Philip Pullman's September message details his trip to the Shepperton Studios to survey the His Dark Materials movie. He reveals several cast members we knew nothing of beforehand:

• Tom Courtenay as Farder Coram
• Jim Carter as Lord Faa
• Jack Shepherd as the Master of Jordan College
• Simon McBurney as Fra Pavel

Of the cast as a whole, Pullman says he is, “astonished and delighted with every one of them, and with the others I haven`t got time to list. Take it from me: this is a brilliant cast.” He goes on to record his delight in the costume, animatronics and set design: “I could see from the artwork how sumptuous and extraordinary this film will look.” There's much more in the full message – boats, dresses and spies – so go read it.