Opie's Angels & Demons - Pictures in the Sistine Chapel

So Opie has fired a salvo back at the Holy See. I guess he's kind of frustrated at the debunking of his latest film Angels & Demons so maybe he figures to generate some stink as a promotion for the film.


Ron Howard: Vatican Obstructed 'Angels and Demons':

At a press conference Sunday, Howard said he hadn't sought cooperation from the Vatican based on the opposition he encountered filming "The Da Vinci Code," another Brown novel that angered many Catholic leaders.

But he said the Vatican nevertheless exerted influence regarding his filming permits, and he was told it would not be possible even to shoot scenes in Rome that had churches in the background.
"When you come to film in Rome, the official statement to you is that the Vatican has no influence," he said. "Everything progressed very smoothly, but unofficially a couple of days before we were to start filming in several of our locations, it was explained to us that through back channels and so forth that the Vatican had exerted some influence."
"Was I surprised? No. Am I a little frustrated at times? Sure," he said.

Nevertheless he said he felt that he was able to preserve the overall "Angels & Demons" experience despite the restrictions by recreating scenes on sets. For the Sistine Chapel alone, some 20 members of the production crew — posing as tourists — took photos of all the frescoes, floor mosaics and paintings of the tiny chapel where popes are elected — until they were told to stop, the film's Web site says.
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So let me get this right. 20 members of of the production crew pretended to be tourist to take 'illegal' pictures inside the Sistine Chapel so they could create the sets necessary. Anything for an Oscar Awards hit movie I guess.

I guess it doesn't matter if taking pictures in the chapel is prohibited for reasons that it my contribute to the decay of the art and paintings. But hay what the heck.

Maybe the Vatican 'obstructed' the use of certain scene shots in locations sensitive to cameras and bright lights. Protecting 100's of year old art is considered obstruction. Ya-right.