'Compass' Points to Kidman

Zap2It.com | July 31, 2006

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Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
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'His Dark Materials' adaptation will set New Line back $150 million

As has long been rumored in the British press, Nicole Kidman is in talks to take on a crucial role in New Line's big budget adaptation of Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass."

Both industry trade papers are reporting that Kidman will play the mysterious Mrs. Coulter, one of the main antagonists throughout Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy.

Chris Weitz is set to direct his own script when "The Golden Compass" begins production this September in the United Kingdom.

After a lengthy series of open casting calls throughout England, newcomer Dakota Blue Richards was selected to play Lyra Belacqua, a young orphan living in and around Oxford University in a reality that mostly resembles our own, but also includes some unusual twists like friendly daemons, armor-clad polar bears and a mysterious Dust which may hold truths about physics, humanity and some kind of divine power.

New Line has already staked out a Nov. 16, 2007 release date for "The Golden Compass," which is expected to have a budget in the $150 million range, making it the largest undertaking for the company since the "Lord of the Rings" films.

Last seen in "Bewitched" and "The Interpreter," Kidman has the biopic "Fur" on tap for later this year, along with a vocal turn in "Happy Feet." She has "The Visiting" and Noah Baumbach's next film set for 2007 release.
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