Sam Elliott Points Out the Truth About “The Golden Compass”

Referred to as the “anti-Narnia,” The Golden Compass—based on British novelist Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series—drew plenty of criticism in late 2007 for its anti-Christian slant, and was banned by many religious organizations. Despite the controversy the film caused, it did mediocre business at the box office; regardless, that controversy is the mother’s milk of sales. Compass did very well overseas—where it has more of a following—grossing a total of $335 million, triple from what it made in the United States.

Compass takes place on an alternate Earth dominated by the Magisterium, a religious organization (reminiscent of the Catholic Church) seeking to control all humanity. The greatest threat it faces is the last remaining Golden Compass—a mystical talisman—in the possession of a girl named Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards). She’s accompanied by her daemon, Pantalaimon (voiced by Freddie Highmore), a small, shape-shifting animal serving as her companion.

Lyra’s uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), seeks to find the source of the Dust, a mysterious vapor flowing into the world through a hole in the Arctic sky. It’s unclear if the Dust is the cause of sin or not. Nonetheless, the Magisterium will stop at nothing to kill Asriel. Meanwhile, Magisterium agent Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) is kidnapping children and robbing them of their free will. Once Lyra’s friend Roger (Ben Walker) is captured, she stops at nothing to save him, teaming up with gun-slinging Texas aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott) and Iorek, a rogue polar bear (voiced by Ian McKellen).

Scoresby was based on English arctic explorer William Scoresby and actor Lee Van Cleef, Pullman had Elliott—the veteran actor with the distinctive gruff voice best known for Westerns—in mind to portray his character.

“Sam has this extraordinary ability to sum up everything we mean by the idea of cowboy,” says Pullman. “The grizzled veteran. The white moustache. The eyes that look a thousand yards. All these. And he has this capacity to be both tough and wise, dangerous and warm.”

Word is that writer/director Chris Weitz had to sweet-talk you into taking the part of Scoresby.

ELLIOTT: “Sweet-talk”? Boy… [Laughs] He was persuasive, let’s put it that way. Nobody had to sweet-talk me.

Were you familiar with the books before taking the part?

ELLIOTT: I had known the source material, but [hadn’t read] the books… I picked up the books when I was in negotiations. I was into the second book when I got the part. It didn’t matter what I was getting for it, I wanted to be there. I just wanted to be a part of this thing.

How is Lee Scoresby different from all the other characters you’ve played?

ELLIOTT: I’m not riding a horse, I’m piloting a hot air balloon. I’m somewhat like Mad Max [the titular character played by Mel Gibson—Elliott’s We Were Soldiers co-star—in the post-apocalyptic Mad Max trilogy] in the movie.

Will you be in the sequels? [Editor’s Note: It is unclear if there will be sequels to Compass, given its mediocre U.S. box performance. However, that could change due to the money it made overseas. At press time, nothing has been confirmed.]

ELLIOTT: They don’t make a deal without you committing to the entire trilogy. My character figures more prominently in the second book.

Can you comment on William Donohue [the president of the New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights] publicly denouncing the movie and calling for a boycott?

ELLIOTT: [Donohue] doesn’t speak for the Catholic Church. [The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office for Film and Broadcasting] gave the film a rave review, which cut the legs out from under him. If it’s controversial, more people will see the movie than less.

Philip Pullman is not the devil and he’s not out to overthrow Christianity. It’s entertainment, this thing. It’s not a kid’s movie, but that doesn’t mean kids won’t see it. It doesn’t mean kids won’t love the film. It’s totally captivating… The main thing is, it’s great family entertainment. It is what it is.

This entry was posted by RNYK on Saturday, April 19th, 2008 at 11:14 am