# Will the next "Golden Compass"/"His Dark Materials" movie ever get made? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532 "2007-12-28T22:59:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/1 "2007-12-28T22:59:21Z")
[_The Golden Compass_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Compass_%28film%29) is based on the first of a [trilogy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_golden_compass) of fantasy novels and ends on a cliffhanger. But, after a disappointing box-office take, will it join the ranks of films with promised sequels that never get made? From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > 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.[65] 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 strong overseas we’ll look at it early [2008] and see where we’re going with a [sequel].”[66] ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/2 "2007-12-28T23:05:18Z")
I’d say unlikely. New Line had hoped that this would be their new fantasy franchise, a la _Lord of the Rings_ or _Harry Potter_, and the poor U.S. box office reception has, from all I’ve read, put a damper on that idea. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/3 "2007-12-28T23:12:03Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] [_The Golden Compass_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Compass_%28film%29) is based on the first of a [trilogy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_golden_compass) of fantasy novels and ends on a cliffhanger. But, after a disappointing box-office take, will it join the ranks of films with promised sequels that never get made? From Wikipedia: [/QUOTE] If God is merciful (an odd request in such a circumstance), then no. I have NEVER hated a movie so much as that one. My abhorrence of \*Return of the King \* pales beside my hatred of that movie. I can only explain it by positing that, sometime in the past, Philip Pullman killed the dog of Chris Weitz (the movie’s director) and Weitz did this as revenge. All the principals in this movie must be executed, with four exceptions. Dakota Richards, because she is a child and presumably knew no better. Sam Elliot, because he’s Sam Elliot. Ian McKellan, because he has enough goodwill stored up from being Gandalf and Magneto to make up for it. And Nicole Kidman, because she was once married to Tom Cruise, and the memories of that must be such that death will be a sweet release. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/4 "2007-12-28T23:15:31Z")
This is humiliating. As if the Christians in this country weren’t making us look _bad enough_ to the Europeans. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/5 "2007-12-28T23:24:47Z")
I don’t get the religious thing anyway. Is the Magisterium a church? Nobody involved in it seems to do any worshipping or praying; neither does anybody else; and how the “dust” theory is incompatible with Magisterium doctrine is never explained. That’s the movie, anyway. I understand that the books make the anti-religious theme more explicit, and the Magisterium is the Catholic Church in a timeline with no Reformation. But, American Protestants should **dig** that, shouldn’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/6 "2007-12-28T23:33:42Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I don’t get the religious thing anyway. Is the Magisterium a church? Nobody involved in it seems to do any worshipping or praying; neither does anybody else; and how the “dust” theory is incompatible with Magisterium doctrine is never explained. That’s the movie, anyway. I understand that the books make the anti-religious theme more explicit, and the Magisterium is the Catholic Church in a timeline with no Reformation. But, American Protestants should **dig** that, shouldn’t they? [/QUOTE] That’s the problem with the movie, as I see it. Weitz couldn’t make up his freaking mind. It’s incomprehensible unless you’ve read the book; and if you love the book, you find the book incredibly annoying, and not only are you not willing to see it again, but you urge other persons not to waste their time and money either. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/7 "2007-12-28T23:38:35Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I don’t get the religious thing anyway. Is the Magisterium a church? [/QUOTE] The Magisterium isn’t just A church; it’s THE church, as far as the West is concerned anywhistle. In Lyra’s universe, the Reformation seems to have died aborning–or, more accurately, to have resulted not in schism but in massive changes to Catholicism. John Calvin served as Pope (and last of the line) and after his death, his authority was distributd among various church functions, which grew more powerful in time. ---
**Author:** ![Superfreaknduper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Superfreaknduper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfreaknduper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/8 "2007-12-28T23:48:10Z")
I went to see this with a friend who was in LOVE with the book. Prior to seeing it I got all the inside story on how it was controversial because of the religion thing and how amazing the book was and the basic plot points and things. Then I saw the movie. All was ruined. None of the movie made any sense to what I was told. I even tried to stretch the movie to having controversial religious overtones and I couldn’t do it. Not a good movie at all. It is a movie like this that I watch and then wonder how the people involve could have watched it and gone. “Well, it is good enough to release” when EVERY one else watches it and goes “Wow, that was terrible”. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/9 "2007-12-29T00:24:03Z")
[QUOTE=wolf in second hand clothing] This is humiliating. As if the Christians in this country weren’t making us look _bad enough_ to the Europeans. [/QUOTE] Sure, the failure of the movie was soley due to religious fanatics. It had nothing to do with the fact the the movie was **BAD**. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/10 "2007-12-29T00:54:29Z")
[QUOTE=Orual] Sure, the failure of the movie was soley due to religious fanatics. It had nothing to do with the fact the the movie was **BAD**. [/QUOTE] No kidding. I think this says more about the taste of Europeans than the power of American Christians. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/11 "2007-12-29T00:57:11Z")
We enjoyed the film very much. I’d never heard of this series of books before, so now the wife and I will probably read them. So at least there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/12 "2007-12-29T03:00:08Z")
I still wonder if the movie’s failure to do better at the box office might be related to the protagonist’s being a young girl rather than a boy. In the TV trailers, we hardly saw the girl at all; they focused on the adults and the bears. In the newspapers, they started showing pics of the girl riding a bear. A week or so later, they ran the same pic except that a boy was seated behind her. I figured this was an attempt to draw boys into the theater. ? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/13 "2007-12-29T03:06:11Z")
[QUOTE=Orual] Sure, the failure of the movie was soley due to religious fanatics. It had nothing to do with the fact the the movie was **BAD**. [/QUOTE] The religious fanatics are [taking credit for it.](http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/dec/07121001.html) [QUOTE=Bill Donahue] Let this be a lesson to militant atheists like Pullman: keep your hollow beliefs to yourself. And ease up on demonizing Catholicism-no other religion has done more to promote human rights, science and goodwill. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/14 "2007-12-29T03:11:33Z")
[QUOTE=wolf in second hand clothing] The religious fanatics are [taking credit for it.](http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/dec/07121001.html) [/QUOTE] So? They’re idiots. Sure have had a lot of success with those Satanic Harry Potter movies … ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/15 "2007-12-29T03:17:41Z")
Yes, yes they are. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/16 "2007-12-29T03:20:50Z")
The Religious Right is indeed annoying. Hub and I had never heard of the books and mildly enjoyed the movie; however, if a sequel isn’t made, I’m afraid there will be a lot of unanswered plot questions. I looked long and hard for an anti-religious theme and other than the Magisterium being the Bad Guys, there’s not a lot of anti-church rhetoric in the movie. I just started reading the trilogy so maybe there’s more in store for me there. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/17 "2007-12-29T03:42:14Z")
[QUOTE=Orual] So? They’re idiots. Sure have had a lot of success with those Satanic Harry Potter movies … [/QUOTE] So far as I’m aware, the Catholic League never took a particularly hard-line position over Harry Potter – did I miss it? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/18 "2007-12-29T03:44:19Z")
[QUOTE=Ruby] I just started reading the trilogy so maybe there’s more in store for me there. [/QUOTE] It really only becomes an overt theme in the third book. It’s a tad more subtle in the first two. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/19 "2007-12-29T03:57:25Z")
Back to the OP’s question. Yep, those movies failed at the original showings in theaters. So what? That has very little to do these days with profitability. When the movies come out on DVD then, and only then, will their actual value be understood. DVD sales can easily eclipse the original box office gross. If the DVD sells well to families, which has long been a pattern, then each successor movie becomes more valuable. You can sell the first movie over again when the second comes out; you can sell the first and second when the third comes out; you can sell the three as a set; you can sell the director’s cut, and the extras, and the special Christmas gift edition, etc. Studio executives know they can gull the credible by concentrating on the horse race of box office and not have to admit how much money they make by back-end deals. And the media goes along with it, same as they do with the meaningless horse race of the Iowa caucuses. Everybody on the inside knows how stupid this is, yet it get replayed daily. I don’t get it. Anway, the point has been made that the original screening, except in rare cases of breakout hits and superblockbusters, is entirely written off as advertising for future rights sales. Those sales (which include cable rights, network rights, pay per view rights, soundtracks, merchandise and many et ceteras) have mostly yet to emerge. Wait a year or two before judging the value of these films and the genre. With the size of the family DVD market, I guarantee that more kids fantasies will be made. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532/20 "2007-12-29T07:01:03Z")
[QUOTE=Superfreaknduper] It is a movie like this that I watch and then wonder how the people involve could have watched it and gone. “Well, it is good enough to release” when EVERY one else watches it and goes “Wow, that was terrible”. [/QUOTE] Not EVERYone. It had its problems with being too short and too rushed, but I thought that just about everything other than the editing worked beautifully: the casting (especially Nicole Kidman), the art direction/set decoration, the special effects, the costumes, the atmosphere. I hope they bring everybody back with the exception of a different director (I’d rather see Alfonso Cuaron or Terry Gilliam for instance) and make 2&3. Forget the Americans and their narrow-minded religious bullshit. Make the remainder of the trilogy for the rest of the world. The next two movies wouldn’t have to cost anywhere near as much as the first one. They already have a lot of the special effects worked out (and New Line can always get rid of Shaye and then hire WETA, who’ll be a lot cheaper to work with for upcoming effects). The majority of the costumes are made or blueprinted, the fantastical sets are built or blueprinted. Big chunks of the next two films take place in our modern day universe, so that’ll help keep costs down. I fear The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass won’t be made, but I hope they will. Done right, they could not only be much better than The Golden Compass, they could be even better than the books. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-next-golden-compass-his-dark-materials-movie-ever-get-made/431532.md?page=2)