony pictures, Tom Hanks