Still ace. (See previously.)
Actually, following a link from bookslut, I noticed that a film version of Northern Lights ('The Golden Compass' overseas, apparently) is in the works. Early signs are good - it's being handled by New Line (the crew behind, amongst other things, the Lord of the Rings adaptation), and Tom Stoppard produced the first cut of the screenplay - and it's tentatively slated for early 2007, which seems rather optimistic given that the public announcement of the casting of Lyra was only a few days ago but is a bit exciting nonetheless.
