Posted on 04/21/2009 8:48:34 AM PDT by kellynla
Ron Howard, director of “Angels & Demons,” the movie version of Dan Brown’s book by that name, attacked Catholic League president Bill Donohue yesterday on the Huffington Post.
Referring to a booklet on the movie that Donohue authored, “Angels & Demons: More Demonic than Angelic,” (click here) Howard wrote: “Mr. Donohue’s booklet accuses us of lying when our movie trailer says the Catholic Church ordered a brutal massacre to silence the Illuminati centuries ago. It would be a lie if we had ever suggested our movie is anything other than a work of fiction….” Howard also said that “most in the hierarchy of the Church” will enjoy his film; he denies being anti-Catholic.
Donohue responded today:
“Dan Brown says in his book that the Illuminati are ‘factual’ and that they were ‘hunted ruthlessly by the Catholic Church.’ In the film’s trailer, Tom Hanks, who plays the protagonist Robert Langdon, says ‘The Catholic Church ordered a brutal massacre to silence them forever.’ Howard concurs: ‘The Illuminati were formed in the 1600s. They were artists and scientists like Galileo and Bernini, whose progressive ideas threatened the Vatican.’
“All of this is a lie. The Illuminati were founded in 1776 and were dissolved in 1787. It is obvious that Galileo and Bernini could not possibly have been members: Galileo died in 1647 and Bernini passed away in 1680. More important, the Catholic Church never hunted, much less killed, a single member of the Illuminati. But this hasn’t stopped Brown from asserting that ‘It is a historical fact that the Illuminati vowed vengeance against the Vatican in the 1600s.’ (My emphasis.)
“Howard must be delusional if he thinks Vatican officials are going to like his propaganda—they denied him the right to film on their grounds. Moreover, we know from a Canadian priest who hung out with Howard’s crew last summer in Rome (dressed in civilian clothes) just how much they hate Catholicism. It’s time to stop the lies and come clean.”
This is not a Catholic book or movie. Don’t go there!
“Anything else it does; Politically, economically, sexually, criminally or whatever that takes us away from it’s job of helping us find Christ is a distraction?”
“it does?” She does...Holy Mother Church
“a distraction?”
you have a lot to learn...
Usually I like Ron Howard and Tom Hanks' movies, but I thought The Da Vinci Code was pretty bad.
LOL!
Taking Opie to the woodshed.
**The film of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was truly terrible.**
An full of untruths to boot!
“I’m a fallen Catholic”
That explains a lot of your misinformation.
“I almost wish for the Latin Mass”
And you can find a Latin Mass in your area here:
Latin Mass.com http://latinmass.com/latinmassdirectory.html
He is now, just another Hollywood hack, trying to destroy American moral values like the rest of the Hollywood losers. His career is pretty much in the tank.
“This is not a Catholic book or movie. Don’t go there!”
I didn’t say it was. LOL
That was an attention grabbing marketing gimmick by the filmmakers. They wouldn’t have gotten any attention for their little film otherwise.
>>> ...and The Blair Witch Project was actual footage found a year after the film crew mysteriously disappeared. It’s true! Says so right in the trailer and opening credits! <<<
Uhhmmmm... my brother works in retail sales, and he told me that he had a hard time convincing several of the employees at the store he managed that the Blair Witch wasn’t real.
We live in a country where the Big O was elected President. Why would you expect that there are a lot of folks out there who are critical and discerning consumers of mass media?
It was fiction. So there was no claim of truth.
*sheesh*
I was happy in my ignorance, having read both books. I don’t see many movies these days, but they couldn’t possibly be as good as the books.
I think we have more lies to worry about than Ron Howard’s or Tom Hanks’.
Since I read for entertainment, I could care less about the politics. </rant
I posted a total of 34 threads and 7,223 replies since becoming a member in May 2000...an old-timer!
Ron Howard and Tom Hanks are what is really sad about Hollywood. These guys are not Paris Hilton or Ben Affleck. They are truly talented individuals who have the gift to make great movies - Apollo 13, Cinderella Man, Saving Private Ryan,... When they choose their agenda over producing great works everyone loses.
It’s....a....movie.
It...is...agitprop.
Thanks for the ping!
“It’s....a....movie.”
yes it is...
and a smear job of the Catholic Church by Ron Howard...
“Dan Brown says in his book that the Illuminati are ‘factual’ and that they were ‘hunted ruthlessly by the Catholic Church.’ In the film’s trailer, Tom Hanks, who plays the protagonist Robert Langdon, says ‘The Catholic Church ordered a brutal massacre to silence them forever.’ Howard concurs: ‘The Illuminati were formed in the 1600s. They were artists and scientists like Galileo and Bernini, whose progressive ideas threatened the Vatican.’
“All of this is a lie.”
“Moreover, we know from a Canadian priest who hung out with Howard’s crew last summer in Rome (dressed in civilian clothes) just how much they hate Catholicism.”
>>> It was fiction. So there was no claim of truth. <<<
I haven’t seen the movie. I’ve got the book.
In the book, there may be no explicit claim of “truth.” There is a significant and clearly-made claim of “fact.” For most readers, that’s a difference that makes no difference.
The FIRST WORD of the FIRST PAGE of the book is (in big, bold-faced type) FACT.
What comes after that word is what Dan Brown wants us to take as FACT: his version of the Priory of Sion, his version of Opus Dei, and that “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel accurate.”
Given that the movie was so closely tied-in with the book, your claim that “there was no claim of truth” is preposterous.
To imply that makers of movies and writers of novels — especially polemical or propaganda novels — haven’t changed a lot of minds (and made a lot of money) eliding the difference between FACT and FICTION over the years is just plain goofy.
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