This is probably the most negative reception Ian McKellen has met in some years.
Download the full Golden Compass trailer in fat lo-def, 480p, 720p or 1080p. Right-click to save and rename the file something like byebyenonso.mov or similar to ensure it works
As it downloads, take a minute to cross your fingers (or heart) and hope that this film, somehow, manages to not be awful.
[EDIT: Link fixed]
You can download the new Golden Compass trailer-for-a-trailer and hear Ian McKellen in the revoiced role of Iorek right now, should you wish. The direct download link for the full trailer will follow on film ick in due course.
There's a statement doing the rounds that reportedly comes directly from Chris Weitz, the director and scriptwriter (and appears to have first been posted on a fansite). I've cut and pasted it below. It confirms the story I ran yesterday about how the final three chapters of the book have been displaced and will only appear at the beginning of The Subtle Knife.
Dear fans of His Dark Materials,
For the past three years I (and a gigantic cast and crew of fans of the books) have been working to adapt The Golden Compass (aka Northern Lights). As you can imagine, the process can be both exhausting and exhilarating, and full of both challenges and surprises. Sometimes you discover reasons to modify the chronology or narrative path of the books in a way that serves the movie and the trilogy better.
I have decided, along with Scholastic and New Line and, most importantly, Philip Pullman, to shift the concluding three chapters of Book I of His Dark Materials to the beginning of the second film of our trilogy, The Subtle Knife.
To me, this provides the most promising conclusion to the first film and the best possible beginning to the second.
It has always been my main concern to portray Lyra's world and her adventures with integrity. Throughout this process I have been in close contact with Philip Pullman; and I would not be doing this without his approval. As Philip has said, His Dark Materials is not three stories but one story - the story of Lyra. And where we pause to take a breath in the telling of it is a matter of choice and taste. But I hope that when fans see the film they will find their fears put to rest and their hopes fulfilled. For the film to be judged on its own merits is all that I can ask for.
Many thanks for your time. I believe you will find The Golden Compass a fit tribute to His Dark Materials when it comes out in December; and in the meanwhile promise to work diligently on burnishing its details and providing a solid footing for the launch of The Subtle Knife.
Very Best
Chris Weitz
The Golden Compass is nearing the end of post production now, with only a few more weeks of FX work before the end of October and a complete lock down of everything at the beginning of November. Amazing, then, that some of it's best kept secrets have remained hidden for so long.
I've been e-mailed this afternoon by an Italian reader of film ick, [EDIT: himself a webmaster] telling me that not only will Christopher Lee be appearing in the film - in the flesh, as it were, as a member of the sinister Magisterium - but that his Lord of the Rings sparring partner Ian McKellen will be involved also. Their source seems to be a fairly reliable His Dark Materials fansite, themselves getting info from a tried and tested source.
The story goes that McKellen will be voicing Iorek Byrnison, the great white bear you see Lyra riding on the posters and in the trailers. Previously it was believed that Nonso Anozie was providing the voice of Iorek. Did Anozie record the role and then get bumped for McKellen? Or is there a wire crossed with McKellen actually voicing another of the bears?
Or - maybe - is this going to turn out to be nothing but hot air?
Oxford's a good place to be to ask about these matters as there's plenty of folk around who touched on the production in one way or another and plenty more who know Phillip Pullman himself. Feelers have gone out...
[EDIT: From Oxford as well as further abroad, I'm getting confirmations on Christopher Lee but denials on Ian McKellen. Of course, the McKellen element may be hush-hush even to people partially or tangentially related... hopefully something more solid will come up soon]
[EDIT AGAIN: McKellen is listed as a voice on an official announcement now (indeed, the announcement was written before I even heard this rumour, but the trickle down was a wee bit slow) ... but it still isn't clear which voice. let's face facts though, it's almost certainly Iroek. This has clearly been a relatively late decision. Nobody has said anything official about Christopher Lee but I've got plenty of nods on that one, so expect it to be true]
David Goyer is attached to yet another super-powers movie. This time, Variety have announced he will direct Magneto, the X-Men spin off. He's also going to rewrite the current script draft, by Sheldon Turner. Ian McKellen's part is likely to be minimal - this is the story of a much younger Magneto.
Before Goyer's film goes before the cameras, however, the other X-tangent will get underway. No director has yet been set for Wolverine but David Benioff's script is ready to go and is expected to get off the blocks first. I doubt it will be more than a fortnight before we see the director's name in Variety.
I've got the script for Wolverine right here... if you hang around, I'll tell you all about it.
