Tom Baker of the Daily Yomiuri speaks to Chris Weitz in Japan after the the Tokyo premiere of The Golden Compass. While there is little new information for existing His Dark Materials fans, this is Weitz’s first interview since the media buzz around The Golden Compass’ English-language release to theatres. Asked if there will be a sequel, he answers: “I hope so. It’s interesting. At first it looked like we were down for the count because in the U.S. [the film] underperformed. But then internationally it performed really well. It went better than expectations. So, a lot depends on Japan, frankly. I certainly would be sad to not see a second or third film. I think if it does well enough here we’ll be in good shape for that.” Read more.

The Golden Compass opens in Japan this weekend to 700 screens.