The controversy over The Golden Compass is becoming so much more interesting than the movie itself. And it turns out that a review of the movie written by Harry Forbes and John Mulderig for the Catholic News Service has been published early. Which begs the question: Why are film reviewers instructed to hold their reviews until opening day? I would assume it’s because the studio wants to maximize publicity. But still, when the studio provides me with an opportunity to... Read more
Today at Christianity Today Movies, you’ll find an abridged version of my original response to questions about The Golden Compass controversy. If you have comments or questions, please email them to me at joverstreet [at] gmail [dot] com. But be advised: I will post those responses either in the “Comments” section of the original post, or in a new post on this blog, and I’ll include your name unless you request that I withhold it. Read more
Thanks to Martin Stillion for pointing out that today is the birthday of two writers whose work has been an inspiration to me since childhood. I wish I had been able to present them with copies of Auralia’s Colors in person, as a gesture of gratitude and evidence that their testimonies, ideas, and stories have changed my life dramatically. Read more
My review of The Golden Compass will be posted here on opening day. You might want to wait before you order tickets, unless you plan to see it no matter what critics say. Apparently the Times Online doesn’t have to respect¬†the studio’s rules about publishing reviews early. Their reviewer went to the star-studded premiere last night and was not swayed by the hype. He refers to the movie as … Weitz’s spectacular shambles. The books weave a magic that the... Read more
Peter T. Chattaway has a new article about The Golden Compass up at CanadianChristianity.com. But even more interesting… here is the transcript of his email interview with author Philip Pullman. If there is anybody out there agreeing with Donna Frietas… that The Golden Compass is a work of deep Christian theology… I recommend you consider the things Pullman says in this interview. Plus, Pullman says a few things about his upcoming work, in which he says he’ll be saying “a... Read more
If you have friends or family in the neighborhood of Bellingham, Washington, let them know that I’ll be reading from Auralia’s Colors tonight at 7 p.m. at Village Books. And I’ll be signing copies which will might make good Christmas gifts. Read more
Writer-director Chris Weitz, a self-described “lapsed-Catholic crypto-Buddhist,” said in one interview that the film will not refer to “the church.” But the movie’s official website indicates that the cruel scientist Mrs. Coulter works for a villainous “dogma”-enforcing entity known as “the Magisterium,” a Latin term that, in the real world, signifies the Catholic church’s teaching authority. Nicole Kidman, who plays Mrs. Coulter, told Entertainment Weekly the film “has been watered down a little,” adding, “I was raised Catholic [and] I... Read more
If you check fast, Auralia’s Colors is a news item on the front page of SciFi.com! (more…) Read more
I posted my thoughts about The Golden Compass, the trilogy to which it belongs — His Dark Materials, and the controversies surrounding them, last week. Now, more perpectives are emerging, some more interesting than others. This one is very interesting, and sure to throw fuel on the fires of discussion. What do *you* think of Donna Freitas’s interpretation? Read more
Oh joy. Hollywood is to fill in the Bible’s “missing years” with a story about Jesus as a wandering mystic who travelled across India, living in Buddhist monasteries and speaking out against the iniquities of the country’s caste system. Film producers have delved deep into revisionist scholarship to piece together what they say was Jesus’s life between the ages of 13 and 30, a period untouched by the recognised gospels. The result is the Aquarian Gospel, a $20m movie, which... Read more
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