15th March 2006
Dear Reader,
In January Rik Visser sent me an email, announcing that he and his associates wanted to createa movie adaptation of one of Philip Pullman’s less famous books, The Butterfly Tattoo, originally published as The White Mercedes. He asked me for HisDarkMaterials.org’s assistance in the production. As we receive a reasonable amount of email regarding ambitious but ultimately unworkable plans I was wary at first, but my interest had sufficiently been aroused that I scheduled an appointment with Rik. We talked for a few hours, and by the time that the tabletop contained several empty (ice) tea glasses I was starting to think that the plan might actually work.
While
we were discussing the movie, two essential characteristics of this
project came to light. First of all this is without a doubt an
incredibly unique project, the likes of which have never been seen
before. However, the movie can only be realised with the help of many
amateurs and professionals. Therefore everybody who wishes to
contribute to the project is invited to do so.
The production presents an opportunity
for truly global teamwork, with people from all around the world
contributing to the creative process. For all those who are going to
participate, it will undoubtedly be an engrossing experience, something
that they will be able to benefit and learn from, be it with regards
to acting, scriptwriting, movie editing, etc. Not only will people be
able to get to know each other better, but hopefully it will fan the
flames of the community spirit, which reigns in places such as
Cittàgazze, and help to create an even closer knit community.
Due to the nature of the project the two
largest His Dark Materials website, BridgetotheStars.net and
HisDarkMaterials.org will play a very important role. The
administrators, moderators, andmembers will contribute to the movie in
a myriad of ways, by generating publicity, offering advice,services, or
financial support. Everybody who invests in the movie will be entitled
to a share of theprofits. This will hopefully mean that all those
contributing will feel responsible, and that the movie will truly be a
community effort.
The fans’ opinions are what will make or
break this movie, and due to the revolutionary production hierarchy,
which sees representatives of BridgetotheStars.net
andHisDarkMaterials.org supervising and advising the producers, I
believe that we can make surethat the movie will be well-received.
Additionally the release of the first of the His Dark Materials movies,
The Golden Compass, in December 2007 will probably create an enormous
amount of publicity. It is likely that a movie based upon a book by the
same author will fare very well.
We are positive that with the whole His
Dark Materials community backing this project, we can make this project
work. It will undoubtedly be a massive undertaking; it will require a
lot of (team)work, time, and other investments; nonetheless we believe
that it will be worth it.
In the end we hope not only to have
produced a wonderful movie, a worthy tribute to Philip Pullman’s work,
but also to have proven that a project on a grand scale like this is
actually accomplishable by amateurs..
With Regards,
On Behalf of the HisDark Materials.org and Cittàgazze community,
Ryan den Rooijen
Senior Administrator of http://www.hisdarkmaterials.org and http://www.sraf.org.
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