Movies - His Dark Materials

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	Movies - His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials is a proposed movie based on the His Dark Materials trilogy of books by Philip Pullman. It has been announced by Producer Sheila Hanahan that The Golden Compass is scheduled for release in December, 2007 by New Line.

In early 2002, fresh off their phenomenal success with The Fellowship of the Ring
, New Line Cinema purchased the film rights to the His Dark Materials trilogy. The period of time following the success of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter saw relentless acquisitions of fantasy titles by film studios.

Tom Stoppard wrote a draft for the first entry in the planned film trilogy, "Northern Lights" (or "The Golden Compass," as it is known in America), and Sam Mendes was rumoured as a possible director.

Chris Weitz was hired as a controversial choice to direct. His previous credits, punctuated by the teen sex comedy American Pie
, seemed deficient to many fans of the series. In an even more controversial maneuver, Weitz (and New Line) chose to drop Sir Tom Stoppard's screenplay in favor of one penned by Weitz himself. Following an with the fansite there were published rumours that certain thematic elements of the books, namely what some deem to be an anti-religious tone, had been dropped to avoid stirring up controversy amongst the conservative factions of the United States.

In December of 2004, Weitz reportedly resigned as director of the franchise, citing the extreme scope of the series as a personal deterrent.

Anand Tucker was hired as a new director on the 8th of August 2005. The British director beat out over fifty other interested filmmakers with an impressive presentation consisting of conceptual art, visual effects demos, and a 20-page director’s manifesto. He seemed to impress Philip Pullman too, who commented, "I warmly welcome Anand Tucker as director of the first His Dark Materials film. He respects the integrity of the narrative and will maintain that integrity in the film-making process. His ideas are exciting and well thought out, and I greatly look forward to seeing the project go forward in his hands."

Cast

No official cast yet, but rumored involvent includes; Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter, Gerard Butler as Lord Asriel, and unknowns as the children.

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