Later next month the first of a very large budgeted trilogy will be rolling out by New Line Cinemas. The last trilogy from that studio, as you may remember, was Lord of the Rings. This time around NLC is putting $150 million into The Golden Compass and its series production, the largest since LotR. The screenplay writer shifted a few times and finally returned to the original writer as there was an issue over the content of religion and discussions of faith. There’s plenty of feathers ruffled over the author’s strong stance as an atheist and rumors of his claims that this series of books were intended to counter balance C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Now as far as all that I’m not too sure, but the movie looks pretty interesting, though I’m a little hung up on the killer polar bears and the rest of the talking animals. The whole “special child will rise to power to vanquish evil” does sound a bit familiar, but will it be as successful?

You can read our review of The Golden Compass book here.

The Golden Compass - Details:
Release Date: 7 December 2007
Genre: Family / Fantasy
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards
Director: Chris Weitz
Expected Rating: PG-13

The Golden Compass - Plot:

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 - Movie Trailer: