You've found Father McKenzie. But are you really looking for Eleanor Rigby?

Sunday, December 12, 2004

Deicide dropped from Pullman adaptation

The forthcoming Hollywood adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is to sacrifice many of the film's anti-religious sentiments in an effort to avoid a backlash from America's Christian right.

Director Chris Weitz has upset fans of Pullman's Carnegie-winning books after he admitted in a website interview that the books' Authority - a malevolent but feeble deity - will appear in the planned films as a representation of "any arbitrary establishment that curtails the freedom of the individual".

The fans may not be happy, but Weitz, who made American Pie and About a Boy, reportedly has the full support of Pullman.

Yes...must avoid offending the Christian Right. otherwise you'll find yourself lying dead in the street after cycling to work with a knife in your chest pinning down verses from 1 Corinthians 13. BTW, "de-deifying" Pullman is a little like "de-ringifying" Tolkien - it kind of removes the raison detre of the whole anti-Christian saga. Perhaps the director can substitute an apple pie for the central theme, and see how his goes down. Stiffler - be warned!


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