Ayelet Zurer from Angels & Demons

Ayelet Zurer, along with main actor Tom Hanks and Director Ron Howard, visits the set of ABC’s The View to further promote their movie, Angels and Demons. It was a rerun, as the episode was originally taped in May.

Even so, the presence of Ayelet Zurer in the said show is worth writing about. She has been so busy lately, thanks to the block buster film Angels and Demons.

In the film, Ayelet plays Vittoria Vetra, a physicist who knows about the anti-matter that is subject to reduce the Vatican City into a pile of smoke. For those who haven’t seen the film, it is still showing at a theater near you.

The domination of Angels in Demons in the movie scene is yet to wane. Just recently, the film was chosen to be Shanghai Film Fest’s closing movie. And to present their film, both Ayelet Zurer and Ewan McGregor graced the event.

The movie further set a record as the first ever foreign language film to close the event. However, there’s still deliberations as to whether or not the movie should be shown for commercial release.

Compared to the Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons is not as controversial. Movies with such themes are usually banned by the Chinese authorities. However, even the Vatican has stated that the sequel is relatively harmless, unlike Da Vinci Code which had challenged the Christian faith. However, the Vatican is quick to add that Angels and Demons is historically inaccurate and is filled with stereotypes.

Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer has been around. She has done several Hollywood films to date, Vantage Point and Munich are among the memorable ones.

But Angels and Demons became her launch pad to superstardom. Now, people would remember her as Vittoria Vetra, Tom Hank’s woman sidekick in the well-loved, well-watched film, Angels and Demons.

Ayelet Zurer plays a physicist in this movie, an anti-matter expert who needs to find where the deadly weapon is hidden before it can vaporize Vatican City into a puff of smoke.

She did her role awfully well, gaining the respect of movie critics. Acting alongside Oscar winnner Tom Hanks is not an easy feat – nor was it to be directed by a respected director Ron Howard.

Ayelet delivered. And now, she’s a true-blue Hollywood actress of Israeli heritage. We can almost expect more movies piling up before her.

Minus all the hullabaloos, Angels and Demons is more worth watching than Da Vinci Code. Da Vinci Code is the sequel of Angels and Demons but they have entirely different storylines.

The Da Vinci Code is about the Holy Grail. Angels and Demons, on the other hand, has its story focused on the dead pope and the works of a terrorist group. Between the two movies, Angels and Demons defines more action and has more compelling scenes. Da Vinci Code, on the other hand, focused too much on the history of the Holy Grail, which left some of the viewers quite bored and disappointed.

Angels and Demons is written by Dan Brown and stars returning actor Tom Hanks for his role as Robert Langdon and Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria Vetra. Catch the movie while it’s still showing at a cinema near you.

Q. Why the international cast of Angels and Demons?
(Tom Hanks – American, Ewan McGregor – Scottish, Ayelet Zurer – Israeli, Stella Skarsgard – Swedish, Pierfrancesco Favino – Italian)

A. It was deliberate. Ron (Howard) wanted it. He wants some international sense in the film. As for me, I find it fun. There are many languages during discussions on the set. It was never boring.

Q. How’s working with Tom Hanks?
A. It was fantastic. He’s funny, smart, a good friend, and a great actor. He’s brilliant, never boring on and off the camera. He knows a lot about almost every subject. We even exchange books.

Q. You have been directed by two great movie makers, Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg. How do you feel?

A. I feel so much pleasure working with them. These great directors are very talented and smart. They never stop being curious and never get tired. But they are highly moral and they both treat people well. I am very lucky.