Today is the day. At long last "The Golden Compass" has arrived. Certainly one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year, director Chris Weitz has kindly answered your questions the last three weeks (be sure to check out Parts I, II, and III if you missed them). Now, in this final series of questions and answers, Weitz talks about living up to "Lord of the Rings" and his plans for the potential sequels. Read more...

One scene in "The Golden Compass" might shock fans of the book -- because Mrs. Coulter does something taboo to her monkey. And no, she's not spanking her monkey, just slapping him. "That's entirely different," director Chris Weitz laughed.

So why would this be shocking? Because her monkey is her daemon, the physical manifestation of her own soul, and it's a tad sadomasochistic, to say the least -- it's unheard of to hurt someone else's daemon, let alone to hurt your own. And when she smacks him, she gets a red mark on her own cheek. Read more...

It's been a rare treat for us here at the MTV Movies Blog to get such access and honesty from the director of a film we're so excited to see but that's just what "Golden Compass" helmer Chris Weitz has provided in recent weeks by answering your questions.

Be sure to check out part one of the "Golden Compass" Q&A here and part two right here. This week we've got Weitz weighing in on casting and his favorite scene in the film. We'll be back with one more round of questions and answers next Wednesday.

QUESTION #1 (from Mary):
I'd like to ask about the casting of Eva Green. I think she's perfect for the role of Serafina. So whose idea was to cast her? Who were other girls that you considered for the role? Read more...

Judging from the sudden flood of commercials I've been seeing, the buzz machine really is starting to build for the film adaptation of "The Golden Compass." To help stoke your anticipation for the flick we have director Chris Weitz answering your questions each week exclusively on the MTV Movies Blog.

Last week, in Weitz's first "Golden Compass" Q&A, the filmmaker was exceptionally forthcoming. This week, we're happy to say, the trend continues with Weitz weighing in on the extent of author Philip Pullman's involvement, whether the film will be three hours long, what he makes of the Catholic League's condemnation of the work, and more.

QUESTION #1 (from Kevin):
The relationship between daemons and people seems rather abstract, something that I'd think would be difficult to portray in a film that I'm assuming has no narration. How do you go about getting across the concept of "the great taboo" (aka people never touching other people's daemons) and the strain one feels when his daemon is moving at a far distance? Read more...

As previously mentioned, the director of the upcoming fantasy blockbuster "The Golden Compass, Chris Weitz, has agreed to participate in an exclusive weekly blog series for MTV in which he'll be answering your questions. We're thrilled to now roll out the first installment, in which Chris responds to the burgeoning religious controversy, discusses the reason behind tweaks the film makes to the beloved book, reveals the status of the sequels and more.

QUESTION #1 (from Simon):
Some changes were made in the adapting process -- taking out talk of religion, original sin, beating death, etc. -- to avoid controversy. And yet, some religious groups are still upset. If you can't please everybody either way, if it's not possible to avoid controversy by taking religion out, do you feel more or less emboldened to put it back in the rest of the films?

ANSWER:
It's very important that people understand that nobody just hands you a couple hundred million dollars and says "Go ahead, knock yourself out!" What you have is a dynamic -- you could call it a debate -- between me, the filmmaker, and them, the studio -- that, one hopes, results in a good film. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. It is my job to fight, by hook or by crook, for the best adaptation of the book possible. It is their job to get the movie to pay back its investors. Even Peter Jackson had to deal with this dynamic, which is why there were shorter theater releases and longer DVD releases of the LOTR movies. But also consider that there was practically nothing that might be deemed controversial in LOTR (other than what you might consider some reflexive racism on Tolkien's part). Read more...

At a special event here in New York City last night, author Philip Pullman answered a series of questions about his bestselling "His Dark Materials" fantasy trilogy, which will see its first installment -- "Golden Compass" -- adapted to theaters on December 7th. Read our full round-up of Pullman's chat here, and in the below clip, watch Pullman describe how he finds the "Lord of the Rings" books trivial in their lack of asking big questions and doesn't find C.S. Lewis' answers to the big questions in the "Narnia" books satisfying.

It's at the top of our list of must-see films of 2007, so we called upon resident 'Golden Compass" expert/MTV News writer Jennifer Vineyard for her take on the just released trailer for the flick. Check out the trailer and her analysis below (she also filed this 'Golden Compass' for newbies if you're interested).

So, finally, with the trailer for "The Golden Compass," we get to see that New Line's version looks as close to as what Philip Pullman described as possible -- but how does it feel? Does Nicole Kidman make a good Mrs. Coulter? How's Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel? And can Dakota Blue Richards act well enough to make us forget that other Dakota kid? Because as loved as the "His Dark Materials" books are, they're a tough sell -- and any movie based on them is going to run into the same problems. Read more...

With its eye already on the prize for the lucrative holiday season box office, New Line has released the first theatrical poster for "The Golden Compass" -- the kick-off film in its potential new franchise, "His Dark Materials" -- and jeez, it looks fantastic. Featuring its lead character Lyra (played by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards) alongside the king of the armored bears, this adaptation of the popular Philip Pullman fantasy novel gets a boost of deserved enthusiasm. "The Golden Compass," co-starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Daniel Craig and a billion others, opens December 7, 2007.

See the full poster after the jump.

Read more...