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
Death Note (2006 film) difficult aspect of making the film. Kaneko chartered an underground line to film a particular scene in the first film; this was the first time in Japanese film history that an underground line was used. Kaneko used about 500 extras throughout the first film. The film premiered in Japan on June 17, 2006, and topped the Japanese box office for two weeks, pushing "The Da Vinci Code" into second place. "Death Note" (死亡筆記) was released in Hong Kong on August 10, 2006, in Taiwan on September 8, 2006, in Singapore on October 19, 2006, and in Malaysia on November 9,