Latest News
|
|
|
|
|
|
Philip Pullman will share his perspectives on “contemporary cultural issues and the value of culture in modern times” at the Oxford Inspires’ Cultural Platforms 2010 event (held at the Said Business School in March). The event will be open to invited guests, and to the general public via a live web-cast of the talk and a web chat with Pullman himself. The topic for the web chat will be “culture”. Email questions to be put to Pullman at sarah.pakes@oxfordinspires.org.
Philip Pullman writes that one of the chapters from Northern Lights, ‘A Outrance’ (’Mortal Combat’ in US editions) has been released as an illustrated letterpress book by small publisher Oaktree Fine Press. This is the chapter in which Iorek Byrnison fights Iofur Raknisson for kingship of the armoured bears.
- Read more -
Posted by Aletheia Dolorosa on November 13, 2009 in The Golden Compass movie
In a recent interview in The Telegraph about the upcoming New Moon film, The Golden Compass director Chris Weitz speaks out about studio interference in his adaptation of Philip Pullman’s book.
“All I can say is that with The Golden Compass, I didn’t get to make the movie I had planned to make. When I look at the film, at the casting and certain scenes, I’m very happy. As for the final product, I can’t vouch for that.”
So does he regret making the film? “I wouldn’t have made it had I known how it would pan out, but I learned a lot.” Such as? “For a start, I learned that you have to be in complete agreement about what kind of film you are going to make at the beginning of the process with the studio!
Source
Thanks to Skye for this information.
Posted by Aletheia Dolorosa on October 14, 2009 in Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman retold the English Traveller folk tale ‘Mossycoat’. The retelling was published in The Observer on Sunday, 11 October and can be found here.
- Read more -
Philip Pullman commented in an opinion piece on the legalisation of drugs in The Observer today, saying “Should drugs be legalised? Of course, and as soon as possible. … Legalising drugs would have three huge and immediate benefits: it would cut the link between drugs and crime, and empty the prisons; it would ensure that supplies were pure and reliable and not cut with chalk or worse; and it would provide a vast new source of tax for the Treasury.”
Posted by Aletheia Dolorosa on September 19, 2009 in The Butterfly Tattoo
Cambridge film-lovers were the first in Britain to see the film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novel The Butterfly Tattoo. The screening, which was part of the Cambridge Film Festival, was followed by a question and answer session with director Phil Hawkins and stars Jessica Blake (Jenny), Duncan Stuart (Chris) and Christopher Dane (Fletcher).
- Read more -
Jesus Christ as the son of God was nothing more than the literary invention of St Paul, according to Philip Pullman’s new book. In it Pullman seeks to retell events from the bible with more ordinary interpretations. Whether the book will draw the ire of the church or pass under its radar will depend on media interest over the next few months. The book is set to be published by Canongate, next Spring, so watch this space.
For more information see the TimesOnline article: Philip Pullman writes off Christ ‘the scoundrel’
Time Magazine’s Lev Grossman had the chance to speak to Chris Weitz briefly last week at Comic Con and asked him about the experience of picking up a film franchise from the second film, with an established readership and fanbase. The director again praised Summit Entertainment, the producers of Twilight and its sequel New Moon, and compared their dedication to New Line’s: “With Golden Compass I felt that by being faithful to the book I was working at odds with the studio.” Read more. Thanks again to Haku for the tip. Discussion continues here.
As many members of fandom are well aware, Comic Con 2009 has just passed. Golden Compass director Chris Weitz participated in Summit Entertainment’s Thursday panel to promote Twilight sequel New Moon. While answering questions regarding his new work, Weitz referenced his work on the film adaptation of the Golden Compass and confirmed what many fans have believed, “The last film that I made was recut by the studio, and my experience with it ended being quite a terrible one.” (Source: Cinema Blend)
The director described his work with Summit Entertainment as rejuvenating, in comparison to his previous work with New Line, and remarked, “I now remember how much fun it can be to make a film.” (Source: Ropes of Silicon) However, it was not a complete loss, as the director found the process to be a rather instructive for him with regards to the use of CGI. (Source: Time) Thanks to Haku from our French community partner Cittàgazze for pointing this out to us. The discussion continues here.
Posted by jessia on July 22, 2009 in Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman will be able to direct the discussion personally this October when he lectures at Open University. Having already spoken to a number of reporters on the vetting scheme, the children’s author will have the floor to himself 21 October:
“The trouble is that they never give you enough time or enough space to go into the subject properly. So on 21 October I’m going to give a lecture to the Open University, which will be put online, in which I’m going to examine the whole area. It seems to me that there are several issues in conflict here, and it’s worth exploring them in full.” Read more.
Posted by jessia on July 16, 2009 in Philip Pullman
Earlier today, Philip Pullman spoke to Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 about his decision to longer make school visits in the wake of new rules that require guest writers and illustrators to register with the national Independent Safeguarding Authority, effective in the next school year. He spoke out against the underlying assumption that any visitor entering a school intends to do harm, and insisted upon the safety of children under existing protocols for guest speakers. Vine also spoke to former child protection officer Rebecca Andrews who defended the vetting scheme.
You can listen to the interview again on BBC’s iPlayer. The broadcast expires in seven days (on 23rd July). Vine does not discuss the matter until later in the program, so if you’re only interested in hearing about the new scheme, skip to 1:42:20. Thanks to Jason and Chris for letting us know. Discussion continues on our forum.
Posted by jessia on July 13, 2009 in Philip Pullman
The Guardian’s Alison Flood reports: Alongside other prominent children’s authors, Philip Pullman has condemned new rules that will require guest writers to register themselves with the Independent Safeguarding Authority in order to visit schools. The author compared the vetting scheme with the notorious legislation which banned the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools throughout the 1990s. “It seems to be fueled by the same combination of prurience, sexual fear and cold political calculation.” In protest, Pullman will no longer be making school visits, also acknowledging that other authors dependent on income generated from schools visits would be unable to make such a statement. “It’d be a great shame for me but I’m not going to under these circumstances.” Read more. Thanks to BlackSatinDancer for the news tip.
Andrew Ffrench reports: Local author Philip Pullman will be participating in Oxfam’s book collection drive this coming Saturday, 4 July at Oxford’s St. Giles store. Manager Nihal Alahendra revealed his delight that Pullman would volunteer: “It’s very exciting because he’s actually one of the world’s best-selling authors. The fact that he wants to get his hands dirty in a second-hand book shop is a tribute to the work Oxfam does.” The author will meet fellow volunteers at help to price books, stack shelves, work at the til, and is also happy to sign fans’ books. “If someone approaches me with a hopeful expression holding one of my books then I will do the usual thing and sign it for them.” Read more. Thanks to Kinders for lettings us know.
Phil Hawkins, director last year’s film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s The Butterfly Tattoo, has recently posted on the surge in online popularity of the award-winning film in the wake of its DVD release. However, although the film is currently IMDb’s 75th most researched title, it has met neither proportionate financial return for the investors, nor better prospects for theatre distribution.
Though TBT can now claim online distribution upward of 200 000 copies (a conservative estimate), cast and crew are left with mixed feelings. “Great for my career, terrible for my wallet,” commented lead actress Jessica Blake, who plays Jenny. “[…] we are a little indie film which has only had a small release in the US. How do the tens of thousands of people know it exists?” While Hawkins recognises the publicity power of illegal downloading, he also points out, “For our film, however, it is hurting us financially. […] we haven’t recouped the budget yet.” Producer Rik Visser described the situation as, “two years of work downloaded in six minutes.”
As an early supporter of The Butterfly Tattoo project, the community at BridgetotheStars.net strongly recommends that you to buy a legal copy of the film and support independent film making. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Netflix are currently stocking. While you wait for your DVD delivery, join the discussion on the director’s philmblog or at our forum, the Republic of Heaven.
Posted by jessia on June 11, 2009 in Pullman's gospels
Philip Pullman’s official site now includes the text of a lecture the author gave to the Blake Society in October 2005 at St James’s Church, Piccadilly.
“The word narrative suggests another meaning that system might have, and that’s mythology, with a set of stories about characters like Yahweh, or Zeus, or the giant Albion, or Jesus Christ. Mythologies deal with the creation of things, and the appearance of human beings in a world we did not create. I’m not aware of any mythology that says the universe was created by human beings; we always turn up afterwards, and the relation we have with the place we find ourselves in is part of what gives the system its emotional tone: determines whether it’s tragic, or optimistic, or dramatic, or whatever. Sometimes we are the rebellious children of the great creator; sometimes we are the children made by a sub-creator who rebelled against the first creator, like the creatures of Prometheus; but our presence here is accounted for in the story. We are part of everything that’s going on; even if we don’t fully understand it, we have the sense of coherence somewhere.”
Read the full text here (pdf).
Philip Pullman has responded to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent comments about the His Dark Materials trilogy, saying he must have “very good eyesight” to see traces of God in his work. “I am an atheist because I do not believe there is a God - but I am also a religious person, because I am interested in the questions religions deal with, such as why are we here, where do we come from, and what is good and what is evil. But that does not mean that we have to believe in God.”
Nick Ahad writes in the Yorkshire Post about his experience interviewing Pullman for the same paper, including a few more comments from Pullman on storytelling: “There are three steps: think of some interesting events, put them in the best order to bring out the connections between them and relate them as clearly as you can.”
Posted by Kinders on June 1, 2009 in Religion
Citing Philip Pullman as one of his favourite modern writers, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams said he liked his work because it took the church “seriously” at a time when theology was “drifting out” of mainstream thought. “[Pullman] takes the Christian myth, or a version of it, seriously enough to want to disagree passionately with it. It’s not just dull or remote, it’s dangerous. You’ve got to tussle with it. It’s still alive.” Dr Williams made the comments after telling the Hay Festival audience that he thought theology had become less relevant to the “intellectual mainstream” since the 19th century. Thanks to Skye.
The Yorkshire Post features an interview with Philip Pullman, in which he discusses writing His Dark Materials, religious controversy, and his latest work, a retelling of the story of Jesus:
“I’m fascinated by theology. The book I’m writing at the minute is about Jesus. I did a talk at the National Theatre with the Archbishop of Canter-bury, we were talking about the theology in the books and he said: ‘You don’t mention Jesus at all’, so I put him in the next book, The Scarecrow and his Servant. Nobody noticed, so I thought I better make it clearer. … I’m writing about this very interesting character called Jesus, who is very different from the character Paul calls Christ. I’ve been reading the gospels and reading around them. It’s fascinating - and I’ve also realised it can’t all be true.”
Pullman also talks about the stage plays and the movies. “In the fullness of time, if the rights revert to me I shall go over there (he points into his library) and cut out some cardboard figures and make it myself.” Thanks to Skye.
|
