The Golden Compass director Chris Weitz sends this message directly to all Sraffies

“Dear fans of His Dark Materials,

For the past three years I (and a gigantic cast and crew of fans of the books) have been working to adapt The Golden Compass (aka Northern Lights). As you can imagine, the process can be both exhausting and exhilarating, and full of both challenges and surprises. Sometimes you discover reasons to modify the chronology or narrative path of the books in a way that serves the movie and the trilogy better.

I have decided, along with Scholastic and New Line and, most importantly, Philip Pullman, to shift the concluding three chapters of Book I of His Dark Materials to the beginning of the second film of our trilogy, The Subtle Knife.

To me, this provides the most promising conclusion to the first film and the best possible beginning to the second.

It has always been my main concern to portray Lyra’s world and her adventures with integrity. Throughout this process I have been in close contact with Philip Pullman; and I would not be doing this without his approval. As Philip has said, His Dark Materials is not three stories but one story – the story of Lyra. And where we pause to take a breath in the telling of it is a matter of choice and taste. But I hope that when fans see the film they will find their fears put to rest and their hopes fulfilled. For the film to be judged on its own merits is all that I can ask for.

Many thanks for your time. I believe you will find The Golden Compass a fit tribute to His Dark Materials when it comes out in December; and in the meanwhile promise to work diligently on burnishing its details and providing a solid footing for the launch of The Subtle Knife.

Very Best

Chris Weitz”

Philip Pullman has responded with this message of his own:

“The ending makes every kind of narrative sense. The National Theatre production ended the first part plumb in the middle of The Subtle Knife, and nobody minded that because in the only terms that mattered it worked brilliantly. Every film has to make changes to the story that the original book tells – not to change the outcome, but to make it fit the dimensions and the medium of film. I’m very happy with the work the filmmakers have done, and no-one wants this film to succeed more, or believes in it more firmly, than I do.”