Variety.com adds some new quotes from Anand Tucker about his appointment as director of His Dark Materials:

“It is a huge picture, and it is perhaps easy to be overwhelmed by the logistics, but at its heart, this is a cracking good story about a reluctant hero,” Tucker said. “All the effects and scale only work if they're marshaled in service of the story.” (That has to be one of the most refreshing lines we've heard in a long time about the direction in which these films are going–cheers to Anand Tucker)

On his persistence in getting the job, he says:
“I haunted Scholastic's Deborah Forte, who's producing it, then pestered the life out of New Line when they bought it, and quietly cursed Chris Weitz when he got the job,” Tucker said. “This has been a long campaign, but I am confident.” Read More.