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The David Fickling Comic, a project led by Philip Pullman’s publisher David Fickling to bring the classic comic back to the mass market, is to launch on May 30th. One of the regular comic strips which is scheduled to appear in the weekly publication is to be written by Pullman and illustrated by John Aggs. Entitled ‘The Adventures of John Blake’, Pullman’s comic is about a modern-day sailor named John Blake, who criss-crosses the Pacific Ocean encountering extraordinary beasts and events from a mythical past. The illustrations are according to The Times, Japanese-influenced. Pullman’s interest and participation seems to have been secured due to his enthusiasm about comics after being brought up reading them. Pullman has also stated an active interest in more contemporary graphic novels. To read what The Times has written about the project click here. To read more about the DFC project click here.
Figures are in for the Golden Compass’ performance in the DVD market during its first week of release. It came second in the US sales chart selling 1,046,538 units with a value of $21,966,838 (which was the top DVD gross for the week in America). Read more here. It also came second in the rentals market with a gross of $6.46 million. Read more here. In the UK the movie topped the DVD sales chart in its first week, although actual figures have been hard to come by. We’ll keep you posted on how it continues to do. Thanks to kincuri for the research.
Addenum: Further figures are in. The Golden Compass now sits 4th in the US rental charts having taken a little over $5 million gross in the last week leaving it with a rental gross of $11.8 million. In the UK the film continues to top DVD sales charts.
Posted by Ian on May 12, 2008 in Sally Lockhart
 The BBC film adaptation of ‘The Ruby in The Smoke’ starring Billie Piper is set to air in Australia this coming Sunday evening (May 18th) at 20.30 on ABC 1 (formerly Channel 2). You can see the listings here. Thanks to Australis for the tip off.
The home release of The Golden Compass movie on DVD, 2 disc DVD and 2 disc Blu Ray is today. You should be able to buy them from any regular store.
The South Manchester Reporter features an article about The Butterfly Tattoo film director Phil Hawkins, who is himself a Mancunian. The article discusses much of his upbringing in South Manchester and his subsequent development as a film maker. It discloses, however, that Hawkins and production company Dynamic Entertainment are hoping to be invited to show the film at the Cannes film festival and are currently on the longlist for invitation. Around 15 to 20 such films are normally shortlisted by the Cannes jury and this should be complete by the end of April. Hawkins also states that he hopes the film will be shown at June’s Edinburgh Film Festival and in Las Vegas. Read the article in full here. We’ll keep you posted on when the film is to be released!
Posted by Ian on April 26, 2008 in Philip Pullman
According to gossip-site Popbitch, Philip Pullman’s son got married last weekend in a full Catholic wedding ceremony. The words of Popbitch:
Wedding day bliss for Pullman
Philip Pullman may be one of our foremost
atheists but his son got married at the weekend
in a Catholic church with full mass, a choir
and a soloist who sang Ave Maria. Pullman even
gave a reading from Corinthians ending “God
is love”, to one or two raised eyebrows. He
didn’t, however, take communion.
Source.
With the DVD and Blu Ray releases of The Golden Compass movie due on April 28th, the theatrical release has finally reached US$ 300 million worldwide (not including the USA which is generally referred to as the domestic market), almost some five months after it was first released. Following a continued strong showing in Japan (where the movie was released in March) the 300 million mark was reached over the weekend. The film has now taken almost $33 million in Japan and the total figure for outside the USA stands at $300,695,060 - making The Golden Compass the first ever movie to make over $300 million outside of the USA while making less than $100 million domestically. The latest figures from boxofficemojo place The Golden Compass as the 109th best grossing film ever - hardly the bombing loss maker which it has been portrayed as by many in the media. The overall movie gross total now stands at $370,802,788 - if New Line Cinema had not presold foreign rights to the movie they would surely have broken even by now. You can examine the full figures here.
Website moviemansguide.com have reviewed the 2 disc blu ray version of The Golden Compass, due for release in just a few days time. They seem on the whole to be mightily impressed, in particular by the quality of the extra features. You can read their thoughts in full right here.
 You may remember that we reported back in December that Oxford City Council had rejected a planning application to redevelop the Castle Mill boatyard in the Jericho area of Oxford; however, according to the Oxford Mail, the developers in question, Spring Residential, have announced they intend to appeal against the decision. This is highly unpopular with many locals who have manned a long-running campaign against the proposal with support and patronage from Philip Pullman and others such as actor Kevin Whately (Morse, Lewis). It is rumoured that this latest turn of events will push the cost of the inquiries surrounding the proposal to over GBP 1 million of tax payer’s money. The hearing is expected to take place towards the end of the year. Read the article in full here.
According to website Abebooks, books by Philip Pullman are the 7th most collectible available. Alongside him in the top ranks of rare and collectible books are J.K. Rowling, Tolkien and Shakespeare. The data, which is based on 2007 sales, notes that a British signed first edition of Northern Lights sold for US$3500 at the height of Golden Compass movie mania last year. You can read more here. Thanks to community members Cittagazze for the tip off!
Posted by Ian on April 17, 2008 in Stage adaptations
The Gazette and Herald features further information about the His Dark Materials stageplay currently running at the Theatre Royal in Bath. It very nicely rounds up most of what is known and offers a few extra snippets of information. The play’s run ends on April 20th, so if you’re in the area your time is running out! Read more here.
Kenneth Li from Reuters reports, “About 40 to 50 existing New Line employees will remain at the division renowned for its blockbuster hit franchises, including the “Lord of the Rings” series,” while 40 employees will be rehired for new positions at Warner Bros. Meanwhile, 450 employees will lose their jobs all together, in a move to improve business performance and financial returns, according to chief executive Jeff Bewkes. “It was not immediately clear how much the company would save or what type of charges it would likely take as a result of the cuts.” Read more
Crew members from the recent film adaptation of The Golden Compass have indicated that many of the movie sets have since been destroyed (including Lee Scorseby’s balloon) and general props sold on to rental houses. Although this is generally the fate of film sets sequel or no sequel, it appears that the likelihood of filming The Subtle Knife is is very low. Thanks to spyfly for the tip.
The Golden Compass movie website has been updated with a short clip from a behind-the-scenes extra on the 2-disc and blu-ray DVDs, where the special effects creators talk about their work. A trivia quiz on the movie has also been added to the website. Click here to find both.
As some of you may have noticed, the Fanart section of the site hasn’t been updated for quite some time. We sincerely apologise to everyone who sent in art during this period, but the problems have now been fixed. If you sent in your fanart over the last couple of months, and you cannot find it under your name here, then please send it to us again so we can add it to the gallery.
If you would like to display your own His Dark Materials art on our site, please e-mail it to fanart@bridgetothestars.net
Energy points us towards dvdactive’s revealing of a DVD cover for The Golden Compass that, if correct, would seem to confirm that an extended cut of the film is on the way. The cover has “2 Disc Extended Edition” at the top, which is quite clear phrasing. It doesn’t seem to be a finalised version of a DVD cover, however, and it’s getting a bit late in the day for an extended edition to be revealed. Click the image on the left to take a closer look.
Brighton newspaper The Argus report on a wintry incident in Dakota Blue Richard’s hometown of Hove. The paper reports that Dakota was “with a group that kicked to pieces a snowman and snow dog that brought a neighbourhood together.” Local shopkeeper Abe Restoto, outwith whose store the snowman was constructed, lamented that “”We put our heart and soul into that snowman.” He said of Dakota, “She went from cool to uncool in a very short space of time.”
The film star’s agents have responded, saying that, “It was a game that obviously somewhere along the way went awry. It was not done with malicious intent at all.”
Local residents don’t seem too upset however: most of the comments on the Argus’ website criticise the newspaper for running the story in the first place. It has been picked up by the Telegraph as well though.
Posted by Ian on April 10, 2008 in Stage adaptations
 You can read more about the Young People’s Theatre of the Theatre Royal in Bath and their staging of the His Dark Materials stage adaptation in today’s Wiltshire Times. Amongst various snippets of information gleaned from the article is the fact that Lyra will be played by three different actresses. Read more here.
This contest is now closed. Thanks to all who entered.
BridgetotheStars is giving you the opportunity to win one of three copies of The “Golden Compass”: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion which we have to give away courtesy of Lisa Edwards at Scholastic. The book, by Brian Sibley, is an excellent and comprehensive companion to the movie adaptation, with fantastic photography and illustration and good discussion of the production techniques. Definitely not just for children and quite certainly one for all His Dark Materials fans! Amongst critics, the Bookwitch gives the book high praise. To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the following question:
In which British city will the theatrical adaptation of His Dark Materials be staged from April 13th?
Email your answer along with your name and full address to bridgetothestarscontest@gmail.com to enter the contest.
The contest will close at midnight GMT next Friday (April 11th).
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You may remember that we reported back in December that Oxford City Council had rejected a planning application to redevelop the Castle Mill boatyard in the Jericho area of Oxford; however, according to the Oxford Mail, the developers in question, Spring Residential, have announced they intend to appeal against the decision. This is highly unpopular with many locals who have manned a long-running campaign against the proposal with support and patronage from Philip Pullman and others such as actor Kevin Whately (Morse, Lewis). It is rumoured that this latest turn of events will push the cost of the inquiries surrounding the proposal to over GBP 1 million of tax payer’s money. The hearing is expected to take place towards the end of the year. Read the article in full here.
Italian His Dark Materials fan Luca sends over these rather cute miniatures of the Golden Compass characters as they are in the film (click thumbnails for larger photos). Those hoping to get their hands on them will have to be disappointed - they’re for the artist’s personal delectation only.
