The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film based on Northern Lights, the first novel in Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials. Written and directed by Chris Weitz, it stars Nicole Kidman (BIG LITTLE LIES), Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig (CASINO ROYALE), Sam Elliott, Eva Green (KINGDOM OF HEAVEN) and Ian McKellen (THE LORD OF THE RINGS). The project was announced in February 2002, but difficulties over the script and the selection of a director caused significant delays. At US$180 million, it was one of New Line Cinema’s most expensive projects ever, and its disappointing results in the USA contributed to New Line’s February 2008 restructuring.
The film depicts the adventures of Lyra Belacqua, an orphan living in a parallel universe on a world that looks much like our own. In Lyra’s world, a dogmatic ruling power called the Magisterium opposes free inquiry. Poor, orphan and Gyptian children are disappearing at the hands of a group that the children call the Gobblers. When Lyra discovers that the powerful Mrs. Coulter, who is hosting Lyra at her house, is running the Gobblers, she flees. Rescued by the Gyptians, Lyra joins them on a trip to the far North, the land of the armored polar bears, in search of the missing children. © New Line Cinema. This project was completed under the name of Iconisus L&Y. It is part of the Iconisus portfolio. Dreamogram is a new separate entity and not a continuation of Iconisus.