Pullman unhappy over Catholic Church row

Philip Pullman has admitted that he is "disappointed" over claims that further movie adaptations of the His Dark Materials trilogy were scrapped due to pressure from the Catholic Church.

The best-selling author's novel Northern Lights was adapted for 2007 film The Golden Compass, but big screen versions of its follow-ups The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass have failed to materialise.

Earlier this week, actor Sam Elliot, who played aeronaut Lee Scoresby in The Golden Compass, accused the Catholic Church of "scaring off" film producers New Line with their protests about the trilogy.

Speaking in response to the star's comments, Pullman told the Western Mail: "If Sam is right then I am very disappointed because it obviously would have been very good to have seen the other two films made."

The children's writer also hit out at Bill Donohue of The Catholic League For Religious and Civil Rights, who announced earlier this week that he was "delighted the boycott worked".

Pullman said: "It's disgusting, but only the sort of behaviour I expect of these people."

Campaigners have claimed that His Dark Materials introduces children to atheism, a suggestion which Pullman has always denied.