Lyra Cast and Movie to Begin Production
Posted on by Ian

Dakota Blue Richards has been cast in the lead role of Lyra Belacqua. Richards, 12 years old, landed the role after filmmakers conducted an extensive casting search. More than 10,000 young girls attended open calls in Oxford, Cambridge, Exeter, and Kendal, before Richards was chosen from the Cambridge call for a further audition and subsequent screen test.

Philip Pullman commented, “I'm delighted with the casting of Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra. As soon as I saw Dakota's screen test, I realized that the search was over. Dakota has just the combination of qualities that make up the complicated character of this girl, and I very much look forward to seeing the film take shape, with Dakota's Lyra at the heart of it.”

New Line have given the go ahead to production on [i]The Golden Compass[/i] film and filming will begin September 4th, for a scheduled November 16th, 2007 release date.

Read more.

New Line Cinema Greenlights The Golden Compass for September 4 Start Date

12-year-old British schoolgirl to play Lyra in adaptation
of the first of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.

Film set for November 16, 2007 release date

LONDON (June 28, 2006) – New Line Cinema has officially greenlit production on The Golden Compass, the highly anticipated adaptation of the first of author Philip Pullman’s bestselling His Dark Materials trilogy, it was announced today by New Line’s Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne. Production on the $150 million-budgeted film is scheduled to begin September 4 in the UK, with Oscar-nominated writer/director Chris Weitz (About a Boy, Antz) at the helm.

“The Golden Compass is the most ambitious film that New Line has undertaken since The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and we have assembled a remarkable creative team, headed by Chris Weitz, to bring it to fruition,” comment New Line’s Shaye and Lynne.

Newcomer Dakota Blue Richards has been cast in the lead role of Lyra Belacqua. Richards landed the role after filmmakers conducted an extensive casting search throughout England, during which they saw more than 10,000 young girls. Open calls were held in Oxford, Cambridge, Exeter, and Kendal, before Richards was chosen from the Cambridge call for an audition and subsequent screen test.

“Dakota made what should have been an extremely difficult decision quite easy,” says writer/director Weitz. “We wanted a completely new face for Lyra, but I was surprised that any young girl, especially one without training, could light up the screen as Dakota does.”

Pullman adds, “I’m delighted with the casting of Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra. As soon as I saw Dakota’s screen test, I realized that the search was over. Dakota has just the combination of qualities that make up the complicated character of this girl, and I very much look forward to seeing the film take shape, with Dakota’s Lyra at the heart of it.”

Helping to bring The Golden Compass to the big screen will be an all-star production team that includes Oscar-winning production designer Dennis Gassner (Road To Perdition, Big Fish), Oscar-nominated costume designer Ruth Myers (L.A. Confidential, Emma), and Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Mike Fink (X-Men, X2, Road To Perdition).

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.

Based on the bestselling and award-winning Pullman novels, the His Dark Materials trilogy is comprised of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. It revolves around a young girl who travels to the far north to save her best friend. Along the way, she encounters shape-shifting creatures, witches, and a variety of otherworldly characters in parallel universes.

About Ian

A keen fan of His Dark Materials and Philip Pullman. Assistant to Paul Temple and Sir Graham Forbes.
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791 Responses to Lyra Cast and Movie to Begin Production

  1. ???!!!??? says:

    yes i like sammy she rox my world!! (i mean i really really like you) i go to your school my name begins with an s

  2. Rin says:

    weirdo peoples :laughing:

  3. maya says:

    Hi i am dakotas sis and she has blondy brown hair and blue eyes.
    mayaxxx

  4. Amz says:

    Honestly, anyone who believes all this bullsh*t on the internet is a complete twit. You have no proof of it, unless you can show us a picture BEFORE anybody releases them to ANYONE and it's a picture of Dakota.
    Which you can't do, as some people HAVE seen her pic already.

  5. Sammy says:

    when did we all turn against each other? :crying: i don't want us to be against each other

  6. Dan Radcliffe says:

    Dakota is my girlfriend so don't skit!

  7. Mikalay says:

    It's funny that you are all talking about Dakota Blue Richards, when the movie isnt coming out for over a year..

  8. Sammy says:

    why exactly

  9. Amz says:

    yeah don't be thick everyone here's obseesed with her why shouldn't we be talking about her lol!

  10. hi!!!!! says:

    hi sammy! i have been on your unfinished website! it is great keep up the good work! 🙂

  11. Amz says:

    on what!?!?! Sammy and Amz site?
    BTBs, who are you anyways?

  12. Sammy says:

    I think she means the one i am making for the people on this site

  13. william says:

    Hey Sammy, and whats the adress of the site??!!

  14. butterfly says:

    hi c!
    yeah, what is the adress

  15. Mad Larkin says:

    Hey guys Long time no speak :laughing:

  16. Mad Larkin says:

    ecoh ecoh ecoh ecoh ecoh ecoh man this plae is quite :wassat:

  17. mischa says:

    OMG! Huever pretended 2 b dan radcliffe is SUCH a loser! How sad!

  18. mysterygal says:

    GOOD LUCK DAKOTA!!!!! UR GONNA BE GREAT!!!!I KNOW IT!!!! :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :tongue:

  19. Amz says:

    hey Sammy, 'nother reason not to like …um, your colleague!
    mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm-hMMMMMM hMMMMM hMMMMMM…

  20. Sammy says:

    What the……amz what do you mean? :wassat:

  21. Amz says:

    you know now lol! 🙂

  22. Mad Larkin says:

    I have been reading back and do you know how difficult it is to understand your conversations lol 🙂

  23. Amz/KittyKat says:

    :laughing:it's for security so nobody knows what we're nattering on about lol!

  24. Mad Larkin says:

    To anyone who sees this remember this name Dara McKeagney 😉

  25. Sammy says:

    lol yes, but where do you come from because we use english expressens

  26. Mad Larkin says:

    I'm a born and bred Paddy :laughing:

  27. Sammy says:

    where's that?

  28. Mad Larkin says:

    I'm from IRELAND :laughing:

  29. Mischa says:

    OOH! I have a bit of Irish blood! (and german, and jewish, and italian… and, and…)

  30. Mad Larkin says:

    LMFAO

  31. mogglemoose says:

    wHY SHOULD WE REMEMBER DA NAME, Mad LarKin? Is it yoUrs?

  32. Mad Larkin says:

    It could be just remember it.It may very well mean something in the coming 6 months or so 😉

  33. Mischa says:

    what does lmfao mean?

  34. Mischa says:

    r u gonna b in a film or something? I might b 2 (giggle! hopefully!) if so, just say da name of da film. its ok.
    Ha! Da code i just had to type in was: HDMDR (HIS DARK MATERIALS DAKOTA RICHARDS. What a coincidence!

  35. Mad Larkin says:

    Laugh my fat a** off

  36. mogglemoose says:

    What? About u being in a film or the code micha typed in?

  37. Mad Larkin says:

    I like this site and this forum and my dads got a friend in the film industry and I've already got a front of the line ticket into the Will aduitions whenever they happen and after seeing the stick that Dakota (or not)got when she came here I just like to make sure

  38. Mad Larkin says:

    Where did everybody go 🙁

  39. Sammy says:

    hello! i am a hopefull for that film to…… 🙂

  40. Mad Larkin says:

    What roll?

  41. Mad Larkin says:

    This place gets too quite so just e-mail me at Larks_Bragg@Hotmail.com

  42. Mad Larkin says:

    Well guys I have to go in about 5 mins so if you wanna say something say it now.Although your e-mails are welcome.

  43. Mad Larkin says:

    Bye.See you all next weekend

  44. Amz says:

    So have you been cast for a movie, Mad Larkin?

  45. Sammy says:

    its the lead roll 🙂

    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

  46. Mischa says:

    What do you mean Sammy? Inkheart? 😉

  47. Mischa says:

    Oh! Sammy! I posted my audition tape today! Fingers crossed! XOXOX 🙂 :laughing: 🙂 :laughing:

  48. amz says:

    …Sammy…

  49. Hazel' says:

    I walked past the location where HDM was being filmed a few days ago.
    It was exciting.
    I was eating a marmite sandwhich as i walked past, and i glanced behind the lorry/vehicle thing blocking the view down, and i saw Nicole Kidman.
    I don't own a camera, otherwise i'd have taken a photo.
    Or maybe i wouldn't have taken a photo,
    as i was so mortified that Nicole Kidman had seen me eating a marmite sandwhich.
    Which is besides the point.
    Aaaanyway. Swiftly moving on.
    I've been reading that you've all got very interesting heritages.
    Not as interesting as mine. Oh no xD
    My heritage is extremely strange-io indeed.
    Aaanyway. I'm making this post muchly too long, so i'll stop writing now.

  50. Sebastien says:

    HHHAAZZZEEELLL'!!!!!!