The first volume of the HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, THE GOLDEN COMPASS.
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Golden Compass, The

Release Date: December 7, 2007
Studio: New Line Cinema
Director: Chris Weitz
Screenwriter: Chris Weitz 
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Dakota Blue Richards, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Freddie Highmore, Kathy Bates, Tom Courtenay, Ben Walker, Adam Godley, Simon McBurney, Nonso Anozie, Jim Carter, Clare Higgins, Jack Shepherd, Magda Szubanski, Christopher Lee
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller

Plot Summary: Based on author Philip Pullman's bestselling and award-winning novel, "The Golden Compass" tells the first story in Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. "The Golden Compass" is an exciting fantasy adventure, set in an alternative world where people's souls manifest themselves as animals, talking bears fight wars, and Gyptians and witches co-exist. At the center of the story is Lyra (played by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards), a 12-year-old girl who starts out trying to rescue a friend who's been kidnapped by a mysterious organization known as the Gobblers - and winds up on an epic quest to save not only her world, but ours as well. "The Golden Compass" stars an ensemble cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, and Ian McShane. The film is written and directed by Chris Weitz ("About A Boy," "Antz") and produced by Deborah Forte and Bill Carraro ("Frequency"). It is executive produced by Andrew Miano and Paul Weitz ("In Good Company"). "The Golden Compass" is scheduled for a Dec. 7, 2007 release.

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July 31, 2006 - Rumors have been floating around for a little while, but you can make it official, Nicole Kidman is set to star in THE GOLDEN COMPASS for New Line Cinema. [Hollywood Reporter]

July 17, 2006 - According to British tabloid The Daily Mail, Nicole Kidman is close to starring in New Line's upcoming fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials based on the novels of Philip Pullman. Kidman would play the sinister mother of a young girl who embarks on an adventure to a parallel universe in the first installment, The Golden Compass. Paul Bettany is reportedly in negotiations to portray Kidman's husband in the project. Chris Weitz will direct and adapt the screenplay. Filming is scheduled to start in September. [Hollywood Reporter]

June 29, 2006 - New Line Cinema has given the green light to production on THE GOLDEN COMPASS. The film will be based on Philip Pullman's best-selling His Dark Materials trilogy of fantasy books.

Dakota Blue Richards has been cast in the lead role of Lyra Belacqua, Chris Weitz is attached to direct, and production on the film is estimated at $150 million. Production will being on September 4 in the UK.

"Dakota made what should have been an extremely difficult decision quite easy," says writer/director Weitz. "We wanted a completely new face for Lyra, but I was surprised that any young girl, especially one without training, could light up the screen as Dakota does."

Helping to bring The Golden Compass to the big screen will be an all-star production team that includes Oscar-winning production designer Dennis Gassner (Road to Perdition, Big Fish), Oscar-nominated costume designer Ruth Myers (L.A. Confidential, Emma), and Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Mike Fink (X-Men, X2: X-Men United, Road to Perdition).

May 7, 2006 - Chris Weitz has found his way back to New Line Cinema's The Golden Compass. The multihyphenate, who penned the screenplay and originally was attached to helm the project before stepping down last year, is back in the director's chair for the adaptation of the first installment of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Anand Tucker, who had replaced Weitz, recently exited the film because of creative differences. Sources close to the project cited budget constraints. Weitz, who directed About a Boy and American Pie, jumped at the opportunity to return to the coming-of-age story. "Though I'm disappointed that New Line and Anand didn't end up seeing eye to eye, when I was told the job of directing 'Golden Compass' was open, there was just no way that I could pass it up." [Hollywood Reporter]

August 9, 2005 - Anand Tucker is in negotiations to direct The Golden Compass, the feature film adaptation of the first installment of author Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy for New Line Cinema. Chris Weitz, who adapted the book, was slated to direct but withdrew in December, and the search for his replacement encompassed more than 50 filmmakers. The studio went with Tucker in part because the helmer put together a presentation that included conceptual art, visual effects demos and a 20-page director's manifesto. Tucker also had extensive meetings with Pullman as well as Weitz. Tucker and Weitz will now work together to further develop the film's screenplay. The big-budget project will be a mammoth undertaking for the award-winning Tucker, who is known for character-oriented work, such as 1998's Hilary and Jackie and the upcoming Shopgirl. [Hollywood Reporter]

December 15, 2004 - Only days after acknowledging that he had removed references to God and the Catholic church in the movie adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Chris Weitz has removed himself as director. In a statement, Weitz said, "Though I remain honored to continue serving as caretaker of Philip Pullman's work on the page as this project's screenwriter, the technical challenges of making such an epic are more than I can undertake at this point." Today's (Wednesday) Hollywood Reporter quoted New Line production president Toby Emmerich as saying, "Chris over-delivered on the script, and I can only respect him for being realistic about the physical, emotional, and technical demands of the project." [Hollywood Reporter]

December 9, 2004 - Fans of the Philip Pullman novel His Dark Materials have expressed outrage over news that director-screenwriter Chris Weitz (American Pie) has removed references to God and the Catholic church in the movie. Weitz told a website set up by fans of the novel, bridgetothestars.net, that New Line Cinema, the company producing the film, has "expressed worry about the possibility of perceived anti-religiosity." He said that the studio had told him that if the references remained, the project would become "unviable financially." He remarked that he had discussed the matter with Pullman, who had told him that the role of the Authority (God) in his book, could be transformed into "any arbitrary establishment that curtails the freedom of the individual." The religious villains in the film, he said, "may appear in more subtle guises." He added: "you will probably not hear of the 'Church.'" One fan posted a message on the website calling the changes a "blatant cop-out to the Bible Belt of America." [Hollywood Reporter]

May 25, 2004 - AMERICAN PIE and ABOUT A BOY director Chris Weitz is in discussions to helm the first film in Philip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy. Based on the acclaimed fantasy novels (titled THE GOLDEN COMPASS, THE SUBTLE KNIFE and THE AMBER SPYGLASS), Pullman's books have been described as being more darker tha J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER series. The story is about two children existing in parallel worlds, one of them ours, and how they find a means to communicate with each other and then cross over. Along the way Pullman introduces fantastical creatures, magic, science and even religious philosophy into his tale.

New Line Cinema bought the movie rights to Pullman's works more than two years ago and hired screenwriter Tom Stoppard (SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE) to adapt the first tome. If a deal is struck with Weitz he will go back and write his version of THE GOLDEN COMPASS screenplay. [Hollywood Reporter]

February 5, 2002 - Hot, hot, hot off the success of filming all three LORD OF THE RINGS books back to back, it looks like New Line Cinema is getting interested in Philip Pullman's popular kids fantasy trilogy, HIS DARK MATERIALS.

Described in the VARIETY report as akin to the HARRY POTTER books but darker, the trilogy is made up of THE GOLDEN COMPASS, THE SUBTLE KNIFE and the just published THE AMBER SPYGLASS.

"Like HARRY POTTER or LORD OF THE RINGS, it's one of those books that captures your imagination and just runs with it," New Line production President Toby Emmerich told VARIETY. "We can take advantage of the CGI effects available now (and) bring this world to life in a celluloid universe. When LORD OF THE RINGS is over, hopefully we won't miss a beat."

The books tell the story of two kids caught up in parallel worlds churning with science, magic, and the battle between sin and childhood innocence. [Variety]