TV is not film’s poor sister, says His Dark Materials’ Wilson
RUTH WILSON said television is no longer “the poorer sister” of film as she hailed the blockbuster BBC adaptation of Sir Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials novels.
The 37-year-old actress, who won a Golden Globe for her role in The Affair, told Comic-Con in San Diego that television allowed “more time for storytelling”.
She said the financial backing of TV shows and the success of Game Of Thrones p rove d t h e re wa s now “no difference” between the small and big screens. Wilson stars as Mrs Coulter in the new BBC and HBO adaptation of His Dark Materials. Logan actress Dafne Keen, 14, takes the starring role of Lyra Belacqua, and James McAvoy plays her uncle Lord Asriel, with Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda playing adventurer Lee Scoresby. The first instalment of Sir Philip‘s trilogy of novels, Northern Lights, was made into a f i l m, re l e a s e d in 2007, called The Golden Compass. It starred Nicole Kidman and Sir Ian McKellen — but it flopped.
Duringa discussion with her co-stars at the 50th San Diego Comic-Con, Wilson said: “TV has become the place where you can really explore story and drama, as well as the big fantasy.
“HBO has already proven that with Game Of Thrones and the scale on which those episodes were shot — they looked like films, they were amazing.
“TV is not the poorer sister any more. They have the money now to create the scale on which film used to be on. There’s no difference any more and, in a way, if you’re going to tell a drama — which [His Dark Materials] is, as well as being fantasy — you’ve got more time. You have eight hours to explore that, rather than an hour and a half.”
The TV adaptation, set to air at the end of the year, has already been renewed for a second series.
Wilson added: “It feels like we’re part of something big and iconic. And that we’re hopefully serving an audience that loves these books.”
When they were released, Sir Philip’s tales were controversial due to their strong criticism of organised religion.
Executive producer Jane Tranter said the author was not attacking a particular religion, rather a “form of control” and “deliberate attempts to control information and not allowing people to be free”.