HisDarkMaterials.org

This monday we've attended roundtable interviews in three of the four rooms they were in. Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Eva Green, Sam Elliot, director Chris Weitz and producer Deborah Forte were rotated so that every room got to talk to them for about 15 minutes. We've published full transcripts of those rooms, in total about 5 hours worth of interviews.

Read the transcript of room one.

Read the transcript of room two.

Read the transcript of room three.

Some of the questions asked weren't on such a high-level, as a lot of the press haven't actually read the books, but there's definitely a lot of interesting comments and facts in these transcripts. We're planning on doing a more in-depth write-up about all that in here once we're past all the premiere buzz of today.

Be sure to check out World Premiere feature page to stay up to date with all that's happening here in London. This afternoon we'll be attending the red carpet party with photo- and camera crews so we'll have a lot of exciting material out by tomorrow!

As our review of The Golden Compass film is such a major event we've written two version: one for those who have read the book, and one for those who haven't yet enjoyed the literature. Be sure to check the The Golden Compass World Premiere feature page for constant updates of the events in London.

Read our The Golden Compass review for reader

Read our The Golden Compass review for non-readers

Three of our staff members attended the second press screening sunday morning and all wrote seperate reviews:

• Read David Jones' review
• Read Graham Lord's review
• Read Edward Miles' review

Be sure to also check out our review of Alexandre Desplat's The Golden Compass soundtrack.

The soundtrack to the Golden Compass lies, as the book does, with recurring themes. The key of each piece within the music seems relatively similar to each- even though the music is an auditory pleasure, there are few themes and variations thereof. Having said this, the music is entirely relative to the film; Mrs Coulter’s theme is sinister and quiet, and gives a feeling of hidden danger and cautious approach, perfectly matching both the character and the portrayal. Lord Asriel, on the other hand, gives no such hidden agenda. The theme is strong and powerful, bringing back the melodies seen in the first few pieces, only this time low brass and loud percussion lend a majestic air to the piece.

Where does the action start?

This is the all-important question – should the computer game start in the same place as the book and film, or with being such a unique platform should it be treated differently?

Kate Bush's new song 'Lyra', which will be played over the end-credits of the film, made its radio premiere on BBC Radio 6. The song starts playing 44 minutes and 20 seconds into the archived audio stream, which can be heard here. Alternatively, menro, a user on youtube has uploaded the song here:

Last week Chris Weitz answered a round of fan questions on MTV.com and he returns to answer more, including one that we asked on the purported "agenda" of Philip Pullman. Chris also talks about translating the relationship between human and daemon to film, Pullman's involvement eith the making of the film, working with composer Alexandre Desplat and whether he thinks the His Dark Material books are anti-Catholic or not. If you have any questions for Chris, he will be answering a further round of questions to be published next week. Check MTV's Movie Blog for details.

Yahoo! Movies brings us two new shorts as film clips continue to roll out. "Contract" features an extended look at Iorek's recovering his armor, and "As We Pleased" demonstrates the charming Kidman as Mrs. Coulter arriving at the Jordan College dining hall. Both clips are available for viewing in HD format.

Also, be sure to check UnderGroundOnline for a gallery of the "steampunk" props and set pieces from The Golden Compass.

Update: UGO has also made available a clip of Lyra and Serafina talking about Bolvangar and a featurette on the steampunk aspects of The Golden Compass, which includes a shot of Lyra destroying the silver guillotine intercision machine and conceptual artist, Dan Walker, and production designer Dennis Gassner talking about anbaric power in Lyra's universe.

If you’re new to the His Dark Materials trilogy, think you may have missed something important, or perhaps have just been sleeping a great deal these past months; chances are you could use an update on what’s been going on. From where The Golden Compass movie began, through merchandise, video games, and Philip Pullman we’re bringing you the fullest compilation of all facets of His Dark Materials. If you want to see how The Golden Compass has made its progress from the mind of Philip Pullman into a major motion picture investment by New Line Cinema, this is for you.

Go to the Information Page to view the full movie timeline

Moviefone.com adds a new short sequence from The Golden Compass film, featuring Lyra telling Iorek the location of his armour.

The second new clip comes from MSN videos and features a scene between Lyra and Lee Scoresby at Trollesund.

See the video here

There are 3 main obstacles facing The Golden Compass's success. First of all, do the (lack of?) religious elements damage the viewing experience? Secondly, does the rewritten ending have a negative impact? Finally, are the special effects going to be 'too much'?

The Telegraph published a review of The Golden Compass movie, which they attended at a screening in Los Angeles. This review mainly addresses the final issue, as expressed by the article's title: The Golden Compass: Special effects shine more than the stars.

[Dakote] does her best to carry the human portion of the film, despite an unconvincing "cor blimey" accent, but it is the computer-generated animals and rodents which are the real stars - rarely has so much human talent been so overshadowed by digital effects.

Funnily enough, despite all the attention that Kidman and Craig have been drawing, the reviewer remarks:

[..] but it is Sam Elliot who shines as the gun-toting Texan aeronaut who joins forces with Lyra and a whisky-drinking polar bear [..] on their quest to save Roger and the other kidnapped children.

Overall though, the reviewer does note that investors who backed this film can rest easy, partially due to the success that this movie will have with younger viewers:

[..] while adults may wince at the jumpy editing and stilted dialogue ("We'll set it right - just let them try to stop us," declares Lyra), younger audiences are likely to be enthralled at the wonders Lyra encounters on her epic journey through a metaphysical universe.

So what should we think of this review? For the time being, not too much; we'll be seeing the film next Saturday so only then will we be able to give our informed opinion. However, this review basically echoes some of the other opinions that we've heard from people who've seen the movie: "It looks beautiful, but it could have been a bit grittier and less CGI-ey. On the other hand, the storyline is very well executed and the acting is great."

The question that remains is if this film will be able to appeal as greatly to the older audiences as it does to the younger viewers.

MTV draws our attention to the following: Just as New Line has stepped up its marketing campaign for its upcoming movie "The Golden Compass," the film studio finds itself with a little competition — from a DVD that Koch Entertainment plans to put out called "Beyond the Golden Compass." New Line filed a copyright-infringement suit Thursday (November 15) in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, claiming the Koch version was a "cynical and transparent effort to unfairly compete with and capitalize on the massive publicity and promotional effort" aimed at the $180 million version, starring Nicole Kidman, by insinuating the two releases were related. New Line wants to prevent the knockoff from coming out and $10 million in damages.

Ladies and gentlemen, HisDarkMaterials.org is proud to present you with all the soundtrack information you could possibly need.

First of all, we've just published an in-depth essay based upon our interview with Alexandre Desplat.

IGN.com posts a new clip from The Golden Compass. Titled 'A Bear's Armor,' it features the longest piece of continuous acting  from both Ian McKellan voicing Iorek Byrnison, and actress Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra.

The second clip from MySpace.com shows the beginning of the fight between Iorek Byrnison and Ragnar Sturlusson.

Catholic.org recently interviewed Pete Vere and Sandra Miesel, co-authors of the book Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy, regarding exactly why parents should be wary of the coming release of Golden Compass in theaters, and how to protect their kids from potentially reading the books and being exposed to the intense sexual content therein.

Miesel explains that the His Dark Materials books contain "deliberate murder, sadism, mutilation, suicide, euthanasia and even cannibalism", and warns all parents that the movie will promote a curiosity in the books, which will in turn, induce atheism and reduce a healthy sense of morals. The article concludes that "for the Christian parent, the movie cannot be anything but spiritual poison to their children -- for the movie is the fruit of the book."

Read the full interview here.

In another article on YourHub.com, seventeen year-old high school journalist Kelley Robinson describes the His Dark Materials trilogy as inappropriately sexual for the age group the books are aimed at. He explains that the trilogy teaches that sex is the only way to become a true adult and says one of the main themes is "God is only killed when the young girl engages in an act of physical pleasure". Robinson goes on to say that the movies will be just as dangerous as the books are to a young mind and should be avoided to the best of one's ability.

Read his full article here.

Online book store Ignatius.com now has the anti-His Dark Materials book Pied Piper of Atheism available. The book aims to inform readers of the atheism contained in the His Dark Materials trilogy and gives reasons to be wary of the trilogy's intent.

Ignatius describes the book as an examination of "the metaphysical premises and moral propositions found throughout His Dark Materials, and point out the many objectionable aspects of the book - including violence and sensuality - about which every concerned parent should know".