On June 5th, production began on Angels and Demons, the sequel (wait, wasn't the book a prequel?) to tepid religious mystery/global mega-hit The Da Vinci Code.

On June 9th, Jessica Barnes brought to our attention a couple of photos from said shoot.

And as of June 16th, the Vatican has formally denied the long-awaited request on behalf of the filmmakers to film crucial scenes within the critical churches of Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria.

According to Variety, the proper permits require cooperation between the Italian government and the Vatican. However, since "the film pursues a type of fantasy that damages common religious sentiment," they were not approved. The production has already relocated to near Naples in an effort to double the needed interior shots, and the film is still scheduled to open on May 15, 2009.

Tom Hanks' hair could not be reached for comment at the time of this post.

Having been one of the ten people on earth who hasn't read The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, it's no surprise that I'm not terribly amped for the follow-up flick from Ron Howard. But, I know I am in the minority here, so feast your eyes on a new batch of photos (courtesy of Trovacinema) of Tom Hanks and company hard at work on the big-screen Angels and Demons. Most of the cast is pictured in the photos, and by the looks of it, everyone seems to be having a grand old time on location in Rome.

Demons will center on Robert Langdon (Hanks), who's smack dab in the middle of a fight between The Vatican and The Illuminati. Once again, the Harvard professor will have to take down an ancient conspiracy, but this time they have an eye on assassinating high-ranking members of the church. Casting finally finished back in April with the addition of Ewan McGregor (which is a good thing for me, because if anyone can make me sit through a film I normally wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole, it's McGregor), and Ayelet Zurer as the daughter of a CERN physicist looking to solve her father's murder.

Shooting on the picture just began last week, and Howard will finish up location shots in the next three weeks. Then the production will move back to the states where they can complete interior shoots on the Sony lot. So as long as a SAG strike can be avoided, Howard should be able to get the production in on time.

Angels and Demons is scheduled for release on May 15th, 2009.

Even the most enthusiastic devotee of big-budget Hollywood is bound to have a few movies which he trudges to see out of a sense of duty rather than excitement. For me it's (among other things) Ron Howard's Da Vinci Code franchise, based on the borderline illiterate but ultra-popular books by Dan Brown. It is out of that same sense of obligation that I report to you the impending recruitment of Ewan McGregor to star alongside Tom Hanks in Angels & Demons, the prequel to the first film. McGregor will play Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca, a Papal aide who helps Hanks's intrepid symbologist stop an attack on the Vatican. As we suspected yesterday, Munich's Ayelet Zurer is also on board to play Vittoria Vetra, the daughter of a murdered physicist who tags along with the hero scientist. (This is contrary to earlier reports that Naomi Watts had scored the part.)

The main reason I have little hope for Angels & Demons is that, as with the first film, the screenplay will be written by Akiva Goldsman, who may be my least favorite working screenwriter. Ewan McGregor is a splendid actor, but Goldsman's dull, leaden dialogue managed to defeat even Sir Ian McKellen. As The Da Vinci Code proved, Goldsman and Brown are one deadly combination.

We've got a ways to go: Angels & Demons comes out next May. I think I'll go back to not thinking about it now, if you don't mind.

This is one movie I keep forgetting is actually being made. Ron Howard's adaptation of Angels and Demons has been simmering away, sending out casting calls, not quite reaching any level of heady anticipation. Maybe this news will do it.

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer has landed the part of Vittoria Vetra, the daughter of a CERN physicist who is embarked on a journey to uncover the truth behind her father's murder. Of course, Robert Langdon (still played by Tom Hanks) accompanies her, and they must foil a terrorist plot in the process.

The studio has yet to confirm. Naomi Watts was reportedly the last to be in talks for the role. No other parts have been cast.

I'm not an avid reader of Dan Brown, so I must ask: is the plot of Angels and Demons really that similar to The DaVinci Code? Is it really that a pretty foreign girl loses a member of her paterfamilias, and Robert Langdon must help her? Is it via the works of coded works of Michaelangelo? Is the Catholic Church evilly involved? I am guessing it is, since one of the characters in need of an actor is an aide to the Pope. Fill me in, because I will never read the book.

Angels and Demons is still set for release May 15th, 2009.

Though production was just pushed back due to Akiva Goldsman's script not being ready, it appears casting for Angels & Demons is still moving ahead. According to the New York Post, Naomi Watts has landed a starring role in the flick opposite Tom Hanks, which, like The Da Vinci Code, will once again be directed by Ron Howard. An insider told the Post that production has been put off "until at least February," which means we'll hopefully see the film arrive in theaters at some point in 2009 (it was originally scheduled for release on December 19, 2008). Though it was critically panned and, let's face it, not that good, The Da Vinci Code ultimately went on to gross a ridiculous $758 million worldwide.

Angels & Demons, which was also written by Dan Brown, is a prequel to The Da Vinci Code. The book once again follows Robert Langdon (Hanks) as he races against time to find a hidden bomb and hunt down a serial killer in Rome. Joining him in his quest is the adoptive daughter of a physicist who's strange murder (in which his chest is branded with a symbol) sparks a hunt for the truth. The girl's name is Vittoria, and we presume this is who Watts will be playing ... though Watts is not Italian, and doesn't exactly fit the character description. However, she is a high profile name and a damn good actress, so it'll be interesting to see how it all pans out. Watts is also attached to star in the remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, which is currently eying a Summer 2009 release. For those that have read Angels & Demons, is Watts what you had in mind for Vittoria? Good choice? Bad one?

Odds and ends from Tuesday:

• In a career-defining move, Hilary Swank is set to play a character who, from what I understand, will spend the entire movie as an actual female. Deciding to throw aside the "butch' roles for the time being, Swank has signed on to star in P.S., I Love You, based on the novel written by Cecelia Ahern. Story focuses on a widow who finds notes from her dead husband that then send her on a series of adventures.
• Reunited ... and it feels so good. Heath Ledger and wife Michelle Williams (They're married right? Or, do they just have a kid together?) will star in Todd Haynes' "If I have 47 men playing Bob Dylan, I wonder if it will confuse people" biopic, I'm Not There. Ledger will replace Colin Farrell as one of the many Bob Dylan's featured throughout the film. A slew of people are already attached including Julianne Moore, Richard Gere and Christian Bale. However, according to Martha, Oprah and Venus Williams will get in on the action too. Yeah, let me know when that happens -- I'll be over her by the window waiting for the dogs and cats to start falling.
• As we told you the other day, seeing as The Da Vinci Code cracked an assortment of box office records this past weekend, a sequel is already in the works based on Brown's Angels and Demons novel. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Jesus marries Satan in that one?) Though there's no word on whether Ron Howard and/or Tom Hanks will be involved, Sony has already tapped scribe Akiva Goldsman to pen the script. The studio is probably so ecstatic about Dan Brown right now, it wouldn't surprise me if they assigned a few executives to be his servants so that the man can pump out a book a month. Marry me Dan Brown!

Last night while writing up the weekend box office report and detailing The Da Vinci Code's boffo open, I considered adding a clever little "Get ready for Angels and Demons, kids!" ending to the whole thing, but decided not to because I wasn't sure the book was actually a prequel (not to mention that I try to limit my pretending to be clever to once/post). But if only I had know -- it is, apparently, a prequel, and Sony's announcement of their vague hopes to turn it into a movie as fast as humanly possible was actually made just this morning. Because, in Hollywood, there is no such thing as dignity where money is involved.

Though the report of Sony's plans is not exactly something you'd take to the bank -- a studio exec is quoted as saying nothing more than "We are very interested in filming Angels and Demons. We hope that the relationship with Dan Brown will be a long one. That could be the next project." -- you can be sure that the rights fees for this one are going to be roughly equal to the GNP of several small nations.

For the six of you unfamiliar with Angels and Demons, it was Brown's third novel, features Robert Langdon's (now Tom Hanks to millions of cinema-goers) first appearance, and was described by Publishers Weekly as a "well-plotted if over-the-top thriller ... crammed with Vatican intrigue and high-tech drama." Hmm. It's a bit like The Da Vinci Code, then? I smell money!

[via Moviehole]

Edit: According to Nikki Finke, Sony bought the rights to the character Robert Langdon, which gets them not only Angels and Demons, but also the sequel on which Brown is currently hard at work. Eeeeeexcellent.