Phil and Emily are joined by Ringer podcaster and cultural critic Joanna Robinson (House of R, The Prestige TV Podcast) to continue their 2000s YA fantasy miniseries with Chris Weitz's The Golden Compass (2007). Dakota Blue Richards plays Lyra, a girl who sets off for the far north to find kidnapped children, with Nicole Kidman (Mrs. Coulter), Daniel Craig (Lord Asriel), Eva Green, Sam Elliott, and Ian McKellen as a very large armored polar bear along for the ride. It was New Line's big swing at the next Lord of the Rings, and it opened against Enchanted and No Country for Old Men.
The three dig into the Philip Pullman books, the ending the studio cut (the one Emily can't stop thinking about), the religious right boycott, Tom Stoppard's rejected script, and how much better the His Dark Materials TV show handled it all. Daemons, polar bears, and a visual effects Oscar all make an appearance. There's a real case here for reading The Golden Compass as better than its reputation and still a casualty of a studio that lost its nerve and cut the one ending that would have made the story matter. Handsome, hobbled, and weirdly watchable same as the movie.
Stick around after the sign-off for a bonus conversation with the man himself. Chris Weitz wrote and directed the film, and he talks about how he found Pullman's books in the first place and what it was like to look back on making the movie.
Follow the show & guests: Podcast Like It's... - https://www.instagram.com/podcastlikeits Phil Iscove - https://www.instagram.com/pmiscove Emily St. James - https://www.instagram.com/emilystjams Joanna Robinson - https://www.instagram.com/jowrotethis Chris Weitz - https://www.instagram.com/weitz_chris
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