With the writer strike about to head into its third week, Sony Pictures Entertainment released a statement on Friday saying Columbia Pictures would postpone production of “Angels & Demons”, a screen adaptation of Dan Brown’s homonym novel.

Directed by Ron Howard, who also directed “The Da Vinci Code”, the movie stars Tom Hanks in the role of Harvard symbologist, Robert Langdon and will have its action set in the Vatican.

Langdon tries to solve a murder and unravel a plot by an ancient group, the Illuminati, to blow up the Vatican during a papal conclave. According to Sony’s release, the movie was not ready to go before the cameras.

"While the filmmakers and the studio feel the screenplay is very strong, we do not believe it is the fully-realized production draft required of this ambitious project. We do not expect any other film on our 2008 slate to be affected," said Sony spokesperson Steve Elzer in a statement for the Los Angeles Times.

The movie was scheduled to begin production in February the next year, while its opening was expected in December 2008. Since its debut was postponed, the studio doesn’t have a sure date for its new release. However, the movie’s opening is expected on May 15, 2009, Sony’s spokesperson said.

Screenwriters are prohibited by union rules to work during the strike, so Akiva Goldsman, the screenwriter of “Angel & Demons”, can’t work on the script.

The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since November 5 against Hollywood studios, producers and TV networks. The strike has a really negative impact on the TV industry already, as late-night talk shows have gone into reruns.