Ron Howard: Catholics Will Enjoy Angels & Demons
Ron Howard
After the fallout surrounding The Da Vinci Code, director Ron Howard is trying to get ahead of any criticism that his latest film, Angels & Demons, is anti-Catholic.
"Let me be clear: Neither I nor Angels & Demons are anti-Catholic," Howard wrote on the Huffington Post. He also suggested that Catholics who give his movie a chance will find something to like. "I believe Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will enjoy the movie for what it is: an exciting mystery, set in the awe-inspiring beauty of Rome."
The flick again stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor of symbology who tries to track down the mysterious Illuminati, a group that has killed the four Cardinals in line to become the next pope. "Robert Langdon teams up with the Catholic Church to thwart a vicious attack against the Vatican. What, exactly, is anti-Catholic about that?" Howard wrote.
The Pope banned Howard and his crew from filming in Roman churches, and Vatican officials — including Catholic League member William Donahue, who wrote the pamphlet "Angels & Demons: More Demonic than Angelic" — have already denounced the film. Howard suggests the church research the word faith.
"I know faith is believing without seeing (and a boycott would be disbelieving without seeing)," Howard wrote. "But I don't expect William Donohue to have faith in me, so I encourage him to see Angels & Demons for himself. Then he will finally witness, and perhaps believe, that what I say is true."
What do you think of Howard's comments?
