tom stoppard Tagged Articles at Cinematical

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.

So after years of waiting, wondering and whining, now we get the word from George Lucas himself. The as-yet-untitled Indiana Jones 4 will begin shooting next year. Seems that Lucas and Steven Spielberg have finally signed off on a screenplay they like, and Paramount has already circled May 2008 for the release date. Obviously Harrison Ford will be returning to play the globe-trotting troublemaker, most likely for one last hurrah ... but boy it'll be fun, I bet.

That's all the real news we've gotten so far, but stop by ComingSoon.net to see their full report.

For those who've been living exclusively in the arthouses for the past twenty years, Indiana Jones is the swaggering hero found in three Steven Spielberg films: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). All three flicks represent a whole lot of old-fashioned adventure-time fun, but it's the original that still holds up as maybe one of the best movies ever made. (It just never gets old. Trust me.)

Long in development, the fourth chapter has been semi-promised for ages, and the lengthy screenwriting process has involved the likes of Tom Stoppard, M. Night Shyamalan, Chris Columbus, Frank Darabont, Jeff Nathanson and David Koepp -- although I bet there were even more than that. Rumors have been running rampant about the project for years (Kevin Costner as Indy's brother!?!) but just last week Lucas said "It's going to be the best one yet."

Yeah, we'll see about that.