I have just finished watching the 1984 rebellious teen dance flick Footloose. I am still adrenaline-high from grooving along to 1980s hit songs such as Footloose and Holding Out For A Hero.

I found myself browsing for updates on one of next year’s most awaited movies, The Da Vinci Code. The film’s teaser-trailer is downloading as I write this.

The aforementioned international bestseller by Dan Brown has a prequel that, in my humble opinion, also deserves its own time on the silver screen: Angels & Demons.

The first Robert Langdon novel has just as much action and suspense as its successor. The setting is The Holy See itself, which vastly increases the intrigue factor.

Here are casting choices for my dream Angels & Demons movie:

Robert Langdon – Tom Hanks
He wins by default.

Vittoria Vetra – Angelina Jolie
The physicality and the outfit called for in her Tomb Raider character just about prepared her for this role.

Max Kohler – John Hurt
He has the depth and talent to give life to the tortured, genius Konig (“king”).

Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca – Benicio Del Toro
Charismatic and intelligent, with just the right mix of earthiness, sensitivity and underlying menace.

Cardinal Saverio Mortati – Paul Sorvino
This is a difficult one, but I will go for a seasoned actor with Italian roots.

Commander Olivetti – Robert De Niro
He may be a bit too short and a bit too old, but his earthy toughness would wonderfully complement Del Toro’s enigmatic chamberlain.

The Hassassin – Oded Fehr
Highly dangerous in more ways than one, with sex appeal to boot.

Gunther Glick – David Wenham
He has the range to go from bumbling (Carl in Van Helsing) tabloidish reporter to all-business (Faramir in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) Pulitzer aspirant.

Chinita Macri – Queen Latifah
I will give this role to my most adored African-American actress. She can very well pull off the no-nonsense, strong personality of the BBC camerawoman.

Finally, I will go for Alfonso Cuaron as director. His dark, deep vision suits the overall mood of Angels & Demons quite well.

The soundtrack will constitute mostly Gregorian chanting, in the likes of Gregorian: The Dark Side.

Here is the plot of Angels & Demons from the author’s official website:

When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol – seared into the chest of a murdered physicist – he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati…the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth.

The Illuminati has surfaced from the shadows to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy…the Catholic Church.

Langdon’s worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican’s holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces he has hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.

Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair…a secret location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

An explosive international thriller, Angels & Demons careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war…