Precocious Little Shavers n’ Such
- Grab onto your hats, Golden Compass watchers. Here’s what I just found out via Dark Horizons:
Reports first emerged early this week, but have now been confirmed – the ending of New Line’s upcoming fantasy adaptation "The Golden Compass" is getting a major overhaul. Director and scribe Chris Weitz revealed on his official blog today that the final three chapters of the book are not being adapted for the screen, instead they will be held back for the inevitable sequel "The Subtle Knife".
Okay. SPOILER ALERT. If you haven’t read this book, you know the drill. Gone? Good. Here are my thoughts then. When my husband yelled at me, "They’re chopping the ending of The Golden Compass," I was enraged. After some thought, though, I can see the filmmakers’ point of view on this one. I know plenty of people who refused to read the rest of Pullman’s books because he killed a child at the end of his first one (and that includes both my mother and my husband). Now imagine ending a film that way. Harsh? You betcha. As long as they include it at the beginning of the second movie, I’ve no objection. That does leave us wondering how the first will end, of course. Hm . . .
- There’s a really interesting article in Publisher’s Weekly this week regarding the new Jenna Bush book. Entitled Story Time: Bush’s policies belie the message in Jenna’s book Ana’s Story, the piece takes a look at some of the ironies that link policy making to HIV awareness and "Ana". After reading the New Yorker‘s Talk of the Town piece about Ms. Bush, I saw this as an interesting counterpoint.
- The National Book Award Finalists in the youth category have been announced. Thanks to Read Roger. Every year I hope that the National Book Awards will skew younger. *sigh* for the link. It’s pretty much all YA with the exception of Cabret. Ah well.
- Anne Bowles Levy has posted a summary of the presentation she did at the recent kidlitblog conference on book reviewing. Worth considering if you want to get in on the act. Jen Robinson was clever enough to tie this into a Chicken Spaghetti piece regarding the book Faint Praise: The Plight of Book Reviewing in America by Gail Pool.
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And finally, there has been an announcement from the Editors Against Thesaurus Abuse that is notable in spite of the fact that it took me more than a month to locate it.
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About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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I had wondered about their ending it with the cliffhanger of the book. I’m assuming it will now end with the children escaping Bolvanger or something like that?
I guess. What if it ends with them successfully locating Lord Asriel? That might be cheery for anyone who hasn’t finished the book, but… oog.
But then what? His nefarious plans for Roger have to wait after all. It isn’t exactly a warm and snuggling father/daughter reunion, after all!
Hm, I’ll have to see the movie, but I get it. Peter Jackson had to change around what happened in The Two Towers, too, and it was all for the best, I think. I thought the book’s ending was GREAT, but by the time I read His Dark Materials they were all available and I was able to go straight to the bookstore! Imagine my [temporary] chagrin at having to read about this kid named Will. I mean, where was Lyra??? But it all worked out! The new trailer is AWESOME by the way. I found the link on Kids Lit.
SPOILER ALERT:
While it was horrid that Lord Asrael killed a child at the end of The Golden Compass, what I found more outrageous was that Asrael never had to deal with the ramifications of that act. It’s a whole other discussion, I know, but Pullman really did write himself into a corner with plot developments in the first two books. Another big one Serafina Pekkalah vows that Mrs. Coulter will get one of SP’s arrows in her throat, but in Amber Spyglass, she ends up just breaking one of her arrows symbolically. I love the trilogy, but there are some aspects that just have me shaking my fists and throwing my hat on the ground (all at the same time).
I dunno. Asriel is so clearly a villain that I didn’t think the books required him to deal with any ramifications. After all, you can’t deny that he has a pretty darn sticky end. I think I’ll keep from watching any more trailers until the actual movie comes out. After a while my brain starts cataloging things, making it hard to enjoy the final film.
Can they make it retroactive to the book?
Fuse: I don’t think Pullman thinks Asrael is a villian. Does he?
Maybe Pullman doesn’t, but I most certainly do. It’s the rarest form of fantasy: Not only are the heroine’s parents alive but they’re the villains! Amazing! Asriel is just working to his own ends regardless of who or what he hurts in the process. He has some filial affection, but he also cuts a wide swath of destruction. You can argue that the result of what he does is ultimately a good thing (up for debate, I think) but you can’t go about saying that the ends justify the means. That’s just my thoughts on the matter, of course. Others will have a different view.