TheBadandUgly.com and Trovacinema.it have posted the first images from the set of the film in Rome. There’s not an awful lot going on in the pictures, but from what you can see it looks pretty similar to what is in the book. Click the above links to view the pictures.

I just finished reading the novel the film is based on. Although there does seem to be more action in this story than there was The Da Vinci Code, I found myself rather disappointed in the whole thing. I found too much of the book to be predictable and I thought the characters often did things that were unrealistic or just stupid. I also had a hard time imagining Tom Hanks portraying the character as described in the book. I can only assume they will be changing him for the film.

If you aren’t aware of the story of Angels & Demons… In the novel, Langdon’s character is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared int the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization – the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra. Together they embark on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals and the most secretive vault on earth… the long-forgotten Illuminati lair.

Angels & Demons is set for release on May 15, 2009.

Angels & Demons finds Langdon entangled with powerful forces that have ancient roots: the Illuminati – the most powerful underground organization in history – as well as the Catholic Church. McGregor will play Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca, the late pope’s closest aide who helps symbologist professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) in the investigation of a murder and a plot to blow up the Vatican during a papal conclave.

Ayelet Zurer was also recently cast as the female lead in the film. She will play Vittoria Vetra, an Italian scientist who joins forces with Langdon.

Shooting is set to begin in Europe in June before heading to Los Angeles. The film is based, once again, on the book by Dan Brown. It is being directed by Ron Howard from a script by Akiva Goldsman.

I think this is probably a good move for McGregor even though I’m not exactly holding my breath in anticipation for this film. Ewan McGregor is a great actor who hasn’t had a great film role in so long we’re starting to forget he’s a star (is he still a star?). The last really good movie I remember him being in was Big Fish and that was way back in 2003. Everything else he’s done, that I’ve seen, including Star Wars: Episode III and The Island has been a big disappointment as far as his acting is concerned.

Deception is a drama from Fox starring Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Maggie Q, Robert ‘Toshi’ Kar Yun Chan and Natasha Henstridge.

The film centers on an accountant (McGregor) who is introduced to a mysterious sex club known as The List by his lawyer friend (Jackman). In this new world, he soon becomes the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist.

Variety is reporting that Ewan McGregor will play the romantic lead opposite Jim Carrey in “I Love You Phillip Morris,” a dark comedy that marks the directing debut of “Bad Santa” scribes Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

I guess Carrey decided he hasn’t done enough high profile (or low profile for that matter) gay roles lately so he signed up a while back to play Steven Russell, a married father whose conman ways introduced him to the Texas prison system. There, he fell in love with cellmate Phillip Morris.

This story is supposed to be based on actual events. I’m having a hard time, however, getting past the fact that one of the characters is named after a cigarette company. Maybe Russell just liked his smokes?

Anyway, McGregor, always an actor on the edge of gayness, decided to take the role of Phillip Morris. As the story goes, Russell’s love for Morris motivated his escape from prison four times, once by using a green pen and bucket of water to change his prison outfit into what appeared to be surgical scrubs, another time by faking his death from AIDS and signing his own death certificate (what kinds of jails are we running down here in Texas?). Morris eventually got out, but Russell’s escapades got him a 144-year sentence.

The moral: Gay prison love can only lead to more pain.

The fact that the writers of “Bad Santa” also wrote this make me wonder where they might take the dangling participles of this script (pun definitely intended). I mean, how do you fake your own death of AIDS and then sign yourself out? How does that even work on anything other than Family Guy? And does Ewan play hard to get? Does he just string Carrey along by flirting with him, maybe sharing his lunch, letting him wear his prison jump suit, borrow his toothbrush…or is Carrey more of a stalker? Guess we’ll have to wait and see which way this one goes.

Production is expected to begin in the spring.