It really is crazy how much hype and buzz there was surrounding the release of “The Da Vinci Code” film… and why not? It was one of the best selling books in history, it had an award winning director (Ron Howard), an Oscar winning actor (Tom Hanks) and legions of fans chomping at the bit to see it. Sadly, the film was something of a dud. Oh it made money… but the movie was a let down on almost every level, and what could have been an instant classic film was quickly relegated to the DVD shelves and then pretty much dropped from memory.
However, when word came out that the studio was going to produce the prequel called “Angels and Demons” all the hope sprung forth anew. “Maybe they’ll do it right this time” (any Star Wars fans remember saying that in between Ep 1 and 2?). But with the writers strike now in full swing… it seems that Angels and Demons has been put on hold. Our friends over at IESB give us this:
Studio said Friday that it is postponing production on the Tom Hanks starrer, which is a prequel to last year’s megahit “The Da Vinci Code.” Sources said the script, which was penned by “Da Vinci” scribe Akiva Goldsman, was rushed to meet the WGA’s Nov. 1 deadline for reaching a new contract with producers, and came in with insurmountable problems. Furthermore, no cast had signed on beyond Hanks, report Variety. The Vatican-set thriller was scheduled to begin shooting in February, with Ron Howard at the helm. Studio had set a Christmas 2008 release date.
I’m not going to shed any tears over this. As I said, The Da Vinci Code was such a monumental bore that pushing back the next film in its genre is nothing but a blessing to me. Sometimes stories just work MUCH better in one medium than another.
The bigger story here really is that we’re now seeing tangible effects of the writers strike in Hollywood. A lot of my friend’s sites are posting “We Support the Writers Guild” banners… but you won’t see one on The Movie Blog.. and this weekend I’ll do a video explaining why. But hey… at least they postponed Angels and Demons… I at least owe them for that. :)
