Pullman
With "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" soaring toward a $700 million international gross, New Line has landed rights to co-produce another ambitious fantasy series, "His Dark Materials," from a trilogy of celebrated kids' books by Philip Pullman.
Pullman's U.K. publisher, Scholastic, has controlled film rights to the series for six years. Several producers -- including Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella's Mirage Enterprises -- have made overtures to co-produce the series with Scholastic exec VP Deborah Forte, who runs the company's film and TV division.
Those talks gained momentum recently when "The Amber Spyglass," the third book in the series, became the first-ever children's book to win Britain's prestigious and lucrative Whitbread prize.
Scholastic was finally sold on New Line's track record with "Rings" and its collaborative approach to the material.
Comprised of "The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass," Pullman's trilogy describes a world much darker than Harry Potter's Hogwarts. Diving fearlessly into themes of childhood, innocence and sin, the books are full of magic, theology and science -- not to mention questions of morality and existence -- and center on two children who live in parallel worlds surrounded by a huge cast of shape-shifting creatures.
"New Line demonstrated an absolute enthusiasm for this material," Forte told
Daily Variety. "They were willing to move fast, and they had the experience of 'Lord of the Rings' under their belt. It does require some courage. It's complex material. It's very rich with adventure and detail."
"Like 'Harry Potter' or 'Lord of the Rings,' it's one of those books that captures your imagination and just runs with it," New Line production prexy Toby Emmerich said. "We can take advantage of the CGI effects available now (and) bring this world to life in a celluloid universe. When 'The Lord of the Rings' is over, hopefully we won't miss a beat."
Overseeing the project for New Line are exec VP Lynn Harris and Ileen Maisel, senior VP of European productions.
Pullman's U.S. publisher, Knopf, has printed 2.5 million copies of the books, and 1.3 million copies have sold in the U.K.
Project could be another hugely lucrative kids franchise for AOL and Scholastic, as they continue to bask in the synergistic spoils of "Harry Potter." Though Scholastic doesn't control U.S. publishing rights, the company is well positioned to increase awareness of the series on this side of the pond through its extensive book clubs, magazines and reading groups.
It's not clear what the live-action and CGI feature will cost New Line.
Scholastic Entertainment has produced such pics as "The Baby-Sitters Club" and "Indian in the Cupboard."
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