HisDarkMaterials.org

For those of you who can't wait until the movie is released, Yahoo! Movies has made available the first five minutes of the film. The footage features narration from Eva Green, Lyra's mud fight with the Gyptian kids and a horror story from Lyra.

Click here to view the footage on Yahoo! Movies

Thanks to whohash83 for the tip.

New York City's Ziegfriend Theater was home to the The Golden Compass premiere last night with all of the talent attending the event. Like in London, there was also a party after the premiere.

Check out our photograms sections for lots of photos.

Philip Pullman has written a piece in The Times in which he defends Northern Lights as well as the book's adapations into both movie and theatre stageplay. Furthermore he says he is content with the treatment of the story. He reasons: It's not perfect, but then neither are my books. If you want a perfect story, go read a haiku.

That reasoning is as hilarious as it is solid, if you ask me.

A featurette on the ice bears highlights Director Chris Weitz, and author Philip Pullman. Dakota Blue Richards talks about working with the panserbjørne on set.

Of course if you're not looking to spoil the movie anymore before you can catch it in theaters, then you'll go no further.

Hollywood's award season begins with the announcement of the nominees for the 2007 Satellite Awards given by the International Press Academy. The Golden Compass has snagged 5 nominations in the following categories:

• Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature
• Best Cinematography (for Henry Braham)
• Best Visual Effects (for Michael Fink)
• Best Sound (for Mike Prestwood-Smith, Mark Taylor and Glenn Freemantle)
• Best Original Song (for "Lyra" by Kate Bush)

View the full list of nominees

Various media outlets have published reviews of The Golden Compass and they are mostly positive. Many single out the impressive visual effects and the acting performances of newcomer Dakota Blue Richards and veteran Nicole Kidman. A summary of the reviews we could find so far, with short extracts, follow.

Follow the Reviews information page for updated information about The Golden Compass reviews.

A few hundred people turned up yesterday to catch a glimpse of the stars from The Golden Compass and to feel the atmosphere. All notable talent in the movie, everyone notable from New Line Cinema as well as Philip Pullman were there on Leicester Square in London to walk the red carpet leading to the cinema were the public had the first chance to see the film.

HisDarkMaterials.org were there at this magnificent event, with a photographer and a camera crew. The video report of the event includes interviews with Philip Pullman, Chris Weitz (who had a special message directed to all of you), Eva Green, Sam Elliot, soundtrack composer Alexandre Desplat, producer Deborah Forte and executive producer Andrew Miano.

This tuesday we got to do a couple of interviews on camera in London. Sam Elliott and Eva Green were up for a short talk which you can view below. Chris Weitz was up for a bit longer, and we'll post that one once we're done editing the footage.

The Guardian has published a four-star review of "The Golden Compass": "It has no other challengers as this year's big Christmas movie."

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.

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