The Firework Maker’s Daughter, I was a Rat! Or the Scarlet Slippers, Clockwork or All Wound Up and The Scarecrow and His Servant, four of Philip Pullman’s most beloved children’s books have been published in a beautiful gift edition, illustrated by Peter Bailey.
Four Tales is available in hardback on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
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In a recent interview with the Guardian, Philip Pullman comments on the use of CGI as a possible reason for the failures of many film adaptions of fantasy books.
“We don’t believe it any more.” He said. “Or we know that it’s only computers.”
He also addressed the ever present question: Will there ever be a Subtle Knife movie?
“They would have to recast [Lyra]. It’s lost really. It’s gone.”
Maybe one day a movie executive will stumble upon His Dark Materials again and they might have the chance to re-imagine it in a way that will please the sraffies worldwide, as well as Pullman himself. However, Pullman said that it would have to be an antirely different film.
“I would rather it was made in someone’s shed with tin cans and bits of rope. I think it would be more involving – to be made for about 10 quid, rather than $200m.”
So, anyone have any tin cans or rope lying about?
Lyn Gardner has reviewed the Birmingham Stage Company’s production of The Firework-Maker’s Daughter in The Guardian. Gardner praises the set design and other aspects of the production, but has some reservations about the acting itself, describing the river pirates as ‘a little too broad, nudging the story into pantomime’, and the acting of the adults playing children as ‘over-emphatic’. Ultimately, however, she feels that the play is a good adaptation of Pullman’s novel, and that children will enjoy it.
The Firework-Maker’s Daughter will show at the Birmingham Old Rep Theatre until 28th January. To book tickets, go to the Old Rep website.
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Philip Pullman has opened a podcast series on the Guardian’s website, which features famous authors reading their favourite short stories. Pullman’s choice is The Beauties, written by Russian author, playwright and physician, Anton Chekhov. Talking about the story, Pullman notes how little short stories actually need plots, and how he, an author well known for his intricate plot work, has never been able to successfully write a short story.
Other podcasts in the series include Jeanette Winterson reading Italo Calvino’s The Night Driver, Margaret Drabble reading Katherine Mansfield’s The Doll’s House and William Boyd reading JG Ballard’s My Dream of Flying to Wake Island.
Thanks to BlackSatinDancer for letting us know.
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Philip Pullman has recently spoken out against the Liberal Democrats, stating that he would never have backed the party if he had known they would break their tuition fees pledge, a pledge which earned them a lot of votes from students, prospective and current.
Pullman also said that “the promises [they made] bear little relation to what they’re doing now”, a sentiment that is shared by actor Colin Firth, musician Milly Bragg and fellow author Kate Mosse.
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