Also in fantasy film news, His Dark Materials gets a new director in Anand Tucker, he of Hilary and Jackie and the upcoming Shopgirl. I haven’t seen either of these films, but at least it sounds like he’s already put some thought into it.
Tag: His Dark Materials
X3, III, & 3 Pulls.
Lots of fanboy trilogy news at ComingSoon today…Famke Janssen talks about the likelihood of Dark Phoenix in X3, word of a likely Episode III cameo breaks, and New Line announces it’ll shoot Books 2 and 3 of His Dark Materials back-to-back should the first one prove a hit. “New Line says the ‘Materials’ trilogy would soar far beyond the $350 million the studio spent on ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.” It’s good to see New Line continuing to make big gambles on fantasy adaptations, but still…it sounds a bit like the guy who doubles his money on black in Vegas, then goes ahead and throws it all back on the table. Ah well, our gain, I suppose.
Farewell, Iorek.
About a Boy helmer Chris Weitz is off His Dark Materials, apparently on his own cognizance. “It will be an extraordinary film, but at this point in my life I am not the right director to bring it to pass…the technical challenges of making such an epic are more than I can undertake at this point.” If so, bully for him for realizing it…but let’s hope hack directors of the Ratner-W.S. Anderson mold are kept well away from Pullman’s trilogy.
His Dark Malcontent.
And, speaking of people screaming down the Murphometer, what the hell got into Philip Pullman? “The Lord of the Rings is not a serious book because it does not say anything interesting, or new, or truthful about the human condition,’ he told [author Jeanette] Winterson in an interview in the December issue of Harpers & Queen.” Hmm…really? Coulda fooled me. But, then again, I guess people have just found truth, meaning, and solace in Tolkien’s trilogy for fifty years now because it has elves and wizards and dragons and stuff. Look, LotR may not be Pullman’s cup of tea — Lord knows, the last book of His Dark Materials certainly wasn’t mine, what with all its Milton-wannabe sermonizing and anti-Narnia heavy-handedness — but I see no real need to badmouth Tolkien so emphatically (and indefensibly.) Pullman was probably just trying to gain some indy cred with the fantasy-dismissive Booker prize types, but from here his remarks just come off as sour grapes. I really liked The Golden Compass, but, come on now…What a prat.
Filming the Fantasy Shelf.
Much recent news on fantasy-fiction-to-film projects has materialized of late: Christopher Nolan preps for The Prestige post-Batman, WETA readies Prince Caspian as the second film in the Narnia series (after The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe), and director Chris Weitz discusses his adaptation of His Dark Materials.
The Unsubtle Pie.
Will Chris Weitz of American Pie direct His Dark Materials? This sounds like a terrible idea at first…then again, I thought he and brother Paul Weitz did a solid job with About a Boy. Well, hopefully they won’t throw out the Tom Stoppard script too quickly…
Wonder Daemons.
“Pullman has looked around at this broken universe of ours, in its naturalistic tatters, and has indicated, like Satan pointing to the place on which Pandemonium will rise, the site of our truest contemporary narratives of the Fall: in the lives, in the bodies and souls, of our children.” Michael Chabon belatedly reviews the His Dark Materials trilogy for the NY Review of Books.
Animals strike curious poses.
Max of Lots of Co. points the way to these pics (and review) of the His Dark Materials play. Hmm. I must say the daemons look a bit…strange. Of course the real trick is how they move.
Now what?
With the Lord of the Rings sadly, inevitably drawing to its conclusion, the Post delves into His Dark Materials. Hopefully, the powers-that-be will have the sense to get Brett Ratner the hell away from this project.
White Bear Down.
Will Ridley Scott direct His Dark Materials? Monty Python‘s Terry Jones seems to think so. Hmmm, I dunno…I suppose a Scott Materials might be interesting, but it might also be Legend. Update: Debunked.