Church Cracks Down on New 'Da Vinci' Film

June 17, 2008— -- Once again, the Catholic Church is coming down hard on writer Dan Brown, the author of "The Da Vinci Code."

The producers of Brown's latest thriller to be made into a film, "Angels and Demons," have been banned from filming key scenes inside any church in Rome, on the grounds that the book is "an offense against God," according to a church spokesman.

Led by executive producer/director Ron Howard, the producers sought permission to shoot scenes inside two churches in Rome's historic center for the film adaptation of Brown's prequel to "The Da Vinci Code." The Diocese of Rome, the local church authority for the city, denied them access in early 2007, but the ban was only made public on Monday.

"Normally, we read the script, but this time it was not necessary," Monsignor Marco Fibbi, spokesman for the Rome Diocese, told the Ansa Italian News Agency. "The name Dan Brown was enough."

Members of the Catholic Church denounced both "The Da Vinci Code" novel when it came out in 2004, and its film version in 2006.

"Angels and Demons" tells the story of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who was also the protagonist in "The Da Vinci Code," and his race to prevent a terrorist plot against the Vatican. Tom Hanks will reprise his role as Langdon for "Angels and Demons," which is scheduled for release in May 2009.

Although not as successful as Brown's subsequent and better known "The Da Vinci Code," the book has still posted strong sales in America and around the world since it was published in 2000.

Two Roman churches -- Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria -- are the settings for scenes in the book and film. In one church, Langdon finds the body of a cardinal who has been buried alive, and in the other, he arrives to find another cardinal burning to death.

The decision to ban the filmmakers from the churches was made public Monday, when an interview with Fibbi was published in the Italian entertainment magazine "Sorrisi e Canzoni TV."

"We don't allow filming in churches every day and when we do, it is usually for documentaries or for historical dramas, Fibbi said. "It is rare that permission is granted to shoot scenes for feature films inside functioning churches, but when allowed, the subject matter must be compatible and not clash with moral and pastoral church values.