10 Insane Rules Movies Weren't Allowed To Break
3. The Novel's Religious Critique Had To Be Heavily Softened - The Golden Compass
2007's big-screen adaptation of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights was one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the 2000s, given the richness of the source material and the fact that, with a $170 million budget, New Line Cinema was clearly fashioning it as their new Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy franchise.
However, The Golden Compass' production was far from smooth, as writer-director Chris Weitz frequently clashed with both producers and the studio, who wanted to ensure the film would be a palatable blockbuster for lucrative family audiences.
This flew somewhat in the face of the novel's darker elements, including its noted critique of dogmatic, organised religion, embodied by the malevolent church outfit known as the Magisterium.
By executive mandate, Weitz was forced to heavily dilute this critique to the point that it largely flew over the heads of both younger viewers and religious audiences who could be challenged or offended by it.
It was clearly a cynical calculation on the part of New Line, who didn't want to risk turning away Christians, as represented a major slice of the box office pie.
It did little to help, though, as The Golden Compass went on to receive wildly mixed reviews and massively underperform at the box office, killing a potential franchise before it even got started.
Thankfully BBC and HBO's recent series, His Dark Materials, hews much closer to the thematic intent of Pullman's novels.