The Golden Compass News
Craig bonds with 'Compass'
08/17/06Daniel Craig will star in "The Golden Compass," the first installment of an intended New Line trilogy based on the Philip Pullman series "His Dark Materials." Chris Weitz wrote the script and directs. Craig will play Lord Asriel, a ruthless and mysterious adventurer who is the uncle of Lyra Belacqua, the young girl who journeys to a parallel universe to save her best friend. Craig will be reunited with Eva Green, who played the "Casino Royale" Bond temptress Vesper Lynd. In "Compass," she plays a witch who helps the young girl navigate a world filled with shape-shifting and otherworldly creatures.
New Line casts witch queen
08/01/06Bond girl Eva Green will star as the queen of witches in "The Golden Compass," New Line's first installment of a potential trilogy based on Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials." Green, who just wrapped "Casino Royale" with Daniel Craig, has signed a deal for one film, with an option for two more if the studio completes the trilogy. Green will play Serafina Pekula, the witch who guides Lyra Belacqua (to be played by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards) on her journey to a parallel universe. Nicole Kidman was just set to play the villain Mrs. Coulter.
Kidman is 'Golden'
07/30/06Nicole Kidman will star in New Line's "The Golden Compass," portraying the villainous and glamorous Mrs. Coulter. Shooting on the $150 million production, based on the first part of Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, is set for September at London's Shepperton Studios.
Tucker to direct "The Golden Compass"
08/08/05New Line has made the left-field choice of British director Anand Tucker to direct "The Golden Compass," the first installment of the Philip Pullman fantasy trilogy "His Dark Materials." Given that the pic is New Line's most ambitious and expensive outing since "The Lord of the Rings," the selection of Tucker is a major surprise. His debut film from 1998, the low-budget musical biopic "Hilary and Jackie," garnered three Oscar nominations. He's since made just one film, the yet-to-be released Steve Martin comedy "Shopgirl." New Line was well aware of Tucker's resume and interviewed 50 directors since Chris Weitz left the production in December, citing the daunting technical challenges of the epic. But nobody wanted the job as badly as Tucker, who won it with a presentation that included a 20-page outline, conceptual art and visual effects demos. Pullman's trilogy is about a girl who travels to the far north to save her best friend, encountering shape-shifting creatures, witches and otherworldly characters in a parallel universe.. Tucker was hooked when he read the book almost a decade ago. He has since quietly lobbied for the directing job.
Weitz turns out lights on ‘Dark’ duties
12/14/04Citing the "technical challenges of making such an epic," Chris Weitz will not direct New Line Cinema's adaptation of the Philip Pullman trilogy, "His Dark Materials." The studio has launched a search to find his replacement.Weitz emphasized that his exit was not tied to creative differences. New Line plans to move forward with the script he penned for the film.
Weitz is New Line's 'Dark' dude
05/24/04New Line Cinema has hired Chris Weitz to direct "His Dark Materials," the Tom Stoppard-scripted adaptation of the award-winning fantasy book series by Philip Pullman. Weitz is in talks to take a pass at the Stoppard script and direct "The Golden Compass," the first of the three-book series.
Stoppard to pen 'Dark Materials'
05/16/02New Line Cinema is negotiating with Tom Stoppard to pen the adaptation of "His Dark Materials," the award-winning fantasy book series by Philip Pullman. The "Dark Materials" series, which New Line intends to adapt into a multimovie franchise, revolves around two kids in parallel universes who contend with shape-shifting creatures, witches, armored polar bears and myriad other visually spectacular creatures as they try to save other endangered children.
Fantasy 'Dark' sparks New Line
02/04/02With "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" soaring toward a $700 million international gross, New Line has landed rights to co-produce another ambitious fantasy series, "His Dark Materials," from a trilogy of celebrated kids' books by Philip Pullman.
© 2005 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
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