The director of The Golden Compass, Chris Weitz, has forwarded us his written response to the Atlantic Monthly regarding their article we reported on last week.
Dear sir or madam:
Hana Rosin’s hatchet-job on my film of Philip Pullman’s novel The Golden Compass (and by extension, me) is so comprehensive in its disdain, one might go so far as to imagine she had seen the movie!
She hasn’t, of course, though that fact was not mentioned in her assemblage of carefully cut-and-pasted quotes and surmises pumped up with paraphrase. One is put in mind of a line from the Good Book: “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” For example: it is true that I said that clerics and religious people had been presented as boobs and hypocrites in many Hollywood films in the last few decades. But her statement that this was to me a “solid explanation for why [I’m] not selling out” is entirely her own invention. We were talking about entirely different things at the time during our interview, and the notion that I somehow regard myself as doing the religious right a solid is grotesque.
Elsewhere she simply seems not to have finished her background reading. If she had, when she got to the end of my script she might have noticed that the Genesis story she says I have stricken from the movie is addressed, though in the mouth of the villain Mrs. Coulter. “A long time ago, one of our ancestors made a terrible mistake. They disobeyed the authority. And that is what brought Dust into the world. And ever since then, we’ve been sick. Sick with evil – sick with Dust.” It shouldn’t take much for somebody with half a brain to understand this, and Rosin, who writes about theology, ought to be able to catch it, but evidently it didn’t suit her thesis, which is that I “sold out” the book I happen to love. What did I sell? Who sold the rights to the books? Not me.
From the article we discover all sorts of new and interesting information – Hollywood studios are afraid of controversy! Actors sometimes don’t have an easy time answering press questions! — and, indeed, some fascinating paradoxes. A page after a lengthy description of religious imagery in the film, we find that one of the characters, “flies over a land denuded of religious imagery”. Eh? I suppose one can blame an overenthusiastic caption-writer for that one.
It has been an interesting experience to be accused of forwarding the aims of a stealth-atheist conspiracy and of selling out the secular ideals of a great work of literature in the same month. Thank you for expanding my sense of the absurd!
Yours,
Chris Weitz
Los Angeles, California
November 11th, 2007
Thanks for this! Great!
It is so many things…we can not let us fall down on this. Let’s wait and see what Cris have done. I am sure he made a great job. By the way, i like the change about Billy Costa. It’ll work much better than Tony.
Now we understand why Ma Costa goes to the North.
“A long time ago, one of our ancestors made a terrible mistake. They disobeyed the authority. And that is what brought Dust into the world. And ever since then, we’ve been sick. Sick with evil – sick with Dust.â€ÂÂ
Do you think this text of Mrs. Coulter will be in the movie, or is in the end that will be put on Subtle Knife?
A little bit sarcastic on his side. It’s perhaps warranted, but I can’t help wishing that he’d made a more serious and robust defence of himself and the film…
It must be frustrating to be accused of so many things and to not be doing any of them. I’ve never doubted that Chris loved the books enough to put everything of himself into them, and at the end of the day, we fans should be a little more supportive instead of finding reason after reason to declare TGC a failure — all before we’ve seen it.
I think he wants the audience to judge for themselves, and not to give too much away.
And I’m also glad that he included that religious reference alluding to Adam and Eve, to be said by Mrs. Coulter. It’s proof that religion hasn’t been completely removed from the film.
good to hear he still asserts that, “Those who will understand will understand,” is in order. his response is a bit strong. having read the full article, i don’t believe the writer attacks him personally and in fact tries to defend him a little as someone who really does see to the heart of the story but encounters resistance from the studio.
but i can understand that it must be stressful to feel attacked as a a pawn of the religious right and a heretic advocating stealth atheism at the same time. (but i thought you weren’t going to let that get to you?)
Chris Weitz gets points for a lively response. I feel a bit better. So I’m glad he did post the response.
Naturally, we fans of the books feel protective about this work. Someone else brought up the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. When I was a kid, I thought the movie was the story. Then I read the book, and even at that young age I just couldn’t stomach the movie anymore. As pretty as it was, it was not the best adaptation. A dream??? Dorothy really “went” to Oz and there was no dream. And it was a dark and fascinating world, the “real” Oz. Etc. I went on to read the rest of Baum’s 14 original Oz books and I’ve never regretted that. Perhaps as people watch the movie and think some aspects are pretty fascinating, they really will read the books, and discover yet another universe (or in this case, multiverses).
So this has all happened before, and it will all happen again (Thanks, Barrie!) and while I’m still suspicious of Weitz’s bosses (not him), I do feel that it was important of him to let us all know his side of the story.
I’m still nervous about the movie. I hope Will (and “Lord Asriel” at hisdarkmaterials.org) sees it and gives us all a very quick heads-up. But it’s still up to each of us.
Thanks again for responding, Chris. You’ve come under a lot of fire, an unenviable position.
This was a good way to start my morning.
I like the idea he’s promoting: you take away from the movie what you want to take away from it.
This just goes to show that whatever alarming reports/rumours we read we should not give up hope. I can’t help but reall look forward to this film, however it may turn out. It seems that Weitz is personally offended by what he deems as outright lies by the press!
“I’m still nervous about the movie. I hope Will (and “Lord Asriel†at hisdarkmaterials.org) sees it and gives us all a very quick heads-up. But it’s still up to each of us.”
Are Will and “Lord Asriel” seeing the movie soon??
If it’s true, great! Can’t wait to head theis impressions??
Anybody knows this?
It’s really a bit dungheadness to speak about something you haven’t watched yet. But press is full of that “I know everything” crap.
Wo0t!
That’s good news. 😀
We will see in a couple of weeks, don’t we? The whole article wasn’t so hard on the director – who after all is just a guy doing a job – but much more on New Line.
But ‘A long time ago, one of our ancestors…’ makes the whole
the whole thing plasusible? Hey, I know the book, I can fill in the real words in my mind!
Weitz attack on Roisin is a bit of a smoke screen the part about the Hollywood image of the church is:
“Weitz told me he tried to keep in a line where Asriel says, “Dust is sin,†but “that didn’t make it. What can I say?†Hollywood “is just terrified that anything that brings up religion or anything controversial will be disastrous.†But after three years of working on the movie, he’d come up with a solid explanation for why he’s not selling out: In the ’80s and ’90s, Hollywood was “scornful in a very intellectually unsound way about religion. Any priest or nun was a dogmatic idiot. So I think there’s something valid in the way the Christian community has responded.â€ÂÂ
There will be some religious imagery in the movie, Weitz said, but it will be blended so unobtrusively into the production design that it will take a “DVD player and working knowledge of Latin to decipher the symbols.†Outside the Magisterium buildings will be icons of Orthodox saints. Sprinkled around the movie will be Latin inscriptions from the Vulgate translation of the Bible, including one in Mrs. Coulter’s bedroom that refers to eating from the tree of good and evil. “Kind of a little joke between me and me,†Weitz told me.”
I still fear to see this film, but I will and after the seeing the trailers, I will still like/love a lot about it!
But Mr. Weitz panic attack has done nothing to ease my heart!
We will see how Weitz stands when the film is released!
Nice try Mr. Weitz, but no cigar before we hear whether you baby screams or just whimpers!
you are the bomb diggity Mr. Weitz, seriously— i feel ya
Well I feel kind of dumb for getting disappointed because of the “how hollywood saved god” article, I guess I shouldn’t get to any conclusion before I see that movie, And it was something that I criticized to many people..(the jumping to conclusions thing) I don’t know why I jumped to a conclusion because of that article..
Now this response makes me feel so much better and realize of my mistake.
Nevertheless, I’m not giving a concrete opinion of TGC movie.
I guess I got to wait and see with my own eyes this movie and have an opinion with all the foundations plus get to see if it is a GOOD adaptation…
Well hopefully the plan is this, that the REAL MEANING of the stories is held in the cut chapters of the Golden Compass and shown at the beginning of the Subtle Knife, it would be quite a “subtle” way of doing it,and gets by far the most veiwers. Sound ecomonics without betraying fans. and I hope for all that further film will be true to the books but if not ill settle for a “directors cut” dvd. Otherwise Weitz is toast
Chris is the one thing that has really shone through… jsut wished he’d been able to have more power over the studio instead of the otherway round. This film really hangs on a knife edge.
although i understand that the films will have to be a little delicate. But being P.C. (or R.C!) like this will be a little difficult on later films wouldnt it?
OMIGOSH I’M SO HAPPY NOW!!! Sin and dust are finally connected!!
I think this goes a little way toward mitigating the impact of the Atlantic article – and it’s certainly defensive. But one wouldn’t expect anything else.
I don’t doublt Chris Weitz is proud of his film, and has good reason to be proud, but I do think he’d rather have left parts in which the morons at New Line wouldn’t sanction. And that’s a pity, to say the least.
Thank goodness book publishers don’t (as often) blatently cut and censor as much as Hollywood.
Ooh, burn!
Right on, Chris!
This statement from him is absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait to see this film, and my respect and faith in Mr. Weitz has grown exponentially.
so why is it ok to be negative about Christianity? I have read MANY articles – reporting both sides and even tho Christians are worried over the results of the popularity of this movie, it seems that the rebutals are all similar from the author and producers… that Christians are wrong? that Christians are ignorant and not allowing freedom of speech? that God is a myth? I was SO upset when the author said he hated C.S. Lewis’s works… HATED!? it is ok for HIM to hate another author but a Christian defending his or her beliefs is called a close minded person for not liking this book? Amazing how the world is moving toward this type of recorded acceptance. sad. i love my Christianity and i will not allow someone to tell me i am wrong. i will choose to not see this movie and i choose to help alert other Christian parents of where this story line is from. I hope the dust is good for you all – sounds like a key to another world alright… but not one i want to visit.
Dear Christian,
just a list of things I personally hate about christianity:
Burning people who have a different point of view about the world, witches, heretics, homosexuals, people who think for themselves.
The traditional view of woman as the root of all evil and as inferior beings.
Making everybody uneasy and scared about their sexuality.
The crusades.
The people who demonstrate at soldiers funerals because there is a rumour that that soldior was gay.
Forcing raped women to have their babies and still treating them as sluts.
Sabotaging science and free expression.
I could go on for pages and pages!
Don’t learn history from your preacher!
Think for yourself!
Religion as a private thing is a private thing, if it becomes law it is EVIL!
Of course it is always safe to stay stupid and uneducated!
Calm down, Michael, if you hate a group of people based on the atrocities a small number have committed at various points in history – well, then, you’ll have to start hating the human race. You say ‘think for yourself’ but your tone implies you only support that as long as those beliefs tally with your own – just as close minded as certain Christians. Some Christians are thinking for themselves and make an informed, educated choice to believe in Christ. I’m no Christian, by the way, just someone who thinks that people shouldn’t be hated because of what they believe.
Anyway, I was just gonna say I’m glad there’s some hint of the Dust/original sin thing. It may be too oblique for most, and I find it funny Chris Weitz can offer it up in his defence when its clearly the most cowardly vague piece of writing. But I’m just glad it’ll make it sort-of-clear what the GOB’s motivation in their work is, cos I was worried they would just turn into villains carrying out pointless cruelty. It’s not effective without that self-righteous fervour to motivate it.
I’ve never understood christianity either. Surely if you are a christian your faith will be strong enough to absorb criticism, however, the fact that most christians are terrified of any “attack” on their beliefs points to what can only be a basic insecurity that these people have about their own creed. Christians must be worried on a subconcious level that the dissenters are right, if everyone reads these books after seeing the movie they won’t be able to go around telling everyone what to think (hopefully)
Dear Kyrillion,
my best friend is an anglican priest! There are enlightened christians, I just can’t take blue eyes idiocy.
The contriversy about HDM started long ago and all these reviews where people say: don’t read this, it is evil just make me sick. How weak must a believe be that it is threatened by a story?
I am not a christian but I know very well that my moral convictions are based for a good part on the story of Jesus, especially the sermon on the mount.
The Jesus I know from the gospels would chase those fundamentalist zealots from the temple with much harsher words than mine!
Oh, by the way, my priest friend was the one who introduced me to HDM because he liked it so much.
About Chris Weitz: I pity the poor chap, he caught between a hard place and several stones.
Dear cc:
Very well said!
Love,
Michael
Great stuff ! I love it. The passion is there.
Well, I understand if some of you don’t get the Christian faith, it is quite complicated, although teaches great morals.
It is NOT an evil, wicked thing if you are actually understand it. Of course it helps if you are one yourself (which I am), but that is your choice what you believe in.
Nice response. You can’t review something you’ve yet to see. Weitz seems like a genuinely interesting character although, I have to admit I am still mistrustful and wouldn’t put it anything past him.
I’m not so much concerned with the obscuring of some of the more overt religious messages in the books than with with the telling a brilliant journey. My worst nightmare would be if they ended up disney-ifying(?) the whole thing.
I get the christain faith! I see right through it. Believing in a stone age diety and his son is no gauruntee of being a good person.Besides, Jesus is a facet of an archetypal figure, the hero, that recurs throughout human history. The hero is born under unusual circumstances, is threatened with assasination and must be spirited away and when achieves maturity gathers a band of people around him to fight injustice, King Arthur,Theseus and Jesus are just three of his names. He is a psychological construct of the human imagination. Read Joseph Campbell or Jung, don’t tell me I don’t understand myths!!!
From this rebuttal I see that Weitz is a very good writer. This is reassuring. I loved his attitude in the letter, I love it when people write like that. I’ll reserve judgement on the film until after I see it.
cc, are you contradicting yourself? You just proved me right, you don’t really understand the religion as well as I do. Please stop taking small parts in a topic and stretching them to make your point clear unless you FULLY understand the topic yourself. Believe me, it is complicated and easy to misunderstand in a bad way. Please do not take this as an insult, but merely something to think about.
P.S. Jesus did not fight against injustice, but just taught us morals that every good person in this world follow today, no matter what religion they are in. As for your belief of from where these morals were thoroughly taught or if Jesus was real, is entirely your decision and I am not against whatever you believe in.
Dear Ian
My initial response to your comment was a little too hot blooded and thank you for being big enough not to react in kind. I grant you that the Bible is a repository of very practical wisdom when it comes to human relationships (i’m thinking of the book of proverbs) and Jesus himself is both a mysterious and uncomprimising figure (when he conjures the storm after taking his disciples out to fish on the sea and transforms himself into a terrifying aspect), but how can we know what was the original teaching of christianity when the bible has been so extensively re-witten to suit the agenda of the patriachal pollitical elite that use it? And I disagree that being moral in ones behavior isn’t helping fighting the good fight. It would take more time than I have on theis message board to fully understand where you are coming from with your beliefs Ian but I appreciate your cool headedness, Having seen organised religion at work in Russia and Latin America I get quite irate about this subject, hence my reactionary comments.
I think it is great that the writers have made changes to the film and twisted the story. It adds excitement and interest to what is going to happen next, it would be boreing if it was the same as the book. I see Lyra and her best friend Roger going on more journey into un-known worlds. Am maybe even Lyra is kidnapped and Roger saves her and maybe the film of the last book Roger sacrifices his own life to save Lyra.
I’ve only just seen this, and it does make me feel a bit better, though I’m still reluctant to allow myself to get too excited until I’ve seen the film. It’s very easy to overreact to the slightest thing when you are so desperate for the movie to be great, and I do think I overacted a little bit to the article.
I didn’t think the article was unflattering to Weitz, quite the contrary, but I can see how he must feel very protective over something which he has clearly poured a lot of himself into. He has a devotion and commitment to this film which is very reassuring.