Vatican gears up for boycott of Angels & Demons: report
Last Updated: Sunday, March 22, 2009 | 12:06 PM ET
CBC News
The Vatican appears ready to launch a campaign against the movie Angels & Demons, the prequel to box office sensation The Da Vinci Code, both starring Tom Hanks.
The Vatican's official newspaper, Avvenire, ran a story Friday saying the Roman Catholic Church "cannot approve" of such a film.
And on Saturday, Turin daily La Stampa reported the Vatican will soon be calling for a boycott of the Ron Howard-directed film.
Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou in The Da Vinci Code, which was condemned by the Vatican in 2006. The prequel, Angels & Demons, is getting the same reception. (Columbia Pictures)The Vatican had called for a boycott of The Da Vinci Code — based on a bestselling book by Dan Brown — back in the spring of 2006. That call may have had the opposite effect, with the film grossing about $760 million US worldwide.
The book suggested that Jesus Christ had married Mary Magdalene and had children.
Angels & Demons involves a plot by a shadowy elite group called the Illuminati who want to install one of their own as pope and blow up the Vatican.
The filmmakers had asked to use two churches in Rome that are crucial to the plot of the religious thriller. But the production was swiftly barred by church officials from filming there and in other locales.
The Vatican has described the prequel as "an offence against God."
Angels & Demons is due to open worldwide May 15.
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