New Line and Scholastic To Film Philip Pullman Trilogy

Posted on February 15, 2002

New Line Cinema and Scholastic Entertainment have joined forces to bring Philip Pullman's Whitbread Award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy to the screen, it was announced by Toby Emmerich, New Line Cinema's president of production and Deborah Forte, producer of the project and executive vice president of Scholastic Entertainment. New Line's executive vice president of production Lynn Harris will oversee the project along with Ileen Maisel.

In the epic trilogy, comprised of the books The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, Pullman unlocks the door to a parallel world where strange creatures live side by side with humans, and humans share souls with animals. The books center on precocious young protagonists whose adventures lead them into battle against the ultimate evil with the fate of the universe in their hands. Pullman is the first children's author to ever win the UK's Whitbread Book of the Year prize.

"We are delighted to be working with New Line to bring Philip Pullman's extraordinary trilogy to life," said Forte. "In collaboration with New Line we hope to translate these amazing books into an experience that will capture the hearts and minds of movie audiences around the world."

"We are thrilled to work with Deborah and Scholastic Entertainment in bringing these great books to the big screen," Emmerich added. "Like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, it's one of those books that captures your imagination and just runs with it. We can take advantage of the CGI effects available now and bring this world to life in a celluloid universe."