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Posted By: Dark Knight Dec 11, 2004 - 01:27 pm

Dark Materials Film Omits God

Filmmakers are adapting Philip Pullman's fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, in which two children do battle with an evil, all-powerful church, to remove anti-religious overtones, The Times of London reported. Chris Weitz, the director, has horrified fans by announcing that references to the church are likely to be banished in his film. Meanwhile the "Authority," the weak God figure, will become "any arbitrary establishment that curtails the freedom of the individual," the newspaper reported.

The studio wants alterations because of fears of a backlash from the Christian right in the United States, the newspaper reported. The changes are being made with the support of Pullman, who told The Times last year that he received "a large amount" for the movie rights to his books.

Weitz, a rising Hollywood star who directed American Pie and About a Boy, said that the studio, New Line Cinema, had expressed concern that His Dark Materials' perceived anti-religiosity might make "it an inviable project financially."

In Pullman's Carnegie Medal-winning books, nuns turn into atheists and the church is described as "wrong and bad." The film trilogy, the first of which is expected in 2006, has already run into difficulty after Tom Stoppard, the Oscar-winning playwright, was dumped from the project and his draft shelved, the newspaper reported.

from http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2004-12/10/10.00.film

Posted By: ~*FallenFaerie*~ Dec 16, 2004 - 12:27 pm

eeeeee!!!!!!! i love these books so much, its awesome they're making them into movies, but im kind of wondering how good they're going to be without the religion thing, which was basically the central theme of the books...

Posted By: Magus Dec 16, 2004 - 02:02 pm

I never heard of those books before, except in passing refferences. But what they are doing to it is just... just... WRONG!!!!! No book should be so gutted when being adapted.

Posted By: ~*FallenFaerie*~ Dec 17, 2004 - 12:06 pm

you should read them magus, i love them, and im the least religious person i know. there's a talking polar bear!!! (i thought they were very well written, and really deep. like, they talk about how adults are infected with "dust" which symbolizes original sin, and how children are innocent and don't acquire "dust" until they grow up and are exposed to the evils of the world. pretty heavy stuff for a set of kids' books)and i fully agree, if you're going to make a book into a movie, at least try to make the movie a tiny bit like the book. that's why i was so upset with the princess diaries movie (which isn't scifi, but its the best example i can think of). it was nothing at all like the book, which was awesome. but i guess if enough people make enough money from a horrible representation of a good book, then hollywood's not losing any sleep...

Posted By: Magus Dec 17, 2004 - 01:22 pm

That's one thing I have a problem with.

Another thing I have the problem with is Stephen Kings easy giving-away of his book rights for crappy films. I don't think it's the money in his case. I just think he's purely too leniant with his rights.

Posted By: Gnollslayer Dec 17, 2004 - 02:46 pm

If my books get big enough to warrant Hollywood's attention, I'm not sellilng film rights to anyone unless they allow me to co-direct.