The Movie
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Director
Chris Weitz will be directing the first film in the trilogy, The Golden Compass. The American director was initially appointed to the role in May 2004, after impressing New Line with a dossier detailing how he would handle the movies and a personal statement on his passion for the books. Mr Weitz then went on to do an interview with BridgeToTheStars in September of that year.
If the first film is successful, Mr Weitz may stay to direct the following two films; or the franchise may be passed between multiple directors - it is unknown at this time. New Line have said however that they plan to, if the first film does well, shoot and produce the last two books back-to-back.
Mr Weitz has had extensive meetings with Philip Pullman. The director remarked that he has "a tremendous resource in Philip Pullman. Part of the reason that I am writing this now is that Philip saw my treatment for the film and liked it, and we'e been in constant and very fruitful conversation, and I hope to continue that correspondence and collaboration. This is possible in large part because he is a very amiable and reasonable man. It takes a great deal of fortitude to watch someone adapt your work, but I believe he knows that I will do my very best to see his creation to the screen. He also knows that I am the first person to go to if there is any aspect of the film that violates his sense of the work's meaning."
Chris Weitz studied English Literature at Cambridge University, an experience he has said helps him appreciate where Pullman and Lyra are coming from.
There have been concerns raised that Chris Weitz may not have the necessary experience to helm a project which will undoubtedly feature huge amounts of computer graphics, large constructed sets, multiple numbers of cameras and a hefty budget. His previous films to date have been nothing like the undertaking His Dark Materials on film will be. Indeed, when he withdrew intially from the role, he cited "technical difficulties" as his motive, very humbly saying that he had not the experience for such a demanding project. [although for a more in-depth view of Weitz' departure, make sure to read below] A fantasy trilogy will certainly be a steep learning curve for Mr Weitz, but he only has to look to his New Line stable-mate, Peter Jackson, to see an example of how it can be done - for Jackson had, Heavenly Creatures aside, up to that point only really directed schlock horror movies. Hopefully Chris Weitz can rise to the challenge and become a superb director for the His Dark Materials films.
Trouble & Strife
The His Dark Materials film project has not been without its set-backs. In two years it has been through two directors, and a screenwriter. Stoppard comes and goes
The notable playwright Sir Tom Stoppard was initially in charge of the screenplay for the first film; his impeccable credentials and history of intelligentally scripted plays and films made him a favourite with fans. However, with the appointment in May 2004 of a director - Chris Weitz - Stoppard was quietly dropped. Sir Tom revealed:
"As far as I was made aware, New Line Cinema and Philip Pullman all liked it. Then Chris Weitz got the job. And he likes to write his own scripts.".
The move appears to have been indeed quiet - after submitting the script, Stoppard heard nothing since the appointment of Weitz and had to simply assume that his services are no longer required. Philip Pullman seems unable to shed any further light on the matter: he commented that for a long time he received no official notice that Stoppard was no longer involved. "Perhaps some of his script will survive," remarked Pullman. "I imagine this happens in the film world all the time."
New Line sent us a statement trying to explain their actions somewhat:
"We have an incredible amount of respect for Tom Stoppard and value his contributions to the His Dark Materials project. However, because Chris Weitz is a writer/director, we believe it is important to give him the opportunity to bring his vision to life.
After meeting with Chris, His Dark Materials author Phillip Pullman agreed with our assessment that Chris was the right man for the job. He is an Academy Award-nominated writer/director with an excellent take on the material and we are confident that he will do this wonderful story justice on the big screen."
Stoppard had completed a first draft of the script for Northern Lights when he was pulled from the project. Although it will most likely no longer be used, you can take a look at some of the changes from the novel which Stoppard had written in. Read them here.
Weitz comes and goes
Chris Weitz was initially hired as the director by New Line Cinema, but resigned from the job due to a series of events which can be recapped here. On May 25th 2004, Mr. Weitz was appointed, with very little fanfare, as director. Mid-September of that year, Weitz contacted BttS and very kindly agreed to do an interview with us. The interview is very much recommended reading for Weitz's vision of the film. Read it here.
Certain statements in that interview regarding planned treatment of the religious aspects of the His Dark Materials story caused controversy. The interview was belatedly picked up on by the wider 'news' media on the 7th of December, when the Times 'reported' it on page three under the provocative headline of "God is cut from film of Dark Materials," picking up on Weitz's comments about the necessity of toning down certain religions aspects of HDM in order to placate New Line and get the film to cinema. The story used some of Philip Pullman's other comments on the film, some from way before a director was even signed, and juxtaposed them to a negative effect next to Weitz's. The story quickly spread and New Line suddenly had a heap of negative publicity and ill-feeling on their hands. A week later, Weitz withdrew as director, citing the difficulties of "technical challenges."
It's certainly hard not to see a connection between events. Were New Line worried that Weitz's reputation had been tainted by the adverse news stories and decided to start afresh with a new director? Or did Mr Weitz perhaps have an attack of conscience and back out of New Line's censorous embrace before he became The Man Who Ruined His Dark Materials? When we contacted Weitz at the time, he stuck to the offical line and refused to be drawn further; perhaps due to the fact that he was then still attached to the project as screenwriter.
As for Philip Pullman, he gave a vitriolic attack on the Times story, calling it a distortion of the truth and mendacious journalism. Read it here. He clarified:
"There will be no betrayal of any kind. I would not have sold the rights to New Line if I thought they were incapable of making an honest film from the story I wrote. Every conversation I have had with them, every draft of every screenplay I have seen, reinforces my belief in the integrity and the good faith of the film-makers."
Tucker comes and goes
Mr Weitz stayed attached to the film, now filling the screenwriter role, with his script still in place. It took six months for a new director to be appointed - it was in August 2005 that the British director, Anand Tucker, won the seat. Mr Tucker did not speak publically a great deal about the movie, but production looked at last to be proceeding apace, with auditions held for the part of Lyra, in April 2006.
However, very suddenly in early May, Tucker quit the director's role, due to reported differences in creative opinion with New Line. Chris Weitz returned as director to film the first book using his screenplay. You can read New Line's press release regarding the matter here. The Hollywood Reporter also stated that "sources close to the project cited budget constraints" as a reason for the change in director. When we pressed New Line further, they were unwilling to present any real information past "creative differences."
Crew
The main crew positions for The Golden Compass are:- Production designer: Dennis Gassner (Road To Perdition, Big Fish)
- Costume designer: Ruth Myers (L.A. Confidential, Emma)
- Visual effects supervisor: Mike Fink (X-Men, X2, Road To Perdition)
The Internet Movie Database lists many other crew, but as user-created content it should always be taken with a pinch of salt.
The Golden Compass is being produced by Deborah Forte of Scholastic Entertainment and Weitz's Depth of Field production company. Paul Weitz (an Oscar nominee for About a Boy) and Andrew Miano will serve as executive producers on the film. Bill Carraro will also serve as a producer on the film.
As outlined in the initial press release for the films, Deborah Forte will be a producer on the films. Forte herself is rather passionate about the books and films. Here's a nice little synopsis of her role in the movies, taken from the Washington Post: 'When those films are made, they will owe their existence in no small part to Deborah Forte, the president of Scholastic Entertainment, who read "The Golden Compass" in manuscript form (it was published in the U.K. as "Northern Lights" in 1995) and promptly went after the movie rights. "I said, wherever this book is going, I want to go with it," recalls Forte, who is to produce the film project. She had a moment of wanting to make a movie right away, but after the second volume appeared, she knew she had to wait to see where the story was going. New Line sought her out after "The Amber Spyglass" won the Whitbread Book of the Year prize in 2001, and together they agreed to ask Stoppard to write an initial screenplay.'