Angels & Demons (film) with author Dan Brown. In May 2006, following the release of the 2006 film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code", Sony Pictures hired screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who wrote the film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code", to adapt "Angels & Demons". Filming was originally to begin in February 2008 and was originally going to be released on December 19, 2008, but because of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, the film was pushed back for May 15, 2009. David Koepp rewrote the script before shooting began. Director Ron Howard chose to treat "Angels & Demons" as a sequel to
The Da Vinci Code (film) film was banned in Lebanon. The film was banned in Iran due to protests by Muslim and Christian minorities. Pakistan banned "The Da Vinci Code" for showing what officials called blasphemous material about Jesus. Christian groups, along with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal held protests against the film calling for a global ban. The Philippine Alliance Against Pornography (PAAP) appealed to then Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to stop the showing of "The Da Vinci Code" in the Philippines. They branded the film as "the most pornographic and blasphemous film in history" and also requested the help of Pope Benedict XVI, the