The Golden Compass
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Chris Weitz
Written by	Philip Pullman (novel) Chris Weitz
Starring	Dakota Blue Richards Nicole Kidman Daniel Craig Ian McKellen Ian McShane Sam Elliott Eva Green
Music by	Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography	Henry Braham
Editing by	Anne V. Coates
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date(s)	UK December 5, 2007 USA December 7, 2007 AUS December 26, 2007
Running time	113 min.
Country	United States United Kingdom
Language	English Icelandic Russian
Budget	$180 million
Gross revenue	$372,234,100 (as of June 15, 2008)
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Golden Compass is a fantasy film based upon Northern Lights (published as The Golden Compass in the U.S.), the first novel in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials, and was released on December 5, 2007 by New Line Cinema. It stars Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Eva Green and Dakota Blue Richards. The project was announced in February 2002, following the success of recent adaptations of other fantasy epics, but troubles over the script and the selection of a director caused significant delays. At $180 million, it was one of New Line's most expensive projects ever,^[1] and its middling success in the US contributed to New Line's February 2008 restructuring.^[2] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 405 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (510 × 755 pixels, file size: 107 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The Golden Compass movie poster. ... Chris Weitz (born 1970 in New York, New York) is the producer and director (along with brother Paul Weitz) of American Pie, About a Boy, and other movies. ... Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is a British writer. ... For other uses, see Northern Lights. ... Chris Weitz (born 1970 in New York, New York) is the producer and director (along with brother Paul Weitz) of American Pie, About a Boy, and other movies. ... Dakota Blue Richards (born 1994) is an English actress, who will play Lyra Belacqua in the upcoming film His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. ... Nicole Mary Kidman, Order of Australia (born 20 June 1967 in Honolulu) is an Academy Award-winning Australian/American[1] actress. ... Daniel Wroughton Craig[1] (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. ... Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE (born 25 May 1939) is an English stage and screen actor, the recipient of the Tony Award and two Oscar nominations. ... Ian McShane (born 29 September 1942) is a Golden Globe-winning English actor. ... Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American film and television actor. ... Eva Gaëlle Green[1] () (born July 5, 1980) is an actress, raised in Paris and living in London. ... Alexandre Michel Desplat (born August 23, 1961 in Paris, France) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning film composer. ... Anne V. Coates (born 12 December 1925) is a Academy Award winning British film editor with a 40-year-plus career in film editing. ... New Line redirects here. ... is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 341st day of the year (342nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 360th day of the year (361st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... USD redirects here. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. ... For other uses, see Northern Lights. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is a British writer. ... The trilogy (U.K versions), in order of succession from left to right. ... is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... New Line redirects here. ... Daniel Wroughton Craig[1] (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. ... Nicole Mary Kidman, Order of Australia (born 20 June 1967 in Honolulu) is an Academy Award-winning Australian/American[1] actress. ... Eva Gaëlle Green[1] () (born July 5, 1980) is an actress, raised in Paris and living in London. ... Dakota Blue Richards (born 1994) is an English actress, who will play Lyra Belacqua in the upcoming film His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. ... New Line redirects here. ...

The story concerns Lyra, an orphan living in a fantastical parallel universe in which a dogmatic theocracy called the Magisterium threatens to dominate the world. When Lyra's friend is kidnapped, she travels to the far North in an attempt to rescue him and rejoin her uncle. Silvertongue redirects here. ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... Parallel universe or alternate reality in science fiction and fantasy is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with our own. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      For other uses, see Theocracy (disambiguation). ...

Before its release, the film received criticism from secular organizations and fans of His Dark Materials for the dilution of the religious elements from the novels, as well as from some religious organizations for the source material's perceived anti-Christian and atheistic themes. The film was met with mixed reviews, and failed to meet expectations at the U.S. box office, but its international performance more than quadrupled the U.S. figures, surpassing $300 million for a total of $372 million worldwide to date, and the film also went on to win both an Academy Award and a BAFTA for its visual effects. No announcement has yet been made as to whether sequels will be produced, although producer Deborah Forte said she intends to make them.^[3] This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... Anti-Christian prejudice is a negative categorical bias against Christians — both individually and collectively — or against Christianity as a whole. ... For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ...

Plot

In a parallel universe in which a person's soul resides outside the body in the form of an animal called a "dæmon", Europe is controlled by an authoritarian organization called the Magisterium. In Oxford, orphaned Lyra Belacqua, a ward of Jordan College, tells of the "Gobblers", who she and her friends hold responsible for the disappearance of several other local children. The college is visited by Lyra's uncle, Lord Asriel, who intends to present evidence which points to the existence of particles called "Dust", in defiance of official Magisterium doctrine. After Lyra saves Asriel from assassination at the hands of a Magisterial representative, he obtains funding from the college to mount an expedition to the far north in order to investigate the substance, which he believes originates in a parallel universe to his own and enters a person's body via their dæmon. Fearing the effects of Dust, the Magisterium conducts experiments on children in order to find a means of inoculating them against it. Parallel universe or alternate reality in science fiction and fantasy is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with our own. ... A dæmon is a physical manifestation of the soul of a conscious person in the Philip Pullman trilogy His Dark Materials. ... Silvertongue redirects here. ... In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. ... Lord Asriel is a major character in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials series. ... Spoiler warning: Dust in Philip Pullmans trilogy of novels His Dark Materials is a fictional form of dark matter (as we call it in our world), an elementary particle that is of fundamental importance to the novels. ...

After Asriel departs, the college is visited by Mrs. Coulter, who offers to take Lyra north as her assistant. Before leaving, Lyra is entrusted with an alethiometer (the film's titular Golden Compass) by the master of the college. The alethiometer is a device that is able to reveal the answer to any question asked of it by a trained user, and is the last in existence since the Magisterium forbade their use. Though unable to operate the device, Lyra accepts the gift and takes it with her to Mrs. Coulter's home. When Mrs. Coulter arouses Lyra's suspicions by delaying their journey, Lyra discovers that Mrs. Coulter is head of the General Oblation Board, the "Gobblers" who have been kidnapping local children. She also discovers that her best friend Roger and her Gyptian friend Billy Costa have been taken by the Gobblers to the north. Marisa Coulter is a fictional character in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials trilogy. ... This is a list of objects of His Dark Materials trilogy of novels by the fantasy fiction author Philip Pullman. ... // See Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua (also known as Lyra Silvertongue by Iorek Byrnison) is a young girl who inhabits a parallel universe to our own. ...

Mrs. Coulter learns of Lyra's possession of the alethiometer, but Lyra escapes. The "Gobblers" pursue her, but she is saved by the Gyptians: a nomadic boat people. They are planning to travel north by sea to rescue the kidnapped children, who have many Gyptians amongst them. Lyra travels with them and comes to an understanding of the alethiometer's use with the aid of a Gyptian wise man, Farder Coram, and the queen of a witch clan, Serafina Pekkala, who appears during the journey. At a Norwegian port, Lyra befriends aeronaut Lee Scoresby, who advises her to hire Iorek Byrnison, an exiled prince of a race of armoured polar bears. Iorek is employed as a metalworker in the port after he was tricked out of his armour by the local townspeople. Lyra uses the alethiometer to discover the armour's location, which Iorek recovers. He pledges his service to Lyra's cause, and Scoresby is hired by the Gyptians to aid them on the trek north. Serafina Pekkala is a witch queen in the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman. ... Aeronautics is the mathematics and mechanics of flying objects, in particular airplanes. ... His Dark Materials is a trilogy of novels by the fantasy fiction author Philip Pullman. ... // See Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua (also known as Lyra Silvertongue by Iorek Byrnison) is a young girl who inhabits a parallel universe to our own. ... A smith, or metalsmith, is a person involved in the shaping of metal objects. ...

The alethiometer guides Lyra to Billy Costa, who has escaped from a Magisterium research station. She finds him dazed and lacking his demon, and returns him to the Gyptians. The group is attacked by a tribe of Samoyeds and Lyra is captured. She is taken to the king of the armoured bears, who Lyra tricks into fighting Iorek for the throne. Iorek kills him and reclaims his kingship. He carries Lyra to the Magisterium research station, but the two are separated by the collapse of an ice bridge. Lyra pretends to be lost and is welcomed into the station by Magisterium scientists. She locates Roger and instructs him to have the other kidnapped children prepare for escape. Lyra discovers that the Magisterium scientists, under the guidance of Mrs. Coulter, are performing experiments to sever the bond between a child and his or her demon. After being discovered eavesdropping by the scientists, Lyra is taken to a room where they begin performing the separation procedure on her. Before the procedure is completed, Mrs. Coulter enters the room and rescues Lyra from the machinery, taking Lyra to her quarters. Geographical distribution of Samoyedic, Finnic, Ugric and Yukaghir languages  Yukaghir  Samoyedic  Ugric  Finnic The term Samoyedic peoples is used to describe peoples speaking a Samoyedic language. ...

Mrs. Coulter explains that the separation procedure is necessary because Dust begins to flow into a child via the demon when puberty begins, and says that it causes "bad thoughts" as children near maturity. She tells Lyra that she stopped the procedure on her because the device is not yet perfected and sometimes causes the death of the child. She also tells Lyra that she is her mother, and Lord Asriel is her father. Lyra learns that Asriel is engaged in his research farther north and that assassins have been sent to kill him. When Mrs. Coulter asks for the alethiometer, Lyra incapacitates her and escapes. Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a childs body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. ...

Lyra destroys the separation machinery, leading to a series of explosions which begin to tear down the facility. Lyra leads the other children outside, where Magisterial guards block their escape. A battle ensues when Iorek, the Gyptians, and a band of witches led by Serafina Pekkala arrive. The guards are defeated and the children are rescued. Instead of travelling back south with the Gyptians and the rescued children, Lyra and Roger choose to travel north with Lee Scoresby, Iorek Byrnison and Serafina to find Lord Asriel. Serafina posits that the Magisterium doesn't just want to control their world, but "every world in every universe"; however, Lyra is sure that, once she delivers the alethiometer to her father, the two of them will be able to make things right.

Cast

Lyra (Richards) with Pantalaimon (cat form) and Mrs. Coulter (Kidman) with her "Golden Monkey" dæmon. Scene filmed in the grand hall of Hedsor House, Buckinghamshire, UK

• Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra Belacqua, who embarks on a voyage to battle the forces of evil and rescue her best friend. New Line Cinema announced 12-year-old Richards' casting in June 2006. She had attended an open audition after watching a stage production of His Dark Materials,^[4] and was picked from 10,000 girls who auditioned, for what was her first acting role.^[5]
• Nicole Kidman as Marisa Coulter, the woman who takes care of Lyra and the antagonist of the film. Kidman was author Philip Pullman's preferred choice for the role ten years before production of the film,^[6] and despite initially rejecting the offer to star as she didn't want to play a villain, she signed on after receiving a personal letter from Pullman.^[7]
• Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel, Lyra's ruthless and mysterious adventurer uncle. In July 2006, it was reported that Paul Bettany was in talks to play the role.^[8]
• Ian McKellen as Iorek Byrnison, a panserbjørn (armoured bear) who becomes Lyra's friend and comrade. Nonso Anozie had recorded lines for the part of Iorek Byrnison, but was replaced by McKellen at a late stage as New Line wanted a bigger name in the role.^[9] New Line president of production Toby Emmerich admitted he "never thought [Anozie] sounded like Iorek" and while he initially trusted director Weitz's casting decision, he "never stopped thinking that this guy didn't sound right." The recasting was against Weitz's wishes, though he later said "if you're going to have anyone recast in your movie, you're happy it's Ian McKellen."^[4]
• Ian McShane as the voice of Ragnar Sturlusson, king of the panserbjørnene. Ragnar's name in the book was Iofur Raknison, but the name was changed to prevent confusion between him and Iorek.^[10]
• Sam Elliott as Lee Scoresby, a Texan aeronaut who comes to Lyra's aid.
• Eva Green as Serafina Pekkala, a witch queen.
• Freddie Highmore as the voice of Pantalaimon, Lyra's dæmon.
• Ben Walker as Roger Parslow, Lyra's best friend, who is kidnapped and taken North.
• Clare Higgins as Ma Costa, member of a Gyptian family which aids Lyra.
• Jim Carter as John Faa, the king of the Gyptians.
• Tom Courtenay as Farder Coram, Gyptian second-in-command and advisor to John Faa.
• Kathy Bates as the voice of Hester, Lee Scoresby's dæmon.
• Kristin Scott Thomas as the voice of Stelmaria, Lord Asriel's dæmon.
• Jack Shepherd as Master of Jordan College.
• Simon McBurney as Fra Pavel.
• Magda Szubanski as Mrs. Lonsdale.
• Christopher Lee as the Magisterium's First High Councilor. Lee's casting was also at New Line's behest, rather than that of Chris Weitz.^[4]
• Derek Jacobi as the Magisterial Emissary.
• Charlie Rowe as Billy Costa.

Silvertongue redirects here. ... Dakota Blue Richards (born 1994) is an English actress, who will play Lyra Belacqua in the upcoming film His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. ... Marisa Coulter is a fictional character, the mother of Lyra Belacqua in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials series. ... Nicole Mary Kidman, Order of Australia (born 20 June 1967 in Honolulu) is an Academy Award-winning Australian/American[1] actress. ... Dakota Blue Richards (born 1994) is an English actress, who will play Lyra Belacqua in the upcoming film His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. ... Silvertongue redirects here. ... Nicole Mary Kidman, Order of Australia (born 20 June 1967 in Honolulu) is an Academy Award-winning Australian/American[1] actress. ... Marisa Coulter is a fictional character in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials trilogy. ... Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is a British writer. ... Daniel Wroughton Craig[1] (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. ... Lord Asriel is a major character in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials series. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE (born 25 May 1939) is an English stage and screen actor, the recipient of the Tony Award and two Oscar nominations. ... Iorek Byrnison is a Panserbjørne (armoured bear) from Philip Pullmans trilogy His Dark Materials. ... Nonso Anozie is a British actor who has appeared in several stage plays and four films to date. ... Toby Emmerich is a film executive and screenwriter. ... Ian McShane (born 29 September 1942) is a Golden Globe-winning English actor. ... // See Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua (also known as Lyra Silvertongue by Iorek Byrnison) is a young girl who inhabits a parallel universe to our own. ... // See Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua (also known as Lyra Silvertongue by Iorek Byrnison) is a young girl who inhabits a parallel universe to our own. ... Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American film and television actor. ... His Dark Materials is a trilogy of novels by the fantasy fiction author Philip Pullman. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... Aeronautics is the mathematics and mechanics of flying objects, in particular airplanes. ... Eva Gaëlle Green[1] () (born July 5, 1980) is an actress, raised in Paris and living in London. ... Serafina Pekkala is a witch queen in the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman. ... Alfred Thomas Highmore[1] (born February 14, 1992), known professionally as Freddie Highmore, is an English actor. ... Pantalaimon is the daemon, or embodied soul, of Lyra Belacqua, the heroine of the His Dark Materials trilogy. ... A dæmon is a physical manifestation of the soul of a conscious person in the Philip Pullman trilogy His Dark Materials. ... Roger Parslow is a minor fictional character in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials trilogy. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... // See Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua (also known as Lyra Silvertongue by Iorek Byrnison) is a young girl who inhabits a parallel universe to our own. ... Gyptians are a fictional ethnic group in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials trilogy. ... Jim Carter (born 1951) is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television. ... Spoiler warning: John Faa, normally known as Lord Faa, is the King of the Gyptians in the fictional trilogy His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. ... Tom Courtenay (pronounced Courtney) (born February 25, 1937) is a British actor who came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of critically-acclaimed films including The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), Billy Liar (1963) and Dr. Zhivago (1965). ... Farder Coram is a very old, wise Gyptian in the trilogy His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman. ... Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an Academy Award-winning American theatrical, film, and television actress, and a stage and television director. ... Kristin Scott Thomas OBE (born 24 May 1960) is an Academy Award-nominated English actress. ... Stelmaria is the dæmon of Lord Asriel, the father of Lyra Belacqua, in the His Dark Materials trilogy. ... Jack Shepherd (born October 29, 1940, Leeds, Yorkshire) is a British actor, well-known for playing avuncular policemen, army personnel, and clergy. ... Simon Montagu McBurney (born August 25, 1957 in Cambridge) is a British actor and director. ... Image:Magda szubanski. ... For other persons named Christopher Lee, see Christopher Lee (disambiguation). ... Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE (IPA: ) (born 22 October 1938) is an English actor and director, knighted in 1994 for his services to the theatre. ...

Development

On February 11, 2002, following the success of New Line's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the studio bought the rights to Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. In July 2003 Tom Stoppard was commissioned to write the screenplay.^[5] Directors Brett Ratner and Sam Mendes expressed interest in the film,^[5] but a year later, Chris Weitz was hired to direct after approaching the studio with an unsolicited 40-page treatment.^[11] The studio rejected Stoppard's script, asking Weitz to start from scratch. Since Weitz was a fan of Stoppard, he decided not to read the adaptation in case he "subconsciously poached things from him."^[12] After delivering his script, Weitz cited Barry Lyndon and Star Wars as stylistic influences on the film.^[5] In 2004, Weitz was invited by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson onto the set of King Kong in order to gather information on directing a blockbuster film, and to receive advice on dealing with New Line Cinema, for whom Jackson had worked on Lord of the Rings. After a subsequent interview in which Weitz said the novel's attacks on organized religion would have to be softened, he was criticized by some fans,^[4] and on December 15, 2004, Weitz announced his resignation as director of the trilogy, citing the enormous technical challenges of the epic.^[5] He later indicated that he had envisioned the possibility of being denounced by both the book's fans and its detractors, as well as a studio hoping for another Lord of the Rings.^[4] is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a film, released on Wednesday, December 19, 2001, directed by Peter Jackson with a runtime of 178 minutes (2 hours, 58 minutes). ... Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is a British writer. ... The trilogy (U.K versions), in order of succession from left to right. ... Sir Tom Stoppard, OM, CBE (born as Tomáš Straussler on July 3, 1937)[1] is an Academy Award winning British playwright of more than 24 plays. ... Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and music-video director. ... Samuel Alexander Mendes CBE (born 1 August 1965) is an English stage and film director. ... Chris Weitz (born 1970 in New York, New York) is the producer and director (along with brother Paul Weitz) of American Pie, About a Boy, and other movies. ... Barry Lyndon (1975) is an award-winning period film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon (1844) by William Makepeace Thackeray. ... This article is about the series. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Peter Jackson film trilogy. ... For other persons named Peter Jackson, see Peter Jackson (disambiguation). ... King Kong is a 2005 remake of the 1933 King Kong film about a fictional giant ape called Kong. ... is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On August 9, 2005, it was announced that British director Anand Tucker would take over from Weitz. Tucker felt the film would thematically be about Lyra "looking for a family",^[5] and Pullman agreed: "He has plenty of very good ideas, and he isn't daunted by the technical challenges. But the best thing from the point of view of all who care about the story is his awareness that it isn't about computer graphics; it isn't about fantastic adventures in amazing-looking worlds; it's about Lyra."^[13] Tucker resigned on May 8, 2006, citing creative disagreements with New Line, and Weitz returned to direct.^[5]. Weitz said "I'm both the first and third director on the film ... [B]ut I did a lot of growing in the interim."^[14] is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Anand Tucker (born 24 June 1963) is a film director and producer. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

According to producer Deborah Forte, Tucker wanted to make a smaller, less exciting film than New Line wanted. New Line production president Toby Emmerich said of Weitz's return: "I think Chris realized that if he didn’t come back in and step up, maybe the movie wasn’t going to get made ... We really didn’t have a Plan B at that point."^[11] Weitz was attracted back to the project after receiving a letter from Pullman asking him to reconsider. Since his departure, blueprints, production design and visual effects strategies had been put into position, and while Weitz admitted that his fears didn't vanish, the project suddenly seemed feasible for the director.^[4] Toby Emmerich is a film executive and screenwriter. ...

Production

"Lyra and her dæmon" (Richards, right, with Highmore, as Pantalaimon) record dialogue in post-production.

Filming began at Shepperton Studios on September 4, 2006,^[5] with additional sequences shot in Switzerland and Norway.^[11] Filming also took place at the Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich in London;^[15] and in Radcliffe Square, Queen's College Oxford and Hedsor House in Buckinghamshire. Silvertongue redirects here. ... Dakota Blue Richards (born 1994) is an English actress, who will play Lyra Belacqua in the upcoming film His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. ... Alfred Thomas Highmore[1] (born February 14, 1992), known professionally as Freddie Highmore, is an English actor. ... Shepperton Studios, located in Shepperton, Middlesex, England is a film studio with a long history of film making. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Old Royal Naval College The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, in the centre of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site in London. ... This article is about Greenwich in England. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Radcliffe Camera in Radcliffe Square, with the spire of St Marys, the University church, behind. ...

Production Designer Dennis Gassner says of his work on the film: “The whole project is about translation – translation from something you would understand into something that is in a different vernacular. So, it’s a new signature, looking into another world that seems familiar but is still unique. There’s a term I use – called 'cludging' – it’s taking one element and combining it with another element to make something new. It’s a hybrid or amalgamation, and that’s what this movie is about from a design perspective. It’s about amalgamating ideas and concepts and theoretical and physical environments.”^[16]

Rhythm and Hues Studios created the main dæmons, and Framestore CFC created all the bears.^[17] British company Cinesite created the secondary dæmons.^[18] Rhythm & Hues Studios is an Academy Award winning visual effects studio, founded in 1987 by six former employees of Robert Abel and Associates. ... Framestore CFC is one of the largest digital film special effects companies in Europe. ...

Alexandre Desplat composed the soundtrack to the film. Kate Bush recorded the track Lyra which plays over the end credits.^[19] Alexandre Michel Desplat (born August 23, 1961 in Paris, France) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning film composer. ... Kate Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. ...

Differences from the novel

Numerous scenes from the novel were not featured in the film. On December 7, 2007, New York Magazine reviewed draft scripts from both Stoppard and Weitz; both were significantly longer than the final version, and Weitz's draft (which, unlike Stoppard's, did not feature significant additions to the source material) was pronounced the best of the three. The magazine concluded that instead of a "likely three hours of running time" that included such scenes as Mrs. Coulter's London party and Lyra's meeting with a witch representative, the studio had opted for a "failed" length of under two hours in order to maximize revenue.^[20] This article or section needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ...

Several shots from the film's deleted ending appear in promotional material. The San Francisco Chronicle found the theatrical release's "truncated" ending abrupt.^[21]

On October 9, 2007, Weitz revealed that the final three chapters from Northern Lights had been moved to the film's potential sequel, The Subtle Knife, in order to provide "the most promising conclusion to the first film and the best possible beginning to the second"^[22], though he also said less than a month later that there had been "tremendous marketing pressure" to create "an upbeat ending". ^[23] Author Pullman publicly supported these changes, saying that "every film has to make changes to the story that the original book tells - not to change the outcome, but to make it fit the dimensions and the medium of film."^[24] In addition to excising Northern Lights' ending, the film reverses the order in which Lyra travels to the Gobbler's outpost of Bolvangar and Svalbard, the armoured bears' kingdom.^[25] Neither deviation from the book features in Scholastic Publishing's The Golden Compass: The Story of the Movie novelization. Todays San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. ... For other uses, see Scholastic (disambiguation). ...

Tasha Robinson of The A.V. Club argued that through the use of a spoken introduction and other exposition-filled dialogue, the film "bowdlerizes" Pullman's vision by "baldly [revealing] up front everything that the novel is trying to get you to wonder about and to explore slowly."^[25] Youyoung Lee wrote in a December 2007 Entertainment Weekly that the film "leaves out the gore," such as the book's ritualistic heart-eating that concludes the bear fight, "to create family-friendlier fare."^[26] Lee also said that the film "downplays the Magisterium's religious nature", but Robinson argued that the depicted "hierarchical organization of formally robed, iconography-heavy priests who dictate and define morality for their followers, are based out of cathedrals, and decry teachings counter to theirs as 'heresy'" while doing "ugly things to children under cover of secrecy" would make "most people" think of the Catholic Church.^[25] The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. ... Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated EW) is a magazine published by Time Inc. ... The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ...

Series creator Philip Pullman suggested a scene not included in the books, in which Mrs. Coulter hits her dæmon.^[27] Although the character has black hair in the novel, Pullman responded to the blonde Kidman's portrayal by saying "I was clearly wrong. You sometimes are wrong about your characters. She's blonde. She has to be."^[28]

Controversies

Several key themes of the novels, such as the rejection of religion and the abuse of power in a fictionalised version of the Catholic Church, were diluted in the adaptation. Director Weitz said "in the books the Magisterium is a version of the Catholic Church gone wildly astray from its roots", but that the organization portrayed in his film would not directly match that of Pullman's books. Instead, the Magisterium represents all dogmatic organizations.^[29] Weitz said that New Line Cinema had feared the story's anti-religious themes would make the film financially unviable in the U.S., and so religion and God ("the Authority" in the books) would not be referenced directly. The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ... For other senses of this word, see dogma (disambiguation). ... This article is about the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

A Magisterium building damaged by one of the film's heroes features religious imagery.^[30]

Attempting to reassure fans of the novels, Weitz said that religion would instead appear in euphemistic terms, yet the decision was criticised by some fans,^[31] anti-censorship groups, and the National Secular Society (of which Pullman is an honorary associate), which said "they are taking the heart out of it, losing the point of it, castrating it..."^[32] and "this is part of a long-term problem over freedom of speech." The Atlantic Monthly said also "With $180 million at stake, the studio opted to kidnap the book’s body and leave behind its soul."^[33] The changes from the novel have been present since Tom Stoppard's rejected version of the script,^[11] and Pullman expected the film to be "faithful"^[29] although he also said "They do know where to put the theology and that’s off the film."^[33] A Christianity Today review of the film noted that "'magisterium' does refer, in the real world, to the teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and the film [is] peppered with religiously significant words like 'oblation' and 'heresy'", adding that when one character smashes through the wall of a Magisterium building, the damaged exterior is "decorated with [Christian] Byzantine icons."^[30] A halo (Greek: ; also known as a nimbus, glory, or Gloriole) is a ring of light that surrounds an object. ... The National Secular Society is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes secularism. ... The Atlantic redirects here; for the ocean, see Atlantic Ocean. ... Sir Tom Stoppard, OM, CBE (born as Tomáš Straussler on July 3, 1937)[1] is an Academy Award winning British playwright of more than 24 plays. ... Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ... Oblation, an offering (Late Lat. ... For other uses, see Heresy (disambiguation). ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ...

On October 7, 2007 the Catholic League called for a boycott of the film.^[34] League president William A. Donohue said he would not ordinarily object to the film, but that while the religious elements are diluted from the source material, the film will encourage children to read the novels, which he says denigrate Christianity and promote atheism for kids.^[35] He cited Pullman telling the Washington Post in 2001 that he is trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief.^[36] The League hoped that "the film [would fail] to meet box office expectations and that [Pullman's] books attract few buyers,"^[37] declaring the boycott campaign a success after a North American opening weekend which was lower than anticipated.^[38] One week after the film's release, Roger Ebert said of the campaign, "any bad buzz on a family film can be mortal, and that seems to have been the case this time."^[39] is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Logo of the Catholic League The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights is a large Catholic civil rights organization in the United States, with the proclaimed mission of defending the civil and religious rights of Catholics to participate in American public life without defamation or discrimination. ... William A. Donohue (born July 18, 1947 in Manhattan, New York), has-been : the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in the United States since 1993. ... ... North American redirects here. ... Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ...

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, agreed that the broad appeal of the film was a dangerous lure to the novels, which he criticized for carrying a clear agenda to expose what [Pullman] believes is the tyranny of the Christian faith" and for "[providing] a liberating mythology for a new secular age."^[40] The Rev. Denny Wayman of the Free Methodist Church made the assertion that The Golden Compass is a "film trying to preach an atheistic message."^[41] Other evangelical groups, such as The Christian Film and Television Commission, adopted a "wait-and-see" approach to the film before deciding upon any action,^[42] as did the Roman Catholic Church in Britain.^[43] Some religious scholars have challenged the view that the story carries atheistic themes,^[44][45] while in November 2007, a review of the film by the director and staff reviewer of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting appeared on the website of the Catholic News Service and in Catholic newspapers across the country. The review suggested that instead of a boycott, it may be appropriate for Catholic parents to "talk through any thorny philosophical issues" with their children.^[46] However, on December 10, 2007 the review was removed from the website at the USCCB's request.^[47] On December 19, 2007, the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, published an editorial in which it denounced the film as godless.^[48] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Free Methodist Church is a denomination of Methodism, which is a branch of Protestantism. ... Ted Baehr (born 1946) is an American media critic and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission. ... Papal Coat-of-Arms Westminster Cathedral The Catholic Church in England and Wales is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church. ... November 2007 is the eleventh month of that year. ... The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (also known as the USCCB) is the official governing body of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. ... is the 344th day of the year (345th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Masthead LOsservatore Romano is the Vaticans newspaper. ...

Pullman said of Donohue's call for a boycott, "Why don't we trust readers? Why don't we trust filmgoers? Oh, it causes me to shake my head with sorrow that such nitwits could be loose in the world."^[43] In a discussion with Donohue on CBS's Early Show, Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, said that rather than promote atheism, the film would encourage children to question authority, saying that would not be a bad thing for children to learn.^[49] Director Weitz says that he believes His Dark Materials is "not an atheistic work, but a highly spiritual and reverent piece of writing",^[31] and Nicole Kidman defended her decision to star in the film, saying that "I wouldn't be able to do this film if I thought it were at all anti-Catholic".^[14] Some commentators indicated that they believed both sides' criticism would prove ultimately impotent and that the negative publicity would prove a boon for the film's box office.^[50][51][43] This article is about the broadcast network. ... The Early Show title card The Early Show is a American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City, 7 to 9 a. ... Ellen Johnson is the current president of American Atheists. ... The American Atheists logo, based on the atomic model. ... This article is about authority as a concept. ...

Reception

Critical reception

Reviews of The Golden Compass have been mixed.^[52] As of March 4, 2008, review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 40% of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based on 183 reviews,^[53] with a 50% rating from selected "notable" critics.^[54] At the similar website Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 51, based on 33 reviews.^[55] is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Metacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows, DVDs and books. ... Broadly, normalization (also spelled normalisation) is any process that makes something more normal, which typically means conforming to some regularity or rule, or returning from some state of abnormality. ... In statistics, given a set of data, X = { x1, x2, ..., xn} and corresponding weights, W = { w1, w2, ..., wn} the weighted mean is calculated as Note that if all the weights are equal, the weighted mean is the same as the arithmetic mean. ...

Manohla Dargis of the New York Times said that the film "crams so many events, characters, [...] twists and turns, sumptuously appointed rooms and ethereally strange vistas [...] that [it] risks losing you in the whirl" and that while The Golden Compass is "an honorable work," it is "hampered by its fealty to the book and its madly rushed pace."^[56] James Berardinelli of ReelReviews gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, calling it "adequate but not inspired" and criticizing the first hour for its rushed pace and sketchily-developed characters.^[57] James Christopher of The Times was disappointed, praising the "marvellous" special effects and casting, but saying that the "books weave a magic the film simply cannot match" and citing a "lack of genuine drama."^[58] Manohla Dargis is one of the chief film critics for The New York Times. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... For other uses, see Times. ...

Time rated it a "B" and called it a "good, if familiar fantasy", saying "The find is Dakota Blue Richards [...] who's both grounded and magical."^[59] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated it four stars out of five, praising Nicole Kidman's casting and saying it had "no other challengers as [2007's] big Christmas movie."^[60] Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert awarded the film four out of four stars and called it "a darker, deeper fantasy epic than the Rings trilogy, The Chronicles of Narnia or the Potter films," saying that it "creates villains that are more complex and poses more intriguing questions. As a visual experience, it is superb. As an escapist fantasy, it is challenging [...] I think [it] is a wonderfully good-looking movie, with exciting passages and a captivating heroine."^[61] TIME redirects here. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago. ... Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ... This article is about the Peter Jackson film trilogy. ... The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of fantasy films from Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media based on the series of novels, The Chronicles of Narnia written by C.S. Lewis in the 1950s. ... The Harry Potter film series are the fantasy films based on the Harry Potter heptalogy of novels by British author and writer J. K. Rowling. ...

Awards

The Golden Compass won the 2008 BAFTA Award for Special Visual Effects^[62] and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.^[63] It was also nominated for two Critics' Choice Awards in 2007 ("Best Family Film," and "Best Young Actress" for Dakota Blue Richards^[64]), five Satellite Awards, and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organization that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ... 2006 - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest - John Knoll Hal T. Hickel Charles Gibson Allen Hall Superman Returns – Mark Stetson Neil Corbould Richard Hoover Jon Thum El Laberinto del fauno – Edward Irastorza Everett Burrell David Martí Montse Ribé Casino Royale – Steven Begg Chris Corbould John Paul Docherty Ditch... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... The Academy Award for Visual Effects is an Oscar given to one film each year that shows highest achievement in visual effects. ... The Critics Choice Awards are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. ... Dakota Blue Richards (born 1994) is an English actress, who will play Lyra Belacqua in the upcoming film His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. ... The Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. ... The Hugo Awards are given annually by members of the World Science Fiction Convention for the best science fiction or fantasy works. ...

Box office

The North American opening weekend return of $25.8 million^[65] was "a little disappointing" for New Line Cinema,^[66] though its performance outside the United States was described as "stellar" by Variety,^[67] and as "astonishing" by New Line.^[68] The Golden Compass completed its theatrical run in North America having earned $70,107,728. As of June 15, 2008, it had earned $302,126,372 elsewhere, totaling $372,234,100 worldwide.^[65] The film opened in Japan in March 2008 on 700 screens. Previews of the film on 23–24 February 2008 earned $2.5 million. Extrapolating upon these figures using the performance of other U.S. films in Japan, Variety estimated that the film could earn $51 million in the country.^[69] Overseas rights to the film were sold to fund the $180 million production budget for the film, so most of these profits did not go to New Line;^[70][71] by the time the film had earned a global box office of $330 million in March 2008, it was estimated that the decision had cost New Line 75% of the film's return.^[72] This has been cited as a potential "last straw" in Time Warner's decision to merge New Line Cinema into Warner Bros Pictures.^[2] Variety is a daily newspaper for the entertainment industry. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...

Distribution

The film was released in United Kingdom on April 28, 2008 and the United States on April 29, 2008 in both DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats. The extra material on the single-disc DVD consists of previews of upcoming New Line Cinema films. The two-disc edition includes a commentary from writer/director Chris Weitz, eleven "making-of" featurettes, a photo gallery, and theatrical and teaser trailers. The Blu-ray disc features the same extras from the two-disc DVD edition.^[73] Exclusive to Blu-ray Disc is Visual Commentary Picture-in-Picture feature which enables users to view behind the scene feature while watching the movie. is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...

Weitz has suggested that an extended cut of the film could be released on DVD, saying "I'd really love to do a fuller cut of the film"; he further speculated that such a version "could probably end up at two and half hours."^[74] This proposed cut would presumably not include the original ending: MTV reported in December 2007 that Weitz hoped to include that material at the beginning of a possible The Subtle Knife adaptation, and that a Compass Director's Cut might feature "a moment" of it as a "teaser".^[75] Cast members Craig and Green have echoed this hope for such a DVD cut; so far, however, no official announcement has been made.^[75] This article is about the original U.S. music television channel. ... For the weapon mentioned in this book, see Æsahættr. ...

Main article: The Golden Compass (video game)

The video game for this film was released on December 4, 2007 for the PC, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and the Xbox 360. It was developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Sega.^[76] The Golden Compass is an upcoming videogame based on the film The Golden Compass. ... is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... A stylised illustration of a personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a computer whose original sales price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals, intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator. ... The Wii (pronounced as the pronoun we, IPA: ) is the fifth home video game console released by Nintendo. ... PS2 redirects here. ... The PlayStation 3 , trademarked PLAYSTATION®3,[3] commonly abbreviated PS3) is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment; successor to the PlayStation 2. ... The PlayStation Portable (officially abbreviated PSP)[5] is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... The Nintendo DS (sometimes abbreviated NDS or more commonly DS) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. ... It has been suggested that Xbox 360 Elite be merged into this article or section. ... Shiny Entertainment is a video game developer based in Newport Beach, CA, and is the creator of several hits such as Earthworm Jim and Enter The Matrix. ... This article is about the video game company. ...

Players take control of the characters Lyra Belacqua and Iorek Byrnison in Lyra's attempt to save her friend Roger from the General Oblation Board. Silvertongue redirects here. ... // See Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua (also known as Lyra Silvertongue by Iorek Byrnison) is a young girl who inhabits a parallel universe to our own. ... // See Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua (also known as Lyra Silvertongue by Iorek Byrnison) is a young girl who inhabits a parallel universe to our own. ...

Sequels

New Line Cinema commissioned Hossein Amini to write a screenplay based on the second book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, potentially for release in late 2009, with the third book of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, to follow. However, New Line president Toby Emmerich stressed that production of the second and third films was dependent on the financial success of The Golden Compass.^[77] When The Golden Compass failed to meet expectations at the United States box office, the likelihood of a sequel was downplayed by New Line. According to studio co-head Michael Lynne, "The jury is still very much out on the movie, and while it's performed very strongly overseas we'll look at it early [2008] and see where we're going with a [sequel]."^[78] For the weapon mentioned in this book, see Æsahættr. ... The Amber Spyglass is the third and final novel in the His Dark Materials series, written by British novelist Philip Pullman, and published in 2000. ... Toby Emmerich is a film executive and screenwriter. ... Michael Lynne is an American movie executive, co-founder of New Line Cinema. ...

If sequels are produced, Weitz has said that he intends to "protect [their] integrity" by being "much less compromising" in the book-to-film adaptation process.^[23] On February 29, 2008, Weitz told The Daily Yomiuri that he still hopes for sequels, saying "at first it looked like we were down for the count because in the U.S. [the film] underperformed. But then internationally it performed [better] than expectations. So, a lot depends on Japan, frankly.... I think if it does well enough here we'll be in good shape for that."^[27] February 29 is a day added into a leap year of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... Yomiuri-TOKYO Office Yomiuri-Osaka Office Yomiuri YC The Yomiuri Shimbun (読売新聞 Yomiuri Shinbun) is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. ...

On March 13, 2008, The Golden Compass Producer Deborah Forte expressed optimism that sequels could be made, and said that she intends to see them realized.^[79] is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...

References