New Line announced today that the official website for His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass is now online at www.goldencompassmovie.com. The site features never-before-seen images from the set, concept art, an alethiometer feature (certain symbol combinations will unlock extra concept art–see the solution), and more information about the upcoming film. Read the Full Press Release
Update: Photos of Eva Green as Serafina Pekkala–without blonde hair–have been added to the site. (Thanks to J for the tip)
A few things we've learnt about the film from the site:
- Armored bears to be called 'ice bears'; although still panserbjorne.
- Daemon to be pronounced 'day-mon' instead of 'dee-mon'.
- Concept art gives Lyra's world a curious mix of high- and old-technology.
- Magisterium increasingly looking like plain political fascists.
- Fra Pavel, instead of the Master, apparently to poison Lord Asriel.
- Serafina not blonde after all!
NEW LINE CINEMA LAUNCHES OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR
UPCOMING FANTASY EPIC THE GOLDEN COMPASS
Site Debuts Exactly One Year Before Film’s Worldwide Release
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 7, 2006) – New Line Cinema will launch the official website for its upcoming fantasy epic The Golden Compass (www.goldencompassmovie.com) on December 7th, a year to the date of the film’s scheduled worldwide release, it was announced today by New Line’s President and COO of Worldwide Distribution and Marketing Rolf Mittweg.
“The Golden Compass already has a remarkable following thanks to the success of the books and there’s a great deal of anticipation for this film,†says Mittweg. “We’re excited to share some of these first images from the production with fans all over the world, and to introduce this story to people who may not be familiar with the books.â€Â
Producer Deborah Forte adds, “Philip Pullman created an amazing world in his books, and this website gives fans the opportunity to explore that world in an interactive way.â€Â
At launch, The Golden Compass website will feature exclusive content about the film’s production including more than a dozen first-look images from the set as well as striking concept art. The content will be available in 11 languages and will include:
– The Alethiometer: Derived from the Greek words for “truth†and “measure,†the Alethiometer is a virtual re-creation of the device used in the film to decipher the truth. Users are able to select and examine its arcane symbols – and to unlock hidden website content if they choose the right ones.
– The World of The Golden Compass: A unique look at the characters and locations in the film including photos of the acclaimed cast (which includes Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliot, Ian McShane and newcomer Dakota Blue Richards) in character as well as production concept art which offers a sneak peek at some scenes in the film.
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.
About New Line Cinema Corporation:
Founded almost 40 years ago, New Line Cinema is the most successful independent film company in the world. Its mission is to produce innovative, popular and profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. In addition to the production, marketing and distribution of theatrical motion pictures, the fully-integrated studio has divisions devoted to home entertainment, television, music, theater, merchandising and an international unit. In 2005, New Line partnered with HBO to form Picturehouse, a new theatrical distribution company to release independent films. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line’s Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most successful film franchises in history. New Line is a division of Time Warner, Inc. (TWX).
For the solution to the alethiometer puzzle to unlock hidden concept art, highlight the following white text: “Symbols: Cauldron, Thunderbolt, Horse “
sean and luke, i pronounced as Daymon as well, i would have been upset if they pronounces DEEmon
In my edition of NL there is a note which states that it is pronounced dee-mon (I think from PP himself)
I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the apparent need to make changes to the story. The beauty for me of the whole trilogy is that we are thown into different worlds, and are left to explore them with the characters. There is indeed a note from the author telling us the 'daemon' is pronounced the same as 'demon' – why change it? Why call the bears 'ice bears' – their armour is the most integral thing to them. I'm not sure if I'll bother to watch a film that can't say the word 'demon'. It was also woefully predictable that the anti-religious sentiment of the books would be toned down to nothing in order to placate a right-wing American audience – where are the guts of the filmmaker?
i think it has less to do with the guts of the filmmaker and more to do with the thought of money in his pocket from a box office hit
"demon" is by far the better pronunciation, but I usually pronounce it "daymon" in my head…so I guess it's not a big deal.
I think it has less to do with sticking money in his pocket and more to do with making the film accessible to non-fanatics.
I think the reason people are getting upset over the little details is because if the film makers can't even handle something small that is pointed out at the beginning of the book, then it doesn't bode well for how they're going to deal with the important things.
re: Schrondinger's Cat's "Leer-ah?" rant.
I'm glad that your sanctomonius sermonising has set us all straight on the pronunciation of daemon. Take it easy Sophocles, your not the only one who has taken first-year Greek. You know as well as the rest of us that they are trying to water down Pullman's classic for the Narnia Lovers.
What does it matter if they say 'day-mon' or 'dee-mon'? ("A rose by any other name…") Or ice bears versus armored bears, or if Serafina is blonde or dark-haired? The very first page of the site doesn't describe daemons as 'shape-shifting creatures' whom Lyra 'encounters,' it matter-of-factly states that the daemon is the soul on the outside of the body. That is an explanation of one of the most important aspects of the book, given accurately, and as concise and clear as you can make it, and right up-front, too. Looking at that, it seems rather trivial that Iofur Raknison has been changed to Ragnar whatever.
Besides, the whole point of the Magisterium is *not* that it's religious, it's that it's a thought-smothering, child-cutting, lying sham. Which happens to say that it follows God's orders. The Gestapo, Secret Police, Nazis, whatever you will, fit that profile quite well, and why shouldn't New Line Cinema tap into the public's memory of those organizations?
Personaly, I prononced her name as L"ee"ra and daemon as d"ee"mon, and im trying hard to stop now. I know it will be hard, but way back when our teacher read us the harry potter books, she prononced hermione as "her-mee-on", it takes alot of work to change habits such as these, but it's not impossible, we just have to suck it up and do it.
As long as they act the characters they play, does it really matter how their names are prononced? I think keeping the church in the movie is way more important than the prononciations. Sure, people might find it offensive, but wasn't it alot like this in the middle ages? There are, and always have been, churches with a powerful and even hurtful controle over societies, and to change it for the movie would change the story far too much.
Well on the page before the contence in Northern lights it says: "Note: The word deamon, which appears throughout the book, is to be pronouncedlike the english word "demon"." Also on the audio books, narrated by Pullman himself, they pronounce them demons!
~Frjava
Victoria, seems you havn't read TAS enough times :p. The harpies scream "Liar" and apparently "Liar" and "Lyra" sound the same, get blended into one, which torments her, so her and Will run through the door or whatever it is. Therefore it is "Lie-ra".
Ha, yeah I know, and in the french version it says "le mot daemon est prononcer démon" but I ignored that too, hoping it was different in the english version.
Ahh, but isn't démon in French pronounced like 'day-mon'? Even more confusing… fortunately a few measley syllables don't amount to too much, in the grand scheme of the film. 😀
does anyone notice that in the website, the pictures show no deamons? not even lyra's.
good point. i bet that they digitally put the daemons in later or something. i dunno.
I heard that the screenwriter isn't going to have any metions of the church in the movie at all. They are going to mess this one up worse than Eragon
As Expected
Ooh, exciting!
I really like the concept art, and how they're planning to do the Magisterium. It's cool how in a lot of the art the Magisterium symbol keeps recurring.
I'm even totally okay with 'ice bears' and 'day-mon', but can't understand all this fuss about Lyra being pronounced Leer-a. I got really worried – I almost certainly would cringe every time they said it Leer-a in the movie, but nowhere on the site does it actually suggest this will happen. The narrator guy keeps pronouncing it Lie-ra… so could someone please explain where the problem stemmed from?
Has anyone else noticed an unusual feature of the globe when you first load the website? Look carefully, just before the "Choose your language" request appears. Notice the coastlines…
i so cant wait for the movie. It looks so so good :tongue:
For a change here. All the fuzz about how to pronounce Lyra's name happens because of the fact that in the Greek translation, her name is pronounced "Lee-ra". I am Greek. I've read the books and when I found out that in English it is pronounced as Laira I got stunned. And by the way, the Greek pronunciation of daemon is "Daimon".
there are some amazing picures there, all the characters look dead good.