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Philip Pullman cast fresh doubt on the big screen future of the trilogy, revealing he has yet to receive any contact regarding filming for The Subtle Knife. Talking to The Independent, he explained:
“I know everyone would like to see a sequel and I know I’d like to see it. When the first film was in production, I was talking to the studio and to Chris Weitz and producers quite frequently. I’m sure I would be now if the sequel was in production.”
Director Chris Weitz declined to comment, stating he did not want to talk about the project while the studio responsible for the first film was refusing to discuss the future of the trilogy.
In a separate interview with The Telegraph Mr Pullman lamented the role of religious protesters on the U.S. box office figures. Although he thought the attacks were misdirected, he had “no doubt to say it did influence a number of people not to go to see it.”
In spite of this, he played down fears that the sequels had been scrapped, insisting it was quite normal for potential films to remain in limbo for some time before a final decision is made. He remains “hopeful” that the sequels will be made.
Michael Gubbins, the editor of Screen International, said it was unlikely that the film could be brought out by next year, especially in a tough box office environment with “trilogy congestion” in following months, but that the franchise was likely to be revisited in the future.
The full stories can be read at The Telegraph and The Independent.
Posted by Ian on July 10, 2008 in Philip Pullman
 Philip Pullman last night presented the Branford Boase Award to author Jenny Downham at a glitzy ceremony in London. Downham’s prize for writing her debut novel for children ‘Before I Die’ was a £1000 cheque and a hand-crafted silver inlaid box. Amongst the guests was a fellow Carnegie winner, Meg Rosoff. Mr Pullman had been invited to present the award due to the illness of well-known writer Dame Jacqueline Wilson. As he took to the podium he was heard to joke that he wasn’t wearing Jacqueline Wilson’s renowned rings. He was however wearing an unusual tie!
Pullman said of winner Downham: “Before I Die is a truly remarkable book, and one that shows that as well as being able to pick authors of startling and undeniable talent, David Fickling has lost none of the enormous tact and skill that makes him such a fine editor. I very much look forward to seeing what Jenny Downham goes on to write next – as well, of course, as seeing what David Fickling discovers!”
Winner Jenny Downham and Mr Pullman both share the same editor, David Fickling. He picked up his own award for being Downham’s editor. He has now won the editor’s award two years running.
Mr Pullman also presented awards and prizes to the six winners of the Henrietta Branford children’s writing competition.
Blogger the Bookwitch was at the event and you can read her account of the evening here. You can also read more on the Branford Boase’s website here.
Posted by Ian on July 9, 2008 in Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman writes in the latest ‘ Children’s Digest‘ email that his identity has been stolen on popular social networking site Facebook.
“I now learn that there is an entry on Facebook in my name. Someone has lifted some photos out of various publicly accessible sources, copied some of the material from my website, and added a lot of comments in his or her own clumsy and facetious words. I have asked the Facebook controllers to withdraw this entry at once, but if anyone (and I believe this liar has been corresponding with some bookshops) is under the delusion that they’re talking to me, please be disabused.”
“I would personally like to go and strangle the wretch who has wasted my time and possibly other people’s like this, but I shall have to make do with sending out this warning.”
So for anybody who thought they had found Mr Pullman himself, you now know otherwise!
Posted by Ian on July 8, 2008 in Philip Pullman
As we reported last week, Philip Pullman was to represent the Society of Authors at a meeting with the Publishers Association.
In an email to supporters and subscribers of notoagebanding.org, Mr Pullman has written an account of his meeting with the Publishers Association. There was unfortunately little in the way of positive outcomes for writers and readers alike, other than the assertion from the PA that authors will continue to have the right to consultation as to whether their work is classified. On the whole Mr Pullman seemed disappointed by the outcome of the meeting but urges all authors to ‘insist on this right of full consultation and exert it to the utmost.’
Mr Pullman concludes ‘This is a fight worth having, even though it’s taking up so much of our time. In the end we shall win.’ Sorry we can’t offer any more of the email but Mr Pullman kindly requested that we not publish his email in full. He suggests that for all those who are interested in further news and information from the age banding battle sign up to its mailing list at notoagebanding.org.
Posted by Ian on July 3, 2008 in Philip Pullman
According to The Fidra Blog, Philip Pullman along with Mark le Fanu and Celia Rees, will be representing the Society of Authors at a meeting with the Publishers Association, which is set to take place tomorrow. Pullman says: “There isn’t an agenda yet, but the purpose of the meeting is to clarify and reiterate our objections to the age-ranging proposal and see if we can help the PA see what a blunder they’ve made.” He does also mention that if anybody wishes to make suggestions for specific issues to be raised that they should let him know via email. You can read all about this here.
Posted by krebbe on July 2, 2008 in Philip Pullman
This autumn, Philip Pullman will provide a selection of forty books that have interested and influenced him the most. Launched this year by acclaimed novelist Sebastian Faulks, Waterstone’s Writer’s Table gives the chosen writer free rein to select any book in print in the UK for their collection. With Pullman’s handwritten thoughts accompanying each title, the books will be on display in selected Waterstone’s and Waterstones.com from September 4th.
Read the full story at booktrade.info.
Posted by Ian on June 7, 2008 in Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman writes in the ‘Review’ section of today’s Guardian newspaper about the impending categorisation of children’s books which we wrote about a few days ago. Pullman describes how he felt when he was first informed of this developement, and his disappointment at discovering that not all authors have had the opportunity to opt out. At Aidan Chambers suggestion, Pullman, Anne Fine and Adèle Geras have started a statement of disavowal, which can be found at notoagebanding.org. To read more click here.
 The Birmingham Repertory Theatre is to stage the His Dark Materials stage play next year (2009) according to the Birmingham Post. The play which will have a respectable run of four weeks between March 13th and April 11th next year, will be directed by Rachel Kavanaugh. She is quoted as saying “We are one of the few theatres that can revisit these really large-scale projects … It gives us a chance to really use our large stage.” Nicholas Wright and Philip Pullman are both said to pleased at the opportunity to revisit the play on a larger scale. Tickets can be booked already through the theatre’s website (where you can also see further details about prices and timings) here. Read more about it here.
From the autumn, leading publishers plan to introduce labelling to the covers of all children’s books indicating whether they’re intended for ages 5+, 7+, 9+, 11+ or 13+/teen. Outraged at the move, Philip Pullman is leading a group of over 80 authors, illustrators, librarians, teachers and booksellers who have joined together in protest. Pullman writes:
I don’t want to see the book itself declaring officially, as if with my approval, that it is for readers of 11 and upwards or whatever. I write books for whoever is interested. When I write a book I don’t have an age group in mind.
Pullman himself will not be subject to this simplistic classification as his publishers (Scholastic) have agreed with his wishes to omit it. Read the telegraph article here.
Posted by Ian on May 29, 2008 in Philip Pullman
The website of the British Humanist Association features a number of videos by Philip Pullman in its educational section discussing amongst other things The importance of human nature ‘What do we mean by behaving well?’, ‘Humanists and the Golden Rule’, ‘War - is it ever right to use violence?’, ‘Wealth - should I pay taxes?’, ‘Where do humanists find meaning and purpose in life?’ and discussion about the Bible, Koran and other works. They’re very interesting and definitely worth a watch. Click here for the videos. Thanks to Laurie Frost for the tip.
As promised, here are the scanned images from last Saturday’s Guardian newspaper preview of the DFC comic. Simply click on the thumbnails to enlarge them. The DFC are currently offering 4 issues of the comic absolutely free. Click here for more details.
    
EDIT: Rather than reupload the scans Haku of cittagazze.com has tipped me off that they can be downloaded officially from the Guardian’s website here. Enjoy!
Posted by Ian on May 29, 2008 in Philip Pullman
According to the Barnes and Noble website, Philip Pullman is to appear at Golden Compass book event at one of their stores in Virginia, USA. Very little detail is available, other than the fact that this is scheduled to take place on Sunday June 8th at 14.00 in the store in Tysons Corner Mall, McLean VA. There is no mention of cost but if you’re interested phone or email them. To see the official listing click here.
Last Sunday’s Independent newspaper features an extensive profile of Philip Pullman by writer Cole Moreton as a preview to the DFC. The article which seems to extensively question the influence of Pullman’s father on his life and work makes for interesting reading. However, at times it appears to criticise Pullman for the actions of his father as a pilot in the Mau-Mau uprising. As one commenter on the educating alice blog remarks, journalist Moreton himself had a mixed relationship with his father and that may perhaps have influenced this piece. Whichever is the case, this is certainly worth a read. Click here to read in full.
Today’s Guardian newspaper features a preview of Philip Pullman’s contribution to the David Fickling Comic project. For those with a copy, it is to be found in the weekend magazine supplement. Scanned images should follow our report shortly…
Posted by Will on May 19, 2008 in Fan creations
Daemon MUCK, a text-based His Dark Materials role-playing game is now online. The game is set in Lyra’s world a couple of generations before the events of The Golden Compass. You can create your own character and, with your daemon, you can roam around the streets of London.
From the creator of Daemon MUCK:
“We’ve opted to have the MUCK take place in London rather than Oxford to prevent any potential canon conflicts (all original characters, no book characters). But aside from the change in setting, we’ve kept most of the series’ basis intact: daemons follow you around, witches can be applied for, and the Magisterium and Academic worlds are constantly after each other. Your character can interact with all sorts of other characters, and while there’s no “goal” per se, you are in charge of determining how your character and dæmon develop, what stories they’re a part of, what impact they have on the world.”
For more information and to set up your character, click here.
The David Fickling Comic, a project led by Philip Pullman’s publisher David Fickling to bring the classic comic back to the mass market, is to launch on May 30th. One of the regular comic strips which is scheduled to appear in the weekly publication is to be written by Pullman and illustrated by John Aggs. Entitled ‘The Adventures of John Blake’, Pullman’s comic is about a modern-day sailor named John Blake, who criss-crosses the Pacific Ocean encountering extraordinary beasts and events from a mythical past. The illustrations are according to The Times, Japanese-influenced. Pullman’s interest and participation seems to have been secured due to his enthusiasm about comics after being brought up reading them. Pullman has also stated an active interest in more contemporary graphic novels. To read what The Times has written about the project click here. To read more about the DFC project click here.
Figures are in for the Golden Compass’ performance in the DVD market during its first week of release. It came second in the US sales chart selling 1,046,538 units with a value of $21,966,838 (which was the top DVD gross for the week in America). Read more here. It also came second in the rentals market with a gross of $6.46 million. Read more here. In the UK the movie topped the DVD sales chart in its first week, although actual figures have been hard to come by. We’ll keep you posted on how it continues to do. Thanks to kincuri for the research.
Addenum: Further figures are in. The Golden Compass now sits 4th in the US rental charts having taken a little over $5 million gross in the last week leaving it with a rental gross of $11.8 million. In the UK the film continues to top DVD sales charts.
Posted by Ian on May 12, 2008 in Sally Lockhart
 The BBC film adaptation of ‘The Ruby in The Smoke’ starring Billie Piper is set to air in Australia this coming Sunday evening (May 18th) at 20.30 on ABC 1 (formerly Channel 2). You can see the listings here. Thanks to Australis for the tip off.
The home release of The Golden Compass movie on DVD, 2 disc DVD and 2 disc Blu Ray is today. You should be able to buy them from any regular store.
The South Manchester Reporter features an article about The Butterfly Tattoo film director Phil Hawkins, who is himself a Mancunian. The article discusses much of his upbringing in South Manchester and his subsequent development as a film maker. It discloses, however, that Hawkins and production company Dynamic Entertainment are hoping to be invited to show the film at the Cannes film festival and are currently on the longlist for invitation. Around 15 to 20 such films are normally shortlisted by the Cannes jury and this should be complete by the end of April. Hawkins also states that he hopes the film will be shown at June’s Edinburgh Film Festival and in Las Vegas. Read the article in full here. We’ll keep you posted on when the film is to be released!
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