"Angels" wings clipped by writers strike

By Borys Kit and Leslie Simmons

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Hollywood writers strike has forced producers to postpone work on the Tom Hanks movie "Angels and Demons," a prequel to the worldwide blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code."

Columbia Pictures said Friday that the screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, an adaptation of the Dan Brown novel, was not ready to go before the cameras.

Studio spokesman Steve Elzer said that "while the filmmakers and the studio feel the screenplay is very strong, we do not believe it is the fully realized production draft required of this ambitious project." He added, "We do not expect any other film on our 2008 slate to be affected."

"Angels" had been scheduled to begin production early next year and was slated for release December 19, 2008. While no new start date has been set, its release date has been moved to May 15, 2009, a week before Fox has scheduled the release of James Cameron's 3-D feature "Avatar."

Hanks is set to reprise his role as symbologist Robert Langdon in "Angels," reuniting with "Da Vinci Code" director Ron Howard.

But "Angels" isn't alone. Several other projects are in limbo and might be heading towards postponement, even with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) returning to the table on November 26. The union went out on strike on November 5.

The shifting schedules are causing some directors to leave projects and others to pick up some as the labor drama plays out.

Columbia's "Edwin A. Salt," a spy thriller with Tom Cruise attached, has been pushed back due to director Terry George stepping off the project. Michael Mann wants to pick up the directing reins but only if there's a rewrite, which can't be done while the strike is on.