Andrew Ffrench reports: Local author Philip Pullman will be participating in Oxfam’s book collection drive this coming Saturday, 4 July at Oxford’s St. Giles store. Manager Nihal Alahendra revealed his delight that Pullman would volunteer: “It’s very exciting because he’s actually one of the world’s best-selling authors. The fact that he wants to get his hands dirty in a second-hand book shop is a tribute to the work Oxfam does.” The author will meet fellow volunteers at help to price books, stack shelves, work at the til, and is also happy to sign fans’ books. “If someone approaches me with a hopeful expression holding one of my books then I will do the usual thing and sign it for them.” Read more. Thanks to Kinders for lettings us know.
Phil Hawkins, director last year’s film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s The Butterfly Tattoo, has recently posted on the surge in online popularity of the award-winning film in the wake of its DVD release. However, although the film is currently IMDb’s 75th most researched title, it has met neither proportionate financial return for the investors, nor better prospects for theatre distribution.
Though TBT can now claim online distribution upward of 200 000 copies (a conservative estimate), cast and crew are left with mixed feelings. “Great for my career, terrible for my wallet,” commented lead actress Jessica Blake, who plays Jenny. “[…] we are a little indie film which has only had a small release in the US. How do the tens of thousands of people know it exists?” While Hawkins recognises the publicity power of illegal downloading, he also points out, “For our film, however, it is hurting us financially. […] we haven’t recouped the budget yet.” Producer Rik Visser described the situation as, “two years of work downloaded in six minutes.”
As an early supporter of The Butterfly Tattoo project, the community at BridgetotheStars.net strongly recommends that you to buy a legal copy of the film and support independent film making. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Netflix are currently stocking. While you wait for your DVD delivery, join the discussion on the director’s philmblog or at our forum, the Republic of Heaven.
Philip Pullman’s official site now includes the text of a lecture the author gave to the Blake Society in October 2005 at St James’s Church, Piccadilly.
The word narrative suggests another meaning that system might have, and that’s mythology, with a set of stories about characters like Yahweh, or Zeus, or the giant Albion, or Jesus Christ. Mythologies deal with the creation of things, and the appearance of human beings in a world we did not create. I’m not aware of any mythology that says the universe was created by human beings; we always turn up afterwards, and the relation we have with the place we find ourselves in is part of what gives the system its emotional tone: determines whether it’s tragic, or optimistic, or dramatic, or whatever. Sometimes we are the rebellious children of the great creator; sometimes we are the children made by a sub-creator who rebelled against the first creator, like the creatures of Prometheus; but our presence here is accounted for in the story. We are part of everything that’s going on; even if we don’t fully understand it, we have the sense of coherence somewhere.
Philip Pullman has responded to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent comments about the His Dark Materials trilogy, saying he must have “very good eyesight” to see traces of God in his work. “I am an atheist because I do not believe there is a God - but I am also a religious person, because I am interested in the questions religions deal with, such as why are we here, where do we come from, and what is good and what is evil. But that does not mean that we have to believe in God.”
An article about nursing homes on Australian site Eureka Street references The Amber Spyglass and the time that Lyra and Will spend in the Land of the Dead.
Nick Ahad writes in the Yorkshire Post about his experience interviewing Pullman for the same paper, including a few more comments from Pullman on storytelling: “There are three steps: think of some interesting events, put them in the best order to bring out the connections between them and relate them as clearly as you can.”
Citing Philip Pullman as one of his favourite modern writers, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams said he liked his work because it took the church “seriously” at a time when theology was “drifting out” of mainstream thought. “[Pullman] takes the Christian myth, or a version of it, seriously enough to want to disagree passionately with it. It’s not just dull or remote, it’s dangerous. You’ve got to tussle with it. It’s still alive.” Dr Williams made the comments after telling the Hay Festival audience that he thought theology had become less relevant to the “intellectual mainstream” since the 19th century. Thanks to Skye.
The Yorkshire Post features an interview with Philip Pullman, in which he discusses writing His Dark Materials, religious controversy, and his latest work, a retelling of the story of Jesus:
“I’m fascinated by theology. The book I’m writing at the minute is about Jesus. I did a talk at the National Theatre with the Archbishop of Canter-bury, we were talking about the theology in the books and he said: ‘You don’t mention Jesus at all’, so I put him in the next book, The Scarecrow and his Servant. Nobody noticed, so I thought I better make it clearer. … I’m writing about this very interesting character called Jesus, who is very different from the character Paul calls Christ. I’ve been reading the gospels and reading around them. It’s fascinating - and I’ve also realised it can’t all be true.”
Pullman also talks about the stage plays and the movies. “In the fullness of time, if the rights revert to me I shall go over there (he points into his library) and cut out some cardboard figures and make it myself.” Thanks to Skye.
In a letter to the Observer today, a powerful alliance of public figures including Philip Pullman launched a campaign for a referendum on proportional representation on the same day as the next general election in the UK. They argue that the expenses crisis “reveals a nation governed by a political elite that has stopped listening and who are accountable to no one but their party machines”.
Philip Pullman will visit the West Yorkshire Playhouse on Monday, June 1 at 4.30pm, to talk about the theatrical adaptation of his books and the success of the novels and to answer any pressing questions the audience may have about his work. He will be in conversation with BBC Radio Leeds presenter Andrew Edwards. Tickets are free for all those with tickets to the His Dark Materials play, and £1 for everyone else.
Philip Pullman is interviewed in the Scotsman, commenting primarily on Off by Heart, but also discussing his personal life, atheism, fan mail and the His Dark Materials films. “If the studios don’t make the next two films, I might do them myself with puppets in the garden shed, like Noggin the Nog.” Thanks to Skye.
Philip Pullman talks about the Off by Heart competition in The Times. Showing as part of the BBC’s Poetry Season, the competition was a BBC Two project to coax children to dip their toe in poetry. “Not every child is a sporting hero or the most popular person in class,” said Pullman. “I’m all in favour of giving children an opportunity to shine in other areas, like poetry recital. … The standard was extraordinarily high.” Thanks to Skye.
The Huffington Post features an article on new film Angels and Demons that spends much time on the reaction of religious groups to the first His Dark Materials film, “perhaps [the] most controversial children’s movie of all time”.
Phillip Pullman, alongside, Ben Kingsley, Joanna Lumley, Diane Rigg, Zoe Wanamaker, Juliet Stevenson, Tony Robinson, Monica Ali and Joanna Trollope, is among 30 famous people backing the “Free Burma’s Political Prisoners Now!” campaign, calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all Burma’s political prisoners. The petition calls on United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to make securing the release of the prisoners a top priority.
Stephen Glover wonders “why the BBC can’t understand that we are STILL a Christian country” in an article in the Daily Mail, writing “At every possible opportunity it will wheel forward one of those professional atheists who are not happy to live silently with their own non-belief but are determined to shove it down everyone else’s throats. I am thinking particularly of the biologist Richard Dawkins, the novelist Philip Pullman and the philosopher A. C. Grayling. Can you think of a Christian biologist, novelist or philosopher who is afforded one-tenth of the airtime of these militant, omnipresent non-believers?”
Another article has appeared comparing and contrasting the His Dark Materials and Narnia series. “Philip Pullman may have been influenced by C.S. Lewis, but he departs from Lewis’ imaginative use of fantasy to create a world of adventure that is rooted in realism.”
Youth Health Talk is a free website featuring “a unique database of personal and patient experiences through in-depth qualitative research into over 40 different illnesses and health conditions”. According to The Guardian, the site features a video from Philip Pullman on the power of storytelling.
Philip Pullman is quoted briefly in an article on the value of the Open University: “[The OU is] one of the last remnants of the impulse towards real social inclusion and betterment that underpinned the welfare state. Nothing like it could ever be created today, and so much the worse for today.”
Chichester Cathedral chancellor Canon Dr Anthony Cane is exploring his fascination with storytelling in a new series of Chichester Cathedral lectures named “God’s Storytellers - From Milton To CS Lewis And Philip Pullman“. “For many people, stories will mean entertainment - and so they are,” said Anthony. “But stories also help us to understand ourselves and our society and our culture. Stories also help us understand what religious faith is all about.” The Pullman lecture takes place at the cathedral on May 19 at 6.30pm.
The Oxford Times features a review of the production of His Dark Materials currently running at the Oxford Playhouse. “It’s the daemons, one shadowing each major character, that really make this production. Sinuous, ever-moving puppets are used to create daemons in animal form, each with its own very distinctive personality. Magic and fantasy indeed.”
Andrew Ffrench reports: Local author Philip Pullman will be participating in Oxfam’s book collection drive this coming Saturday, 4 July at Oxford’s St. Giles store. Manager Nihal Alahendra revealed his delight that Pullman would volunteer: “It’s very exciting because he’s actually one of the world’s best-selling authors. The fact that he wants to get his hands dirty in a second-hand book shop is a tribute to the work Oxfam does.” The author will meet fellow volunteers at help to price books, stack shelves, work at the til, and is also happy to sign fans’ books. “If someone approaches me with a hopeful expression holding one of my books then I will do the usual thing and sign it for them.” Read more. Thanks to Kinders for lettings us know.
