By Patrick Day and Jevon Phillips, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
New Line has high hopes that "The Golden Compass," the first film adaptation of author Philip Pullman's trilogy "His Dark Materials," will become the next "Lord of the Rings" franchise -- an epic fantasy with literary cred that performs magnificently at the box office. But there's trouble brewing, and not of the orc and evil wizard variety.
Pullman's novels have been described as containing harsh criticism of the Roman Catholic Church, criticism that hasn't gone unnoticed by members. Though director Chris Weitz has said he tried to de-emphasize the source material's more controversial aspects, several Catholic groups have called for a boycott of the film, which stars Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Richards, left.
"The Golden Compass" is far from the first film to be greeted with stern disapproval from the faithful. In fact, just about every world religion has been up in arms over a movie. Here are some of them.
