Who's The Angel? Who's The Demon?
22 April 2009 2:39 AM, PDT

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.

-IMDB News

Hanks Defends Angels & Demons Against Catholic Criticism
4 May 2009 1:25 AM, PDT

Hollywood star Tom Hanks is baffled by the criticism his new film Angels & Demons has attracted from leading Roman Catholics - because he insists there is "nothing sacrilegious" about the murder mystery.

The actor plays Harvard symbologist Dr. Robert Langdon in the big screen adaptation of author Dan Brown's book, about the murder of a physicist and a terrorist act against the Vatican by a secret brotherhood.

The movie is a prequel to 2006's The Da Vinci Code, based on another of Brown's hit books, which came under fire from Catholic leaders who claimed the film attacked the core beliefs of their faith.

Angels & Demons has been met with similar criticism before it is even released - but Hanks is adamant there is nothing offensive about the film.

He tells the New York Daily News, "People will see there's nothing sacrilegious about it at all. Yes, we had a few things go on that are completely fictionalised; but there's no reason to have a big hurly-burly over what is essentially a whodunit (murder mystery).

"There's no major theological discussion that goes on, other than science versus faith. There's no winner in that argument. I just solve the murder."

Angels & Demons is set to hit cinemas later this month.

-IMDB News

Howard Blasts Vatican Over Movie Shoot
4 May 2009 9:15 AM, PDT

Director Ron Howard has accused Vatican officials of deliberately sabotaging filming of his upcoming movie Angels & Demons.

The film, based on author Dan Brown's book of the same name, stars Tom Hanks as a Harvard professor who investigates the murder of a physicist and a terrorist act against the Vatican by a secret brotherhood.

The movie is a prequel to 2006's The Da Vinci Code, and both have come under fire from Catholic leaders who claim the films attack the core beliefs of their faith.

Howard alleges diocese staff in Rome used "back channels" to prevent shooting near several churches key to the movie's plot - and blasts them for vetoing a special screening of Angels & Demons in Rome.

Speaking at a recent press conference, he said, "When you come to film in Rome, the official statement to you is that the Vatican has no influence. Everything progressed very smoothly, but unofficially a couple of days before we were to start filming in several of our locations, it was explained to us that through back channels and so forth, the Vatican had exerted some influence.

"There was supposed to be a reception or screening here in Rome that had been approved and I suppose that the Vatican had some influence over that."

However, a Vatican spokesman has brushed off the comments, insisting Howard is merely trying to drum up publicity for the film ahead of its release later this month.

-IMDB News

Hindus Support Catholics Over Angels & Demons Fuss
4 May 2009 12:05 PM, PDT

Hindu scholars have joined Catholics around the world by condemning the filmmakers of Da Vinci Code prequel Angels & Demons for "playing with the sentiments of the faithful for mercantile greed".

Universal Society of Hinduism officials in America have voted to censure the film, starring Tom Hanks, because they claim director Ron Howard and his producers have failed to acknowledge how their film could damage Catholic faith.

The film explores the concept that a secret brotherhood slays and murders those who get too close to revealing the truth behind the myth that Jesus Christ fathered a child and his lineage lives on.

Ush spokesman and Hindu statesman Rajan Zed says, "Faith is something sacred and attempts at belittling it hurts the devotees. Filmmakers should be more sensitive and careful while handling faith-related subjects because cinema is a very powerful medium.

"The U.S. Confederation of Catholic Bishops supported us when we attempted to boycott Mike Myers' The Love Guru last year - when that film trivialised Hinduism - and we support them now.

"Despite our seriously different traditions, we are all fellow seekers of the ultimate reality, and we were all headed in the same direction. So, we should help each other on our journey towards truth and have some sort of trust and mutual loyalty.

"We believe films should entertain and make everybody smile; they should not come at the expense of ridiculing others’ faith and spreading disinformation. Movies like this bring more confusion and create stereotypes in the minds of some audiences."

Zed's comments come just days after Hanks defended the film against Catholic attacks, insisting there is "nothing sacrilegious" about the murder mystery.

He told the New York Daily News, "People will see there's nothing sacrilegious about it at all. Yes, we had a few things go on that are completely fictionalised; but there's no reason to have a big hurly-burly over what is essentially a whodunit (murder mystery)."

-IMDB News