HisDarkMaterials.org

As I am writing this I am sitting in a lovely park in the Côte d'Azur town of Cannes, where the 60^th edition of the film festival is currently being held.

Over the coming few days L!NK and I hope to keep you updated on all the interesting The Golden Compass related events going on at the festival, most notably the press screening, where we'll get the chance to see how work on the movie is progressing.

Every evening we'll post our experiences, so keep an eye on the website.

Le Matin reports that Daniel Craig is busy shooting a scene in Grindelwald, Switzerland. This beautiful area is favoured by hikers and skiers alike, and by Chris Weitz as well it would seem.

As those familiar with the storyline of The Golden Compass will know, there is no scene in the book set in such a location, so this indicates that Lord Asriel has had an extra scene written for him.

Thanks to Thomas for the update!

Waterstones booksellers recently held a competition to choose the best book of the last 25 years, voted on by the public.  Northern Lights came in third in the public poll, after Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and The Time Traveller's Wife.  According to The Book Standard, Waterstones booksellers themselves selected Northern Lights as the best book of the last 25 years.

The Telegraph reports: "[..] and Northern Lights, the first instalment of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy are more recent titles included in the classics list."

When I first heard of The Golden Compass I wanted to read it, but held off doing so because I had a lot going on at the time. When I was ready to read it, there was so much buzz about it that I was inundated and put it down yet for a later time when I could pick it up without being influenced too much by that buzz. Then I forgot about it and I think the books are over at one of my sons' houses...

IGN reports on the Golden Compass game: It was stressed how much more expansive the game will be than the movie. The Golden Compass will take place over 11 levels, and will allow players to explore many of the locations that they only manage to catch a quick glimpse of in the film. What's more, two of the levels of the title will be exclusive to the game, and will feature locations pulled directly from the His Dark Materials universe.

The three characters that players will use will have different abilities available to them as well. Lyra will have the option to use the alethiometer to solve puzzles, as well as unlock bonus content and acquire various power-ups. Players won't have to decipher the device's symbols and answer its questions to proceed through the game, but if they do, they'll receive an advantage over certain sections. Pan, on the other hand, will need to use his shape shifting abilities to maneuver around environmental challenges, while Lorek will need to use his size and clawing abilities to defeat opponents.

Waterstones is inviting readers to vote for their favorite book of the past 25 years, out of a list of 100 on their site. Northern Lights is one of them.

Voting has, strangely, reopened! Voting has ended again.

MonstersandCritics.com has added the new official teaser poster to its website.  The poster shows Lyra holding the alethiometer, with Iorek looming over her.  The tagline is "There are worlds beyond our own - the compass will show the way."

See the high-resolution version of the poster.

StarGazette.com reports: About 15 minutes of footage [of The Golden Compass] will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off May 16. That's the same buzz-generating strategy used for 2001's "Fellowship of the Ring." Richards is expected to attend the festival, along with writer/director Chris Weitz ("About a Boy") and co-stars Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott and Eva Green. But Nicole Kidman, who plays the mysterious Mrs. Coulter, will be busy shooting another film.

Time writes: "Being a fan helps with the tricky business of winning over fanboys of established franchises, who tend to be a protective bunch. When Chris Weitz was tapped to direct this fall's His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass, an adaptation of the first book in Philip Pullman's fantasy series, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, the About a Boy director made the mistake of going online and reading a poll of fan reaction. "I had just barely beaten 'nobody' as the person who would be the best director for the series," says Weitz, who eventually invited some fans onto the set and proved his fanboy bona fides."

It's funny that Weitz forgets to mention that Tom Stoppard beat 'nobody' as well as him in our poll back then. Luckily, as the article mentions, Chris Weitz has been able to prove his dedication to the project since then.

Our Italian friends over at Queste Oscure Materie.it alerted us of a blog that says they have reliable information that reshooting parts of The Golden Compass has begun just last Thursday. While we do not have confirmation, it is quite notable and it does raise questions. Are they just perfecting the movie, reshooting a few scenes that they weren't completely happy with or are they perhaps changing parts of the story?

Furthermore, Queste Oscure Materie were at a conference in Bologna where Philip Pullman's book The Broken Bridge (which was recently translated to Italian) was promoted. They were able to record and transcript the discussion that was held there. The full transcript is available in English, and there are a few pictures too.

The Daily Record reports in an article about what items are predicted to rise in value on eBay, that "eBay also recommend merchandise from the forthcoming movie The Golden Compass, based on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy," and places Golden Compass film memorabilia in sixth place out of ten types of items to hold on to for later eBay sales.

ChampionNews.com reports: Christian teachers have criticised a public reading scheme which urges children to read what they say is an 'anti-church' book. 

Sefton Council want young people all over the borough to pick up Philip Pullman's Northern Lights - a novel which is seen by some faith groups as anti-Christian propaganda. The event - the Big Read - is a mass reading session, and this is the first time Sefton are taking part.

Metro.co.uk reports: A new interactive feature called Meet Your Daemon has been launched by New Line Cinema on its official website for the upcoming film The Golden Compass. The new feature, at GoldenCompassMovie.com, allows users to discover exactly what daemon best represents their personality, and then allows them to take their daemon avatar with them by embedding it on their own website or MySpace page.

Sega recentely featured some new screenshots of the upcoming The Golden Compass game. They include a scene with Lyra running on rooftops and an overview of Lyra's Oxford. The earlier scene where Iorek fights of wolves was updated with an character interface, showing something what could be a life- or strength bar, weapons and such.

Thanks to Marco Chávez Lozano for the tip!