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"Angels & Demons" Banned from the Vatican

The Vatican has laid the smackdown. Angels and Demons, the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, has been denied permission to film in any churches in Rome, Vatican officials said yesterday. The Vatican claims the film is at odds with religious sentiment and, therefore, filming rights cannot be granted.

The film is adapted from one of the most successful works of fiction in recent years and is currently in production in Rome, with Ron Howard returning as director and Tom Hanks reprising his role as art historian Robert Langdon. Howard and his crew requested permits to film in churches like Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria last year since crucial scenes in the book and film are set in these locales, but access was denied. The churches are governed by the Vatican and the institution must approve all requests, saying, "We often provide our churches to productions whose purposes are compatible with religious sentiment." Such was not the case here. The production was denied permission to enter The Holy See, where St. Peter's Basilica is located, as well.

The film will substitute Vatican locations and churches when necessary.

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
06.17.08