His Dark Materials casting; PotC3 script
NICOLE KIDMAN AND PAUL BETTANY AS MRS. COULTER AND LORD ASRIEL?!?
This incredible bit of casting is not finalised or verified by the studio, but certainly seems within the realm of possibility. It's been reported by the Daily Mail in London and is circulating on several fansites for the books:
The Daily Mail (London, England); 7/14/2006 [via PaulBettany.com]
Byline: BAZ BAMIGBOYE
"Nicole and Paul's Dark Materials"
Paul Bettany, who was one of the best things about the Da Vinci Code movie, has been asked to keep Nicole Kidman company on a film version of the first part of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.
Bettany is facing the last hurdle in negotiations that would seehim take the part of the dynamic and powerful Lord Asriel in the movie, which has already begun shooting discreetly in the UK, althoughprincipal photography starts in September.
Nicole hasn't officially said yes to playing sable coat-wearing schemer Mrs Coulter - but that hasn't stopped people on the filmtelling others that the Oscar-winning star will be in the movie. Not only that, she's agreed to cut her multi-million-dollar fee.
Bettany and Nicole are old friends, having worked for maverick director Lars von Trier on the film Dogville. Nicole once told me that Bettany was one of the people who helped cheer her up when they were making the film in Scandinavia.
'They get on, so him being in the film is something Nicole is taking into consideration,' one executive told me.
The film features schoolgirl actress Dakota Blue Richards as precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua.
Director Chris Weitz has met practically every actor in thecountry to find his cast. Deals are still being finalised, but he has agreed to the casting of Olivier Award-winning actress Claire Higgins.
Filming continues until January at Shepperton and around England.
New Line Cinema, the studio behind the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, hopes to shoot all three of Pullman's His Dark Materials books: The Golden Compass (the U.S. title of Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.
Once HighBeam Research is up to date with yesterday's newspapers, I'll try and verify this article and link to it.
The news was picked up by Dark Horizons; 7/14/2006
Nicole Kidman has been cast in the first part of His Dark Materials film trilogy The Golden Compass reports Teletext.
Paul Bettany will play Lord Asriel, and he has persuaded friend Kidmanto play Mrs Coulter. The pair worked together on Dogville and anexecutive said: "They get on".
Claire Higgins has also been cast in the film by director Chris Weitz.
And an article from last month by the same journalist from the Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail (London, England); 6/9/2006
Byline: BAZ BAMIGBOYE
"Nicole sets course for a fantasy world"
NICOLE KIDMAN has been offered the key role of scheming scholar and socialite Mrs Coulter in the big-screen adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass.
The Oscar-winning actress has not yet accepted the part - she's in the middle of wedding preparations, after all - so for now the deal can be termed 'under discussion'.
Anyone who was lucky enough to catch the stage version at the National Theatre will know how exciting this cosmic thriller is.
The film, currently in pre-production, is the first part of Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The tale follows the journey of precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua, and takes us into a universe of fantastical creatures. Lyra uncovers a terrifying plot - and right at its centre is the glamorous, sable-coated Mrs Coulter.
In an interview with the New Yorker, Pullman mentioned that he'd like to see Nicole play the devious villainess.
At the moment, the film is in the hands of director Chris Weitz, who took over a few weeks ago from Anand Tucker.
Tucker had done a lot of preparation, creating storyboards and scoutinglocations, but despite receiving encouraging signals from executives, he was replaced. Interestingly, Weitz had turned the job down beforeTucker was hired, saying he didn't know how to set up a blockbuster movie. Well, now he doesn't have to, because Tucker has done most of the setting-up already.
Anyway, if Nicole does agree to be in The Golden Compass, it should still leave her timeto join Hugh Jackman in Baz Luhrmann's Aussie romance picture whichshoots in February.
~
If you're not afraid of being spoiled for Pirates of the Caribbean 3 which doesn't come out until next year, you can check out the first 56 pages of an old draft of the script here. (The transcription job is pretty dodgy, but the story is very, very interesting. And kind of scary. I can't imagine this being the work of a fan, pretending its the real thing. No fan I know of would think of going this far.)
Josh Tyler at Cinema Blend confirmed its authenticity a couple of days ago. The studio is trying to have it taken off the internet, so if you think you'll refer to it later I advise you to save it as a document or print it or something, just in case.
[via JoBlo]
This incredible bit of casting is not finalised or verified by the studio, but certainly seems within the realm of possibility. It's been reported by the Daily Mail in London and is circulating on several fansites for the books:
The Daily Mail (London, England); 7/14/2006 [via PaulBettany.com]
Byline: BAZ BAMIGBOYE
"Nicole and Paul's Dark Materials"
Paul Bettany, who was one of the best things about the Da Vinci Code movie, has been asked to keep Nicole Kidman company on a film version of the first part of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.
Bettany is facing the last hurdle in negotiations that would seehim take the part of the dynamic and powerful Lord Asriel in the movie, which has already begun shooting discreetly in the UK, althoughprincipal photography starts in September.
Nicole hasn't officially said yes to playing sable coat-wearing schemer Mrs Coulter - but that hasn't stopped people on the filmtelling others that the Oscar-winning star will be in the movie. Not only that, she's agreed to cut her multi-million-dollar fee.
Bettany and Nicole are old friends, having worked for maverick director Lars von Trier on the film Dogville. Nicole once told me that Bettany was one of the people who helped cheer her up when they were making the film in Scandinavia.
'They get on, so him being in the film is something Nicole is taking into consideration,' one executive told me.
The film features schoolgirl actress Dakota Blue Richards as precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua.
Director Chris Weitz has met practically every actor in thecountry to find his cast. Deals are still being finalised, but he has agreed to the casting of Olivier Award-winning actress Claire Higgins.
Filming continues until January at Shepperton and around England.
New Line Cinema, the studio behind the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, hopes to shoot all three of Pullman's His Dark Materials books: The Golden Compass (the U.S. title of Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.
Once HighBeam Research is up to date with yesterday's newspapers, I'll try and verify this article and link to it.
The news was picked up by Dark Horizons; 7/14/2006
Nicole Kidman has been cast in the first part of His Dark Materials film trilogy The Golden Compass reports Teletext.
Paul Bettany will play Lord Asriel, and he has persuaded friend Kidmanto play Mrs Coulter. The pair worked together on Dogville and anexecutive said: "They get on".
Claire Higgins has also been cast in the film by director Chris Weitz.
And an article from last month by the same journalist from the Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail (London, England); 6/9/2006
Byline: BAZ BAMIGBOYE
"Nicole sets course for a fantasy world"
NICOLE KIDMAN has been offered the key role of scheming scholar and socialite Mrs Coulter in the big-screen adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass.
The Oscar-winning actress has not yet accepted the part - she's in the middle of wedding preparations, after all - so for now the deal can be termed 'under discussion'.
Anyone who was lucky enough to catch the stage version at the National Theatre will know how exciting this cosmic thriller is.
The film, currently in pre-production, is the first part of Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The tale follows the journey of precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua, and takes us into a universe of fantastical creatures. Lyra uncovers a terrifying plot - and right at its centre is the glamorous, sable-coated Mrs Coulter.
In an interview with the New Yorker, Pullman mentioned that he'd like to see Nicole play the devious villainess.
At the moment, the film is in the hands of director Chris Weitz, who took over a few weeks ago from Anand Tucker.
Tucker had done a lot of preparation, creating storyboards and scoutinglocations, but despite receiving encouraging signals from executives, he was replaced. Interestingly, Weitz had turned the job down beforeTucker was hired, saying he didn't know how to set up a blockbuster movie. Well, now he doesn't have to, because Tucker has done most of the setting-up already.
Anyway, if Nicole does agree to be in The Golden Compass, it should still leave her timeto join Hugh Jackman in Baz Luhrmann's Aussie romance picture whichshoots in February.
~
If you're not afraid of being spoiled for Pirates of the Caribbean 3 which doesn't come out until next year, you can check out the first 56 pages of an old draft of the script here. (The transcription job is pretty dodgy, but the story is very, very interesting. And kind of scary. I can't imagine this being the work of a fan, pretending its the real thing. No fan I know of would think of going this far.)
Josh Tyler at Cinema Blend confirmed its authenticity a couple of days ago. The studio is trying to have it taken off the internet, so if you think you'll refer to it later I advise you to save it as a document or print it or something, just in case.
[via JoBlo]