December 14, 2004 - Director Chris Weitz has decided to pull out of directing duties on "His Dark Materials," the series of adventure films based on Philip Pullman's bestselling trilogy. Weitz cited the "technical challenges of making such an epic" as the reason he's passing on the project. New Line Cinema has begun a search for Weitz' replacement.
In making the announcement, Weitz wanted to be sure people understood his reason for exiting the film had nothing to do with any creative differences regarding the movie. Weitz is said to be pleased that New Line will be using the script he adapted as they search for a new person to helm the first film of the series, "The Golden Compass."
In a press release issued by New Line Weitz stated, "Working on 'The Golden Compass' has been an extraordinary high point of my career. It will be an extraordinary film, but at this point in my life I am not the right director to bring it to pass. Though I remain honored to continue serving as caretaker of Philip Pullman's work on the page as this project's screenwriter, the technical challenges of making such an epic are more than I can undertake at this point. I look forward to retaining my place as screenwriter and helping to bring Mr. Pullman's epic vision to cinematic life. I deeply appreciate his support, and the understanding of everyone at New Line in allowing me to step aside."
New Line Production President Toby Emmerich said, "'His Dark Materials' is an amazing story, and at this point we have such a strong screenplay, I'm confident we'll have real interest from A-level filmmakers. Chris over-delivered on the script, and I can only respect him for being realistic about the physical, emotional, and technical demands of the project."
The man behind the story, author Pullman, was quoted as saying, "I chose New Line Cinema not only because of their profound technical expertise when it comes to this sort of film-making, but mainly because of their evident commitment to the values and the heart of this particular story. They know the importance of what it says about human freedom, and they want to say it with force and clarity."
Source: New Line Cinema
