Hollywood eyes super-series with "Golden Compass"

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - For one Hollywood studio there is a lot riding on "The Golden Compass", the $180 million adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel "Northern Lights".

The film, based on the first part of Pullman's acclaimed "His Dark Materials" trilogy, premieres in London on Tuesday and stars Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and young newcomer Dakota Blue Richards in the central role of Lyra.

Laden with computerized special effects including talking polar bears, warring witches and animal "daemons" that represent each human's soul, the film aims to go where the "Lord of the Rings", "Narnia" and "Harry Potter" series have gone before.

Director and screenplay writer Chris Weitz said the fate of films two and three in the Pullman series depends on how "The Golden Compass" performs, with more money riding on the movie for New Line than even on "Lord of the Rings".

Industry estimates show that each "Rings" film cost around half the amount of money to make as "The Golden Compass".

"It's bigger than 'Lord of the Rings' in terms of its outlay," Weitz said in an interview. "And so 'The Golden Compass' becomes central to the future of the company."

Compared with "Lord of the Rings", "Harry Potter" and "Narnia", Pullman is relatively unknown, particularly in North America, making it a commercially more risky project.

"With the 'Lord of the Rings' they were so well known around the world that you could depend upon just the fandom to be this huge core demographic," Weitz told Reuters.