With The Lost Symbol barely on bookshelves, Tom Hanks has let it be known that he is keen to once again play Robert Langdon in the next movie instalment:

just finished it last week. Page-turner. Dan Brown knows how to weave a tale. I was exhausted by the end of it... I'd love to if they're going to do it - I'm not going to walk away from that.... If they make it again, I hope they ask me. If they didn't, what did I do wrong?

Who would be the choices for the supporting actors? Morgan Freeman as Warren Bellamy perhaps, and Linda Hunt as Sato? What about Katherine and Peter Solomon, and Mal'akh?

The BBC has a summary of the pre-release reviews for the film version of Angels and Demons, and things are looking up for Ron Howard. Screen International says the new film is a "far superior job" than that done in adapting DVC, Variety labeled it a "cleverly produced melodrama", and the Hollywood Reporter said that "Ron Howard and his crew have worked hard to make Professor Robert Langdon's return a thrilling, faster-paced walk in the park." The latter review also mentioned that the action was pretty much non-stop for 139 minutes. So it would seem A&D is a better film, despite clocking in at almost 2 and a half hour.

Angels and Demons, with its Vatican-centred conspiracy, has created somewhat of a backlash from the Catholic Church - both in Rome and the United States. Now, in a recent blog entry at The Huffington Post, directory Ron Howard has defended his upcoming movie, most particularly against recent polemics about the movie by Catholic League president Bill Donahue:

For a $5 donation to his organization, Mr. Donohue will send you his glossy new booklet (Angels & Demons: More Demonic Than Angelic), in which he writes that I and the people who made this thriller "do not hide their animus against all things Catholic."

He's been making these assertions for years, going back to the theatrical release of The Da Vinci Code. He stepped up his campaign more than a month ago with a series of press releases. And there he goes again, in a Daily News op-ed last Friday, saying that Dan Brown and I "have collaborated in smearing the Catholic Church...."

Let me be clear: neither I nor Angels & Demons are anti-Catholic. And let me be a little controversial: 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. After all, in Angels & Demons, Professor Robert Langdon teams up with the Catholic Church to thwart a vicious attack against the Vatican. What, exactly, is anti-Catholic about that?

Some really nice glove work from Ron Howard in the blog post, although Bill Donahue's the kind of guy who will stand there bruised and bleeding, telling his friends "you should see the other guy".

Sony Pictures have begun promotion of the movie adaptation DB's Angels and Demons, with the official website as well as a multi-stage "Path of Illumination" contest. The movie website also features an early trailer, though it doesn't show very much - more for setting the atmosphere than anything.

I'm afraid I won't be playing the contest, as (a) it's not open to those in Australia, and (b) it requires you to have a Windows Live account. Sometimes I'll jump through a few hoops, but I really don't feel like signing up to Microsoft in a blatant marketing move (requiring a Windows Live account, and a download of the new Photosynth program).

But feel free to share tips/hints in the comments thread to this story if you do enter. One thing perhaps worth noting - in the trailer, the words 'Altars of Science' is 'hidden' within the "Illuminati" ambigram.

A recent story on the upcoming film adaptation of DB's Angels and Demons quotes producer Brian Grazer as saying that the new film will be less puzzles and history, and more action and technology:

"This continues the Langdon character in a much more modern form in a high-velocity situation," Grazer says. "The stakes are higher; the stakes are related to the main character. The 'Da Vinci Code' was much more of a puzzle movie, and this is much more of an action movie."

Grazer also discusses some difficulties in shooting in Rome, implying possible influence from DB's big fans at the Vatican. Angels & Demons opens on May 15.

Director Ron Howard has said that the upcoming Angels and Demons movie has been written for the screen as a sequel to The Da Vinci Code, rather than a prequel (as in the books). He also said the new movie will move faster than the last, with its "ticking time bomb" scenario and clash of the past and new technology.

USA Today has a 'first look' feature on the upcoming movie adaptation of DB's Angels and Demons, in which they talk to producer Brian Grazer. Grazer admits the DVC movie was a bit slow-moving, and says A&D will be a faster-moving affair. But most importantly - Robert Langdon's (Tom Hanks) hair will be different this time around. Was that a sigh of relief I heard?

A Rome priest has been viciously attacked by a man who had just watched the movie adaptation of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code:

Police said Mr Luzi, a former medical student with a history of psychiatric problems, had admitted watching the film version of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code on television the night before the frenzied assault.

At his flat nearby, where he lived with his mother Paola, investigators found material on the Apocalypse and the anti-Christ, and the telephone number of L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.

There was also a large reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, which is at the heart of the mystery in The Da Vinci Code, with a note pointing to one of the disciples reading: "This is the hand in which a knife is hidden".

One can't help but feel that it wouldn't have taken much to set off this particular person, so it's probably a little much to say that DVC caused the attack.

The diocese of Rome has banned the producers of the film adaptation of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons from filming in any of its churches:

"It's a film that treats religious issues in a way that contrasts with common religious sentiment," Monsignor Marco Fibbi, the diocese spokesman, told AP.

"We would be helping them create a work that might well be beautiful but that does not conform to our view," he added.

The producers were hoping to film in the churches of Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria.

In other news, some photos from on location have made their way onto the Internet.

After a long break from any Dan Brown-related news, some word from Hollywood on the cast for the film version of Angels and Demons:

This past week a couple of new faces were added to the project. First, Ayelet Zurer (Munich) signed on as the female lead, pairing up with Hanks’ character while trying to solve her father’s murder. Next, a bit more of a known face came into play as we learned that Ewan McGregor was in negotiations to play the role of the Pope’s closest aide, Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca, who initially helps Langdon with the investigation.

Angels & Demons is scheduled for production beginning June 5th (for a May 2009 release).