“Angels & Demons“, the sequel to the enormously successful “The Da Vinci Code“, sees Tom Hanks reprise his role as Harvard professor Robert Langdon. This time, however, Mr Langdon is on a mission to save the Vatican from being blown up by a canister of anti-matter.
The entire film is set in Rome, and Sony Pictures applied for permission to film two key scenes inside the churches of Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria.
The plot of the book sees Mr Langdon arriving in Santa Maria della Vittoria to find a cardinal being set on fire.
The Vatican has banned the makers of a prequel to “The Da Vinci Code” from filming in its grounds or any church in Rome, describing the work as “an offence against God”.
“Angels and Demons”, the latest Dan Brown thriller to be turned into a film, includes key episodes that take place in the Vatican and Rome's churches. Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, the head of the Vatican's Prefecture for Economic Affairs, said that Brown had “turned the gospels upside down to poison the faith”.
“It would be unacceptable to transform churches into film sets so that his blasphemous novels can be made into films in the name of business,” he said, adding that Brown's work “wounds common religious feelings”.
Father Marco Fibbi, a spokesman for the Diocese of Rome, said: “Normally we read the script but this time it was not necessary. The name Dan Brown was enough.”
The Catholic Church is still angry over The Da Vinci Code, which suggested that Jesus may have been secretly married to Mary Magdalene. When the movie came out, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, said: “Boycotting this film is the least we can do. The book and the film are a pot pourri of nonsense, a phantasmagorical cocktail of inventions.”
The cast of Angels & Demons, which is also being directed by Ron Howard, have drawn crowds of hundreds in the past few weeks during the shoot in Rome. Tom Hanks won widespread admiration for halting the filming at one point to escort a bride to her wedding at the Pantheon.
The crew has now relocated to Caserta, near Naples, where the former Royal Palace will double for the inside of the Vatican. The film, which also stars Ewan McGregor, is due to be released next May.
Franco Zeffirelli, the director of Jesus of Nazareth, told the Corriere della Sera: “Dan Brown is a rapscallion. The Vicariate has done well to deny them access.”
