The Golden Compass
01-21-04, 10:48 AM
#1
Moderator
Thread Starter
Next Big Trilogy movie in the works: "His Dark Materials" : Compass, Knife, Spyglass
I had read awhile back in the New York Times Arts section that the next trilogy to get the film makeover will be Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials Trilogy" books: The Golden Compass / The Subtle Knife / The Amber Spyglass.
Question: since I have long gone threw out the article, and to those who might have read it: what studio owns the rights to this? I would assume it is still to early in the post production phase but has there been any murmurings on who is to direct this?
Question: since I have long gone threw out the article, and to those who might have read it: what studio owns the rights to this? I would assume it is still to early in the post production phase but has there been any murmurings on who is to direct this?
01-21-04, 02:02 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 578
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
New Line owns the rights. They've had it in development for a couple of years now, but nary a peep as to a writer, director, or start date.
Given the rather, um, unorthodox conclusion to the trilogy, I'll be surprised if it ever gets made -- and if it does, I doubt it will bear much resemblence to the books.
Given the rather, um, unorthodox conclusion to the trilogy, I'll be surprised if it ever gets made -- and if it does, I doubt it will bear much resemblence to the books.
01-21-04, 03:35 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Louisville, KY - Home of Ali and HST!
Posts: 846
Likes: 0
Received 5 Likes
on
2 Posts
Loved the books and just don't see how they could make this into a film...at least not into the film they'd want it to be. Seems like they would probably be looking for a Harry Potter/LOTR style fantasy, but the overarching themes of HDM won't fit neatly into a kiddy fantasy flick.
07-02-04, 11:31 AM
#7
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
An update on this.
IMDB now has a listing on it:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385752/
Chris Weitz of American Pie and Antz fame is slated to direct (who knows... if the guy who made "Meet the Feebles" can knock LOTR out of the park, maybe we're in good hands.)
Tom Stoppard (wrote Brazil, Empire of the Sun,Shakespere in Love and tons of other stuff) is writing the screenplay so we're in good shape there.
This is far from a kids' book, I don't really know why it's labeled as such. It's very, very dark and heavily anti-church (not that there's anything neccessarily wrong with that.)
I'm definitely looking forward to it, the first book seemed to me like a combination of Harry Potter, the original (and very superior) Neverending Story book and King's "Gunslinger" series. I found it to be excellent and think it will make a great movie.
Watch out for this one.
IMDB now has a listing on it:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385752/
Chris Weitz of American Pie and Antz fame is slated to direct (who knows... if the guy who made "Meet the Feebles" can knock LOTR out of the park, maybe we're in good hands.)
Tom Stoppard (wrote Brazil, Empire of the Sun,Shakespere in Love and tons of other stuff) is writing the screenplay so we're in good shape there.
This is far from a kids' book, I don't really know why it's labeled as such. It's very, very dark and heavily anti-church (not that there's anything neccessarily wrong with that.)
I'm definitely looking forward to it, the first book seemed to me like a combination of Harry Potter, the original (and very superior) Neverending Story book and King's "Gunslinger" series. I found it to be excellent and think it will make a great movie.
Watch out for this one.
12-23-04, 09:39 AM
#8
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Director of 'The Golden Compass" resigns...
New Film Setback as Director Resigns
By Sherna Noah, PA Showbusiness Correspondent
Days after it was disclosed that God had been removed from the script, the movie version of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials has been hit by a setback – the director has resigned.
Chris Weitz, who previously directed About A Boy and American Pie, cited the “technical challenges” of making the movie, saying they were “more than I can undertake at this point”.
Last week, fans of British author Pullman attacked the director for removing mention of the Church from the film – for fear of upsetting American Christian groups.
Weitz’s resignation is the second casualty to be claimed by His Dark Materials, which is being made by the Hollywood studio New Line Cinema.
Last month, the Oscar-winning playwright Sir Tom Stoppard found his draft for the project had been shelved.
Announcing his resignation, American-born Cambridge graduate Weitz said that His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass would be “an extraordinary film”.
But he said: “At this point in my life I am not the right director to bring it to pass”.
He added: “The technical challenges of making such an epic are more than I can undertake at this point.”
Last week Weitz said that New Line, which made the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, was anxious that the adaptation would fail to make money if it was perceived as anti-religious.
But fans of the award-winning books condemned the planned removal of anti-religious sentiment as a “blatant cop-out to the Bible Belt of America”.
Pullman’s trilogy examines the corrupting force of religion while relating the adventures of two children on a quest.
They end with the death of a geriatric God and the Church itself is described as “wrong and bad”.
Weitz, who defended the decision to remove mention of the Church in the movie, will continue in his role as the film’s screenwriter.
He said earlier this year: “I regard His Dark Materials as the most important work of my life, in part because it is one of the few books to have changed my life”.
By Sherna Noah, PA Showbusiness Correspondent
Days after it was disclosed that God had been removed from the script, the movie version of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials has been hit by a setback – the director has resigned.
Chris Weitz, who previously directed About A Boy and American Pie, cited the “technical challenges” of making the movie, saying they were “more than I can undertake at this point”.
Last week, fans of British author Pullman attacked the director for removing mention of the Church from the film – for fear of upsetting American Christian groups.
Weitz’s resignation is the second casualty to be claimed by His Dark Materials, which is being made by the Hollywood studio New Line Cinema.
Last month, the Oscar-winning playwright Sir Tom Stoppard found his draft for the project had been shelved.
Announcing his resignation, American-born Cambridge graduate Weitz said that His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass would be “an extraordinary film”.
But he said: “At this point in my life I am not the right director to bring it to pass”.
He added: “The technical challenges of making such an epic are more than I can undertake at this point.”
Last week Weitz said that New Line, which made the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, was anxious that the adaptation would fail to make money if it was perceived as anti-religious.
But fans of the award-winning books condemned the planned removal of anti-religious sentiment as a “blatant cop-out to the Bible Belt of America”.
Pullman’s trilogy examines the corrupting force of religion while relating the adventures of two children on a quest.
They end with the death of a geriatric God and the Church itself is described as “wrong and bad”.
Weitz, who defended the decision to remove mention of the Church in the movie, will continue in his role as the film’s screenwriter.
He said earlier this year: “I regard His Dark Materials as the most important work of my life, in part because it is one of the few books to have changed my life”.
12-23-04, 04:34 PM
#9
DVD Talk Legend
I just started reading this book and I can't imagine taking religion out of it. I mean, it deals with people's [spoilers]souls[/spoilers].
I'd rather they just not do the movie at all.
I'd rather they just not do the movie at all.
05-05-05, 01:13 PM
#11
Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
[QUOTE=Hiro11]
I'm definitely looking forward to it, the first book seemed to me like a combination of Harry Potter, the original (and very superior) Neverending Story book and King's "Gunslinger" series. QUOTE]
yeah, I know this is an ooold thread that I am reviving, but it's funny that you mention the similarity to the dark tower series. I'm not quite sure right now, as I just finished his dark materials, but I also keep coming back to a comparison of the two and feel like there are definetly some similarities there.
again, a very good series - the last book was great.
I'm definitely looking forward to it, the first book seemed to me like a combination of Harry Potter, the original (and very superior) Neverending Story book and King's "Gunslinger" series. QUOTE]
yeah, I know this is an ooold thread that I am reviving, but it's funny that you mention the similarity to the dark tower series. I'm not quite sure right now, as I just finished his dark materials, but I also keep coming back to a comparison of the two and feel like there are definetly some similarities there.
again, a very good series - the last book was great.
05-05-05, 10:36 PM
#12
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Too close to Kentucky
Posts: 1,420
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There is NO way a major motion picture studio will do justice to this series, The first two books yes, but to get the third book to film they will have to butcher it or the"Moral Majority' will have a field day. I personally loved the books but they will be hacked to bits to get these films released.
03-27-07, 10:36 AM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Hollywoodland
Posts: 471
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Golden Compass
03-27-07, 11:14 AM
#14
DVD Talk Godfather
I'll ignore the rest of the guy's resume and focus on About a Boy. This looks interesting. We'll see how long fantasy can stick around as a viable genre.
Eragon did poorly and I'd say Bridge to Terabithia probably has a similar $100MM budget which it will eventually recoup and surpass. So far the only "wins" are Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia and all those succeeded on the wild popularity of their source material.
Eragon did poorly and I'd say Bridge to Terabithia probably has a similar $100MM budget which it will eventually recoup and surpass. So far the only "wins" are Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia and all those succeeded on the wild popularity of their source material.
03-27-07, 12:11 PM
#15
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by The Bus
I'll ignore the rest of the guy's resume and focus on About a Boy. This looks interesting. We'll see how long fantasy can stick around as a viable genre.
Eragon did poorly and I'd say Bridge to Terabithia probably has a similar $100MM budget which it will eventually recoup and surpass. So far the only "wins" are Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia and all those succeeded on the wild popularity of their source material.
Eragon did poorly and I'd say Bridge to Terabithia probably has a similar $100MM budget which it will eventually recoup and surpass. So far the only "wins" are Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia and all those succeeded on the wild popularity of their source material.
I seriously doubt Bridge to Terabithia had more than a $40m budget, the visual effects accounted for about 10 minutes of the movie, and weren't exactly cutting edge. The movie has made about $80m so far, so its definitely a win for Walden/Disney (especially once the home video comes out), huge? Naw, but quite good.
Eragon was a heaping piece of shit that deserved to bomb. Had it actually been a good movie like the other 3 (well each is good to an extent) I'm sure we'd have a new franchise going.
Last edited by RichC2; 03-27-07 at 12:14 PM.
03-27-07, 12:39 PM
#16
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
I loved the book series but I'd be very surprised if the movie holds true to it. The books are very dark, extremely anti-organized religon and not afraid to describe children being coldly tortured and dying. The producers probably softened it up a little.
03-27-07, 03:44 PM
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 295
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by The Bus
...Eragon did poorly...
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=eragon.htm
Worldwide gross: $243,838,453
Production Budget: $100 million
Not counting foreign licensing income, dvd sales, etc, etc.
05-22-07, 02:15 PM
#18
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,664
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trailer is up:
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/thegoldencompass.html
Looks kind of...bland, with bad CGI to boot. Or maybe I'm just burned out on fantasy movies.
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/thegoldencompass.html
Looks kind of...bland, with bad CGI to boot. Or maybe I'm just burned out on fantasy movies.
05-22-07, 02:40 PM
#20
Moderator
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Nuff
Eragon was a flat out bad movie but it hardly did poorly:
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=eragon.htm
Worldwide gross: $243,838,453
Production Budget: $100 million
Not counting foreign licensing income, dvd sales, etc, etc.
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=eragon.htm
Worldwide gross: $243,838,453
Production Budget: $100 million
Not counting foreign licensing income, dvd sales, etc, etc.
11-11-07, 01:37 PM
#21
DVD Talk Reviewer Emeritus
Golden Compass: Please increase its box office by boycotting!
Okay, as some of you know, I'm coming from the atheist/agnostic worldview. I'm reading Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy to my daughter, and we're both enjoying it quite a bit. We're looking forward to the movie.
I guess I half-expected something like this, but I just got this message in my Inbox...
PLEASE, check this out!!! This movie, The Golden Compass, and starring Nicole Kidman is scheduled to come out December 7th and is being pushed as a Family Friendly film. We must inform everyone we know of the real message behind this movie. It is certainly not a film you want your children to see (the children in the movie kill God in the end) and we must not support it financially! The story behind this atheist created movie is found at Snopes (http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp). Please help spread the word about this "anti-God" film!
First of all, I'm a bit disconcerted to find that Snopes is being used in support of this kind of movement. Yes, the Snopes article is accurate in its findings. I enjoy reading Snopes for its typically unfailing research. However, I see nothing at all alarming in those findings. How refreshing that we’re getting a fantasy series aimed at children that doesn’t trot out the old Christian symbols and fantasies. How refreshing to get a different worldview!
I also wonder, what's the point of these kinds of boycotting efforts? Look what happened with Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. Protesters drew attention to the film, yes, but it ended up as a classic movie in his filmography and one of the more powerful, heartfelt films ever about Christ. It was completely misrepresented by those who sought to boycott it, because most had never actually seen or judged the film for themselves. I have always been an advocate of actually seeing a movie (or, for that matter, experiencing any kind of media or art) before passing judgment and urging others to blindly follow secondhand advice. Anyway, as always, the controversy did bring a lot of attention to the film...
But what's the motive behind movements like these? Is it insecurity? Is it a feeling of collective shielding against ideas that differ from those of the insular group? It's fascinating in a sociological sense. But also annoying.
I guess I half-expected something like this, but I just got this message in my Inbox...
PLEASE, check this out!!! This movie, The Golden Compass, and starring Nicole Kidman is scheduled to come out December 7th and is being pushed as a Family Friendly film. We must inform everyone we know of the real message behind this movie. It is certainly not a film you want your children to see (the children in the movie kill God in the end) and we must not support it financially! The story behind this atheist created movie is found at Snopes (http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp). Please help spread the word about this "anti-God" film!
First of all, I'm a bit disconcerted to find that Snopes is being used in support of this kind of movement. Yes, the Snopes article is accurate in its findings. I enjoy reading Snopes for its typically unfailing research. However, I see nothing at all alarming in those findings. How refreshing that we’re getting a fantasy series aimed at children that doesn’t trot out the old Christian symbols and fantasies. How refreshing to get a different worldview!
I also wonder, what's the point of these kinds of boycotting efforts? Look what happened with Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. Protesters drew attention to the film, yes, but it ended up as a classic movie in his filmography and one of the more powerful, heartfelt films ever about Christ. It was completely misrepresented by those who sought to boycott it, because most had never actually seen or judged the film for themselves. I have always been an advocate of actually seeing a movie (or, for that matter, experiencing any kind of media or art) before passing judgment and urging others to blindly follow secondhand advice. Anyway, as always, the controversy did bring a lot of attention to the film...
But what's the motive behind movements like these? Is it insecurity? Is it a feeling of collective shielding against ideas that differ from those of the insular group? It's fascinating in a sociological sense. But also annoying.
Last edited by Jason Bovberg; 11-11-07 at 02:35 PM.
11-11-07, 01:47 PM
#22
DVD Talk Limited Edition
My problem with all of these boycotting efforts is that none of these people have seen the film (and will probably never see it), so their point is utterly moot. If they've seen the film and disagree with its message, then by all means boycott it, but these people look like idiots by not having even seen what they are so furious about.
