The Golden Compass | ‘New York’ blames New Line | His Dark Materials

‘New York’ blames New Line

Posted by jessia on December 11, 2007 at 9:31 am

Dan Kois and Lane Brown of the New York Magazine’s Vulture appear to have gotten their hands on a copy of Tom Stoppard’s original draft for The Golden Compass. Upon comparing Stoppard’s screenplay with Chris Weitz’s, they agreed with Philip Pullman’s statement regarding the original draft, that it concerned too much “the discussions between old men with beards.” Weitz’s original script on the other hand originally included more scenes of Jordan College, Mrs. Coulter’s cocktail party, the Gyptians, and most importantly, the last three chapters of the story. Read more.

The Vulture also provides a number of links of critical faith-based reviews for the film. Click here to see it.

Amy T. says:

Reading about Weitz original script is so frustrating. If only, if only…

Some really important scenes are in that script which would have added depth, breathing space, and a stronger understanding of what happens at Bolvangar. (I bet some people just thought the daemons die/vanish after intercision.) I had to remind myself as I was reading that these scenes were never shot and that I won’t ever get to see them…

So so so so disappointing. All the ingredients for a great movie were there, but the cake fell during the baking.

December 11, 2007 11:06 am | link

Bear essentials says:

New Line really is the Magisterium. They had a terrific adaptation by Chris Weitz, but they took it to Bolvangar and intercised it. I really feel for Chris Weitz: he just wanted to tell Pullman’s story with the same passion and imagination, but New Line wanted a blockbuster ala Harry Potter or LOTR and mega-profit. Considering how New Line cheated Peter Jackson out of their rightful share of LOTR’s profits, they really are the stereotypical greedy and dishonest Hollywood studio we all loathe.

I only hope HDM fans don’t blame Chris Weitz: he deserves our support, not venom.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the same producer who kept bugging Neil Gaiman to put a giant mechanical spider in his Sandman screenplays works for the Magisterium… er, I mean New Line.

December 11, 2007 11:54 am | link

RHZ says:

It seems th story keeps getting better. Guys! There is a chance! All we have to do is fight for it. The studio is tettering on the edge to green light the next two books. We have overseas sales and the hope of new viewership once school lets out for the holidays to buoy our optimism about improving figures for the box office. We know there is a better movie here already because both director and cast have expressed the desire for an extended director’s cut of materials already shot.

I am reminded how “Kingdom of Heaven” evolved as a theatrical presentation. From the wikipedia entry:

“An extended director’s cut of the movie was released on December 23, 2005 [original release date was May 6, 2005], at the Laemmle Fairfax Theatre in Los Angeles, unsupported by advertising from 20th Century Fox. This cut is approximately 45 minutes longer than the original theatrical cut…..adding 49 minutes back into the film, and is shown as a roadshow presentation with an overture, intermission and entr’acte.”

What is to prevent Chris Weitz from doing the same thing? From a careful viewing of behind-the-scene/featurette clips, one can already glimpse those nuggets of extra footage that would have made for a stronger story. I remember in particular a few seconds from what looks to be the aftermath of the children’s liberation at Bolvangar where the relationship between Serafina Pekkala and Farder Coram is fleshed out as the witch promises the Gyptian to look after and protect Lyra.

What is more, there is no technical obstacle to prevent Chris from going back to (re)shoot extra scenes from TGC if the following two films are approved. I recall Peter Jackson did extensive reshooting after LOTR was supposed to be done.

The question that is itching to be asked is how can we help New Line to make the right decision? At Yahoo Movies and Fandango’s user reviews, a significant amount of negative ratings stem from the perceived anti-(religion)Catholic message of the story. But I think every rational person who has seen the movie would agree that the fears are unfounded. If you are (Christian)Catholic and has seen and enjoyed the movie, please make your opinions heard. As we have been aware, proper church leaders such as those of the Church of Scotland actually praises the film. Fight narrow-mindedness and get others to see the film!

December 11, 2007 12:26 pm | link

Paul says:

In a way, I’m encouraged by this. I’d rather believe in individual creativity and imagination, stymied by studio bosses - which suggests that at one time there was at least a spark of life in this story.

I’m not a massive LOTR fan, but it seems to me that NEw Line, in saving themselves extra revenue that would have gone to Peter Jackson, have hugely impaired the commercial prospects of The Hobbit - which would be a huge film with Jackson on-board. So it would be no surprise if they’ve emasculated The Golden Compass, in pursiot of more $$$.

All said, the Amber Spyglass would be a much more difficult movie to make than Northern Lights. Hence, it would surely be subject to even more grievous compromises. SO perhaps we’re better off replaying it as a movie in our heads, rather than in the local multiplex.

December 11, 2007 3:17 pm | link

Salmairion says:

Let’s hope they’ll make that director’s cut, it would be so great! But I don’t really agree with the article, I don’t think the film was that bad, i enjoyed it a lot. And even if it could have been much better, it could have been so much worse. I support Chris Weitz for wanting to be as faithful as possible to the books, and give a big boooo at New Line for doing changes to the original script with their dirty paws.

December 11, 2007 4:45 pm | link

ihatethis99in says:

Hmm… as I earlier suspected - we really have been seeing The Shaye Shear of His Dark Materials.

Word of advice:

Bob Shaye, if a smart and educated director and script writer knows and loves the source material, then let him make his own movie version of the book, not your lame vision of it. I hope you burn for this!

In fact, the only way you’ll get me to buy this DVD is if you release it as a director’s cut, with all the scenes there and with the three deleted chapters present, seeing now that it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to make the sequels thanks to your own idiocy!

December 11, 2007 6:56 pm | link

DarkShaman says:

What I want to know is when the studio execs are going to pull their heads out of their asses. Is the irony completely lost on them? by trying to “cater to a broad audience” as they’ve done time and time again, they end up with a substandard movie! When are going to realize that they are the one’s who keep causing exactly what they’re trying to prevent.
If you want a hit movie, get the $%#! out of the way and let the director do his thing. This goes for like every movie ever.

December 12, 2007 12:49 am | link

Elvine says:

Is the US population suffering from mass psychosis? This is not a bad film. It is not difficult to follow, and you have to be pretty bloody daft if you’re not getting the dust-is-sin story line.

The ending of the film works fine, it’s way too cheesy for my taste, but that’s beside the point.

It’s not a perfect film, but neither is the book :).

December 12, 2007 3:58 am | link

Kevin says:

re: Elvine

I am in Wisconsin, USA and visit USA websites. I knew this movie was going to go over the heads of most Americans because “we” tend to be very anal about religion. It is highly discouraging that people here cannot separate a book from their religion but I am not surprised by the reactions in America either.

Psychosis? Not sure if that is it. To be quite blunt about it… people are stupid and refuse to even read the books/watch the movie and form an opinion. Instead they read all about what others have to say about the books and than form an opinion. Its frustrating talking to these people.

December 12, 2007 5:45 am | link

Kristyn says:

The sad thing is no one from New Line is probably ever going to see these comments. I think we all need to find a way to get in touch with the studio and tell them what they did wrong with this film and encourage them to let Chris do what he wants with the sequels. Because, unfortunately, if the sequels do happen, I doubt Chris will have too much ground to stand on For a movie like LOTR, the director threatening to leave if the studio doesn’t let him do it his way actually means something. For TGC, where if New Line decides it is worth it to make the sequels it will be just barely, it doesn’t mean as much :-/

I really think we should start a petition to ask New Line to re-release the director’s cut of this film to the theaters before TSK comes out. Maybe even flim some of the scenes from the original script that weren’t shot while they are filming TSK. They need to do something to make this right, or I will never respect them again.

December 12, 2007 6:32 am | link

Rick says:

I don’t quite ge thte negativity. Yes, there were some disappointing moments and overall I thought is could have been better. However, I went with a group of friends who had never read the books and they all liked it. They didnt absolutely love it, but they thought it was intriguing and a throughly enjoyable Hollywood fantasy.

For me, I loved the beginnign and the end but the middle was just a continuous mix of action and exposition. I wish they could show the plot rather than have characters spell it out, but that’s obviously a Hollywood thing. It really wasn’t that bad at all, just not amazing which is what everyone expects.

December 12, 2007 6:54 am | link

Jill says:

Talk about winning the battle and losing the war, which was something NLC deserved. The movie may have not performed as expected (I refuse to say the movie tanked, as it did not tank where I live as far as I know; and damn “Hollywood economists” for their unholy obsession with opening figures - being #1 isn’t enough), but the book sales are shooting up, which means people getting acquainted with Lyra and her wonderful adventure (Sorry Donahue, your boycott’s not working either; don’t drag Catholics like me down with you) I brought two of my friends who haven’t read the book to see TGC and they liked it very much.

I am looking forward to the DVD release. And in my opinion, NLC execs must push through with TSK if only to recover what’s left of their sorry little faces.

December 12, 2007 12:25 pm | link

Elvine says:

Namster: Quote away.

What I meant was: how come so many reviewers suddenly decided this is the flop of the year? Because this is in no way a bad film. If it’s a good film or not lies in the eye of the beholder, but there is no way this could be described as bad.

It’s not surprising that fans of the books are disappointed (I hang out at theLeakyCauldron.org, and compared to my fellow Potter-fans you guys are actually fairly balanced). But the story works fine, no significant plot holes. The acting is great and so is the CGI.
It’s also understandable that some religious people are upset (dust is sin and dust is good), but I can’t believe that’s the reviewers’ problem with the film

I would have liked to see the original ending, but as it is, it works fine. For readers of the book, Lyra’s words about bringing her father something he needs gives an eerie foreboding. For non-readers it finishes the first chapter nicely. Of course, the staging of that scene is ridiculously cheesy (in my not so humble opinion), but as an ending it works.

Although, what were the people at New Line thinking when they kept insisting most of the religous elements were taken out? It’s still there for Pete’s sake! And it’s not as if the film would go unnoticed by the Christian right even if every last bit of religious reference were removed.

I hope they will make the next two films (well, duh!) but with a smaller budget (must be possible) and aim it at the European/Asian market. There is, after all, a larger number of us than Americans. Yes, New Line. Really, there are.

December 12, 2007 9:16 pm | link

Mockingbird says:

“When are going to realize that they are the oneâ€™s who keep causing exactly what theyâ€™re trying to prevent.
If you want a hit movie, get the $%#! out of the way and let the director do his thing. This goes for like every movie ever.”

Honestly, if New Line are so thick as to not realize how much their influence hurt this film AND their profits thereby, then they SHOULD go down without a trace. If it weren’t for the fact that I want the sequels, I would want this to be the movie that sank New Line because they’re the ones who sank this movie.

That said, I hope you do well on this one overall, New Line! (’But let this be a lesson to you,’ she says as if they’ll ever read this comment.)

I don’t know about a petition for an extended release because ‘petition’ always screams unreasonable fanchildren. However, I think a nice, rational letter stating our hopes for going forward (aka demands) posted on this news site might give New Line perhaps a moment’s pause if we moved on it now when they must be questioning their choices.

December 12, 2007 10:43 pm | link

Grissha says:

It’s so sad.
I thought the movie couldn’t be better, until I read about the change of the ending. Obviously not Weitz’s idea, for he was quite proud of the final scene, all that “Gone With The Wind” stuff he said. It got worse when I found out that the lenght wouldn’t reach two poor hours.
Weitz’s adaptation is wonderful, the only thing that makes the movie not to be a masterpiece is the messed up cut. With subtle inclusions, it may be much more rich and interesting.
I put a great hope in the director’s cut.

And I really wish to read Stoppard’s draft, and Weitz’s first version (which seems to be the best).

December 13, 2007 12:54 am | link

Hope says:

I would like to ask how the movie could be such a success in England and Europe but has problems in the USA, why? I understand the comments about the film possibly being to short but had it been two and a half hours or even three hours long people would have complained. Yes i accept that the film rushes throu the story but it does explain the story line and teases you to want to see the next film,if there is gone be one. What is wrong with America, when we see the rushes it watches and they don`t like this film???

December 13, 2007 12:16 pm | link

Kevin says:

re: Hope

It is a British book/author to begin with. England and Europe in general celebrate writers much more than Americans do. Who was the last great American writer? Samuel Clemens maybe… i.e. Mark Twain? Europe is also much more tolerant of religion, or lack of religion within their society. This movie could have been huge had it been done right in the way of Europe making three times, or maybe four times more than in America. The anti-Christian movement did not help in America but these books are not widely known in America either. Go to Barnes and Noble and look in the kid section for these books. How many copies do you see? If an American author had written these books or even Harry Potter each series would not be as popular.

re: Director’s Cut DVD

If the DVD has the deleted scenes where you can play them to see what they deleted… that will suck. If the DVD has the scenes in the main movie so you can see the movie with the scenes already built in… that will be good. I don’t want to watch the true ending by going to the “Extras” section of the DVD… put it where it belongs, at the end of the main feature.

December 13, 2007 12:41 pm | link

Elvenstar says:

“I hope they will make the next two films (well, duh!) but with a smaller budget (must be possible) and aim it at the European/Asian market. There is, after all, a larger number of us than Americans. Yes, New Line. Really, there are.”

Great point!!!
Why do they think about the US grosses so much? There are a lot of people in the world! Especially 4 fantasy movies. There are a lot of examples of succesful marketing of other movies.
I respect EON with their Bond franchise because they position it as a european-UK adventure and it works! Casino grossed more than Bourne worldwide. And if you know about strong Catholic Church in the US, why try 2 please them? Just turn ur attention 2 other countries. 4 example here in Russia (thanks 2 our communist past, and maybe totalitarian future) there are a lot of atheists who would be interested in such issues of Pullman’s story, Dust etc.
The problem with me was that the movie itself was little boring and I doubt that simply inserting antireligious elements would have helped. They just needed to realise what they wanted. 2 make a perfect family film (add more excitement, coherence and humour!) or 2 make a dark family film (add heartbreaking moments and tension, sharper relations betw. Lyra and parents, the REAL ending). And Chris’ original script seems to have combined all these elements! Its so furstraiting. Im so upset for him. He deserved so much praise but got something completely different:((
The film version is not bad at all though, and strangely I loved the new ending. And it features AWESOME music and such a magical feel. I wanted 2 feel the same during the whole movie…
As 4 petition, it will really help if BTTS admin puts it on the front page! Lets try and write a polite letter 2 Magisterium;) If it doesn’t work, OK. But we’ll be heard at least. The hope IS still here.

December 13, 2007 12:49 pm | link

Mockingbird says:

“It is a British book/author to begin with. England and Europe in general celebrate writers much more than Americans do. Who was the last great American writer? Samuel Clemens maybeâ€¦ i.e. Mark Twain?”

Er, try Tim Oâ€™Brien, Cormac McCarthy, Slyvia Plath, Norman Mailer, Joseph Heller, Joyce Carol Oates for starters. Also, try a little humility. The â€˜Britishnessâ€™ of these books has little to do with the movieâ€™s failureâ€”HP, LoTR, Narnia also happened to be British books which were became wildly successful adaptations in America.

“Why do they think about the US grosses so much?”

Because I believe that 40-60% of gross sales traditionally come from the US market. Iâ€™ve heard other numbers but the US gross must be the most important to film-makers because thatâ€™s where the money is obviously, especially if you happened to pre-sell the foreign rights to your movie.

December 13, 2007 8:08 pm | link

Kevin says:

re: Mockingbird

You named some known authors but how many outside of America know who those authors are? And, will their works be read, discussed in classrooms, keep being printed 100 years from now? Sure, the print media might die by than but the authors you named, while good, are by no means writing classics compared the what the British are doing.

I will give you Plath… she might have staying power… might.

December 13, 2007 11:10 pm | link

Mockingbird says:

Of course they are current authors who will be printed 100 years from now, or I wouldn’t have named them. If Europeans aren’t familiar with them then you should probably retract your statement that ‘Europeans celebrate writers’ considering these writers, as well as many others from around the globe, are producing work as fine as anything coming out of Europe, and should be equally celebrates. It seems to me that it is a century too late to still be considering Great Britain the cultural epicenter of the universe.

If your argument is that the movie did less well in America because the books are less popular, you’d certainly be right, but since other more popular British-based adaptations have done quite well stateside, you can save your elitism–it hardly has a place on a forum devoted to the ideals of a Republic of Heaven.

December 14, 2007 5:48 am | link

namster says:

I’m all for the polite petition — key word is polite. And the most convincing argument we can make? It’s in New Line’s best interests commercially, because they stand to make profit if they give artistic liberty to the crew. This is a series that can generate critical and commercial success, and they have it in their grasp.

It’s a convincing argument because it’s true.

December 14, 2007 8:56 am | link

Kevin says:

re: Mockingbird

“popular British adaptations have done well…” Which ones? LotR and Narnia, the books, have been out some 70 years. TGC has been out 10 with, at least American society, has controversial topics within it.

And, I am no way attempting to sound elitist so spare me those comments. I am in the USA and understand how people think within its borders. Pullman’s work, while fantastic, flies over the heads of most Americans. Also, the amount of reading Americans do compared to the rest of the world is quite sad. This is another reason why American authors do not do well in America… people here do not read… as much.

December 14, 2007 1:09 pm | link

FrumpyB says:

I don’t recall the 2004 scrip, but I remember the Shooting scrip, and it’s all there and all shot. I can’t say I agree with the changes but I can see why it would be done. Nice Christmas film with a child dying at the end and all.
Peter Jackson reworking LOTR for the DVD was part of the deal, and part of having your own fx company. Post work on the pulled shots was dropped so that the remaining ones could get done in the tight time that was left.
But that said many shots were probably finished given how late the cut was changed.
I hope to one day see it as the director intended, more in line with his script.

-FB

December 17, 2007 11:09 pm | link

‘New York’ blames New Line

Posted by jessia on December 11, 2007 at 9:31 am

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