DakotaBlueRichards Tagged Articles at Cinematical

At least not any time soon. That's from this article in The Independent, which quotes author Phillip Pullman as saying that following the disappointing box office returns for The Golden Compass, no one has talked to him about adapting The Amber Spyglass (or, obviously, The Subtle Knife). Director Chris Weitz, who had been determined to make a sequel happen, is staying mum, as is New Line, now part of Warner Bros. At this point, the age of star Dakota Blue Richards -- already 14 -- is going to be a problem for any big plans to continue the franchise.

The Independent article is a little annoying, since it insists on blaming (crediting?) the Christian protests against The Golden Compass for the film's commercial failure in the US. That seems a little facile, though even Pullman seems to believe it. The source material didn't turn out to be much of a brand name, the marketing was a bit generic, and I think the movie just never caught on as a must-see holiday blockbuster. I'm not sure the protests had that much pull.

No regrets here, since I think the first film was a bit generic, not doing justice to the book. Though I guess now I really wish Weitz hadn't decided to move the first book's ending to the then-envisioned sequel. Oh well.

On the one hand, it'd be creepy to have your soul embodied in an animal who follows you around and never lets you be. On the other, it'd be pretty neat if said animal was an enormous, snow leopard, like Daniel Craig's Lord Asriel. I'd love, love, love a snow leopard of my very own. Anyway, I'm talking about The Golden Compass, and after months of waiting, the first five minutes of the film have gone up over at Yahoo. Based on the first novel of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, the film is about a 12-year-old girl named Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) whose attempts to save a kidnapped friend bring her into a quest to save her world and ours.

The opening of the film lays out the basics -- the golden compass, the workings of the worlds, and the embodiment of souls, before jumping into a little hooligan action. It's quickly set up that Lyra is the fearless, creative, and outspoken tough girl, and Richards handles it with ease, which should mean great things for the rest of the film. But as a teaser clip to whet our appetites, I'm not sure this will really wow anyone but those who are itching to see it, and would see it whether the opening was released or not. At the same time, it does, however, offer a brief setup of this fantastical world, which can help those wondering what's up with this whole Compass movie and religion kerfuffle. We don't have too long to wait to see it ourselves. The film hits theaters this week.

Her first film, The Golden Compass, hasn't come out yet, but young star Dakota Blue Richards has grabbed her next fantastical starring role. Variety reports that the young, 13-year-old actress will head The Secret of Moonacre, Gabor Csupo's (of Rugrats fame) next film. Our Christopher Campbell hoped it would be AnnaSophia Robb, but Richards is getting the part. See, this is the adaptation of Elizabeth Goudge's The Little White Horse... which was then renamed The Moon Princess when Colin Firth was cast... and now it's The Secret of Moonacre. I'm not quite sure why they keep changing the name.

I wonder if Firth is still in this film, since he's not mentioned on Variety's cast list. They say that the young actress will be joined by Ioan Gruffudd, Tim Curry, Natascha McElhone, and Juliet Stevenson. From an adaptation penned by Lucy Shuttleworth and Graham Alborough, Moonacre is about a young orphan named Maria (Richards) who is sent to Moonacre Manor to live with her uncle. "There she enters a world of magical creatures, and discovers that she is the only person who can undo an ancient curse and save Moonacre Valley." Basically, the regular family fare. The production starts today in Budapest, and meanwhile, you can catch Richards in The Golden Compass on December 7.

I don't know why, but every time I have seen the name Daniel Craig in the last month, I've thought of Clive Owen. Even now, being hyper-aware of it, I still see the name and have immediate flashes of the gruff-voiced dark and dirty Brit in my head -- and I'm now realizing that my description isn't a great way to distinguish between the two of them. I immediately think "Ooh! Clive!" and then have the split-second pause before thinking "Oh..." Anyhow, I'm sure you don't care about the evil way my brain plays tricks on me, so I'll get to the news at hand.

Yesterday, as I reported, The Subtle Knife, the second installment in the His Dark Materials series, got a screenwriter. Now, Movies Online has put up a whole ton of new images from the series' first installment, the upcoming The Golden Compass. The ladies steal the scenes in these pictures, although for entirely different reasons. Nicole Kidman's beyond-waifish look gives her an air of the exotic, but it really makes me want to invite her over for a particularly fatty smorgasbord of tasty food. On the other female side of things -- Dakota Blue Richards, who plays Lyra Belacqua, looks wonderful. The fresh-faced newbie actress already has a commanding presence in these still images, so I'm sure that means great things for her performance. As for the men of the Compass, such as Daniel Craig, there are lots of beards, facial hair and furrowed brows. All in all, I'm intrigued. What do you think? Do these pictures bode well for the film?