February 28, 2007
Could you live without His Dark Materials?
Britons have placed Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials in eighth place in a vote for “books you can’t live without.” Pride and Prejudice took top place, but Pullman is one of few contemporary authors in the top 20; the only other in the top 10 is J.K.Rowling. The Bible came in at 6th, two places above the anti-organised-religion message of His Dark Materials. Read more.
February 27, 2007
Sega on The Golden Compass Video Game
Sega have issued a press release on their video-game adaptation of The Golden Compass movie today – the game of the movie of the book. The release says that players will “assume the role of Lyra” and also “take on the character of Iorek Byrnison, a great armoured polar bear who joins the quest.” Players will be able to “use their daemon and collaborate with in-game characters, collecting special items in order to explore, evade, and deceive their way through confrontations with the Gobblers, the Magisterium, and the horribly dangerous spy fly to find her friend.”
“They can also do battle as Iorek with special attacks and a riding mechanic as he protects Lyra during the journey. Gamers will be able to unlock secrets and mini-games using a mysterious, truth-telling golden compass device called an alethiometer. Players can explore 13 vast locations, including all-new breath-taking environments not seen in the film, on this massive journey of collaboration, exploration and the eternal struggle between good and evil.”
The main piece of information in the press release is that Shiny Entertainment will be developing the game within Sega. It also affirms that the game will be released for a plethora of consoles: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, Playstation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS and PC. The full press release is below. A new concept art image was also released alongside the screenshots: you can view it in our movie gallery.
Official website: http://www.goldencompassgame.com
Screenshots: (thanks Gabe!)
(more…)
“They can also do battle as Iorek with special attacks and a riding mechanic as he protects Lyra during the journey. Gamers will be able to unlock secrets and mini-games using a mysterious, truth-telling golden compass device called an alethiometer. Players can explore 13 vast locations, including all-new breath-taking environments not seen in the film, on this massive journey of collaboration, exploration and the eternal struggle between good and evil.”
The main piece of information in the press release is that Shiny Entertainment will be developing the game within Sega. It also affirms that the game will be released for a plethora of consoles: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, Playstation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS and PC. The full press release is below. A new concept art image was also released alongside the screenshots: you can view it in our movie gallery.
Official website: http://www.goldencompassgame.com
Screenshots: (thanks Gabe!)
(more…) February 16, 2007
Philip Pullman on Writing & HDM Sequel
The Guardian have an interview with Philip Pullman on books and writing. Philip talks about his favourite books, his method of writing – painful – and advice for budding authors. The last question of the article asks what Pullman is working on next; he replies “A sequel to His Dark Materials. But I can't say more than that. It's going to be a long book, and I'm only part way through it.” Presumably he means The Book of Dust, an ongoing project which has become rather large – or possibly a new chapter in His Dark Materials altogether. Read the interview.
February 15, 2007
Pullman & Producer Discuss Film at Festival
This year's Oxford Literary Festival will see Philip Pullman and the producer of The Golden Compass movie, Deborah Forte, discuss “the evolution of The Golden Compass from book to film.” The event will be chaired by the BBC arts presenter, Mark Lawson, on March 24th. Tickets are on sale now at �16.00 for adults, �10.00 for children; early booking is recommended. Read more.
Pullman joins National Theatre
The UK’s National Theatre has appointed Philip Pullman to its board. The two-part adaptation of Philip’s His Dark Materials was a great success for the NT and Pullman remarked, “I am very happy to have been invited to join the Board of the National Theatre, a place where I have had some of the most profound and the most enjoyable experiences of my theatre-going life. It�s a great privilege to be able to contribute to the working of one of the great national cultural treasures, and I look forward very much to learning more about it.” Read more.
Shrunken Heads Complain
“The future of some of Oxford’s most popular artefacts – the shrunken heads at the Pitt Rivers Museum – could be in doubt,” writes the Oxford Mail. The museum curator’s Laura Peers has begun a review of the heads, questioning the ethics of keeping and displaying them. She says, “I personally would like to know more what the communities in Ecuador and Peru feel. Philip Pullman has weighed in on the argument, saying that “I think the shrunken heads should stay”.
“The value of the shrunken heads is that they are real – you could replace them with plastic models but that would not be the same. It would be very hard to find the living relatives. I can understand the complexity of feeling about this, and we could be on the cusp of a cultural change regarding this kind of exhibit. The great value of the Pitt Rivers is the higgledy-piggledy nature of the displays, which itself is a window into the past, and the shrunken heads are part of that.” Read more.
The Pitt Rivers museum is featured in The Subtle Knife – it’s where Lyra examines the trepanned heads and meets Lord Boreal. On display at the museum in our Oxford are also the Samoyed furs and sledge Lyra recognises, plus several examples of circular Chinese artefacts that resemble the alethiometer.
Scholastic on The Golden Compass
Playthings' report on the New York Toy Fair (see below) also has a few words with Leslye Schaefer, senior vice president of marketing and consumer products for Scholastic Media – the publishers of His Dark Materials. Along with the release of the movie will come several tie-in books from Scholastic – including movie-themed artwork as covers, plus games and puzzles from Mega Brands and Sababa Toys. “It's a really nice marriage and it's been really interesting for us,” Schaefer says. “We're launching a huge campaign.”
February 11, 2007
First Look at Golden Compass Toy Line
Figures.com have an extensive series of images showing prototypes of the toys by Corgi designed to tie in to The Golden Compass movie. Taken at this year’s New York Toy Fair, the photos show figurines of Lyra, the Gyptians and Mrs Coulter; with an alethiometer toy and several vehicles – including Lee Scoresby’s balloon, a carriage (as seen in the concept art) and the boat Lyra takes to the North. View the images.
Marketing manager Travis Allen says: “This is a huge deal for us on a number of levels. We’re really, really excited about it – it has the most beautiful style guide I’ve ever seen.” To what we’ve already seen, he adds that also on the way is a “digital pet that incorporates the idea of animal familiars inside a toy compass” along with “role-play costumes; a board game and collectible trading cards.” February 9, 2007
Eva Green on The Golden Compass
Empire have an interview with Eva Green on the eve of the Bafta awards – for which she has a nomination – and the actress, playing Serafina Pekkala in The Golden Compass, had some things to say on the movie. “I read the Philip Pullman trilogy and really liked the role � she's strong and hundreds of years old. She is a witch who is a guide, philosopher and friend to Lyra. It is quite a mysterious role which I found attractive. I wanted to make her [Serafina] sound quite other worldly and yet from another age. I worked with my voice coach, Roisin Carty to create a sort of medieval Scandinavian drawl.” Read more.
N is for Northern Lights
The Museum of Oxford's exhibition entitled the 'A-Z of Literary Oxford' opens tomorrow and will run until July. It's a hands-on exhibition aimed particularly at local families and visitors to the City, with free entry. “This special new exhibition will take visitors on an alphabetical journey through Oxford�s literary past and present and discover famous authors, popular books, bookshops, poets and artists. Philip Pullman features under N for Northern Lights.” The exhibition will be using some of BridgeToTheStars' images from the recent location filming and auditioning in Oxford. The images will be included on graphic panels, eventually forming part of the museum's permanent display. Philip Pullman will be on hand to open the exhibition and sign books afterwards. Read more.