philip pullman 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.

Fantasy may have the most rabid and obsessive fans, but it also has the staunchest detractors of any mainstream genre. We all know people who simply refuse to watch fantasy films or read fantasy books of their own volition. They may have sat through The Fellowship of the Ring grudgingly, but didn't bother with the rest of the series. They probably associate the genre with asocial nerds, fan conventions, and Dungeons & Dragons. They can only shrug at the exuberance of the devotees. Fantasy is "not their thing."

Why are fantasy movies (and the genre in general) so polarizing? I've long thought it has something to do with viewers' relative affinity for cinematic worlds. Some people go to the movies to see something that directly relates to their own lives, something that takes place in the universe they live in and know. Others – myself among them, if you haven't figured it out – flip for new, self-contained worlds that could exist independently of the movie; wonderful and strange places we feel like it's possible to actually inhabit. This might explain why those who like good fantasy also tend to enjoy good science-fiction.

On the same day filming on Baz Luhrmann's Australia wrapped, the production released the first three official stills from the movie. Of course, clever photographers haven't been sitting around on their hands waiting for anything official -- they've been shooting candid photos all along, of everything from action shots of Nicole Kidman on horses and riding dinghies at sea to detailed photos of the set. But there's something to be said for photos that the director actually wants you to see. After looking at these three pictures, I can't say I'm discerning anything special though, except maybe for the one of Kidman seemingly about to twirl around while standing on a gazebo of some kind. It looks very 'Gone With the Wind' if you ask me. The other two are just a double headshot of the two leads and one gentleman who I'm going to guess is playing a native.

Meanwhile, perhaps sensing that The Golden Compass wasn't going to be all it was cracked up to be, Kidman was recently circumspect when talking to journalists about why she chooses her film roles. "I just choose off the cuff a lot of times, but primarily this was because Philip Pullman wrote me an amazing letter telling me that when he was writing the novels, he had me in mind," she said. "So that's hard to turn down. He's such a good novelist." Oh, so it's all his fault, huh? Let's hope she has a better answer for the studio bosses, next time they ask why they should continue forking over $15 mil per film.

My earlier column about the controversy swirling around The Golden Compass generated a lot of thought-provoking comments, and I thought that, with the film's opening date coming up on December 7, this might be a good time to address one of the questions underlying a lot of the comments we've had on the subject: Is a story, in this case, just a story? Or is it a tool with which to push or indoctrinate a set of beliefs?

One of our commenters, Rodway, included a link to this post titled "Sympathy for the Devil" over on Plugged Online, a movie blog arm of Focus on the Family. The site's "About Us" section says about its mission:

"Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to help equip parents, youth leaders, ministers and teens with the essential tools that will enable them to understand, navigate and impact the culture in which they live. Entertainment is a potent influence on our culture for both good and evil. Through our reviews and discussions of that entertainment, we hope to spark intellectual thought, family discussion, spiritual growth and a strong desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8. "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

So you can probably figure out going in which side of the debate this post is going to weigh in on. Nonetheless, the piece does offer a fairly reasoned argument to its target market for why Christian parents should keep their kids away from The Golden Compass, both in its (likely to be) watered-down film form, and its even "more dangerous" written form to which your children (so implies the author) will surely be led if they watch the film.

Back in January, we were invited to visit the set of The Golden Compass, which was wrapping up its final week of shooting at that time. Since then, a number of photos have hit the net, in addition to two trailers, a few posters and a whole lot of buzz. Based on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass (originally titled Northern Lights when it was released in Britain) is the first of three books New Line hopes to adapt for the big screen. Unlike New Line's Lord of the Rings franchise, all three His Dark Materials films (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) are not being shot at the same time. While plans to make The Subtle Knife are currently in the works, it's believed the studio will wait to see how well The Golden Compass does in theaters before moving on to its sequel.

Earlier this month, director Chris Weitz dropped somewhat of a bomb on fans (in a letter to the His Dark Materials fansite), letting them know that he, along with Scholastic, New Line and Philip Pullman, have decided to cut out the last three chapters of Book I from the film, and will instead use the material for The Subtle Knife (even though footage from those last three chapters does appear in the trailer for Compass). For those of you that have read The Golden Compass, you'll know that the book ends on a pretty big cliffhanger (with both a major death and a betrayal). The consensus from fans is that this was a good choice, and will make for a better overall cinematic experience. Additionally, it also means there's a very good chance The Subtle Knife will be made into a film as well ... and what a beginning it will have! The Golden Compass opens nationwide on December 7th; below you'll find a gallery of pics from our set visit and make sure to read on after the jump to find out how this monstrous production was pieced together.

New Line was cool enough to send Cinematical the final two posters for The Golden Compass, a film that's sure to blow all our minds once it arrives in theaters on December 7. We've included the first poster above (click on it for a larger version), and you can view the second poster after the jump. Both are bursting with color, intrigue and cool-looking warrior bears. Based on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass is the first big-screen adaptation to hit screens, with plans to adapt the other two novels in the series (The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) already in the works. The film was directed by Chris Weitz (who I know will knock this one out of the park), and it stars Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Sam Elliott and Dakota Blue Richards.

Here's a piece of the synopsis to whet your appetite: "The Golden Compass' is an exciting fantasy adventure, set in an alternative world where people's souls manifest themselves as animals, talking bears fight wars, and Gyptians and witches co-exist. At the center of the story is Lyra (played by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards), a 12-year-old girl who starts out trying to rescue a friend who's been kidnapped by a mysterious organization known as the Gobblers - and winds up on an epic quest to save not only her world, but ours as well." As I said, The Golden Compass hits theaters on December 7; you can check out the trailer over on Moviefone and the second poster after the jump. Enjoy.

Though The Golden Compass is still months away from its theatrical release, New Line is getting the ball rolling by attempting to introduce viewers to the film's beautiful, magical and complicated world right now, as we speak. For example, a new feature on the pic's official website allows you at home to create your own daemon. In case you don't know what that is -- and if you've never read Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, then chances are the word 'daemon' is pretty foreign to you -- a daemon represents a person's soul. And, in the world of The Golden Compass, these daemons take the form of an animal spirit that accompanies each person through life.

Early on, your daemon continuously changes (depending on your mood, etc), because as a youngster you have yet to truly experience life. However, as you get older, your daemon settles into one form and stays with you until the day you die. To help put it into perspective, in Pullman's world, if you don't have a daemon, that's like saying part of your body has been mutilated. As you can see above, my daemon is a ladybug named Olyandra. I assume that means I'm weaker than I originally thought. (I mean, point me toward a ladybug that really kicks some ass.) Thanks New Line for making me feel puny! In all fairness, this movie does look pretty awesome -- I should know, I was one of only a handful of people who actually got to visit the set while it was still in production. While some might feel Chris Weitz (American Pie) is not the right man for this type of job, I think he's perfect. I talk up a lot of films on this site with nothing more than a few stills and a trailer to back up my fanboy enthusiasm. However, as far as The Golden Compass goes, I can assure you that I've seen, with my own eyes, some pretty impressive stuff. The Golden Compass (which is the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy) arrives in theaters on December 7.

Regular readers of Cinematical know that we recently visited the London set of The Golden Compass, but we're holding back our coverage until a date closer to the release of the film. That said, it looks like New Line is increasingly willing to give the public an early taste of the film -- the Sydney Morning Herald is running a big article this weekend on Compass, and among other things, they are re-confirming what was earlier reported, that New Line is screening footage from the film at Cannes for journalists and distributors. We've also heard that a press junket with the main talent is being prepared. Since I'm a fan of Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green and Philip Pullman, it hardly needs to be said that this is one of the films I'm most looking forward to, but I had the wind taken out of my sails a bit by the noticeably lame poster that was unveiled at Showest, which showed nothing more than ... a golden compass. I certainly hope they've got some better advance materials coming down the pike.

The main thrust of the SMH article is recount author Philip Pullman's recent address to the Oxford Literary Festival, where he talked about the film. Among other things, he delves into the firing of screenwriter Tom Stoppard and says that he could understand the studio's point of view on that issue, which was that Stoppard's take was too cerebral for a teenage audience! Producer Deborah Forte was also on hand at the festival, and screened footage of Marisa Coulter's sky ferry, the zeppelin that she travels in. On the subject of Kidman, Pullman also revealed to the audience that he had always wanted Kidman for the part of Coulter and had in mind Laurence Olivier for Daniel Craig's part, but that didn't work out as well. The pair also told the Oxford audience that their mantra throughout the project was "stick with Lyra," meaning the central child character being played by Dakota Blue Richards, and that the film's special effects will be "subtle," although that could mean anything.