At the end of October Tomorrow’s Entertainment informed you about the upcoming Angels & Demons.. Since then the follow - up to Tom Hanks’ blockbuster The Da Vinci Code is the first major film to be hit by the Hollywood writers’ strike.. With the writer’s strike still ongoing, production has been postponed and its release delayed..

It represented the first movie casualty of the strike.. In a statement, the studio said that while it regards the current version of the screenplay by Oscar winner Akiva Goldman as ” very strong,” it does ” not believe it is the fully realized production draft required of this ambitious project..” The studio had planned to release the film in time for next year’s Christmas holiday but has now set a tentative release date of the 15th May 2009..

No new shooting date has been announced which makes sense.. Since we still don’t know when the strike might end, there’s no idea of when the production might have an acceptable script.. The script needed more work but writers walked off the job nearly two weeks ago in a row over royalties from DVD sales and online downloads..

This could be good timing for Ron Howard, as he was going to overworked, completing post - production on Frost / Nixon, the adaptation of the acclaimed play, at the same time Angels & Demons was shooting.. At least this way Howard can focus on one picture at a time instead of doing a rush job on two pictures..

Writers have refused to go back to work since the 5th November following disputes over a new contract for 12,000 Writers Guild members and higher fees from internet revenues..

The strike has thrown the television industry into disarray, as work on numerous late - night talk shows and prime - time comedies and dramas ground to a halt..

Ron Howard’s prequel to The DaVinci Code has been shut down by the strike, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped them from casting the movie.. We have just heard from a reliable source that Naomi Watts is set to join the cast opposite Tom Hanks..

It’s unclear exactly what part she’ll play in the film.. Their story says only that it.s a ” major role..” Since the film’s shooting date has been put off until at least some time next year, we’ll probably have awhile to wait before we find out what she’s doing in the movie..