The trailer…

First of all, I’m not crazy about the font used to write the movie’s title. That G looks too odd and the letters are thin rather than elegant. Still, New Line Cinema makes a smart move, I think, tying in The Lord of the Rings and saying, Yes, we made LOTR, so we can make His Dark Materials. I sure as hell hope so. I love the trailer (it blew me away at the theater), but I can’t help but feel it falls into the standard trailer format for this kind of thing (prophecy, villains, fighting – oh, and the awesome CGI animals!). The last clip of Iorek and Lyra has music reminiscent of (or actually of?) Gladiator. But the rendition of the alethiometer is just as I hoped it would be. Really, I feel like this preview doesn’t give too much away, and of course I can’t wait for this film…

As for the cast, Nicole Kidman is perfect to play Marisa Coulter. Shrewd, conniving, clever, and cold – I think Kidman could pull that off. I don’t know about Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel, since I didn’t see Casino Royale or any of his other films, but reviewers seemed to like him, and I’m glad some big names will come with the movie, since the girl playing Lyra (yet another angel named Dakota) is a newcomer. For the sake of…my sanity, I hope she’s better than Daniel Radcliffe was in the first Harry Potter. Oh, I shall cry if Lyra isn’t as fun as she was in the books! (Even though she was my least favorite character. I much preferred Pantalaimon.)

As for the director, Chris Weitz, he’s done a hell of a lot more producing than he has directing. According to IMDB he produced In Good Company (which I liked) and directed About a Boy…and is uncredited for director work in American Pie. Hmm – well, I guess Peter Jackson can’t be expected to direct every fantasy book adaption, but still… Maybe that’s why New Line Cinema reminds us of LOTR during the trailer, even though Jackson isn’t involved in this one. But I have faith!

I’m so excited about seeing what the daemons look like. Coulter’s golden monkey always scared the crap out of me, and I loved poor Pantalaimon, that sweetheart. In fact, I read this book back when I was…really little…and I started carrying around a stuffed animal and calling it my daemon (of course then I didn’t know you could pronounce the word as DEMON).

The website for the Golden Compass is amazing and must-visit. It took very little time to load on my computer, even though it usually takes a while for interactive menus to load for me.

What is amazing about this website? Well, as a reader of the Golden Compass, I always wanted to a) have a daemon b) use the alethiometer. And now I can! Granted, it’s all for promotional purposes, but the website, after a 20 question session, assigns you a daemon (and you can re-test to get a different one, though that sounds silly to me) and gives it a name. In case you’re wondering, I got a crow. Eew… You can also ask the alethiometer a question, though every time I have done so, the compass has moved aside to reveal concept art for the movie. Alas, no answers to my pressing questions (lol).

Recently, I was thinking about how people have tried to ban Harry Potter. Far-fetched as that sounds, they had their so-called reasons. Of course, I don’t agree with this at all, and agree with the linked article’s last statement – as much as I think everyone should read HP, it’s up to each family to decide what’s right for itself. When it comes to something like HP, that is so universally loved and as a movie wouldn’t rate anything higher than PG-13, I actually think it’s the kids who should decide whether or not they read it, but whatever.

Anyway, seeing as how The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe came out back in 2005, I was intensely curious about what people would think of The Golden Compass coming out now. Of course, the TLTWATW was a Christian allegory, and Philip Pullman hates C.S. Lewis, so much so that His Dark Materials is like the anti-Narnia. My question, in bringing up Harry Potter and the contrast between Lewis’s and Pullman’s works is two-fold:

1) Will the Golden Compass boost book sales? (I want to say yes, but you never know. The movie might tank. Although I hope not.)
2) Will the wrong sort of people pay more attention to His Dark Materials? And by the “wrong sort” I mean people who would want to ban it. I hope not. Honestly, The Golden Compass, and even the Narnia books, ought to be required reading in school, I think. (And maybe that might boost sales for fantasy books in general…)

Well, here’s looking forward to the Golden Compass! I can’t wait for the movie, and now I really feel like re-reading the book. Although I’ve read so many books since GC, it’s still one of the most amazing things I’ve ever read (of course I enjoyed The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, but GC left me the most full of wonder and dread).

Other neat-o sites that load nicely:
Advent Children
Rahxephon