Vatican Amateurs Upstage Tom Hanks in ‘Angels and Demons’ Preview

GMA got in the Boxing Day spirit with an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse at Angels and Demons, featuring a nifty dramatic flourish we’re afraid may not make Ron Howard’s final cut.
The Vatican’s disdain toward both Demons and its blaspheming predecessor The Da Vinci Code has been moderately documented here in the past, with Speedoed star Tom Hanks and source novelist Dan Brown each feeling the wrath of various Catholic grievances. As indicated by today’s preview from the set, however, the A&D threat that most of us fear — stiff line readings, nonsensical revelations — is a less intriguing commodity than the church’s very real antipathy, best represented by a priest whose acknowledged unfamiliarity with the books wouldn’t dissuade him from “throwing them into the fireplace after two or three pages.”

That’s the kind of holiday spirit we’ll miss following this last week of 2008, and which hopefully will reemerge as the film’s only viable, exciting conflict leading up to its summer ‘09 release. Bonus: We think we spotted Raffaello Follieri in his big-screen breakthrough opposite Hanks; the camera was a bit removed, but listen closely and the word “palude” comes up at least once in all the stilted English. And rightly so! It wouldn’t be a Vatican scandal without him.

• ‘Good Morning America’ [ABC]