Is "Golden Compass" Anti-Catholic?
"The Golden Compass" premiered Tuesday in London, and Hollywood hopes it is this holiday season's big blockbuster, but not if some conservative Christians can help it.
Some are calling for a boycott of the film when it opens in the United States on Dec. 5 because Philip Pullman, author of the book the movie is based on, says he is an atheist.
"Religion is at its best when it is furthest away from power," Pullman told CBS News Correspondent Richard Roth. "As soon as it gets its hands on power, it's no good."
The film has a stellar cast - including Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig - and a big-budget. But the book version has been called anti-Catholic. It tells the story of a young girl's battle against a mysterious organization steeped in spiritual overtones, which is seeking to rule the world.
Some critics claim the book and the movie are really an attack on religion and the Catholic League is leading the fight.
Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, said the movie is about questioning authority, and that can never be a bad thing for children to learn.
"There's nothing fundamentally wrong with that," she told Storm. "But even if you would succeed in getting people not to buy the books or see the movie, you can't censor the internet. Why are you focusing on a movie and these books when the whole world has books available on atheism that kids can get? It's good thing."
The controversy now has the studio spinning "The Golden Compass" as a celebration of love and friendship. Kidman, who plays a glamorous villain with a soul of ice, rejects the claim that the movie's message is anti-church.
"I don't see it as that, but it's always laid out for interpretation," she said. "But I would be surprised if people actually saw the film and felt that."
But Donohue says the sinister group portrayed in this movie represents the Catholic Church.
"It's the definition of the Catholic Church," he said. "They're teaching about the Pope convening with the bishops. The spin is too late now. They're trying to say all this could represent any authority. We're not talking about the police bureau or an abusive schoolteacher. They're talking about the Catholic Church. The book is clear. We boxed them in. We've put out a book on it. We've unmasked it, and that's why he's angry."
But the movie's stars don't buy it.
"You know what, if they do, tough," actor Sam Elliot said. "They're going to lose out. We're not going to lose out. They're going to lose out."
"I think the Catholic Church will survive," Craig said. "It's survived much worse things than this."
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. Some are calling for a boycott of the film when it opens in the United States on Dec. 5 because Philip Pullman, author of the book the movie is based on, says he is an atheist.
"Religion is at its best when it is furthest away from power," Pullman told CBS News Correspondent Richard Roth. "As soon as it gets its hands on power, it's no good."
The film has a stellar cast - including Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig - and a big-budget. But the book version has been called anti-Catholic. It tells the story of a young girl's battle against a mysterious organization steeped in spiritual overtones, which is seeking to rule the world.
Some critics claim the book and the movie are really an attack on religion and the Catholic League is leading the fight.
"It's stealth campaign, a dishonest way to produce anything," Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, told Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "They want to make money. They want to make sure there's a second and third movie based on the books in the trilogy. This teaches atheism to kids. Phillip Pullman is very open about this. The movie is basically innocuous, but parents may want to say to their kids, 'You know what? A great Christmas present would be to buy his 'Dark Trilogy,' the name of the three books.' Now you've introduced your kids to atheism. I don't think most parents want to do that."Photos: "The Golden Compass
Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, said the movie is about questioning authority, and that can never be a bad thing for children to learn.
"There's nothing fundamentally wrong with that," she told Storm. "But even if you would succeed in getting people not to buy the books or see the movie, you can't censor the internet. Why are you focusing on a movie and these books when the whole world has books available on atheism that kids can get? It's good thing."
The controversy now has the studio spinning "The Golden Compass" as a celebration of love and friendship. Kidman, who plays a glamorous villain with a soul of ice, rejects the claim that the movie's message is anti-church.
"I don't see it as that, but it's always laid out for interpretation," she said. "But I would be surprised if people actually saw the film and felt that."
But Donohue says the sinister group portrayed in this movie represents the Catholic Church.
"It's the definition of the Catholic Church," he said. "They're teaching about the Pope convening with the bishops. The spin is too late now. They're trying to say all this could represent any authority. We're not talking about the police bureau or an abusive schoolteacher. They're talking about the Catholic Church. The book is clear. We boxed them in. We've put out a book on it. We've unmasked it, and that's why he's angry."
But the movie's stars don't buy it.
"You know what, if they do, tough," actor Sam Elliot said. "They're going to lose out. We're not going to lose out. They're going to lose out."
"I think the Catholic Church will survive," Craig said. "It's survived much worse things than this."
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The church is cast in a negative light because in Lyra''s world the church takes away the power of the people through oppression and lack of free will which has happened throughout our own world''s history as well.
But then again who cares? The religious aspects of the books just made it more entertaining to read. If someone ever asked me what the point of this trilogy was I would tell them it was about first love, not that its point is to knock religion. There are two kids, a girl and a boy, who meet and fall in love. That is the story in a nutshell.
Why do people take this fictional story and pretend he wrote it as a non-fictional story? U don''t need to get worried about a fictional book because it never really happened. This is why I despise some ignorant Christians. They like to point the finger and throw some rocks at anything that looks "bad" without really doing any research. It makes us all look like idiots. I''d rather be open to all ideas and accept people with any beliefs.
I''ve read the trilogy 3 or 4 times now and it''s great. It''s on par with Harry Potter and your kids will love it. I read this in High School and my brain didn''t explode so I think it''s safe to see in theaters.
The church is cast in a negative light because in Lyra''s world the church takes away the power of the people through oppression and lack of free will which has happened throughout our own world''s history as well.
But then again who cares? The religious aspects of the books just made it more entertaining to read. If someone ever asked me what the point of this trilogy was I would tell them it was about first love, not that its point is to knock religion. There are two kids, a girl and a boy, who meet and fall in love. That is the story in a nutshell.
Why do people take this fictional story and pretend he wrote it as a non-fictional story? U don''t need to get worried about a fictional book because it never really happened. This is why I despise some ignorant Christians. They like to point the finger and throw some rocks at anything that looks "bad" without really doing any research. It makes us all look like idiots. I''d rather be open to all ideas and accept people with any beliefs.
I''ve read the trilogy 3 or 4 times now and it''s great. It''s on par with Harry Potter and your kids will love it. I read this in High School and my brain didn''t explode so I think it''s safe to see in theaters.
I''m in total agreement with the author''s statement that religion needs to stay clear of temporal power. You don''t need to look any further than the Catholic Church''s history to find out why. Perhaps that''s why it''s so amusing that the Catholics are the ones who are protesting the loudest.
He is an atheist. He hates organized religion for various reasons. Because of this, he obviously has not tried to have a personal relationship with God. He states on his website that if God existed why doesn''t He show Himself and that perhaps God is too ashamed of humans so He hides. Children are easy targets for such teachings. Spin a good fantasy type book for kids to enjoy and subtly insert anti-God remarks that will influence them.
I don''t have a big problem with Mr. Pullman being an atheist and writing childrens books. I DO have a problem with him trying to destroy God in his writings.