[Dave]

I saw a TV programme about 'The Making of...." and Philip Pullman was there in the background in almost every shot. He was heavily involved in the design of props, taking the prop-designers to the museum of antiquities in Oxford, where he first had the idea for the Aleithiometer. So, either he was satisfied with the way the film was made, or, he just gave away too much control to the director and filmmakers. JK Rowling very forcefully insisted that much of Harry Potter was not changed, but I've heard many an author complaining about giving away their soul to the devil when they handed over the film rights of their book (for a substantial sum of money of course.) Unless you write the screenplay yourself (and even then....) I'm not sure you can ever prevent this. We've discussed in other threads here how Books and Films are not the same thing. What works in one does not work in another, and vice versa, so authors have to let filmmakers do what they think is best and hope they know what they are doing.