Prince Caspian

Caspian Can't Compete with Summer Movies

2008-06-02T23:02:00.000-05:00

by Peter T. Chattaway | posted 06/02/08

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a better movie than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but has not quite been the hit that Disney had hoped for, studio chief Robert Iger told an analyst conference last week—and he blamed the new film's disappointing grosses on the crowded summer movie season.

Compared to Wardrobe, which was released in December 2005, Prince Caspian has been raking in less money at the box office nearly every day since its release, and it has been showing weaker "legs" as well—which means the film has been losing audience members at an even faster rate.

Prince Caspian was originally slated for a December 2007 release, but Disney put it off until the summer partly to make room for The Water Horse, which Narnia co-producer Walden Media had produced with Sony. The Water Horse came out Christmas Day and went on to gross $40 million in North America and another $61 million overseas.

Most recent fantasy films—including The Golden Compass, three of the five Harry Potter films and all three Lord of the Rings films—have been released in November or December, to take advantage of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

The record for summer releases is more mixed. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in June 2004 and went on to become the lowest-grossing film in the series; on the other hand, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released in July 2007 and became the second-highest grossing film in the series.

Prince Caspian came out May 16, two weeks after the better-than-expected debut of Iron Man and six days before the new Indiana Jones film—and as of this weekend, it ranked behind both of those films, as well as a couple of this week's new releases. To date, it has earned about $115 million in North America; by this point in its release, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe had earned $153 million.

MarketWatch noted that Prince Caspian cost about $200 million to make and needed to gross $500 worldwide if it was to break even. It is not clear whether the film can do that—Wardrobe grossed $744 million worldwide—but Prince Caspian "is expected to have a home video life, however."

Before Prince Caspian came out, there were rumors that Disney might be looking for a new franchise to replace Narnia. But for now, the studio is still working on an adaptation of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which is tentatively set for release on May 7, 2010—i.e., the first weekend of the summer moviegoing season, a timeslot that has been very good in recent years to films like Spider-Man and Iron Man.

Douglas Gresham, stepson of Narnia creator C.S. Lewis, also told SciFi.com that he is "already starting discussions on The Silver Chair. And we're just toying with the idea of doing The Horse and His Boy after that. So we are thinking ahead."

"Prince Caspian" Reviews!

2008-05-16T23:15:00.003-05:00

From SciFi.com:

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (B+)

More than a millennium has passed as the latest Narnia adaptation brings a bigger, bolder and darker adventure to the screen

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Starring Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell and Peter Dinklage
Co-written and directed by Andrew Adamson
Based on the children's book of the same name by C.S. Lewis
Walt Disney Pictures
Rated PG
Opens May 16

By Tara Bennett

It's been a year since the Pevensie children returned to wartime England after their adventures in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. As the four siblings are growing up, they're having a tough time acclimating to their "normal" lives, where nothing special happens outside of school and air raids.

... one of the rare sequels that actually improves upon the original ...

Yet back in Narnia, 1,300 years have passed and the land of dancing trees and talking animals is now a mere shell of its former glory. The human Telmarine race has spent centuries exterminating the Narnians. Those wily enough to survive, like Trumpkin the dwarf (Dinklage) and Trufflehunter the badger, are hiding in the depths of the forest waiting for the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve (the Pevensie children) to return and save them.

But their initial savior actually turns out to be the exiled heir to Telmarine, Prince Caspian (Barnes). Having just barely escaped the clutches of his power-hungry uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), Caspian ends up in the forest and, in a moment of panic, blows a horn that magically sweeps the Pevensie children back to Narnia.

Devastated by the ruined state of their former home, the Pevensies band together with Caspian and the surviving Narnians to wage what looks like a hopelessly lopsided war against the diabolical King Miraz and his epic army for the ultimate fate of Narnia. Their only hope is that the Pevensies' faith in the wise lion Aslan, their former subjects and themselves can sway the tides of war.

Restoring a fantasyland

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is one of the rare sequels that actually improves upon the original, not because of a superior storyline, but rather because the maturity of this production gives this film more resonance. Director Andrew Adamson wisely moves away from the gleam of the overly CG'd first film and instead uses the grandeur of actual location shooting from all over the globe to ground Narnia in reality. The kingdom feels real now, and that does wonders in connecting the audience to Narnia's peril. Plus the production design is jaw-dropping, with massive sets, including castles and Aslan's rock-faced fortress, which set the stage for impressively choreographed battle sequences.

And action is most certainly the focus of Prince Caspian, as Adamson tinkers with Lewis' narrative to quickly set up intersecting storylines that allow him to get right to the business of preparing for the war against Miraz and the Telmarines. And while the battles can be overlong in some sections, they are energetic, creative and blissfully void of any gore or blood, which makes the film safe for families.

The other great strength of Prince Caspian is the cast. Barnes, with his Inigo Montoya-inspired accent, is everything an earnest, handsome prince should be, and he has sweet chemistry with the other characters—especially Susan (Popplewell). As for the Pevensie kids, the years between films have been good to young actors Henley, Moseley, Keynes and Popplewell. They all come across more assured this time around, whether they're having heart-to-hearts with CG critters or racing into battle, and the film is stronger because of them. The supporting cast is also winning, including Dinklage's soul-weary Trumpkin and Eddie Izzard's charming voice work for the swashbuckling rodent Reepicheep. While overall the themes are darker and the ending is as bittersweet as the first, Prince Caspian evolves the Narnia mythology without disappointing.

Prince Caspian gets the epic sequel right by raising the action stakes without forgetting that the characters are what drive the story's emotional heart. —Tara

From Christianity Today:

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Review by Peter T. Chattaway | posted 05/15/08

For all their talk of staying true to the spirit of C. S. Lewis's novels, the makers of the Narnia films have frequently deviated from the books in ways both big and small, and the liberties they take with Prince Caspian;which echo but go far, far beyond the liberties they took with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe;both help the film and hurt it. They help because you can sense that co-writer and director Andrew Adamson is finally making the big epic fantasy battle movie that he really wanted to make the first time around, and his devotion to that vision holds Prince Caspian together and makes it a more consistent, and consistently entertaining, sort of film than Wardrobe was. But in steering the film closer to his own vision, Adamson steers it away from Lewis's, and so it loses some of the book's core spiritual themes.

Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian

The basic storyline is still there, though it has been re-arranged somewhat. Instead of beginning in England, with the four Pevensie children sitting at a train station, the film begins in Narnia, with a woman giving birth and a man, Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), being woken in the middle of the night and told that he must flee for his life. It turns out the woman in question is Caspian's aunt, and she has just given birth to a son, and this gives her husband, Lord Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), the opportunity he needs to seize the throne that has been vacant ever since Caspian's father died. But first Caspian has to hide;in a wardrobe!;from assassins with crossbows who enter his room only to find that he is not in bed. And then he has to ride, ride, ride into the night while being pursued by several of Miraz's soldiers.

Meanwhile, back in England, the four Pevensie children are getting ready to go back to school. One year has passed since their adventures in Narnia, and they are still getting used to the fact that they are no longer grown-up kings and queens of some far-off magical land but, rather, children who still have to deal with kids their own age. Peter (William Moseley), in particular, resents the fact that he is no longer High King, and he is all too eager to get into fights with other boys; fights that he apparently cannot win until his younger brother Edmund (Skandar Keynes) steps in and bails him out. But then, far away in Narnia, Caspian calls for help by blowing on the magic horn that once belonged to Queen Susan (Anna Popplewell), and suddenly the four Pevensie children find themselves whisked away to their former castle. (It's worth noting that this time, they're whisked from an underground tube station, rather than from an "empty, sleepy, country station," as in the book; a change which Lewis scholar Devin Brown finds problematic.)

Sergio Castellitto as King Miraz

However, while only one year has gone by in our world, over a thousand years have passed in Narnia, and so the castle that once belonged to the Pevensies is now in ruins. What's more, it turns out that the humans who now rule Narnia, a race known as the Telmarines, have driven the magical creatures of Narnia so deep into hiding that many people simply assume that the minotaurs, centaurs and other creatures are nothing more than "fairy tales." Even the Narnians themselves have lost their magic. One of the things this movie gets very right is the dismay Lucy (Georgie Henley) feels when she realizes the trees no longer "dance" the way they used to, or the way Susan, who had difficulty believing in talking animals in the first film is now caught off-guard by the sight of a bear that doesn't talk.

Moments like these hint at the themes that Lewis explored in his book. For Lewis, the modern world was a lot like the world that Caspian had grown up in, a world that had cast aside myth and magic and reduced the world to little more than a collection of parts. (In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Eustace declares that stars in our world are nothing more than flaming balls of gas, and he is told that, no, even in our world, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of.) Lewis wanted to give his readers—including Christians who had unthinkingly bought into modernity, a taste of the spiritual realm that animates our physical world. And since he believed that the pagan, pre-Christian man had a greater aptitude for the spiritual realm, and was thus easier to convert, than the secular, post-Christian man, Lewis wrote the Narnia books to introduce his readers to a "baptized" form of paganism. Nowhere is this more explicit than in the original book version of Prince Caspian, in which the Christ-figure Aslan literally dances with the Greco-Roman god Bacchus.

Peter Dinklage as Trumpkin

But Adamson and his co-writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, show no interest in that particular theme. Gone from this film are any and all references to Bacchus, Silenus or the Maenads, figures as important to this story as Father Christmas was to Wardrobe, and gone too are the scenes in which Aslan and his followers trash the schools that teach Narnian children not to believe in myths and fairy tales. And because those scenes are missing, the divine lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson) has very little to do. Indeed, Aslan is almost entirely written out of the movie altogether. His first appearance, an actual encounter with Lucy in the book, is here heavily abbreviated, and quickly revealed to be a dream. It is only in the film's final reels that Aslan indisputably steps onto the stage and takes action.

Because Aslan is so remote from them, the Pevensies are forced to figure things out for themselves, with varying results. Peter's hunger for power and glory leads him to act just as rashly in Narnia as he had been acting in England, but since he is leading armies into battle now, his rashness has lethal, devastating consequences. What's more, he is strongly, strongly tempted to make a deal with the devil, as it were, to achieve his goals. (This may be the biggest, most potentially controversial change to a once-noble character since Faramir felt the lure of the Ring in Peter Jackson's version of The Two Towers.) However, some important and powerful themes do emerge, as Lucy reminds Peter that they need to actually look for Aslan and be faithful to what they already know of him, if they are ever to actually see him.

Aslan and Lucy (Georgie Henley)

The supporting characters, including the pessimistic dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) and the amusing but lethal warrior mouse Reepicheep (voice of Eddie Izzard), are nicely handled; Reepicheep has one encounter with a cat that is even funnier when you recall that Adamson co-directed Antonio Banderas's Puss in Boots in Shrek 2, and the battle scenes include at least one brilliant tactic that I don't think we have seen in any of the other recent ancient or medieval war movies.

As a director, Adamson is still borrowing from Jackson and other filmmakers: note the flying-arrow shot lifted straight out of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, but his direction is also more assured this time, perhaps because he gives himself greater freedom to change things as he sees fit. It helps that Prince Caspian, as written by Lewis himself, is a more complex story, with political intrigue among the villains and a deeper sense of Narnian history. Some oddities still creep in, though, from the abundance of crossbows, which everyone brandishes as though they were as easy to use as automatic weapons, to a flirtation between Susan and Caspian that seems to come from out of nowhere late in the story. (Popplewell told the fan site NarniaWeb the film did have a romantic subplot at one point, but most of it got left on the cutting-room floor.)

And then there is the swordplay, which is so pervasive that it begins to get a little tiring. (I found myself thinking of The Matrix Reloaded, and how the characters there seemed to get into extended martial-arts scenes simply to say "hello.") But on a summer-popcorn-movie level, it all works. Prince Caspian is a reasonably enjoyable and diverting bit of entertainment, and it may satisfy people who have been waiting for a worthy successor to the movie version of The Lord of the Rings but felt the previous Narnia movie wasn't quite it. And if it lacks Lewis' message, oh well, with any luck, it will turn people on to the book, which is where the real magic lies.

From Entertainment Weekly:

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

Critics' Grades and Average
EW.com Readers	--
The Denver Post Lisa Kennedy	A-
Toronto Globe and Mail Liam Lacey	D+
The Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey	B
USA Today Mike Clark	--
Variety Todd McCarthy	C+
Boston Globe Ty Burr	B
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman	B-
Critics' Average	B-

BROKEN SPELL Prince Caspian (with Ben Barnes, pictured, in the title role) is a darker, battle-heavy sequel that just can't match the charm of its Narnia predecessor

Credits

Release Date: May 16, 2008; Rated: PG; Length: 132 Minutes; Genre: Fantasy; With: William Moseley

B-

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman is a film critic for EW

In The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, one of the rare sequences of untrammeled wit and fun and light arrives when the valiant, shining-eyed Caspian (Ben Barnes), having assembled a motley army out of the scruffy woodland creatures of Narnia, infiltrates the castle of King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), the evil uncle who has usurped his throne. (We know what a bad guy Miraz is from one look at his ugly, pointed beard. No facial hair should be this sculpted.) The forces of Narnia — spitfire dwarfs, towering centaurs, and other misfits — are the underdogs, but when it comes to sneaking past the royal walls, they have advantages.

The castle itself is impossibly tall — it looks like a collection of mighty elongated chess rooks — and so it helps to have a few griffins soar over the edifice to deposit key fighters. There is also a swashbuckling mouse (blithely voiced by Eddie Izzard), who could almost be a prankish cousin to Puss in Boots from the Shrek films. (Andrew Adamson, director of Prince Caspian, codirected the first two Shreks.) He wriggles up a pole and leaves a castle kitty cat bound in knots. And then there's the hulking humanoid ram: just the thing to give an enemy soldier a start.

As amusing as this can be, the attempt by Caspian to win back his lost kingdom is really about all there is to the film — which is to say, this is a movie that showcases battle. Lots and lots of battle. As the soldiers pick up their broadswords and begin to slash and plunge, Prince Caspian seizes, and holds, your attention, yet it begins to look like any other mystically righteous clang-of-metal war movie. Creatures or no creatures, we’ve seen it before.

Like the C.S. Lewis novel it's based on, Prince Caspian follows a tradition of darkening sequels. In pop-fantasy cinema, the trend was more or less set in motion by The Empire Strikes Back, which ripened the underlying foreboding of Star Wars, and it was then followed by the playfully (some would say perversely) demonic Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It took the Harry Potter films an extra installment or two, but that series got gravitas as well — all to the benefit of its hellzapoppin Victorian toy-shop aesthetic. Prince Caspian, taking on a similar spirit, is a fierce and somber battle epic. It features soldiers in pewter armor lined up in rows like a sinister marching band against the Narnians, who stand there with their bows and arrows, trembling bravely at the odds against them. Yet make no mistake: This is also a Disney film, and so there's nothing too twisted, ignoble, or bloody about it. The real reason Prince Caspian is darker than 2005's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is that it leans so much more heavily on medieval hardware than mysticism. What's changed is the ratio of combat to enchantment.

From the start, you feel a comedown in magic. Instead of the wardrobe they employed before, Peter Pevensie (William Moseley) and his fresh-faced siblings now journey to Narnia through a London subway tunnel, landing on a sunny beach with rock formations that look a lot less wondrous than they're supposed to. Peter, along with Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Susan (Anna Popplewell), has been away for a year, but in Narnia time, 1,300 years have passed, and so has the glorious revolution over which they presided. The creatures of Narnia are now exiled to the woods, and as Miraz, leader of the brutish Telmarines, plots his nasty takeover, Caspian and the Pevensie kids gather the disparate Narnians into that hopeful and collective thing...a fellowship! After the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I realize I'm in the minority in finding the gathering of a fellowship to be a rather blah excuse for the plot of an adventure film. In this case, the doubling up of noble young heroes doesn't help. As Caspian, newcomer Ben Barnes has pouty lips, an anonymous European accent, and long hair that glows like something out of a teen-shampoo commercial. He comes off like the second coming of Orlando Bloom.

In total effect, Prince Caspian feels a lot more earthbound than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. At least, that's true until a surprise figure shows up, his giant sculpted liquid face rising out of the waves of an aqua green river. Will viewers agree on what this face is? Or will they debate it the way that certain devout legions do when it is spotted, mysteriously, in the shadowed folds of a potato chip? B–

From Crosswalk Movies:

"Prince Caspian" Is the Narnia We’ve Been Waiting for

Jeffrey Huston

Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Release Date: May 16, 2008
Rating: PG (for epic battle action and violence)
Genre: Fantasy-Adventure, Adaptation
Run Time: 147 min
Director: Andrew Adamson
Actors: Ben Barnes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Sergio Castellitto, Peter Dinklage, voice of Eddie Izzard

The first film based on The Chronicles of Narnia book saga—The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe—did little to inspire hope for the second. A rote adaptation realized with bland execution, about the best thing that could be said of it was, “Well, at least they didn’t screw it up.” Though faithful to the book’s narrative, the tone was flat, characters lacked distinction, and the aesthetic—while impressive—was generic.

With that as context, this can now be said: in every way that Wardrobe tried (or didn’t) but failed, Prince Caspian succeeds. What was originally slavish adherence to the source has now become inspired cinematic faithfulness. Characters and relationships that lacked emotion and complexity now come to life with camaraderie and depth. And most importantly, the Aslan-as-Christ metaphor that seemed to be drawn merely out of obligation is now fully embraced. Prince Caspian is a major step forward and finally represents the Narnia we’ve truly been waiting for.

Unlike the book, the film opens in Narnia as we see Prince Caspian flee for his life. Long considered the heir to the throne (a seat his father held until his mysterious death), he is now threatened by the power-lust of his uncle Lord Miraz whose wife has now given birth to a son—an heir that Miraz schemes to take Caspian’s place.

Fearful and desperate, Caspian uses a magical Horn to sound an alarm that legend says will call back the ancient kings and queens of Narnia. That royalty (as we know from the first story) is the Pevensie siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy—school-age Londoners who once ruled and brought restoration to Narnia, and the Horn belonged to Susan herself. Through the magic of its call, the Horn’s alarm brings the Pevensies back to Narnia.

Upon their return, the Pevensies soon realize that while only a year has passed in their world, over a millennia has transpired in Narnia. Now in ruins under the rule of Telmarines (invader humans led by Miraz), the kids must reclaim their positions as kings and queens and help Prince Caspian take the throne that is rightfully his.

The prospect of Prince Caspian succeeding seemed dubious as director Andrew Adamson has returned for this second installment. One has to wonder if he spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how Peter Jackson got The Lord of the Rings trilogy right, because many of its successes are true here. Not only is there more visual flair (both in natural production and visual effects), but it also serves as a great example of how to adapt a work of literature to film.

While C.S. Lewis’s book works as a solid basis for an action-adventure, to script it out literally (given its storytelling structure and brief action scenes) would not translate well to the language of film. Adamson and the other writers recognize this by weaving the book’s first two separate acts seamlessly together. The script’s extra-canonical liberties (magnifying the presence of Lord Miraz, staging battles that aren’t even referenced in the book, etc.) all fit squarely into the spirit and tone of the novel rather than feeling like an opportunistic distortion of it.

The same can be said of the characters. When we first see Peter in London, he’s in the middle of a physical fight with a fellow student. Though not in the book, this one moment instantly establishes Peter’s warrior nature more distinctly than any scene from the first film. There is added depth as Peter’s courage is textured with arrogance, giving his character (and all the relationships) an edge that ultimately must be humbled.

Similar gravitas is brought to the other characters—heroes, villains, and comic-relief alike (Reepicheep and his rodent platoon are brilliantly conceived)—at such a level that not only do themes resonate more profoundly, but emotions are felt more deeply. And Aslan, along with his challenging wisdom and air of mystery, is finally depicted in a way that creates legitimate chills.

Early on, the dwarf Trumpkin tells the Pevensies that Narnia may be more savage than they remember it. The same could be said to the viewers of the first film; here the tone is darker, the action more intense, and the substance more demanding. Where Wardrobe pulled punches, Prince Caspian packs, throws and delivers them.

“Lord of the Rings-lite” was a fair characterization of the first Narnia film and the same applies here, but the difference is that before it was a criticism and now it’s a compliment. To put it simply, though one viewing of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is enough, I can’t wait to see Prince Caspian again.

CAUTIONS:

Drugs/Alcohol: None.
Language/Profanity: None.
Sexual Content/Nudity: Innocent romantic chemistry between Prince Caspian and Susan. One brief kiss.
Violence/Other: Medieval combat violence (swordplay, kills, etc.) with visual allusions to decapitations (but doesn’t actually visualize it), all set in a fantasy world.

Prince Caspian on Film: A Victorious Return to Narnia

2008-05-15T22:59:00.000-05:00

Stephen McGarvey

Crosswalk.com Executive Editor

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This feature contains a few minor plot spoilers.

At some point near the completion of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the film’s director Andrew Adamson made a crucial phone call to his producer Mark Johnson. “It was the middle of the night when my phone rang,” says Johnson, “without introduction Andrew asks me, ‘Are we really ready to do another one of these?’”

Making a movie is certainly exhausting business with millions of struggles and details to handle. One could certainly understand why on the heels of his first cinematic journey to Narnia, a weary Adamson would be hesitant to go there again. Backed by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, they set out to make not just a movie; they had to make a huge movie that realizes a fully fictional world inhabited by completely imaginary characters. One that satisfied both the rabid fans of C.S. Lewis’ beloved Chronicles of Narnia, but also a large segment of the movie-going world that was not familiar with these books.

Fortunately for us, their success almost three years ago with the first Narnia film and their love for these popular stories drove them to bring the second book in the Chronicles of Narnia to life: Prince Caspian. But like the second movie in any series, the filmmakers knew that Prince Caspian could not just be as good as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it had to be better. Also like any book adaptation on film, Johnson, Adamson and the film’s screenwriters had to make some changes to the original work. Yet the structure of the novel Prince Caspian provided some unique challenges to the adaptation process.

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is so revered by so many people, you got the sense that if you tampered with it, your were doing so at great risk,” says Johnson. “With [Prince Caspian] when we first read it … we knew it was going to be really tough.”

What Johnson and the others discovered, was that even though millions have read and enjoyed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, far fewer readers had also read Prince Caspian and the rest of the Chronicles. “So we didn’t feel quite the same pressure, as we did on the first movie,” confesses Johnson, “The success of the first gave us a bit more leeway to make some changes to the second. We were very much aware of what these books mean to so many people and want to stay true to each one them.”

Going Forward 1,300 Years

In this second part of the Narnia story, we return to Narnia 1,300 years into the future. The land is ruled by an ignoble race of men called the Telmarines, and their power-hungry ruler Miraz. The magical creatures of old Narnia have all but disappeared in the face of this human tyranny, and have not been seen in years. Upon the birth of his son, the wicked Miraz attempts to murder his nephew Caspian, the rightful heir to the throne. During his escape from Miraz, Caspian discovers the old Narnians in hiding and joins with them to take back Narnia from the Telmarines. Caspian also finds himself in possession of a magic horn—familiar to those who remember the first film—and blows it in his “hour of great need,” pulling the Pevensie children, the famous “kings and queens of old,” back into Narnia.

Narnia purists will note this slight departure from the book (which has Caspian using the horn after a long argument with the rest of the Narnians about how appropriate using the magic horn would be). Since most of Prince Caspian’s story in the book is told in flashback, the filmmakers knew that they had to change this bit of structure for film.

“Structurally [Prince Caspian] is not a movie,” says screenplay co-writer Stephen McFeely. “It’s a 180-page book. When the kids get [to Narnia] and they meet a dwarf who tells them a 60-page flashback they are not involved in, about a kid they’ve never heard of named Prince Caspian. And they say ‘it sounds like he is in trouble ... we better go do something about that.’ So we wrote a memo when [co-writer Christopher Markus and I] first got the job that said what we have to all agree on is that somebody is blowing that horn really, really early—much earlier than the book—because the kids have to get here and meet Caspian.”

For the Pevensie children, Peter, Susan Edmund and Lucy, who returned to England from Narnia at the end of the first story, only one year has passed. So their return to a Narnia that is more than a thousand years older is quite jarring.

“Because they’ve been to Narnia before they feel like they know Narnia better than anyone else,” says Georgie Henley, who plays Lucy Pevensie in both films. “They come back to a completely different Narnia… they don’t cope with that well until the end [of the film.]”

Prince Caspian the film also examines what life in England must have been like for these children who had formerly been rulers of the magical land of Narnia. Lewis, McFeely notes, did not investigate this part of the story. “What happens if you are a king or queen of Narnia for 15 years, and then you walk back through the wardrobe,” asks McFeely. “You are a kid just like when you left and you have to go back to school for a year… before you were signing treaties and defeating giants. Now you have to go back to doing homework. We wanted to show the tough times. …”

Making Adjustments in Different Worlds

It is the character Peter, who seems to have the most difficulty adjusting to both life in the real world and returning to a Narnia where he is no longer the high king. The movie thoughtfully examines his inner struggles with pride and the tensions between “king of old” Peter and Caspian, the rightful heir to the throne.

“Peter feels very self-entitled, and his ego gets the best of him,” says William Moseley about the character he portrays. “He was the High King and then he got back to England and nobody had any respect for him. Then he got back to Narnia [and again] nobody had any respect for him…”

Much like younger brother Edmund in the first film, it is Peter who now has the most profound personal journey in Prince Caspian. And with Caspian now in the picture Moseley feels that Peter learns a great deal of humility in this film. “I think leadership at the end of the day is about serving other people, and serving your country and not serving yourself. Peter had to learn that valuable lesson…. Peter has to pass Narnia on to Caspian. There is a strong leadership journey for him portrayed here.”

This strain between Caspian and Peter ups the film’s tension. “It doesn’t feel like they hate each other, they’re just at each other’s throats a bit because they’ve been through all this stuff together,” says Ben Barnes who plays Caspian in the film. “I was pleased the way it came out.”

Adamson concurs: “For Peter [the return to Narnia] was a chance to reassess himself, to prove himself… So he didn’t really want Aslan’s help because that would mean he NEEDED someone’s help. He wanted to prove that he really was the high king. So [that’s why in the story] he is sort of the last one to come around to saying ‘ok, I need help.’”

“[Edmund] is always looking out for Peter and he doesn’t really get the credit he deserves…” say Skandar Keynes of his character Edmund. “One of the recurring themes is how he is helping Peter out and Peter is just kind of ignoring him.”

And with Edmund’s character arc so severe in the first film, the writers struggled to figure out how to handle his character in this second film.

“We were always worried about Edmund because … he fixed the most about himself in the first movie,” says McFeely. “So it would be unfair to him and the audience to make him a little crud muffin at the beginning of this movie. So then what do you do, you start with a character that’s pretty noble and has a good head on his shoulders?” Edmund instead of being a character in need of redemption for his treachery, becomes a great little action hero. In addition to getting a key role in the main action sequence, Keynes gets several fun bits of comic relief that prove him to be both witty and endearing.

Breaking Up the Action

It is the humor of Prince Caspian that breaks up the intensity in an action heavy film. Several of the Narnians, many of them completely rendered on computer, provide some welcome comic relief in the midst of all the intense action and character growth. “I was actually pleased at how much the audience laughed,” says Adamson of the test screenings he sat in on. “Reepicheep the mouse is a great character in the book, and any time you have a mouse say something it instantly becomes funny.” Trumpkin the dwarf, portrayed by actor Peter Dinklage, displays a cynical sense of humor that also works to ease the film’s tension.

Like most books adapted for film, what’s more important than the details are the themes of the story. Prince Caspian not only contains the amazing special effects and action choreography you would expect in a contemporary fantasy epic, it also includes a poignant emotional journey for the characters. According to Mark Johnson, a film should always be about characters and story telling … “are [the viewers] going to be compelled to follow these characters...? It’s not about ‘does this explosion work’ it’s about ‘do we care?’

Added to the story, which will no doubt cause a good deal of discussion, is an action sequence where the Narnians attack Miraz’s castle before he has a chance to attack them.

“In the book Reepicheep suggests raiding the castle and going after the Telmarines; [it’s] not something they do in the book but something worth expanding on. I read to immerse myself in what the book was and see what came out of it in the writing process. And it evolved toward a more action-driven film [than the first],” says Adamson.

“The raid is a huge failure,” says screenplay co-writer Christopher Markus. But we wanted to give Peter that [scene], so he can come across as stiffly heroic … we really wanted to test his mettle and break him a little bit so he could build himself back as a person.”

By all accounts, C.S. Lewis’ step-son and guardian of the Lewis estate is pleased with this second film, telling Christianity Today in a recent interview that although Prince Caspian is a poorer book than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it ended up being a better movie.

This success is largely due to Adamson, Johnson, et al and their reverence for the themes of the source material.

Going Back and Moving on

“I grew up in Papua New Guinea and that’s a country that has gone through an awful lot of change in the last 22 years," says Adamson. “I’ve never gone back there in part because I know the place where I grew up doesn’t really exist anymore. So [like the Pevensie children] I related to the sense of loss of not being able to go back to something that you grew up with. Like the old saying 'you can’t go back to your childhood.' That’s what [the Pevensie children] are going through … going back to a place that doesn’t exist and having to accept it and move on. So as much as I wanted connection I wanted the audience to feel that sense of loss as well.”

Any additions or structural changes to the story support the themes of the book nicely, including making one famous sequence with Aslan, rendered here potentially in a dream. Says Adamson: “There is a problem there that you can get away with in the book because the story is told in retrospect … Aslan is there and he doesn’t do anything. But we had a problem with that cinematically because once you show Aslan, if you don’t have him do something people are going to ask ‘Why is all this happening? Why doesn’t he do something.’ It became really hard to see how this magnificent creature came along and hung out with the kids, and not do anything to stop all this carnage.”

At its core, Prince Caspian is about belief verses doubt, a theme familiar to those who know the work of C.S. Lewis. The Telmarines don’t believe in Aslan and the old Narnians. Lucy sees Aslan but her siblings don’t believe her at first.

“You believe, then you see,” says Will Moseley about Narnia. “The analogy is there that Aslan represents God. People say every day ‘if God is there why can’t I see him.’ Peter, Susan and Edmund say the same thing, ‘why didn’t I see him, he is an unbelievably huge lion why can’t I see him?’ Because they don’t believe. When Peter feels remorse about his sins, then the magic starts to happen. Almost like you open yourself up to believe, then you can see. I don’t think it has anything to do with aging … it's more to do with your strength in belief.”

Starring Peter Dinklage, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Prince Caspian opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, May 16, 2008. Click here for more information.

Reelzchannel.com Interviews Narnia Stars!

2008-05-15T22:06:00.002-05:00

Interview with Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian)

Interview with Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, and William Moseley (Pevensie Siblings)

Andrew Adamson Chronicles "Narnia" Again - Interview

2008-05-14T22:54:00.000-05:00

Director Andrew Adamson is in the business of chronicling `Narnia,' this time in `Prince Caspian'

by Clint O'Connor / Plain Dealer Film Critic
Wednesday May 14, 2008, 7:48 AM

AP Photo/Peter Kramer

Andrew Adamson is Mr. Blockbuster. He's had a hand in four of the top 35 grossing films of all time. None of his movies has earned less than $260 million.

That's Lucas-Spielberg territory.

The 41-year-old New Zealander directed "Shrek 2" (No. 3 on the all-time list, and the most successful animated film ever), was a producer on "Shrek the Third" (No. 18), directed and co-wrote "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" (No. 29), and directed one of the most entertaining films of the 21st century, the original "Shrek" (No. 35).

Apparently the guy likes the pressures of spitting out sequels. He's back with the second Narnia film, "Prince Caspian," which opens nationwide today. This time, the four Pevensie children return to Narnia where more than 1,300 years have passed, and must help Caspian defeat an army of Telmarines. The second film from C.S. Lewis' seven-book series is lengthy (140 minutes), darker, and more battle-heavy than the first.

We caught up with Adamson on the phone from London to ask about his Narnia redux.

You've become Mr. Epic. Do you ever long for a small budget, a hand-held camera, and a crew of three?

That's where I wanted to go in the beginning and ended up being steered in this direction by accident and incident. I'm actually stepping back from the next one of these. Michael Apted will direct ["The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"]. I'm planning to go off to New Zealand and develop some smaller projects.

The first time around you took a beloved book to the screen, now you have to top the first film. How do you deal with that pressure?

You can't think about that too much because you start second-guessing your own decisions. I can't really make a film for somebody else. I can only make it for myself and hope that other people approve of my taste. Once you try to guess what's cool for a 13-year-old boy, you can pretty much guarantee you'll miss. And they'll know that you're false.

With "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" a lot of attention was paid to the Christian aspects of the story -- Aslan dying willingly and being resurrected. Did that affect your approach to those themes this time?

Not really. A lot of people, particularly in the U.S., made a big issue with the allegorical lion. Certainly it's something C.S. Lewis would have been irate about, because he never intended him to be allegorical, though he certainly wrote from his own belief system. The last film had a resurrection story, obviously a very strong representation of the resurrection story of Christ. But it also exists in a lot of other cultures and a lot of other religions. I think that's why the book has been so accepted across the world, and why the movie was as well.

The film is rated PG. With all of the sword fighting and battling I assumed it would be PG-13. Were you surprised by the rating?

There's a lot more action in it, it's a bit more of a boys' film, and a bit more intense. But in the last film, with Aslan being killed, I don't think there's anything darker than that. That was very terrifying for children. The thing I learned was it's okay to go there and it's okay for kids to be sacred, as long as you don't leave them in that state, and as long as you're not gratuitous.

How old were you when you first read the books?

I was between the ages of about 8 and 10. I read them a couple of times over. I do feel comfortable with that age group seeing the film. I would say for younger kids, parents should definitely go with them. You want somebody who can hold their hand during the scary bits.

SciFi.com Interviews Andrew, Ben, Peter, Georgie, William, and Anna!

2008-05-12T23:18:00.001-05:00

Go behind the scenes with the cast and crew of the latest Narnia installment, Prince Caspian

By Tara DiLullo Bennett

With the massive success of Andrew Adamson's cinematic adaptation of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2005, it was really only a matter of time before the next novel in the beloved fantasy series would get its chance to shine on the big screen. Three years later, Adamson and almost the entire original creative team from the first movie are back with their interpretation of the much-less-read story of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

A year after the Pevensie children's inaugural adventure in Narnia and their unexpected return to 1940s wartime England, their former realm beckons them to return once more. Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are all magically transported back to a Narnia that has now aged 1300 years. Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) the dwarf reveals to them that the land of Minotaur and fauns, dwarves and talking animals is but a pale shadow of itself, with the magic spirited out of most of the inhabitants that still exist. Narnia's whole existence is under threat of siege and extinction by the evil King Miraz of Telmarine and his massive army of humans. More mature and more resolved than ever to save their former home, the Pevensie children unite what is left of Narnia's creatures and, along with the help of the Telmarine outcast and ally Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), they align to fight once more.

Adamson's Prince Caspian is even more epic than the first film, with jaw-dropping sets, more impressive visual effects and a timeless story that revolves around the power of faith and redemption. SCI FI Weekly recently ventured to New York City to catch up with Adamson, Moseley, Popplewell, Henley, Dinklage and Barnes.

Andrew, with the original film successfully under your belt, was Prince Caspian easier to create?

Adamson: It should have been easier! You always think "I have done it before, so it will be easier," but because of that there is the natural tendency to put more challenges in front of you. Then there are the expectations that "the last film was this big, so the audience is going to expect at least that," and then it expands from there. It became logistically a very challenging film. There is a lot more action. We have a lot more extras, with the whole Telmarine army. There are a lot more locations, which was very deliberate, so all those things added up.

Unlike The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, you created a very different script structure for Prince Caspian compared to the book. Were you concerned fans would get upset?

Adamson: The first book was very cinematic, in an almost five-act structure that was quite linear. In this book a lot is actually told in retrospect by Trumpkin, who is telling the kids what happened after they left. And there are scenes like them following Aslan through the gorge in the book that don't work cinematically. We did have to come up with a very different structure, and getting the story and script right was the hardest part.

There always is concern about fans, although one of the Narnia Web site fans was [at the screening], and he was speechless with enthusiasm, so I take that as a good sign! And I actually read the book again on the plane on the way over here, because after you work on something for two and half years you can't remember what was there and what you made up. I was really pleased that in reading the book, even though the structure is very different, it felt like I was reading the same story. What I set out to do with both of these was "if this really happened and C.S. Lewis wrote a book for small children about the events and then I make a movie of the real event, I need to stick to the key points."

Do you prefer directing animated films or live-action films more?

Adamson: This is like doing both. You do the live-action part and then you have to do the animated part with all animated characters. It's largely like the difference between a sprint and a marathon. The intensity is the same, but the duration is different. In animation you get a lot more chances at things. You can refine over and over again. In live action, when you have 500 people looking over your shoulder you don't have as many opportunities to do things over. The nice thing about doing it combined is that you don't necessarily have to reshoot stuff; you can give lines to animated characters six months down the track. In both films, I repurposed scenes and added lines later on with animated characters that make the live-action parts work better.

How did you find Ben Barnes, who plays Caspian?

Adamson: The net was cast around the world. I wanted to make the Telmarines of Mediterranean descent, with the whole thing about them coming from pirates. I started casting in Italy, Spain, France and Central America. Ben came as a surprise when Gail sent us his tape. He got the nuance in the script in one of the scenes he decided to audition that I hadn't seen any of the other actors get. By this time it was very late in the game, as I was already prepping in New Zealand. I arranged for him to fly to L.A., and I met him there. He's charming, and he looked the part. I wanted someone who looked very different from William. He was a very accomplished young man who still looked like he was 16 years old.

Ben, what kind of man is Prince Caspian?

Barnes: Caspian is an earnest character. He's a bit of a lost soul. He hasn't been parented and has been brought up by someone [Miraz] who essentially doesn't care about him at all and is just waiting to have his own heir so he can get rid of him. That's not a very loving environment to be brought up in. The closest thing he has is his professor, and that was probably only a couple of years. He's an interesting character, and I'm excited to see how he develops. But in the next film [Voyage of the Dawn Treader], he won't suddenly become this macho, musing, quipping king.

How was it assimilating into this tight-knit clan of actors?

Barnes: When I got the part I got [The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe] DVD and watched all the DVD extras and listened to Georgie [Henley] say, "Oh, Will is like my brother, and Andrew [Adamson] is like the dad when my dad's not there, and it's all lovely." I just thought "Give me a bucket. I don't believe you." Then I walked into the production office on the first day and they were playing table tennis with each other and sitting on each other's laps and sharing ice cream. It was like something out of a Disney film ... boom, boom. [Laughs.] It really was like that, and it was a very family atmosphere on set.

Peter, did Warwick Davis [Nikabrik] give you any tips on how to act with the makeup for your character, Trumpkin?

Dinklage: Ah, Warwick is an old pro on these fantasy films. Even if you don't know it's Warwick, it's probably Warwick underneath a lot of makeup. I had done one film for Disney the year before, Underdog, where I was in some makeup but not anything like what he has done or what I did with this movie. It's a whole other level of craziness. I was in the makeup chair for three hours. But when you are complaining or you have a bad day and you are hot with the yak hair and everything, you just look at him, and he's such an old pro it makes you mellow out. Warwick had more makeup than I did. It's funny, because on a movie like this with the Narnians, you see people more in makeup than you see them out of makeup, so it was always almost a shock seeing him sometimes at the end of the day and he was 500 years younger!

Georgie, the Pevensie siblings have such a genuine rapport on screen. Why do you think that is?

Henley: I think the reason we have this bond is because in my family I am the youngest. I have two older sisters, so I am the baby. In Will's family, he is the big brother. It's like in all of our families we just swap in. I love it, because I have two sisters and no big brother. Having Skandar [Keynes] and Will around is like having two big brothers. Especially Will is always there if you want a cuddle on set, which is lovely because whenever you are feeling down, Will is always there and happy. Why we all have this chemistry and bond is because we've basically grown up together, almost. We've spent years together.

William, you really outdid yourself with the stunts and impressive fighting in the various battle scenes. Was it more fun this time around?

Moseley: Yeah. The physical aspect I completely immersed myself in and embraced. On the first one, the battle armor was quite rigid and I felt like I was a robot. In this one, they really freed it up and made it more agile for me so I could do these crazy stunts. I worked really hard on a one-to-one level with stunt coordinator Allan Poppleton. I was running eight miles every other day and working out in the gym for a couple hours on top of that. I was just thinking my body was in such good shape last year!

Anna, was this film easier to do that the first one?

Popplewell: It wasn't necessarily easier or harder, it was just different. This one was bigger. When you're dealing with a Telmarine army and a Narnia army, suddenly there are 300 extras training in one area and a huge prosthetics tent in another and you are catering for a thousand people. Even having experience with the huge scale of the first movie, I was surprised by how big everything was. I wasn't involved in any of battle stuff last time around, so to be the only one on the battlefield in a skirt is interesting. I made sure I did twice as much horse-riding training before I got to New Zealand as the boy, because I didn't want to get left behind. Of course, I pretended I had no training whatsoever, so I just looked like a seamless professional.

How was it adding new cast, like Ben Barnes and Peter Dinklage, to the mix?

Popplewell: Ben is really lovely. From the other perspective, because the four of us are so close, we were nervous about the new characters in the movie and who we were going to be spending this amount of time with. You want to have a good time. I was completely delighted when I met Ben and Peter. They are such fun people to be around, and they have amazing senses of humor.

At the end of Prince Caspian, Aslan tells Peter and Susan that they won't be returning to Narnia again—which means this is the last film where you will all be together. Was it hard saying goodbye?

Henley: It's weird, because I finished filming a bit earlier, as I wasn't in some of the battle. My last shot was one of the last scenes in the movie, when we are actually saying goodbye. It was quite hard for me. But I knew it wasn't goodbye forever. I did have a bit of a cry, but I wasn't that sad because I knew because we had grown up together. You can't break that bond as easily as just saying goodbye to someone.

Moseley: It was a really emotional moment, and it was the very last shot that we did. It was a battle scene where all the Narnians are running, and it was a really empowering moment. It sounds weird, but the sun was setting with this beautiful sunset in the Czech Republic, and the whole cast was running down the hill, and it just felt like we were bound for this very last moment, and it immortalized our experience together. It was sad, but it felt like I was ready to move on.

Popplewell: It's bittersweet, the fact that Will and I won't be involved next time. I had my first audition for this when I was 13, and I'm 19 now, so it's been a big chunk of my life. I don't want to play the same character seven times. I think people would probably get bored of it. I don't know if I could spend seven times seven months doing it, so it's been wonderful, but it will be nice to move on, too.

CT Movies Interviews Andrew Adamson

2008-05-06T21:20:00.000-05:00

The Weight of Story
Director Andrew Adamson, whose latest Narnia movie, Prince Caspian, releases to theaters next week, fully feels the burden to get it just right.
by Mark Moring | posted 05/06/08

Why'd you change this? Why did you leave out that? How come you didn't …

Andrew Adamson has heard all those questions, and then some. When you're trying to adapt some of the best-loved children's books of all time into big-screen movies, there will be plenty of naysayers and nitpickers, and Adamson fully expected it.

The director sizes up a scene

Already an acclaimed director for the first two Shrek films, Adamson stepped into a whole 'nother world, literally and figuratively, when he took on the first two Narnia films—2005's The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and the sequel Prince Caspian, which opens in theaters May 16.

We recently chatted by phone with the 41-year-old director, who was working on final edits and polishing up special effects in a London studio. His wife and daughters (Isabelle, 4½, and Sylvie, 2½) were living with him in London—sort of a home between homes for the New Zealand natives. After living in Los Angeles for more than a decade (making the Shrek and then the Narnia movies), Adamson will take a break after this one, moving back to his home country for some R&R and extended time with his family.

And he'll pass the Narnia torch on to Michael Apted, the veteran British director behind such films as Amazing Grace and James Bond's The World Is Not Enough. Apted is directing The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, slated for a 2010 release—and Adamson, who will stay on as a producer, assures fans that the franchise is in good hands.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was one of the top 30 movies of all time internationally. What kind of pressure does that put on you?

No additional weight that wasn't already there with this property. The beloved nature of the book—and how much import I place on staying true to it—has already put a load on me, and I feel it. Certainly following up a successful film, you feel like you have to live up to expectations. But to some degree, I went through that with Shrek, where the first one was a bit under the radar, and the second one, you had a lot more people watching you, and you didn't want to disappoint them.

With The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, so many fans of the book already had high expectations. And that's something you're very conscious of when making a film—and it's hard. There's always an adaptation process. Things do change from book to screen, and you ask, "Did I make the right changes?" The other thing I do is refer to my memory—I zero in on the things I remember from reading the book as a child. Those are the things it's important to be true to.

Douglas Gresham [Lewis's stepson and a producer/consultant on the films] told us he doesn't think Caspian is as good a book as Lion/Witch, but you've ended up with a better movie. Would you say that's accurate?

Hard for me to say. Definitely the adaptation was more difficult in Prince Caspian, because the story of Lion/Witch was already very cinematic with sort of a five-act structure. In Prince Caspian a lot of the story is told in retrospect, with Trumpkin telling the kids what happened when they were gone. So I restructured it to make it more linear. It's a challenge, but sometimes the limitations you face actually create more interesting solutions. And that's what I think makes this movie feel like a bigger movie, a more complex and interesting movie.

Narnia devotees are going to nitpick your every single decision. Would you say that Doug Gresham is the biggest nitpicker of all?

He is a nitpicker, but it's very rare that we have bumped heads on anything because we both have the desire to be true to the books. But there were times in the first film we did come to blows (laughing)—no, come to conflict, I should say—with things like Susan [Pevensie, one of the children in the books]. This was where C. S. Lewis had a feeling about women's role in the world that differed a lot from mine—particularly with Susan getting to use her bow.

Adamson on the Caspian set

Moving on to the title character—why is a 26-year-old [Ben Barnes] playing the role of a 13-year-old?

Caspian is not 13 in the story. I've made him more about Peter's age, 17-18. [Some Narnia fans support this, because the book Prince Caspian says Peter saw Caspian as "a boy about his own age."] Ben doesn't look like he's 26; he doesn't look a day over 20. But I think we were lucky to find someone with really good acting experience. He understood an element of Caspian's character that not everyone got, and he was great in the auditions. Charming. He's a genuinely sweet young man.

Do you tire of all of the nitpicking questions from the diehard fans, including me?

It's a mixed blessing. You get positive things, and you get the negative too. But it's inevitable, and you can't tackle something like this without accepting that it's going to happen—and you're not going to make everyone happy. Even if I stayed true to the book word for word, I don't believe I could make a movie that would make every fan happy. I talked to [Lord of the Rings director] Peter Jackson about this, and asked, "How true did you stay to the books?" And he said, "I'm getting credit for staying true to the books, but I changed a lot." He said you can change stuff, as long as it's good.

Christian readers are among the most devoted Narnia fans, and Lewis is revered in evangelical circles. Do you feel any sort of responsibility to the Christian audience?

I feel my responsibility to C. S. Lewis's fans is just being true to the books, and letting people take from it what they will. What you take from it depends on your belief, and how much interpretation you place upon it. I think by staying true to the book, I'm staying true to what any fan gets from the book.

Michael Apted will soon be taking the Narnia torch from you to direct Voyage of the Dawn Treader. What are your thoughts on that?

Obviously, he's a tremendous filmmaker [Apted directed Amazing Grace, The World Is Not Enough, and the Up documentaries]. But mainly for me, it was watching him with the children who play the Pevensie kids. One of the main reasons I did this film after the previous one is because of my responsibility to the children. I felt like I dragged them from their normal British lives and dragged them all around the world, and I felt a responsibility to all four of them.

Anything else you want to say that we didn't cover?

I think your readership is very happy in general with what I did with the last film, and will feel similarly about this film. But I think you can also take Doug Gresham's word for that, because he is really coming into it as much as an audience member as a producer.

We showed it to an audience for a first time recently, and it went very well. Doug had this huge smile on his face, because it was the first time he'd seen the film intact. You never know how somebody that's grown up with this—that loves every word of the book—is going to react. So that was a huge reassurance to me.

To read the interview in full, click here.

More Action in "PC"

2008-05-04T21:04:00.002-05:00

MOVIE SNEAKS | SUMMER 2008

Action speaks louder in 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'

The sequel takes battle scenes and spectacle to higher heights.

By John Horn
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

May 4, 2008

London

IT WAS the crowning battle in "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," but as the scene played out in a Soho dubbing theater, it wasn't yet crowning enough. Huddling with half a dozen editors in mid-March, director Andrew Adamson was racing to complete the film's sound mix, looking for any opportunity to make "Prince Caspian's" final battle just a bit more powerful. "The Telmarine army is a chatty bunch," the 41-year-old director told the mixing team after reviewing the buildup to an epic clash between the occupying Telmarine troops and the sympathetic Narnians, led by Caspian (Ben Barnes) and Peter Pevensie (William Moseley). "I couldn't really hear the hooves of their horses. So let's make it less chatty, more stomping."

Adamson and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have labored to bring that precise instruction -- action, not talk -- into every frame of the second film based on C.S. Lewis' seven-part allegorical fantasy series, which opens May 16. It's as much necessity as invention: Audiences, particularly in the summer, demand bells and whistles, and yet there's hardly any overt spectacle (not to mention driving narrative) in Lewis' 1951 book.

Caspian appears just a bit more in the novel than Godot does in Samuel Beckett's famous play, and the concluding battle that fills a good chunk of Adamson's movie is recounted in the space of just a few paragraphs. Yet as "Prince Caspian's" creative team conjured up more conflict and peril, they also had to remember the millions of elementary-school-age moviegoers who flocked to the first film nearly three years ago.

"I think it's a bit darker, and I think it's more complex. It's a much more sophisticated movie," says Mark Johnson, who produced "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian." "There are a lot more liberties that Andrew and Markus and McFeely had to take than they did in 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.' "

As the filmmakers ratcheted up "Prince Caspian's" stakes, they had to be mindful of the PG rating they were contractually obligated to deliver to Disney and Walden Media. At one point late in the game, Adamson had to add a few frames to make it clear to the Motion Picture Assn. of America's ratings board that a helmet lolling on the ground didn't really have some unlucky person's head in it.

THE EYES HAVE IT

ADAMSON, WHO also directed the first two "Shrek" films, wasn't sure he wanted to return to Narnia, even though the first film was acclaimed by critics, embraced by families and has grossed more than $748 million worldwide. But he looked into the eyes of the then-10-year-old Georgie Henley and changed his mind.

Henley plays Lucy, the youngest of the four Pevensie children who enter Narnia's timeless world. When Adamson was directing Henley in the first film, she couldn't cry when he needed her to, after the lion Aslan's death. Henley had always wept watching "The Lion King," so Adamson cued its DVD up, but that didn't work, either. Running out of ideas, the director shared with Henley his doubt that he would direct the next film. The tears finally came.

Months later, with the first film completed, Henley sidled up to the New Zealand-born director. "When you said you weren't going to do the sequel, were you saying that just to make me cry or because you really didn't want to do the sequel?" she asked Adamson. "That made me want to do it," the director says. "When you look into those eyes, you can't say no."

If that was an easy enough decision, wrestling Lewis' succinct book into a movie was far more problematic. In Lewis' telling, some 12 months have passed since the four children left Narnia, but it's 1,300 years later in the lands where the White Witch once ruled.

In the intervening centuries, as a dwarf named Trumpkin relates to the children, the Narnians have been driven underground by the usurper Miraz and the Telmarines, descendants of pirates. Caspian, the son of the rightful (but slain by Miraz) King Caspian, has had to flee before he too is killed. With the Telmarines massing for battle, the Narnians need the eldest Pevensie boy, Peter, and Caspian, who have their own rivalry, to somehow save their race.

It sounds more exciting than it reads. Four consecutive chapters are told in flashback, and Caspian vanishes from the story for dozens of pages at a time. While the book may be a classic of children's literature, it doesn't scream movie.

Adamson and his collaborators steered the book's characters toward three concurrent story lines: Caspian's flight and ascension, the children's discoveries and maturation, and Miraz's implicitly genocidal campaign against the Narnians and their rightful king.

At the same time, Adamson says, "I was trying to find the emotional reality" of the movie. If the first "Chronicles of Narnia" was a fable of faith and sacrifice, the second became a parable of loss -- how the passage from childhood to adulthood inevitably means that as you take on something new, you must abandon something else: Innocence is replaced by doubt, trust by suspicion, comfort by insecurity. It's an idea shaped in part by Adamson's experiences in Papau, New Guinea, where he lived as a child. He could never bring himself to revisit it as an adult, he says, "because the place that I grew up in had completely changed and I couldn't confront that loss. . . . But you don't want to create a movie that's a bummer, and our first draft was pretty cynical."

That cynicism has been replaced by mounting (and sometimes made-up) conflict; it's clear from "Prince Caspian's" first frenetic frames the book is more guide than bible. Lewis writes that when Caspian fled Miraz's castle, "All night he rode southward . . .," and that's about as nail-biting as it gets. In Adamson's opening sequence, it's a pounding chase filled with peril. When Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) later tells the children, "You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember," he isn't kidding.

"I've really tried to stay true to the major themes of the book, the major events, and also have some invention," Adamson says back in his London postproduction suite, where eight assistant editors are frantically cutting in special effects shots (the first film had nine months in which to finish after photography wrapped, while "Prince Caspian" had about seven). Close readers of the book will notice that one of the movie's biggest departures is how quickly Caspian and Peter join forces.

The scale of the film also is noticeably grander. The opening sequence alone includes footage shot in the Czech Republic, Poland, New Zealand and Slovenia. "I think it's a much more beautiful movie," says Oren Aviv, Disney's production president, "just in terms of the scale and the scope of the locations." Even with unfinished effects, "Prince Caspian" tested better in a research screening than the first film.

SCORING UNDER THE GUN

WITH only a few weeks left to lock the movie, Adamson, in the Soho scoring stage, had asked composer Harry Gregson-Williams to move up a scoring cue by a few frames.

Adamson made the decision around 2 p.m., and by 4 p.m. at Abbey Road Studios (yes, that Abbey Road), Gregson-Williams already had made the change. Nervously chewing at the stubs of his fingernails, the composer in the next few days would assemble a 119-voice choral group. "I still have the whole battle scene to do," he says. If the film has approximately two hours of score, Gregson-Williams still had 30 minutes of music to finish.

Adamson isn't worried, though. The second movie may have been trickier at every turn, but it nevertheless was coming together. In Narnia, magical things happen.

john.horn@latimes.com

Christianity Today interviews Douglas Gresham about "PC"

2008-04-08T16:24:00.003-05:00

'A Poorer Story, but a Better Movie'
So says Douglas Gresham, C. S. Lewis's stepson and producer of the upcoming Prince Caspian, in comparing it to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
by Mark Moring posted 04/08/08

In late 2005, Douglas Gresham was nervously looking forward to the theatrical release of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the film adaptation of the first book in the beloved Chronicles of Narnia.

Gresham had a dual interest in the film's success. Not only was he one of the movie's producers, but he's also the stepson of the books' author—C. S. Lewis.

Gresham needn't have worried. LWW would go on to be a box office smash, earning $745 million at the box office worldwide—a figure that has soared well past $1 billion with DVD sales.

Now he looks forward to the May 16 release of Prince Caspian, the second film in the series, in which the four Pevensie children—Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy—return to Narnia and find quite a different place than they'd left behind. They encounter a helpful dwarf, a corrupt king, and a young prince looking to take his rightful place on the throne—and to restore order, justice, truth, goodness and joy to the magical land.

We recently chatted with Gresham, 62, who had just seen a rough cut of the film—which he says might be better than LWW, even though it's adapted from what Gresham calls a "poorer" book. Gresham spoke to us by phone from his home in Malta.

What has kept you busy since The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe?

Douglas Gresham: We started thinking about Prince Caspian the day of the premiere of Lion/Witch. We had a short respite, and then really got into Prince Caspian. And we're already in preproduction on Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

I understand you recently saw a rough cut of Caspian. Your thoughts?

Gresham: It's a fabulous film. I'm very, very pleased. It's a film that portrays probably even more strongly than the book the essential message of Prince Caspian, which is a return to truth and faith and honor and justice after a millennium of corruption in Narnia. I almost hate to say it, but I think it's a better movie than The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Prince Caspian started with a poorer story than Lion/Witch, but has worked out probably to be a better movie.

Why do you think Caspian is a poorer story?

Gresham: The book doesn't have the power of the story The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, which is based on the greatest story ever told. You can't really top that. Prince Caspian, when you look at it from a filmmaker's viewpoint, is a story basically about a long walk in the woods with a battle at the end. As a movie that doesn't really work.

We had some difficulty figuring out how to make Caspian work as a film. In the book, the children arrive in Narnia, and they all sit down around the campfire and Trumpkin tells them the story of Prince Caspian—which means that the four Pevensie children vanish for half of the book. If you made it into a movie that way, your protagonists wouldn't be in half of the film. And that just doesn't work as a movie.

But Trumpkin's story makes for a thrilling flashback. Are you saying you didn't want to leave the Pevensie children while telling Caspian's backstory?

Gresham: The problem would be that you would have two entirely separate storylines going on, in separate timescales. You'd wind up with half a movie that's Prince Caspian's story, and all of a sudden you've got the Pevensie kids crashing back into the film. We had to find some way of integrating the Pevensies and Caspian together in a way that works for the story, and I think our scriptwriters did a wonderful job managing to do that.

So do they actually meet up with Caspian earlier in the movie than in the book?

I'm not going to give too much away at this stage.

I understand. But would it be accurate to say …

Gresham: I tell you what to do. Go see the movie when it comes out. Take all your friends and take your friends' friends. Take your enemies as well, because you're supposed to love your enemies. Take your enemies' friends. And then you can tell me if you think we've done a good job with it.

Many fans thought Lion/Witch was nice to look at, but that it was too much spectacle and missed some of the story's subtleties. Many also felt the film didn't capture the awe and majesty of Aslan—that he was far too "safe" of a lion.

Gresham: I haven't heard those criticisms. All of the people who talk to me about Aslan were awestruck by him in the movie. I don't know how I'd react to that criticism, because for me he's an immensely powerful figure in the movie—and I'm probably the severest critic in the world.

When the team first started looking ahead to Caspian, what was discussed?

Gresham: We were on a bit of a high after the success of Lion/Witch. So the big danger was that we might get the slightest bit complacent, and we had to make sure we didn't. We were all conscious of having raised the bar pretty high, and we knew we had to do better next time around. I'm glad to say that I think we've done that.

In the book, Caspian is a young teen, but Ben Barnes will be almost twenty-seven when this film comes out. Why wasn't a teenager cast for the role?

Gresham: We didn't think Caspian should be too young in this movie. Although Ben is older, he plays about 17 and does it very well. But we also need Caspian to be a bit older for the next movie because he becomes the master of The Dawn Treader, and to do that at the age of 17 or 18, with a crew of soldiers and sailors unto you, is not very believable. So I think he needs to be a bit older than he is in the book for the next movie. It was hard to find the very best Caspian, and we decided on Ben largely because of his amazing talent.

In the trailer, he looks so confident and in charge, and I think of a terrified kid running for his life from King Miraz. Does Ben capture that side of Caspian, too?

Gresham: There is a scene in which he flees for his life and he goes through some rather frightening experiences, but I'm not going to give too much away.

I'm not asking for the details. I'm just saying that the trailer depicts this sexy, handsome stud who has it all together. And I think of Caspian, at least at first, as a scared kid, and I wonder if that's conveyed in the film.

Gresham: He does go through that kind of experience, yes. But he does grow emotionally, intellectually, and, to some extent, physically very quickly during the course of the story and the movie. But of course that's what this movie is all about, the change in Caspian's personality.

When NarniaFans interviewed you, they asked about the fate of Miraz's son in the film. You replied, "There's global warming, worldwide recession, dental cavities and facial blemishes and all sorts of things more meritorious of anxiety than the fate of Miraz's son." They asked you why another change was supposedly made from the book, and you replied, "Why not?" Your answers sounded a bit flippant to people who really love these books …

Gresham: They are a little bit flippant. People do take these things sometimes too seriously. This is, after all, when all is said and done, only a movie. But I know that when the fans see the scenes, they will understand immediately why we've done what we done, and they will also love it. So I'm not going to go into lengthy descriptions of why we made the decisions we made. I'm going to let the fans make up their own minds.

I understand. But I think the fear is …

Gresham: What do you do in a circumstance like that? All you can do is come up with something as amusing as you can, I suppose.

You said, "After all, it's only a movie." But if you said, "It's only a book," you would get a lot of hackles up because to a lot of people, including me, these are not "only books." I guess I'm trying to give you the opportunity to say, "Hey, I'm not really being as flippant as I might come across."

Gresham: I think anyone who knows my history will know that I've spent the last almost thirty years dreaming, hoping, striving, working and fighting to get these movies made. To suggest for a second that I don't take it seriously would really be rather ludicrous. But when you're backed into a corner and someone asks you a question you don't want to answer for their own sake, I think the best way to approach it is to be as amusing as you can. Not to say, "Mind your own damn business," which would just be rude and insensitive. You must be aware of the fact that I probably take the Narnian books more seriously than any other human being in the world.

Are you surprised that people ask you all these nitpicking questions?

Gresham: Not at all. I expect them to. But I'd also expect them to understand why sometimes I'm a little bit reluctant to answer. I just say, well you know, worry about global warming instead. I don't want to give away spoilers, but I don't want people to think I'm being nasty about it. As I say, it's for the fans' own sake when I refuse to answer a question. Instead, I answer it rather humorously rather than straightforward.

How has your role changed from Lion/Witch to this film?

Gresham: I'm playing pretty much the same role. I'm getting more involved as time goes by, and I understand more of how to do things. I hope sincerely that I'm becoming of more use to the production team rather than just being someone who sort of stands and watches and says, "Oh, we can't do this and we can't do that" or whatever.

What is your official title?

Gresham: Co-producer. But there isn't really any particular title that describes what I do, because I'm in a unique circumstance of being involved in all facets of the film and everything ancillary to it. I'm involved in the scriptwriting, the merchandise, the marketing—all facets. I think [producer] Mark Johnson put it well when we were filming in Prague, and I was introduced to the American ambassador. The ambassador said, "What does Mr. Gresham do for the project?" And Mark said, "Oh, he's to blame."

That's funny, but seriously, that must also mean you must be feeling enormous weight and responsibility to get it right.

Gresham: That's true. I do feel it's a huge responsibility. I feel that I've inherited almost a sacred trust, and it's up to me to do the very best I can with it. But I have been carrying this particular task for the better part of 25 or 30 years in the C. S. Lewis Company, with the books themselves, trying to ensure everything Jack wrote is constantly kept available to the public.

As the representative of Jack and the Lewis estate, how often do you find yourself on the set or in the editing room asking, "What would Jack do?"

Gresham: That's not a question I ever ask. The question I ask is, "What would Jack have me do?" And, "What would the Holy Spirit have me do?" Jack, of course, is not alive today, but I sincerely hope he would be thrilled with what I've done with his Narnian stories in film. But I can't put myself in Jack's mind and say, "What would Jack do now?" It's "What would Jack have me do under these circumstances?" And more important—and Jack would agree—is, "What would the Holy Spirit have me do?"

When we talked before Lion/Witch, you were reluctant to use the word "veto power" in your role as a producer …

Gresham: I would still be reluctant to say that. We work very cooperatively; it's almost always a consensus decision. In both movies, there have been things I have disagreed with. So we've all sat around the table and talked until we come up with a decision. I am fairly powerful in personality and I put my point strongly, and I think people honor that. But we try to come up not with any one person's particular viewpoint, but with the very best solution for the sake of the film, the book, and the audience.

So it wouldn't be a matter of you saying, "No, we're not going to do that," but more of, "Let's try to reach some sort of compromise."

Gresham: It's not exactly a compromise. If there is something which I know simply cannot be in the movie, I will say so and I will say why.

Can you give an example?

Gresham: I can't remember one. I don't think there was one in Lion/Witch. And I can't remember one on Prince Caspian either, but that's what would happen if it came up. I'm dealing with people who know the material and who know the background to it. Everybody gets the impression that the Hollywood filmmaker's an ignorant kind of no-nothing individual. This isn't the case in my experience. The people I deal with on these films are extremely sensitive to the material and knowledgeable about it.

What about the transition from Andrew Adamson, who directed the first two Narnia films, to Michael Apted, who'll direct Voyage of the Dawn Treader (due in 2010)?

Gresham: I think I'm going to enjoy enormously working with Michael. Of course I'll miss Andrew, but I understand exactly why he's doing it. So while I'm losing someone I've worked with for six or seven years, I'm going onto another director who's going to be equally great. And I have high hopes that we'll have an even better film—though Andrew would probably hit me over the head for saying it—with Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

What's your understanding of why Andrew is leaving?

Gresham: For one thing, he's tired. Andrew has been working for us for a long time, and he has been working exceptionally hard. These aren't simple productions to make. These are hugely complex, extremely detailed, and demand absolutely everything a director has to give. When Andrew first joined us he was a young, newly married man with no children. Now he has two growing daughters, and he wants to spend more time with his family.

When I interviewed you in 2005, you said you used to be an Edmund but that you were working on being a Lucy. Does that still apply?

Gresham: Yes, I think it does—certainly spiritually. Lucy is the character I always have most admired, but Edmund was the character I was for a long time. I'm still working at trying to get to the stage of faith that Lucy has.

I read somewhere that you "completely surrendered" your life to Christ in 1990. How would you describe your journey? Had you walked away from the faith and then come back to it?

Gresham: The problem is you have to define what you mean about "faith." We use that term

much too loosely. I always believed in God and in Jesus Christ, but so does the Devil himself. Faith in that sense is not sufficient to make you a Christian. I think the faithful Christian is the one who lives out his or her duty to God and to Christ, and demands a certain submission to the will of God.

My problem for many years was that although I believed in God and Jesus, I didn't want to submit my life to the authority of anyone but myself. And therefore, in a sense, I was worshiping myself and, therefore, had a fool for a deity.

What changed that in 1990?

Gresham: I tried to help someone, but because I was living my life based in my own intellect, I got it very badly wrong and a lot of people were hurt. I was forced to take a good, long, careful look at myself. And I realized that what I was really doing was living my life in arrogance, conceit and pride, and that I wasn't qualified to run a human life. So I realized I'd better hand it over to someone who is. And who better qualified to run a human life than the Person who designed it in the first place?

Movie images from Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media

Sneak Peek Review of "PC"

2008-02-26T23:57:00.000-05:00

Feb. 26, 2008

After its predecessor, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," surprised industry experts by grossing more than $290 million in the United States alone, you'd think the media would be taking "Prince Caspian" far more seriously. But the potential blockbuster seems amazingly under the radar compared with May's other openers. Therefore, it's not surprising that Disney sat your intrepid columnist down with director Andrew Adamson and producer Mark Johnson to watch a good 45 minutes of the upcoming flick. And, not surprisingly, there is a lot about the new movie for audiences to get excited about.

Trivia game: Test your knowledge of award-winning films

Caspian is pretty cool: It's hard to introduce a new main character in the second installment of a franchise, but Adamson may have pulled it off with Caspian. The movie begins with the prince's life on the line after the birth of a younger male cousin. Caspian's evil uncle is king, and with the new heir his dashing nephew is expendable. The chase scene that follows is far more dramatic than most of "Wardrobe" and makes Caspian immediately sympathetic. The fact that newcomer Ben Barnes has some genuine charisma doesn't hurt either.

There really is more action: One major scene finds Peter, Susan, Lucy and Edmund (who have returned to Narnia) attempting to overtake the Telmarine castle with a reunited band of Narnia creatures. The fact that the operation occurs at night helps matters, but Adamson has learned to increase the tension and make you believe these kids were great warriors when they ruled the land (well, more than you'd expect at least). As Adamson says, "It is more intense, but it's not bloody or gory. It is a balance between keeping everything real so the emotions are there."

No surprise, this is the last of Peter and Susan: One dramatic plotline Adamson has played up is the tension between Peter, the oldest of the children, and Caspian. Peter hasn't adjusted to living back in the real world after ruling a kingdom and is eager to prove he's the rightful ruler of the land. This could come across a little too heavy-handedly, but in the scenes I previewed it seemed subtler than most moviegoers would expect. Adamson says it all ties into why Peter and Susan realize this will be their last visit to Narnia. Edmund and Lucy return in the next film, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

New influences for classic enemies: C.S. Lewis conceived the Telmarines as the descendants of pirates, but Adamson has taken it a step further by clearly portraying them with Spanish influences. He says he was looking to differentiate them from the British characteristics of the Pevensie children, but it was a little too obvious for this columnist.

Hardcore fans are a tough crowd: Adamson has had to change a number of things from the original book, including certain plot points, in order to make the story more cinematic, and he expects to hear grumbles from some of the hard-core fans. "There [are] always fanatics who will have that response," Adamson says. "How true to the book does the movie have to be? I think for me it's finding the key points, the key individual characters and the key themes and staying true to those."

Aslan's back: Yes, the golden lion returns. Just as in the book, Lucy is the first to see him and has to convince everyone else he's still alive. Unlike "Wardrobe," though, a majority of his screen time doesn't occur until the final act.

The verdict: "Caspian" looks to be a noticeable improvement over "Wardrobe" and should win over some moviegoers who wanted more "Lord of the Rings"-style scope to the "Narnia" franchise.

"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" opens nationwide May 16.

New Prince Caspian Trailer from the Superbowl!

2008-02-03T22:50:00.002-05:00

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New Poster for Prince Caspian!

2008-01-30T22:45:00.001-05:00

The Prince Caspian Trailer is Up!

2007-12-05T20:18:00.000-05:00

NarniaWeb is proud to present the first trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

You can download the trailer in other formats below:
To download, right click on the link and click "Save Target As..."

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"Prince Caspian" Set Reports!

2007-10-18T09:13:00.001-05:00

NarniaWebber glumPuddle had a great chance to visit the set of the "Prince Caspian" sets. Here are his extensive reports and interviews below:

Report #1

Includes discussion on sets visited, crew interviewed, cast interviewed, the scene, creatures and visual effects, production design, costumes, actors, and an interview with Andrew Adamson, director.

Report #2

Focuses on Creatures and Visual Effects: Creatures on Set, Trufflehunter & Reepicheep, power risers, blue screens, Minotaur animatronic heads, and an interview with Shane Rangi (Minotaur General Otmin, Asterius the Minotaur, Werewolf, the Bulgy Bear....)

Report #2 (continued)

Interview with Howard Berger (Creature Effects) and Dean Wright (Visual Effects Supervisor)

Report #3

Interviews with Roger Ford (Production Designer) and Richard Taylor (Weta Workshop special effects)

Report #3 (continued)
Focus on locations.

Report #4
The Wardrobe of Prince Caspian.

Report #5
Interviews with Peter (William Moseley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes)

Report #5 (Continued)
Interviews with Caspian (Ben Barnes), Miraz (Sergio Castellito) and Glozelle (Pierfrancesco Favino)

Production Blog #9: Miraz

2007-10-04T23:23:00.001-05:00

WETA's Richard Taylor & Daniel Falconer and Costume Designer Isis Mussenden delve deep into the team effort that it took to realize the character of Miraz, Narnia's scheming usurper.

Weta Workshop

The design of Miraz's ornate armor had its roots in the back story of the Telmarine culture- that being one of pirates from ancient Earth who found their way into Narnia centuries ago and established a new civilization there. Searching for a unique shape and color identity to distinguish the Telmarines, Weta's artists mined this lost history for inspiration. Despite now being a people estranged from the sea, elements of their nautical past are evident in the direction of the design their armory took and in turn these same motifs were incorporated into Miraz's plate armor.

Miraz's helmet was the first component of his armor to find a strong direction during the design phase. From the outset Director Andrew Adamson suggested experimenting with the idea of masks and this eventually lead Weta's designers to create the stylized, bearded faceplate seen in the final helmet (crafted by Weta sculptor Max Patte). Designer Paul Tobin found inspiration for the shape of Miraz's helmet in the styles of the Spanish conquistador explorers, while the mask was influenced by the intimidating masks of samurai helmets. Paul reinterpreted them, using sculptural stylization derived from classical European statuary and the iconic representations of the marauding conquistador explorers to marry the helmet and mask together into something new and original.

Among the first of Miraz's designs to be finalized was his elaborate sword, which designer Brad Goff gave a distinctive, deeply etched hilt. The rich engravings were a mixture of pictorial elements, illustrating the Telmarines' history, and swirling wave and ivy motifs.

At the same time, Paul Tobin was honing the design of Miraz's shields, employing three motif themes; that of the compass (another hint to the Telmarines' seas-going past); stylized fish scales; and strong architectural shapes that would appear also in the design of Miraz's castle. The shields also established Miraz's color palette- one of deep sea blue-greens against burnished bronze.

The design of Miraz's armor flowed naturally out of the shapes being established by his helmet and weaponry. The conscious decision was made to create a broad, imposing figure that would stand in stark contrast to the color and style of armor worn by the Pevensie children and Prince Caspian. By choosing bronze as the metal base tones for Miraz's armor, he immediately stood out from his fellow Telmarine lords as something different, but also presented a heavy, aggressive contrast to Peter's lighter, silver-hued armor. Historically, Miraz's armor references later real Earth styles, drawing heavily from the romantic era and featuring more complex articulation and refined construction than Peter's outfit.

Designer Nick Keller incorporated Brad Goff's deep, pictorial etchings along with the wave and fish scale patterns when creating the design for the richly patterned suit of plate armor. The brigadine armor that became an icon of the Telmarine infantry was also assimilated into Miraz's design, under his breastplate. The entire process was deeply collaborative, with all the various components of Miraz's distinctive armor taking shape alongside one another and the various artists and craftspeople of Weta sharing ideas and designs to ensure the result would be a cohesive and satisfying filmic statement. Even once the drawings were approved, much of the design took place on the workshop floor as the details were explored and resolved by designers and crafts people working together.

- Richard Taylor and Daniel Falconer

Costume Department

When the costume department began Prince Caspian, we had no idea what a massive job was ahead of us. In our innocence we began, and one of the first jobs upon us was to define the Telmarine culture. To accomplish that we had to understand their leader, the ever-scheming Miraz.

From the military looks to the civilian garb, it was essential that Miraz was strong, Mediterranean, a bit Pirate, ruthless, barbaric in character but more sophisticated in style. I was inspired initially by images from 15th century Spanish soldiers. I came upon something I was not familiar with as an armor piece, and that was the Brigandine. After a wonderful visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY, the curator Stewart Pryer educated me about the leather plated armor. Working with WETA workshop and their wonderful armorist, the bronze armor was adopted and executed to compliment and finish the military look.

I had already decided on my pallet for the Telmarines, taken from a set of paintings by El Greco. Considered a Spanish painter, although Greek (thus the name), these painting stand at the Prado Museum in Madrid. Gruesome images, acidic and cool, perfect for our needs. The next piece of the puzzle was a book about the Sardinian cultural dress I came upon on a shopping trip to Italy. A notorious rough and tough island, it was just the new look I was after. The mood was set. Skirts, vest, wide belts, gaters and jackets.......no capes! My Lord was going to be all Telmarine, and that was going to be a fresh and unique look.

But what is all that without an actor? Enter Sergio Castellitto, a dashing Italian with style and presence. I could not have asked for a more charismatic man to fit the shoe or should I say, boot!

His positive response to the look was an immediately sign it was all coming together. Sergio works every costume he wears with the confidence of Lord Miraz. It is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment for a costume designer when the actor "feels" complete once they are dressed. Sergio was a joy, the pleasure was all mine. The hours of hard work and endless fitting hopefully will pay off once the evil Lord Miraz shows his villainous face, and such a nice face it is.

- Isis Mussenden

Pre-visualizing "Prince Caspian"

2007-09-14T00:05:00.000-05:00

The Digital Eye: Prevising Prince Caspian
In this month's edition of "The Digital Eye," Previs Supervisor Rpin Suwannath provides an exclusive sneak peek of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

It was January 2006. I was having lunch with director Andrew Adamson and producer Philip Steuer in Los Angeles when the bill arrived. Andrew looked at me and said, "Since you're the only one officially working on Prince Caspian, shouldn't you be picking this up?"

That was more than 18 months and three continents ago. It's now August 2007, I'm in Prague and we've got about a month left before wrap and the show moves to London for post-production.

After Walt Disney Pictures' successful opening of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (in association with Walden Media), the studio was anxious to get started on its sequel, Prince Caspian. Although he was still in negotiations with the studio, Andrew had some ideas that he wanted to start previsualization work on. There was a particular sequence he called the "Night Raid" that wasn't in the C.S. Lewis book that Andrew wanted to develop as a cut scene in conjunction with the work he and writers Chris Markus and Steve McFeely were doing on the script. After hearing their ideas, I knew this film was going to be a much bigger undertaking than the last one. This sequence alone was more complex than anything what we had done on the last film and it was happening only halfway through the story. I hired veterans from the first film, Mike Makara and Scott Meadows, to start building a digital library of sets and characters. Fortunately, the visual effects work that VFX Supervisor Dean Wright did on the first film was online, including scans of the actors and creatures, so we had much more specific models and textures for our digital stand-ins. This allowed us to "step up" the look of our previs work. On the first movie, we began previs well before casting finished so our models for the Pevensies were somewhat generic. This time, we had scans of Georgie Henley so our Lucy model looks like Lucy.

Starting previs this early gave us an opportunity to develop an improved work pipeline. On the last film, we would ultimately export QuickTimes to editorial for them to then import in their Avid system. Sometimes I would roughly cut sequences internally in our previs department using something like Adobe Premier but these sequences would always have to be reassembled in editorial because of software compatibility. On Caspian, we decided with Editors Sim Evan-Jones and Josh Campbell that I would have an Avid and cut the first pass of the previs before handing the timeline to them for further and final cutting. This system works great. To be able to seamlessly pass an edit back and forth between the departments with no interruption in workflow is fantastic and will hopefully become commonplace in the industry.

As pre-production ramped up, I brought on Kiwi Gerrard Southam, who worked on Lion (a local hire when the production moved to New Zealand) and Andreas "Chop" Hikel, an animator I worked with on Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. It was now June 2006. The "Night Raid" was coming along and the sequence was more or less transcribed into the script per our previs work. We had based our set on a castle in France that worked for the action we were staging with Andrew. Eventually, Production Designer Roger Ford used the previs model as a rough guide for his castle design that would be constructed months later on the Czech Republic backlot. As Roger's designs turned into set drawings, we modified the previs to work with these real sets so we could turn over technical breakdowns to vfx, art department and second unit that were accurate to what Andrew had imagined.

Just when we are getting comfortable with the pace of things, Andrew told me we should "start thinking about the ending," which included a gladiator style duel, an epic battle and a river god sequence. Enter The Third Floor. Realizing that we needed more quality artists quickly, Dean (who is joined on Caspian by VFX Supervisor Wendy Rogers) suggested The Third Floor whose work on the Star Wars prequels impressed us. I contacted Chris Edwards and our team grew with the addition of three Third Floor artists led by Joshua Wassung. Our previs team was seven strong and before we knew it, it was the middle of October and we were ready to head to location in the Czech Republic.
Josh and the Third Floor team stayed behind working as a separate unit in Los Angeles while the rest of us traveled to Prague. There, we hired four local Czech artists, including Jakub Mares and Ondrej Zajic, and "Swiss" Chris Greet, another artist from New Zealand who worked on Lion. Work continued with additional new scenes to previs, but much of the focus remained on the end battle especially once a location was chosen. Pre-production was now in full swing and by the end of the year, we were again preparing to travel to New Zealand where filming was scheduled to begin in February 2007. It had been almost a year now and while we had yet to shoot one foot of film, you could watch the entire movie in storyboard and previs animatic form.

Our three-month tour of New Zealand was quick. Scott and Mike spent the time in working in Los Angeles with Josh and Jakub and Ondrej remained at the Czech office. During any given 24-hour period, it was a pretty safe bet that somewhere, someone in the world was working on previs for Prince Caspian.

And before we knew it, we were back in Prague, about the end of March 2007. By May, the major set pieces that we had worked on (the Night raid followed by the End Battle and Rivergod sequence) were being deconstructed and turning into shooting boards. However, Andrew would continue to refine up to the last minute, sometimes getting as specific as what hand a character was holding their weapon in. It is rewarding, however, when the dailies come in and you can see the previs literally come to life as shots we imagined on a computer months are that closer to the final product.

We're pretty much done with previs now. The remaining crew, Chop, Jakub and Ondrej, have switched gears to post-vis, which entails getting live-action plates that editorial is using in their assembly of the film, tracking the shots and adding our previs elements to those shots so Andrew can watch a scene with temp effects relatively quickly. Basically, he watches an edit of what he shot with our previs elements tracked and composited in. The turn-around is usually about a day on our end.

Post-vis on Caspian will continue, with Chop supervising Jakub and Ondrej as I will wrap with the end of production in the Czech Republic.

Born in Bangkok, Thailand, Rpin Suwannath interned at Industrial Light & Magic while attending the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Suwannath went immediately to work in visual effects on Warner Bros.' Batman Forever. Seeing the powerful workstations as potential art department tools, he moved to pre-production in 1998 and joined the art department, modeling set concepts in the computer for The Haunting. Soon after, he became one of the first independent pioneers of the pre-visualization field and contributed to a number of films, including the X-Men franchise, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Matrix sequels. Rather than using previs as primarily a visual effects tool, he created cut scenes with music and sound effects, enabling filmmakers to use the computer-generated animatics as story tools. After a successful relationship with Walden Media on The Chronicles of Narnia films, and directing some second unit, Suwannath is currently in development to direct his first feature with the studio.

Richard Taylor blogs on Armor and Weaponry of Prince Caspian

2007-09-07T23:28:00.000-05:00

Weta Workshop on Prince Caspian

For "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," Weta Workshop was excited to have the chance to return to Narnia once again with Andrew Adamson. Having provided design services and armor and weaponry for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the opportunity to revisit and build upon our previous work in this wonderful world was one we looked forward too.

Narnia had changed since both we and the Pevensie children had last visited. While elements of the Narnia we knew were still present, a whole new culture had to be designed and created and even the familiar Narnians had changed and required new work.

Weta Workshop provided new design work in the form of environmental concepts and armor and weaponry designs, working closely with Director Andrew Adamson and the Los Angeles creative team leaders, Production Designer Roger Ford and Costumer Designer Isis Mussenden. The Pevensie children required new elements to compliment their royal gear from the first adventure and the look of the Narnians' armor and weapons had to be evolved in a new direction since we last saw it. In addition the Telmarine culture had to be conceived from scratch and a great deal of work was done in the quest to find their unique design signature.

Weta's armor and weapons departments were kept busy turning these concepts into reality and in sufficient numbers to arm two opposing armies. For the Telmarines Weta made two-hundred polearms in two different styles, two-hundred rapiers of varying design, over a hundred falchions, two-hundred and fifty shields and fifty-five crossbows. The Telmarine cavalry were equipped with soft shields and stunt gear for use with live horses. Weta made stunt-safe horse faceplates for the warhorses and sculpted unusual faceplate helmets for the soldiers.

Befitting rulers of a vast kingdom, Miraz and his lords needed special weaponry. Weta created individual swords, scabbards and sculpted faceplate helmets for the featured lords including Glozelle, who also had a beautiful dagger. Miraz himself had a special shield, sword, scabbard, full plate armor and an ornate faceplate helmet.

Hero Prince Caspian needed a sword, a variant of the Royal guard swords made, while Weta also made prop weapons for specific scenes, including a crossbow for Prunaprismia's room.

Among the children's equipment, which had to be refitted and restored after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Weta made new armor for Edmund and a new vambrace for Susan.

New characters Nikabrik and Trumpkin needed swords and daggers, while the grand Narnian army seen in the first film had to be aged back and re-imagined as a rebel force, gone wild. Familiar armor and weaponry was mixed with new elements to create a more organic, individualized and heavily worn look. New items added included a Minotaur mace and Centaur flail as well as specific weapons for the lead Minotaur, Asterius.

Even Reepicheep, who would be a digital character, required an exquisite little sword to be made by Weta at life size.

In addition, Weta's miniatures department was tapped to provide highly detailed 1/24th and 1/100th scale miniatures of Miraz's great castle and its environment.

Richard Taylor
Weta Workshop

BIO

WETA WORKSHOP (armor/weapon designs and fabrication) is a multi-faceted effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand, which produces effects for television and film. Founded in 1986 by five-time Academy Award® winner Richard Taylor and partner Tania Rodger, Weta has produced creature and makeup effects for all of Peter Jackson's films, including his Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" trilogy," "Meet The Feebles," "The Frighteners," "Braindead," "King Kong" and "Heavenly Creatures."

Taylor, along with the firm's innovative co-founder and partner, Rodger, won four Academy Awards® for his contributions to "Lord of the Rings" -- Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup for "Fellowship of the Ring" (in addition to a nomination for Best Costume Design) and Best Costume Design and Best Makeup on "Return of the King." He won British Academy (BAFTA) Awards for Best Costume Design on "The Two Towers" and Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup on "The Fellowship of the Ring," and earned additional nominations for Best Makeup on "The Two Towers" and "Return of the King" and Best Costume Design on "Return of the King." On his most recent collaboration with Jackson, Taylor won his fifth Oscar® and another BAFTA honor for Best Visual Effects on "King Kong," Jackson's epic retelling of the 1933 horror classic.

Taylor grew up in Te Hihi, near Pukekohe, New Zealand. He first attended Wesley College in Pukekohe before winning a spot at the Wellington School of Design. Upon graduation, he first designed board games for a Wellington design studio before joining a local television studio, where he became a model maker for TV spots. His work attracted budding filmmaker Jackson's attention, and they first joined forces on his 1989 debut feature, "Meet the Feebles."

"PC" to include varied creatures

2007-08-21T11:18:00.000-05:00

Caspian Mixes Up New Creatures

Howard Berger, who supervised the creatures for the upcoming fantasy sequel The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, told SCI FI Wire that he wanted to feature a more diverse variety among the Narnians in the new film than that seen in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

"There's all different looks," Berger said in an interview on the set in Prague in June. "We've got female dwarves, male dwarves, old and young. It's really fun to mix it up."

Under the supervision of director Andrew Adamson, Berger and his team designed creatures of varying ages and coloring in order to give the background crowds a more interesting look in some scenes. There will also be a range of physical types among the actors hired to play the creatures, he said.

"We wanted to have old-age fawns ... and heavyset characters and black centaurs," he said. "One of the guys designed an old-age fawn that I really liked, and it looked like David Niven. So right now we're trying to find an extra or an actor who has kind of a very slender, older body. But he looks just like David Niven, so I really like that. Then we hopefully have a big heavyset fawn who's kind of John Goodman-ish. So we kind of designed stuff around that. And then we have a really old, old centaur that we're going to do as well that's kind of like Little Big Man centaur. There are kid centaurs, too."

In the same interview, visual-effects supervisor Dean Wright said that Berger's concept was a "great idea, but it causes a bit of work for us." Wright's department is responsible for digitally duplicating the creatures in post-production to increase their numbers in certain scenes.

"He wanted to bring more variety to the characters that we had, in terms of ages and sexes," Wright said. "The whole point [was] to add more of a variety to work with the characters. Which, again, we will have to build into our digital characters."

Berger and Wright worked together closely to achieve Adamson's vision of blurring the lines between real and digital images. Another improvement on the technology used in the previous film will be adding a human reference for the character of Aslan the lion, who will be played on set by Shane Rangi.

"Andrew wanted to make the challenge of breaking the CG-real barrier here and make us intermingle more," Wright said. "We have much more contact between the real players and the CG characters. We've got Lucy, who not only reaches out and touches Aslan, they hug and fall to the ground and she rolls on top of him. We've got the kids being carried by griffins and riding on griffins, and we've got kids riding on centaurs sometimes. It's a big challenge for us to make all that work and look real."

Rangi said in a separate interview that his performance on the set will be captured to make Aslan much more lifelike when he interacts with the other characters.

"Aslan in the first one was a big sculpt, or they just had the head and shot it and did the rest in visual effects," Rangi said. "I pretty much have the front feet, the mane and the head. The main reason we're playing physical this time is that Lucy interacts with him. And from a digital point of view, it's hard for them to re-create hair around when she hugs him and stuff like that. So basically, I'm just there for visual effects."

In addition to Aslan, Rangi will play a number of creatures in the film, including a werewolf, a bulgy bear and a new minotaur character called Asterius, who didn't appear in the original book by C.S. Lewis.

"Andrew wrote in more minotaurs," Berger said. "They were really popular in the first film, and I was sad they were bad and might not come back. Then Andrew called and said were going to throw some minotaurs in, especially this one, Asterius, which is the lead minotaur. It was really cool, because I wanted to do an old-age minotaur, so Andrew was up for it and I designed it."

Berger added that throughout the filming, the primary concern among the filmmakers was reali

sm. "The movie doesn't stop and hit the viewer on the head and you go, 'Hey, look, there's an effect, there's a makeup effect, there's a digital effect,'" he said. "You didn't get that in the first film. ... And I'm sure this one will be the same thing." The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian opens May 16, 2008. —Cindy White

Doug Gresham to cameo again in "PC"

2007-08-20T09:58:00.000-05:00

According to Into_the_Wardrobe over on Narniafans.com, Douglas Gresham [CS Lewis' stepson] will have a cameo in Prince Caspian, but he's keeping exactly what the cameo is a surprise. However, his role will probably be more substantial this time around. Gresham played the Radio Announcer in the Professor's house for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Richard Taylor (Weta Workshop Effects) Talks about Reepicheep

2007-08-08T23:24:00.000-05:00

'Narnia' Secrets Revealed: Could Sword-Wielding Mouse Be Sequel's Breakout Star?
Disney ambitiously plans to release new installment of franchise every May for next six years.
By Larry Carroll

SAN DIEGO — When last we saw the Pevensie children, they had resurrected Aslan, destroyed the White Witch, become kings and queens of Narnia and returned through the wardrobe to the normal world. For some, that's where the story ended — but to the keepers of the franchise flame, the work has just begun.

"Just like 'The Lord of the Rings,' this is a great piece of British literature that we all loved as children, and there was a real concern that a group of filmmakers like us may do damage to something so sacred," explained Richard Taylor, the visual effects artist behind the eye-popping creatures, weapons and visuals of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." "It was so important that they saw in the first film that we're not."

Well, when a movie earns mostly positive reviews, $750 million worldwide and the title of the top-selling DVD of the year, it can be assumed that the filmmakers are doing something right. With that in mind, Taylor, director Andrew Adamson and the rest of their team stormed Comic-Con and made the geeks erupt with delight by showing them early footage and animatronic props from the second installment, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (see "Comic-Con '07: Big News On 'Iron Man,' 'Watchmen,' 'Star Trek,' 'Spidey 4' Amid Carnival Atmosphere").

"Comic-Con has been really lovely this year, because the first time we were here, they were anticipating what 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' could be, but now they know," Taylor said of "Prince Caspian," which is currently filming in Prague for a May release (see " 'Narnia' Sequel Keeps Cast And Director, Shoots For 2007 Release"). "Andrew's done a beautiful job, the crew delivered a beautiful film, and so going into 'Caspian,' the [fans are] along for a great ride."

But as those who've read C.S. Lewis' classic children's tales know, "Caspian" will have the Pevensie kids returning to a very different fantasy kingdom. "The children have gone back to Narnia 1,300 years later," Taylor explained of the otherworldly timeline, which registers as barely a year to humans. "They left a beautiful world that they thought they had established and brought a quality to, and now they turn up again and it's been destroyed: The animals have become feral; many of them have lost the ability to talk, and humankind is suppressing them. [New villain] Miraz and the kingdom of the Telmar have destroyed everything the children left.

"The audience is going to be wonderfully surprised by how much larger and more epic this is going to be," Taylor promised, "[because the story] requires a massive, epic [nature] to bring their quality back into this world. Andrew is in turn using huge architectural structures, massive castles, sweeping landscapes and huge armies to generate those images."

During the Comic-Con panel, Taylor (and Adamson from the set, via satellite) unveiled some action-packed pre-vis footage that included griffins, dwarves and a first glimpse at the would-be Yoda that many expect to be the second flick's breakout character.

"I think he might be up there with Puss in Boots out of 'Shrek,' " laughed Taylor, discussing the potential impending popularity of a tough-guy mouse named Reepicheep. "He will be brilliant, and I'm sure the audience will embrace the good humor of him.

"Reepicheep is one of the most famous fantasy characters in Western literature," he added. "This is a crazy little mouse who stands about a foot tall and runs around with a sword called a rapier. It's a fencing foil, the sort of thing Zorro might fight with, and he does some serious damage." (Watch Taylor's video interview here)

The man responsible for creating the rapier-wielding rodent isn't kidding: Audiences cheered test footage showing Reepicheep spoofing "Mission: Impossible," cracking wise and cracking skulls. "I can't wait to see him onscreen," Taylor beamed. "He's filled with incredible bravado, to the point of madness. He's almost suicidal."

Such suicidal tendencies might also be fueling the "Narnia" franchise these days: Disney has announced ambitious plans to release a new flick every May for the next six years. It's a decision undoubtedly fueled by the success of the Harry Potter films, but Taylor said that keeping such a schedule with this series raises some unique challenges.

" 'Harry Potter' is very different; the literature is very complementary of the filmmaking process, because in the literature, the children grow older one year at a time, and that makes for good cinema," he observed. "The problem with these films is the children don't grow that much older back in the real world, in war-torn Britain, so trying to stay ahead of the maturing of the real actors is a challenge for the filmmakers. [Our progression will] rely so heavily on the acting skills of those four actors. ... [They'll need] to weave a very believable feeling that these children are still sitting at the maturity level of the previous films."

Nevertheless, the "Narnia" filmmakers are resisting temptations to recast the Pevensie children. "After 'Prince Caspian,' we are going to be so invested in these characters. ... It's like recasting Gandalf or Frodo [in 'Lord of the Rings']," Taylor explained, adding that the problem will soon be alleviated in the cases of Peter (William Moseley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell). "Remember that the two older children don't carry on from ['Caspian'] into '[The Voyage of] the Dawn Treader,' but of course the two younger children do" (see " 'Chronicles Of Narnia' Series Nabs Michael Apted To Direct Third Flick").

The future "Narnia" flicks are expected to veer off from the books' chronological timeline, filming "The Horse and His Boy" and "The Magician's Nephew" after "Dawn Treader" and "The Silver Chair," and Taylor intends to stick around long enough to help realize his own favorite moment from Lewis' series.

"The one book that I love, 'The Horse and His Boy,' I'm not sure that is an easy story to be brought to the screen," he grinned. "That relationship between the horse and the boy is so special in literature; it's one I would love to see."

In the meantime, he's been busy working on the one moment from "Caspian" that should once again make fans nutty for "Narnia." "The one scene I want to see, along with the audience, is the storming of Miraz's castle," he said of the action sequence, giving us a few hints about where Adamson and his crew are going with it.

"It's first of all done as a piece of espionage, but then unfortunately things go terribly wrong. It's going to be a heart-wrenching moment where these characters that you've come to really respect and love through the development of the first film and into the second film have been put in terrible peril," he grimaced. "I think it's going to be some great cinema."

Check out everything we've got on "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

Howard Berger shows off animatronic Satyr at Comic-Con

2007-08-01T00:28:00.000-05:00

ComingSoon.net "PC" audio interviews!

2007-08-01T00:08:00.000-05:00

www.ComingSoon.net interviewed a number of people involved in making "Prince Caspian." Click on the links below to listen to the interviews or read the transcripts of them.

Audio Interview with Mark Johnson, Producer
Transcript of Interview with Mark

Audio Interview with Howard Berger, Creature Supervisor and Dean Wright, Special Effects Supervisor
Transcript of Interview with Howard and Dean

Audio Interview with Isis Mussenden, Costume Designer
Transcript of Interview with Isis

Ben Barnes sounds off as Prince Caspian

2007-07-30T23:40:00.000-05:00

Full-Length reports of "PC" at Comic-Con

2007-07-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

Read a complete report by a Narnia fan who saw Prince Caspian at Comic-Con in San Diego. It is quite lengthy, in two parts, but thorough:

Read Part 1

Read Part 2

Directer, Producer, pleased with Bovec Scenery

2007-07-09T18:19:00.000-05:00

Here's a bit more translated news on Prince Caspian from a press conference in Bovec. The filmmakers are typically excited about the film they're making and give us hope for the next chapter to be as big as the first, if not better. Read the rest at the source. The original video for this news report is up at 24ur.com.

Excitement in "Narnia"

The atmosphere in Bovec yesterday was something like moments in the centre of Hollywood, with a crowd of journalists and photographers wanting to get the clearest shots possible. Andrew Adamson, the New Zealand director, and Mark Johnson, one of the top film producers, were late to the conference (as the stars usually are!).

Nevertheless, they are both thrilled with the Bovec scenery and with the local people.

Johnson: "We have been welcomed not just from an official standpoint, but really from the man on the street."

Andrew Adamson, who is well known for the Oscar-winning animated film Shrek, is very impressed by the Bovec scenery.

Adamson: "I would love to come back to shoot another movie. I mean, as I say, I think the country is beautiful, so I can imagine many opportunities to shoot here."

The Bovec community is also pleased with the possibilities of further co-operation. They are already hosting over one thousand members of the filming team in all the hotels and private houses on more than one hundred different sites.

Adamson: "So I hope none of you are planning to stay tonight."

Johnson: "We’ll rent you a room but we’ll charge a lot of money." (laughter)

Both filmmakers were not so playful about the severe security measures placed on every step of filming.

Johnson: "We have had people all over the world trying to find out not just what the sets look like, [but] what the actors look like ... who’s in it, what their costumes look like ... we want to preserve the magic of the story and of the film."

See pictures of the Telmarine Bridge Set in Bovec here.

"PC" films in Barrandov Studios in Prague

2007-06-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

Jun 26, 2007 11:41 AM Filed under News , Film

Prague Barrandov Studio is busy now to create the perfect requisites for the American film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The film is being shot here from April to August and it costs over 100 million USD.

According to the director of Barrandov Studio, this film has been the biggest project there since Roman Polanski’s film Oliver Twist in 2004. The studios now contains a castle with a large courtyard and a big gate, towers and a drawbridge. The main stars of the film, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell will also shot in caves or in a wood with a waterfall and a small lake, all made in Barrandov studios.

About 110 people has been working on the requisites for more than 6 months. The Czech premiere of the film is planned for May 2008.

[See this post also about "PC" filming at Barrandov Studios]

Lord Donnon cast with actor Predrag Bjelac

2007-06-18T10:43:00.000-05:00

Another Prince Caspian role has surfaced on the internet; Predrag Bjelac will play the role of Lord Donnon in the upcoming The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Bjelac was born in Belgrade Yugoslavia (now Serbia), graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in 1986 and trained at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, NYC, in 1988. Bjelac’s most recent notable role was Igor Karkaroff in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

This story was originally published at Sublime Artistry

The New York Times interviews Narnia writers Markus & McFeely

2007-06-17T10:56:00.000-05:00

Interview with Markus and McFeely

Narnia-related excerpt from the article:

Co-writers for a dozen years now, Mr. Markus and Mr. McFeely, both 37, are among the blessed few — about 1,800 are counted in any given year by the Writers Guild of America, West — who get paid to write Hollywood pictures. They are already credited with a big one, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which took in nearly $750 million at the worldwide box office when Disney released it 18 months ago. Two years ago they won an Emmy for their HBO film, "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," and they have two more "Narnia" movies on the way.

(This confirms that Markus and McFeely are indeed writing the script for Voyage of the Dawn Treader.)

Mike Vosburg blogs about Storyboarding for "PC"

2007-06-13T10:36:00.000-05:00

Mike Vosburg (Storyboard Artist)

So what are storyboards? Does every film use them? How are they used on Prince Caspian? How many frames do you draw a day?

Film is a visual medium where the story is told by using a series of images or pictures, with sound (dialogue) added for clarification. That might be an oversimplification, but I don't think many would argue with the definition.

The storyboard artist takes the script (or treatment in its initial stages) and starts to translate it into a series of pictures. A simple phrase (...the hero rushes in and saves the girl...) might turn into a sequence of several hundred frames, while a page long description of a characters internal distress might be capsulated in a single drawing if the expression is right. But in successful collaborations, the storyboard artist enables a viewer to "look" at the story rather than "read" it.

Not all movies use storyboards. Some directors feel more comfortable letting the pictures materialize through the use of the camera. And boarding out a long dialogue sequence for a Robert De Niro would be a waste of time.

But on Prince Caspian, like "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe," we storyboarded the entire film so that it could be viewed on an animatic. Then Andrew is able to watch a test version of the film. He can suggest changes..so we draw new frames...he makes more changes...we draw more frames...he makes more changes...we draw more....well, you get the picture. His goal is to solve whatever problems there are in the story and visualization of it before any of the movie is shot.

And the storyboard artists aren't the only ones involved in this process. Pre-Viz, which creates Computer Generated Images (you'll learn more about them in a later blog entry), also produces sections of the film, sometimes using our boards, sometimes starting from scratch. And all this is orchestrated by Sim Evan-Jones and the editorial department, who actually take the sequences and put them together for viewing in an animatic. We get our marching...er drawing orders from them.

How much time is spent on a sequence depends on a number of factors, the first being the deadline. There is also a difference in the amount of finish on drawings depending on whether they are being used to "show" an idea or "sell" an idea. "Showing" involves doing a quick pass to demonstrate how you think something should be done. For "selling" more polished drawings are done to convince those viewing it that this is the best way a scene can be done.

The other big factor is competition. Everyone who has worked on storyboards on this film has been a real talent. If you want your own work to stand out, you really have to push it. As a result, a lot of extra effort goes into the work from all of us because our crew has really had a mutual admiration society.

The actual process of working is fairly simple. Watch any five year old lying on the floor with a box of crayons and a couple action figures and you get the idea of what happens.The only difference is that we're working from a script.One of my mentors once told me, learning to draw is a prerequisite for this job, but the drawing should always be secondary to telling the story. I use of lot of reference to make sure things are accurate, but I also simplify everything in the pictures so that not only can they be drawn quickly, but that they read quickly.

One of the additional perks as a board artist is that since the animatic is usually put together before the cast arrives, we are often drafted to be the voices of the characters. Of course I've wound up getting typecast (the Professor in the first movie, and the tutor Cornelius in this one.) My fellow board artist Rico winds up in the starring role as Prince Caspian...maybe it helps that his wife Coral also works in editorial.

And at some point, almost all the departments involved with the film will see the storyboards, and use them in their preparation. It's an exciting process having so much to do with the initial planning of the film. It's equally rewarding when you can see the finished product and your contribution to it.

BIO
Mike Vosburg is a native Californian who spent the first 37 years of his life growing up in Detroit. Inspired by Sax Rohmer's FU MANCHU stories, he initially aspired to be a writer when he discovered that pictures were a lot more interesting to him than words.

While pursuing his dream as an artist (he began his career as a teenager contributing to the comicbook fanzine MASQUERADER), he logged time as a custodial engineer (janitor) , manufacturing consultant (assembly-line worker), sports idol (basketball coach), and fascist prison guard (schoolteacher) before landing work drawing comics for Marvel and DC. 'Voz' left traditional comics to pursue his own creations, including OFF-CASTLES, LORI LOVECRAFT, MUMMY'S BOY, and the upcoming RETROWOOD -- the last two being projects desiqned specifically for the web.

He moved from the comicbook world to the television arena where he conceived the cover art for all 93 episodes of HBO's popular series, TALES FROM THE CRYPT. He also began storyboarding some of the shows, which led to other film assignments for such directors as Robert Zemeckis, Gil Adler and John Frankenheimer. He also boarded Andrew Adamson's first adventure in Narnia, "THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE."

A Telmarine Lord's experience on "Prince Caspian"

2007-05-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

Horsing Around.
Q - Why no blogging Booda??
A - I've been riding horses, I know...strange answer...but yes, I've not been painting, for some time now...about 3 months and it's because of horses.

I'm riding horses because I was cast in the sequel to 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe' as a horseman, I am one of several 'Lords'...a Telmarine in the new film 'Prince Caspian' by Disney. It's not a big part, but it involves horse riding and I have spent pretty much every working day training. It has been a fantastic experience that has stopped me from thinking about anything other than being a better rider.

I began by being tutored by an excellent trainer by the name of Maggie at Tetin Velkastatek (about 50km from Prague) and the first horse I rode was Marghareta, she was big and slow. Then I rode Bambi (La Bamba) and she was swift and lean....and I fell from her twice! (and only narrowly avoided falling a third and forth time by clinging on with my finger tips and toes!). This was in the English style (not the falling, that was rough and tumble style) and I lost balance when I was riding without reins or stirrups and slowly building up to a full canter, Maggie was controlling the horse as I rode in a circle and I lost it somehow...crunch. This is a typical training method. Over the weeks I rode Dollar and Penelope and Cameron and Marchena. Marchena is my favourite and is a beautiful and proud Spanish stallion.

I did most of my training with Marchena under the excellent tuition of Ricardo Cruz' team and most often under the watchful eye of Juan Diego. Just before we moved location we were told that we would have new horses for the film, all of which are Czech horses. I began riding Tambor (Tamborina) last week. He is not unlike Marchena to look at, the same tan colour with light or blond main. But he carries his head slightly lower and I miss the power of Marchena about whom I was warned 'Be careful, slowly, he is like a Ferrari'.

But Tambor is an excellent horse (but then they all are) and last week we galloped through the forest at the head of a group of fifty riders. 'We' being the lords (actors) and the rest experienced rider-extras. I can't imagine a better way to spend a summers day and I am extremely grateful to have had this experience...it more than adequately makes up for the long hours that are so typical of film work. What can I do...I've landed among a throng of perfectionists. At every level...what a great team of talented artists.

I will return to painting as soon as I can and when I do I will post my work here. I intend to return to more traditional subjects in the months to come and I will be making the work available for collectors. I may even create a few equestrian pictures.

Picture of Telmarine Castle Set

2007-05-18T16:05:00.000-05:00

Czech newspaper "Blesk" has managed to get a snap of the set of the Telmarine Castle courtyard at Barrandov Studio. In the story, the castle is presided over by King Miraz the Usurper, though according to the book it was built by Prince Caspian’s great-great-grandfather.

Variety interviews Pierfrancesco Favino (Lord Glozelle)

2007-05-16T23:07:00.000-05:00

Pierfrancesco Favino's 'Night'
Roman actor to play Lord Glozelle in 'Caspian'
By NICK VIVARELLI

ROME -- Nobody, not even his mother, recognized Pierfrancesco Favino in his first Hollywood role: a cameo as Christopher Columbus in "Night at the Museum."

But the 35-year-old Rome native has followed up with a meatier part in another Yank pic, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," as Lord Glozelle -- a general on horseback whom Favino calls a "bad guy with a conscience." This time, could international notice be far behind?

"Of course I care about visibility," says Favino, "but I've never been that hungry for popularity."

A rare case of Italian talent working internationally, Favino is a graduate of Rome's Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico acting school and a bit of a late bloomer, even on his home turf.

After a long stint doing mostly stage and telepic gigs, Favino caught the eye of Italian film critics in 2002, playing a stoic soldier in the WWII ensemble drama "El Alamein," his first prominent bigscreen role.

In 2005, Favino played a cold-blooded mobster named Il Libanese in "Crime Novel," a gangster epic in the "Goodfellas" vein. "Crime" won him a David di Donatello Award for best supporting actor, but more importantly gained him fans outside national confines, especially in France.

And while Favino is still waiting to land a proper lead on either side of the Pond, playing Glozelle in "Narnia" is "really a gift," he says.

"The thing about this type of (Hollywood) production is that -- unlike Italian films I've done before -- if you have a scene in which you're on a horse, you prepare by riding for two months."

But that doesn't mean Favino is indiscriminate when it comes to big-budget Hollywood endeavors.

"I've had several offers from the U.S. to play stereotypical 'pizza and mandolin' Italians," he says, "but I had to turn them down. I just can't."

Claim to fame: Enzo Monteleone's "El Alamein."

Career mantra: "The promise I have made to myself is to continue to choose roles based on passion, not on money or fear of the void."

Role models: "It's always good to choose several role models. Mine are Marcello Mastroianni, Gian Maria Volonte and Sergio Castellitto."

What's next: "I have offers from France and Italy, and will pick the project that best represents me in terms of where I am personally right now."

Official plot synopsis for "PC"

2007-05-16T10:32:00.000-05:00

Release Date: May 16, 2008

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media

Director: Andrew Adamson

Screenwriter(s): Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Steve McFeeley

Cast: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes, Peter Dinklage, Pierfrancesco Favino and Sergio Castellitto

Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy

MPAA: Not Yet Rated

Official Site: narnia.com

Synopsis: The characters of C.S. Lewis’s timeless fantasy come to life once again in this newest installment of the "Chronicles of Narnia" series, in which the Pevensie siblings are magically transported back from England to the world of Narnia, where a thrilling, perilous new adventure and an even greater test of their faith and courage awaits them.

One year after the incredible events of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the Kings and Queens of Narnia find themselves back in that faraway wondrous realm, only to discover that more than 1300 years have passed in Narnian time. During their absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has become extinct, Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz, who rules the land without mercy.

The four children will soon meet an intriguing new character: Narnia’s rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian, who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne. With the help of the kindly dwarf, a courageous talking mouse named Reepicheep, a badger named Trufflehunter and a Black Dwarf, Nikabrik, the Narnians, led by the mighty knights Peter and Caspian, embark on a remarkable journey to find Aslan, rescue Narnia from Miraz’s tyrannical hold, and restore magic and glory to the land.

Directed once again by veteran director Andrew Adamson, screenplay by Andrew Adamson and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely and produced by Mark Johnson, Andrew Adamson and Philip Steuer, the film reunites the original cast and creative team behind the blockbuster first film in the series.

Warwick Davis chimes in on "PC"

2007-05-09T09:50:00.000-05:00

Warwick on Caspian
And Gregson-William discusses the score.
by Paul Davidson

May 9, 2007 - Warwick Davis, the actor who's been a staple of sci-fi and fantasy films from Star Wars to Harry Potter, is enjoying the opportunity proffered him by Prince Caspian: playing a villain for a change (not counting all those Leprechaun movies). In the upcoming Narnia sequel, Davis takes on the role of the nogoodnik dwarf Nikabrik, who turns against his other dwarf brethren in the civil war between Midas and Caspian.

"I do like playing baddies!" he told the Disney Insider. "As an actor, they're always the most memorable roles. It's a part you can get your teeth into -- sometimes literally!"

Davis has perhaps the most experience of anyone playing characters from Narnia; he performed as Reepicheep in the BBC's TV versions of Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair, produced back in 1989 and 1990 respectively. Reepicheep is likely to be a computer-generated character this time around, but Davis's continuing involvement in future Narnia films can't be ruled out.

In related news, composer Harry Gregson-Williams is beginning to think about Prince Caspian, even though the film is still in principle photography and his job of writing and conducting the score is still a ways off. In a recent piece in The Hollywood Reporter, Gregson-Williams states that the Caspian soundtrack will be a little darker in tone than Wardrobe.

"I've read the script, and there are a couple areas that I'm researching, but really it's a very different story," says Gregson-Williams. "Hopefully, we'll be able to hang on to one or two of the cues and develop them, but it's quite dark, actually. I'm really looking forward to it."

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian arrives in theaters May 16th, 2008.

Co-Screenwriters blog on adapting "Prince Caspian"

2007-05-04T15:21:00.000-05:00

Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Co-Screenwriters)

It's rare for a screenwriter to have the opportunity to deal with characters in more than one movie. Actually, let's rephrase that -- it's rare for a screenwriter to have the opportunity to deal with characters in even one movie. The odds against a story making it from screen to camera to multiplex are wildly high. The odds against making that trip two or even three times are frankly just silly. But that's where we find ourselves, in an uncommon position and feeling very lucky to be here.

And that's where again? Oh, yes. Narnia. But hardly the same Narnia the Pevensies left at the end of the last film. Thirteen-hundred years have passed, and they haven't necessarily been pleasant. Prince Caspian sets us down in a torn and troubled land where new villains stalk the battlefield and entire races find themselves on the brink of extinction.

As writers, the biggest challenge we faced was connecting the Pevensies' story to that of Prince Caspian. In C. S. Lewis' book, they're essentially two separate narratives which only come together near the end. While this is perfectly entertaining to read, it makes for a strangely structured movie where your favorite characters are absent for long stretches at a time.

Consequently, we decided to weave the two plots together early, bringing the Pevensies into Narnia near the start and giving them a greater role in Caspian's journey. This not only helped on a structural level, it also allowed us to take advantage of the alliances and antagonisms that would evolve when we tossed three kings and two queens together into the same room -- or underground chamber, as the case may be.

Another intriguing thing for us in revisiting these characters has been exploring the effects their experiences in the first film might've had on them. It's an area Lewis leaves mostly untouched. He memorably examines what it would be like for a 1940's schoolkid to become King of Narnia. However, he doesn't much consider what it would be like for a King of Narnia to return to being a 1940's schoolkid.

That year back in London must have been awkward at best. Imagine going from giving orders...to taking them. From fighting wars and throwing royal balls...to doing homework. Given their different personalities, each Pevensie handles the situation with varying levels of success. Some are resigned, others frustrated, and their sudden return to Narnia should push different buttons in each.

Those are just a few of the things on our mind as we wind down the writing end of things on this film. What's next? It's hard to say. Who can know the future? Perhaps a nice, long ocean voyage...

BIO

CHRISTOPHER MARKUS and STEPHEN McFEELY (co-screenwriters) return to the land of Narnia having co-written the adaptation of the first project, the global box office hit, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Their work on that film earned them nominations for the Saturn, Hugo and Humanitas Awards.

Markus and McFeely, born in Buffalo and San Francisco, respectively, have been writing together since 1995. Chris (Rutgers University) and Steve (University of Notre Dame) met while attending the Graduate Writing Program at UC Davis.

Prior to their success with the C.S. Lewis project, Markus and McFeely penned the original screenplay for the critically acclaimed HBO feature, "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," starring Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush. Their first produced film premiered in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and went on to earn numerous honors, including nine Emmy Awards. Markus and McFeely themselves won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special, as well as a Writers Guild Award.

The pair's next feature, IFC Film's "You Kill Me" (their very first screenplay), directed by John Dahl, will be released this year.

On Harry Gregson-Williams, Composer

2007-05-02T15:25:00.000-05:00

Wild about Harry
By Jeff Bond
May 2, 2007

My first impression of Harry was a small bundle of energy," director Andrew Adamson says of his composer collaborator on 2005's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" and Buena Vista's planned 2008 release "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

He might be on to something. [...]

Adamson, too, praises Gregson-Williams for his creative flexibility. The pair first joined forces for 2001's "Shrek," which the New Zealand-born filmmaker co-directed with Vicky Jenson, and subsequently partnered for 2004's "Shrek 2" and the "Narnia" films.

While both franchises appeal to family audiences, they couldn't be more different in tone. But Adamson says he didn't hesitate to bring Gregson-Williams onboard for the live-action fantasy films, noting that Gregson-Williams is just plain fun to work with. [...]

"To him, the music comes first, and then he almost finds the application," Adamson continues. "On the 'Narnia' series, when we started with that -- before he'd even seen anything -- he said, 'I've got this big heroic theme that I'm imagining at a coronation or something,' and he sat down and played it for me on piano. It was beautiful, and it became one of the strongest themes in the film. He seems to have a very intuitive approach to film music."

The composer will debut a concert suite of his "Narnia" music with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra on May 19, and he already has begun thinking about the second film in the series, "Prince Caspian." "I've read the script, and there are a couple areas that I'm researching, but really it's a very different story," Gregson-Williams says. "Hopefully, we'll be able to hang on to one or two of the cues and develop them, but it's quite dark, actually. I'm really looking forward to it."

Interview with Douglas Gresham

2007-04-29T12:45:00.000-05:00

NarniaWeb moderators got to ask Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis' stepson, some questions about the upcoming "Prince Caspian:"

NW: How is the filming going? In fact, where are you right now?

DG: I am in Prague at the set of Prince Caspian. I am here to catch up with some of my favourite people who are the cast and crew, and with the footage that has been filmed since I was with the team in New Zealand - and of course to look at one of the most fabulous sets ever built, Miraz’s Castle, which is what we are filming right now. I can tell you that the footage we have so far looks spectacularly good, even richer and somehow stronger than LWW. Also the increased maturity of the children and their acting skills is remarkable. This is going to be one seriously great movie.

NW: So how do you like the casting choices for Caspian and the other new characters?

DG: As Co-Producer one of my tasks is to be a part of the team that makes the casting decisions, so naturally I am happy with our choices. This film was not as easy to cast as LWW, but the cast we have found are superb.

NW: What is the rationale behind putting a minotaur (Asterius), a creature associated with evil in LWW, as someone on Caspian’s side?

DG: There are several reasons for that. Firstly, we felt that we needed to show that in Narnia as here, old foes can be forgiven and can reconcile and work together, given the will to do so. Secondly, that in Narnia as also it is here, a common adversary will bring even the worst of enemies together and unite them. Also, that the shapes and colours of a species’ body do not necessarily denote their character, that just because someone is a Minotaur does not have to mean that they are all bad. Finally, we kind of like Minotaurs.

NW: Have any secondary characters from the book been reduced or eliminated in PC in the way that Rumblebuffin and the "Us Lions" lion were in LWW? (eg Wimbleweather, the Bulgy Bear, Bacchus, Caspian’s Nurse).

DG: Now you’re fishing with too fine a net, I am not about to reveal too much nor to give too much away. That is the sort of question that you will have to watch to the movie to find out the answer to.

NW: We’ve heard rumours that Mr. Tumnus is going to be in this movie as a very old faun. Is this true? If so, why?

DG: Well, I know that Fauns are long livers, but 1300+ years? I doubt it. It would be fun to bring back James though.

NW: Has Queen Prunaprismia’s role been expanded in the film?

DG: Go see the movie, and all will be revealed.

NW: How will the children’s’ relationships with Aslan be portrayed in this film? Will Lucy’s midnight meeting of him be shown; will the children have to follow him on faith? Is Aslan going to undergo any "character development", per se?

DG: Now that is an interesting question. I suggest that you get together all your friends, and their friends, and your enemies and their enemies too (after all we are supposed to love our enemies) and then take them all out to the movie on release night, and then let me know what you think the answer to that is. If you can’t quite figure it out that night, go back and see it again and again till you can, it will be worth it.

NW: Will the dryads and wood gods be CGI or actors or half-and-half, this time?

DG: This actually varies from character to character depending on what we require them to do and how they need to appear. For example the Cherry-tree dryad in LWW was one who need considerable CGI assistance to exist at all. We will of course use the very best techniques available to us in each case, but these decisions are always driven by the needs of the scene.

NW: Do NarniaWebbers need to feel alarmed at the rumour of there being an attraction between Caspian and Susan in the script?

DG: If I were you I would worry far more about Global Warming.

NW: Is there any reason to worry about the Peter/Miraz duel being changed significantly (as in, maybe, Caspian/Miraz) in the film?

DG: Again, this is not something I would descend into the depths of despair over.

NW: Do you think PC will be about as true to the book as LWW was, or will more changes be needed?

DG: That depends a bit on what you mean by "true to the book". In the sense that the meanings and intentions that Jack wrote are all in the movie, it is faithful to the book; but the book has a great deal of walking and talking which, while it works very well in Jack’s masterful prose, would result in a very boring movie if we stuck to that format on screen. We have obviously had to make rather more visually exciting things happen .

NW: Is PC going to be as squeaky clean as LWW was? While aiming for a PG rating, will a bit more grittiness be added to the movie for a little more realism?

DG: Ahh, so you guys do want a romance between Susan and Caspian after all. Seriously, though, I think I take issue with your idea apparent that LWW lacked realism. You have to remember that LWW starts in savage winter when the whole land of Narnia is blanketed in thick snow which is freshened almost every night, and thus has that beautiful clean, almost purified look and feel about it, and then moves into the burgeoning freshness of Spring. Hard to make either of those "gritty" without losing their realism. Prince Caspian is very different in character, scenario, in feel, in the nature of the adventure. I think that you will find it stunningly beautiful, and yet carrying moods as changeable and as impactive as the weather in which we filmed them. However what is realism in Narnia may well be fantasy here.

NW: Is there any chance we’ll be treated to another cameo by Mr. Gresham?

DG: That is a decision for Andrew, suffice it to say that if called, he will serve.

NW: Thank you very much.

Photo Spoilers of the "PC" set in Prague!

2007-04-25T15:15:00.000-05:00

Last Girl Guide writes: "I live in Prague and I took the photos as I was walking to the bus stop. I saw a whole load of tents and catering vans, so my boyfriend and I remarked they must be filming something, and wasn’t Narnia going on at the moment? Then we turned the corner to see a red phone box, bomb-shelter and on the opposite side of the road, The Strand underground station. It was very bizzare I can tell you. The irony is that I actually come from a village near the Severn Valley Railway, which of course is what they used in the last film for the train journey. I’m beginning to feel that Narnia is following me!"

Producer David Minkowski talks about filming in the Czech Republic

2007-04-19T10:35:00.000-05:00

Associate Producer David Minkowski discusses the Czech Republic leg of the Prince Caspian filming. Read the complete interview at the Czech Film Commission site.

HN: In April you will begin filming in the Czech Republic The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. How is work proceeding on the film?

It’s all going very well. Right now it’s shooting in New Zealand, then in a couple days the staff will relocate to the Czech Republic, where they will film until August. Right now there are 300 to 400 people working in Prague on pre-production [Note from NarniaWeb: Prince Caspian has now begun filming]. At Barrandov and at the studios at Modrany we have a total of seven sets, plus they’re building a giant set on the backlot at Barrandov.

HN: What will the time-table of shooting look like?

First we start at Modrany, then we transfer to Barrandov and then a week in Poland. After that we return to Prague and to Ústí nad Labem and around there. Actually we will have in the Czech Republic two crews – one will film 11 weeks in Ústí and a second in Prague. The first crew will then move to the mountains in Slovenia. The filming there will be very demanding in terms of travel and logistics

HN: Unlike the first Narnia film the majority of the scenes of the new film will be shot in Prague. How did you convince the film’s producers, Walt Disney and Walden Media, to do it this way?

Prague has good infrastructure and conditions – big studios, offices, film crews and equipment, everything you need. What’s more it’s a good base if you need to film in other locations in Europe, like in Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia or Poland. So if you need to travel every week to a different location, Prague is a natural centre for filming.

HN: But the first Narnia shot only a few scenes here …

That’s because of the weather. We need summer and in New Zealand it’s just ending and we can’t shoot there in winter.

HN: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe cost about USD 180 million to make. A sequel to a commercially successful film is usually more expensive than the original. Is that the case with Prince Caspian?

It’s case by case. In 2004 we shot Alien vs. Predator, and that was the least expensive of the Alien films. As for The Chronicles of Narnia, I think it could be true. Prince Caspian is definitely a big film.

HN: How much of the total budget for Prince Caspian are Disney and Walden Media investing in the Czech Republic?

I suppose that the net investment will be around USD 30 million to USD 40 million. That includes the construction of the big sets, renting the studios, filming in Ústí nad Labem, contracting hundreds of crew members and so on. I’d say that it’s the biggest film ever shot here. The total amount that Prince Caspian is bringing to the Czech Republic will be even bigger – that investment, which will flow into the Czech economy, will have further economic effects, for example in paying for housing services, feeding crew members, etc.

HN: How many Czech filmmakers are employed on this film?

The majority of the crew will be made up of Czechs. If we don’t count the workers who are building the sets, there will be on the sets in film crews about 900 people. That’s a lot.

Watch Andrew Adamson's First Video Blog!

2007-04-18T22:53:00.000-05:00

SFXer Howard Berger blogs on the creatures of Narnia

2007-04-17T10:30:00.000-05:00

A LOOK INTO THE CREATURES OF NARNIA
BY HOWARD BERGER
Makeup Effects and Creature Designer

Once in a lifetime, something so amazing happens and you are so grateful for it. But, to have it happen twice in a lifetime is unheard of. I am talking about the privilege of another journey into Narnia that the creative team at KNB EFX Group, Inc. gets to take for PRINCE CASPIAN.

The first film was a challenge, as we had never tackled a project so huge in scope and with so many creatures playing at once. It was important to bring all the Narnians to life and make it completely believable that they could believably live in this magical land. And here we are again, ready to meet up with the new Narnians that inhabit the land 1,500 years later.

The first step took partner Greg Nicotero and I back to the drawing board, as we wanted to mix things up a bit. We wanted to take another pass at what the Narnians would be like if they had become more wild in their appearance, seeing how they have been living in hiding within the forests all these centuries. What if they were all different age groups, sizes and races? We felt that the Narnians in the first film were all in their thirties, so we designed some study sculptures to demonstrate our concepts and approached director Andrew Adamson with the ideas. He liked our take and felt this could give Narnia an even more real existence.

In PRINCE CASPIAN, we have heavy set fauns, old age fauns, female dwarves, centaurs and their families. The minotaurs are now on the side of good. A new hag, a werewolf and the satyrs are back, but all newly redesigned to be more animal-like than the prior movie.

I think in every film there is one character you fall in love with. The first movie had Mr. Tumnus, played by the great James McAvoy. This time it is Peter Dinklage who plays Trumpkin the Dwarf. The character is so wonderfully written, and once you see Peter as Trumpkin, he becomes alive and real. We gave Trumpkin his look, but Peter gave him his heart, and the collaboration brings to life a new and interesting addition to this rich world.

A lot of the same crew from the first film have joined us, including my co-winner for the Best Makeup Oscar last year, Tami Lane (with key support from our third team member, Sarah Rubano). We are all excited and thrilled as there is an evolution that has occurred in Narnia and we are all privileged to be here to experience another wonderful adventure.

BIO

Howard Berger grew up in Los Angeles (the son of a post production sound mixer) and spent his younger years visiting the studios of Oscar winners Stan Winston (whom he met at age 14, and who gave Howard his first job after high school graduation) and Rick Baker, the renowned animatronic and makeup effects innovators, with whom he would later collaborate on "Aliens," "Pumpkinhead," "Predator," "Harry and the Hendersons" and "Men in Black."

With partners Greg Nicotero and Robert Kurtzman, he co-founded his own makeup design company, KNB EFX Group, in 1988. Over the past 19 years, KNB has worked on a wide range of distinguished films, ranging from the Oscar winning DANCES WITH WOLVES to Martin Scorsese's CASINO, from Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL films to most of Robert Rodriguez's projects, including the recent SIN CITY to name just a few of the 600 titles on which KNB has performed their artistry.

For their excellence and highest caliber of work, Howard and co-founder Nicotero were recently awarded the British Academy Award (the BAFTA) for Best Makeup on THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. Howard (and colleague Tami Lane) also took home their first Academy Award for Best Makeup on the film adaptation of the C.S. Lewis classic.

Update on FX in "PC"

2007-04-04T10:43:00.000-05:00

Caspian Effects Update
Report hints at new content
by Paul Davidson

April 4, 2007 - Although production on The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is nowhere near completion, the film's effects teams have sprung into action, preparing various computer-generated sequences for integration with live-action footage. As previously reported, two London-based effects houses -- Moving Picture Company and Framestore -- have been hired to do the majority of the digital effects for the second Narnia adventure.

Framestore has an update on their website with information on the films they're currently involved with. Their entry on Prince Caspian, though brief, is interesting and may allude to some of the additional content written to augment the original book — with the intent of adding depth and excitement to the film.

"The next Narnia film is now well under way," reads the blurb, "and Framestore CFC has got a lion's share (pardon the pun) of the VFX work. As well as the CG creatures, Aslan and a badger called Trufflehunter, the 500 or so shots our team expects to complete will also involve a spectacular River God sequence."

What "River God sequence" could the website be referring to, and where might such a scene fit into the established plot?

Producer Douglas Gresham also touched on the changes in his recent interview (though he certainly mentioned no River God). "A lot of [Prince Caspian] is walking and talking, which is fine on the pages of a book, but doesn't really come across very well in the cinema. So there are things we've had to do to make things a little more lively."

Hopefully we'll hear more about the changes and additions to the story before too long.

King Miraz is cast!

2007-03-13T08:01:00.000-05:00

Sergio Castellitto Cast as Miraz

The filmmakers have crowned Italian actor-director Sergio Castellitto as King Miraz. He has won three David di Donatello Awards in his native Italy, and has been nominated an additional four times. He has won critical acclaim for past films such as Don’t Move, Mostly Martha, and The Big Blue, and most recently lent his voice for Arthur and the Invisibles.Click here for Sergio Castellitto’s IMDB entry.

Principal photography has started in New Zealand

2007-02-26T00:06:00.000-05:00

Narnia Sequel Prince Caspian Takes Action in New Zealand
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the second motion picture adaptation of CS Lewis’ beloved series of literary classics, recently began principal photography on location in Auckland, New Zealand.
by Anne Thomas
Posted: Monday, February 26, 2007, 12:48 (GMT)

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the second motion picture adaptation of CS Lewis’ beloved series of literary classics, recently began principal photography on location in Auckland, New Zealand.

The film, which is the Christian parable and sequel to 2005's hit The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, will premiere in the summer of 2008.

Prince Caspian will be played by Ben Barnes.

Director Andrew Adamson returns for the new sequel along with the young quartet of British actors: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, and William Moseley.

He shared: “If we don’t make [the film] now, we’ll never be able to because they’ll be too old."

Using a best-case scenario, it would take two years to make each movie, according to Rev Bob Beltz, director of special media projects for the billionaire media entrepreneur Philip Anschutz.

That would mean 12 more years and the last film would appear in 2017.

"They could end up holding the first screening of 'The Last Battle' just before my funeral service. That's about how long it may take us to do the whole series," quipped the 55-year-old Presbyterian pastor, referring to the seventh and final Narnia novel by the Christian apologist CS Lewis.

"Seriously, when we started seeing those first really big numbers roll in at the box office, that's when it hit me," said Beltz. "Some of us worked on this first movie for a very long time and now it seems like we may literally get to work on the Chronicles for the rest of our lives."

“Prince Caspian”, which was first published in 1951, and is the second book in the seven-book series written by Lewis, finds the Pevensie siblings pulled back into the land of Narnia where a thousand years have passed since they left. The children are once again enlisted to join the colourful creatures of Narnia in combating an evil villain who prevents the rightful Prince from ruling the land.

General Glozelle, Trufflehunter, and Asterius Cast

2007-02-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

Pierfrancesco Favino Cast as Glozelle

From Narnia.com: Casting News - Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino has been cast as Gen. Glozelle, the leader of Miraz’ Telmarine troops. Favino recently played Christopher Columbus in "Night at the Museum".Pierfrancesco Favino (IMDB) was born in Rome, Italy in 1971 and has played roles in a number of European films. In 2006 he received a Donatello, the Italian equivalent of the Oscar, for his role in "Romanzo Criminale".

Ken Stott Cast as Trufflehunter

From Slashfilm.com: Veteran Scottish actor Ken Stott ("Casanova," "King Arthur") will lend his vocal talents to the role of Trufflehunter, the faithful badger who believes the former Kings and Queens of Narnia will return to assist Caspian in his quest.Trufflehunter is one of the key animal roles in Prince Caspian.

Shane Rangi Cast as Another Minotaur

Narnia.com: "Shane Rangi is back in Prince Caspian as Asterius, the Minotaur who aides Caspian and the Pevensies in their attempt to overthrow King Miraz."Rangi (IMDB) also played General Otmin, the Witch’s head Minotaur, in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."Like Otmin and Oreius, Asterius is a character added to the story by the filmmakers.

Production begins on "PC"

2007-02-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

BURBANK, CA, February 16, 2007 — "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," the second live-action/CGI motion picture adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ beloved series of literary classics, began principal photography on location in Auckland, New Zealand, on February 12, 2007. The production, once again a joint venture between the Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, continues the franchise which commenced with the spectacular, Oscar-winning 2005 release, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which went on to earn over $745 million dollars in its worldwide theatrical release, making it one of the most successful movies ever made and one of the biggest successes in the annals of the Walt Disney Studios.

Native New Zealander Andrew Adamson (the Oscar®-winning "Shrek," "Shrek 2") embarks on his second Narnian film adventure, returning to his homeland to helm the follow-up film from a screenplay he co-wrote with Emmy Award-winning writing partners Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (HBO’s "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"), who also co-scripted the first film. Adamson also reunites with the producers of the first "Narnia" film — Academy Award®-winner Mark Johnson ("Rain Man," "Bugsy," "The Notebook") and Philip Steuer ("The Rookie," "The Alamo").

Following the tremendous success of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the filmmakers immediately began their planning and pre-production efforts on "Prince Caspian" in early 2006. The new project’s production schedule encompasses another six-month live-action shoot followed by a post-production schedule leading to its May 16, 2008, global release through Disney’s distribution divisions of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution and Buena Vista International. Filming locations include both the north and south islands of New Zealand, Prague’s Barrandov Studios, the Czech Republic, as well as locales in Poland and Slovenia.

Once again toplining the new film as the Pevensie children are the four young British talents discovered by Adamson for the first film — Georgie Henley as Lucy, Skandar Keynes as Edmund, William Moseley as Peter, and Anna Popplewell as Susan.

The film’s title character will be played by Ben Barnes, a 25-year-old British actor, a veteran of the stage who is currently best known for his recent role in "The History Boys" for London’s National Theatre Company. His upcoming feature film roles include the independent feature "Bigga Than Ben" and a featured role in Matthew Vaughn’s fantasy film "Stardust" for Paramount Pictures.

Also co-starring in the new film are a pair of diminutive actors whose talents have loomed large on the motion picture screen — Peter Dinklage ("The Station Agent," "Find Me Guilty") as the Red Dwarf Trumpkin, who accompanies the Pevensie children on their new journey and unites Narnia’s two kings, Peter and Caspian; and Warwick Davis ("Willow," "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy") as the suspicious Black Dwarf, Nikabrik. The film also features veteran Flemish actor Vincent Grass ("Vatel," "Londinium") as the wise old sage, Doctor Cornelius, Prince Caspian’s tutor who educates the future Narnian king in the history of his land. Veteran Scottish actor Ken Stott ("Casanova," "King Arthur") will lend his vocal talents to the role of Trufflehunter, the faithful badger who believes the former Kings and Queens of Narnia will return to assist Caspian in his quest.

Inspired by Lewis’ imaginative creations, the story’s human cast will once again be complemented by a gallery of original creatures portrayed onscreen in the combined efforts of live-action and CGI animation under the supervision of visual effects supervisor Dean Wright, who will also collaborate this time with VFX veteran Wendy Rogers ("Shrek," "Flushed Away"), and the movie magicians at London’s Moving Picture Company, Framestore/CFC and Weta Digital in New Zealand. Five -time Academy Award®-winning visualist Richard Taylor ("Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "King Kong") and the wizards from his Weta Workshop will also design the film’s armor and weaponry for Narnia’s new inhabitants, the Telmarines.

Howard Berger and Tami Lane will also reprise their efforts for the film’s makeup effects, and will manufacture and apply hundreds of special makeup prosthetics for many of the unique characters in the story.

Adamson has again secured the talents of Oscar®-nominated production designer Roger Ford ("Babe," "Peter Pan," "The Quiet American"), award-winning costume designer Isis Mussenden ("Shrek," "Shrek 2," "10 Items or Less"), and film editor Sim Evan-Jones ("Shrek," "Shrek 2"). Industry veteran Karl Walter Lindenlaub, ASC, bvk ("Independence Day," "Stargate," "Because of Winn-Dixie") joins Adamson’s technical team as director of photography.

The enchanted characters of C.S. Lewis’s timeless fantasy come to dazzling life again in this second installment of the seven book series, in which the Pevensie siblings — Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy — are magically and mysteriously transported back from World War II England to Narnia, where a thrilling, perilous new adventure and an even greater test of their faith and courage awaits them.

One year after the incredible events of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the newly-annointed Kings and Queens of Narnia find themselves back in that faraway wondrous realm, only to discover that more than 1000 years have passed in Narnian time. During their absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has become extinct, and now exists as little more than folklore. The land’s magical talking animals and mythical creatures have disappeared, becoming little more than folk tales to the Telmarines, a race of humans led by the evil King Miraz, who now rules the land without mercy. Though his name is still remembered in the woods, the mighty lion Aslan has also not been seen in a thousand years.

The four children have been summoned back to Narnia by Caspian, the young heir to the Telmarine throne whose life is in danger as his evil uncle Miraz plans to eliminate the young warrior so his own newborn son can ascend the throne. With the help of the kindly dwarf, a courageous talking mouse named Reepicheep, and a leery Black Dwarf, Nikabrik, the Narnians, led by the mighty knights Peter and Caspian, embark on a remarkable journey to find Aslan, rescue Narnia from Miraz’s tyrannical hold, and restore magic and glory to the land.

"Prince Caspian" is the second (appearing in 1951) of Lewis’ seven-book "Chronicles of Narnia" series. Published between 1950-56 and long regarded as one of literature’s most enduring and imaginative classics, Lewis’ books have sold over 100,000,000 books in 29 different languages, making it the second biggest book series the world over. In addition to the second novel, the Oxford scholar wrote six additional books, including "The Voyage of the ’Dawn Treader’" (1952), "The Silver Chair" (1953) "The Horse and His Boy" (1954) "The Magician’s Nephew" (the prequel to the first book, 1955), "The Last Battle" (1956) and the story that launched the series in 1950, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Interview with Douglas Gresham (Lewis' Stepson, Producer)

2007-02-11T14:03:00.000-05:00

"The Philippine Order of Narnians" has interviewed producer Douglas Gresham on a variety of interesting topics, including his thoughts on the Narnia films. Read the full interview at FilipinoNarnians.org. Thanks to "diwanggising" for the heads up!

On Bringing Narnia to Film:

TPON: We know that Andrew Adamson and Walden Media have been very respectful of the original material. In theory, though, how much veto power do you hold over the script?

Gresham: We create the scripts in a collaborative manner, I meet with the writers and Andrew, and we go carefully through every line, honing and refining until we are satisfied that what we have is right. I have as much "voice" in this process as anyone on the team who are all very respectful of my knowledge and expertise.

TPON: The biggest criticism of the LWW film seems to be that there isn’t enough of Aslan in it, and Aslan doesn’t seem to be as all-powerful as he is portrayed in the books. Any thoughts on that?

Gresham: Yes, two thoughts. One is that no matter how much of Aslan we might want to put in a movie we are, as always, constrained to some extent by budget realities. To make a Lion for Aslan who looked anything less than perfect would be terrible, so we tend to try to make every hair of his mane and every move that he makes as close to perfect as we can. You have seen the result on screen. Now I am not about to tell you how much it costs to produce that quality of CGI, but let’s just say that it is not cheap. Somewhere along the line one has to decide how much money is to be spent on what, and to put more of Aslan in the movie means to put less of other things. We had to try for a good balance and I think we achieved it very well.

The on the topic of Aslan being all-powerful (but restraining his power), just how would one portray that in a movie? Remember this? 1 Kings 19:11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

Aslan in the LWW, is the still small voice (except when he roars).

TPON: Many people are into the Narnia stories particularly because of the themes that are behind them. What do you think are the most important themes of Prince Caspian that absolutely must be in the movie?

Gresham: That one I will wait to answer till after the movie is released. I am not about to give anything away at this stage. :-)

TPON: Many are apprehensive about the portrayal of Calormenes in the Horse and His Boy, which seem to have a Middle Eastern flavor. It’s still far away, but do you have any idea how the Calormenes might be approached in the movies, given a post-9/11 audience?

Gresham: Yes I do, but I am not about to give that away either. However, I don’t think that the descriptions of the Calormenes do have a Middle Eastern flavour. I think you need to look further afield and further back. But in any case, taking offense is a personal choice, and if people want be offended by what I do in a movie that is their right and their responsibility. I will not pander to the likes, dislikes, preferences or prejudices of individuals who might be in our audiences, if you start to do that, sooner or later you wind up with artistic porridge.

Trumpkin the Red Dwarf, Nikabrik the Black Dwarf, and Dr. Cornelius have been cast

2007-02-08T11:08:00.000-05:00

Peter Dinklage Cast as Trumpkin the Dwarf

Prince Caspian’s publicist, Ernie Malik, has confirmed for us that Reepicheep and Miraz have not yet been cast and we are still awaiting word on Doctor Cornelius.

We are able to announce that the role of Trumpkin the Dwarf will be played by Peter Dinklage (Elf, The Station Agent). Mr Dinklage is 4’ 5" tall (1.35 metres).

Warwick Davis Cast as Nikabrik the Dwarf

From Narnia.com, Warwick Davis joins Peter Dinklage in the casting of the two Dwarf characters in Prince Caspian. Davis will be playing Nikabrik the Black Dwarf, while Dinklage plays Trumpkin the Red Dwarf. Mr Davis is 3’ 6" tall (1 metre).

Davis has been seen in other fantasy films such as Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Harry Potter, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

He also played Reepicheep the Mouse in the Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader BBC television productions, as well as Glimfeather the Owl in The Silver Chair!

Vincent Gra ss Cast as Doctor Cornelius

From Narnia.com:

Casting News - Two key roles have been announced from "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian." Peter Dinklage will play Trumpkin the dwarf and Vincent Grass has been cast as Doctor Cornelius, Prince Caspian’s mentor.

Vincent Grass was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1949 and has appeared in over eighty films and TV movies, including the Horatio Hornblower series.

Prince Caspian has been cast!

2007-02-03T21:43:00.000-05:00

And the actor selected to play Prince Caspian is British actor Ben Barnes!

After a long casting process and in a move that will no doubt surprise many Narnia devotees, director Andrew Adamson has selected the youthful-looking 25 year old (with a playing age as young as 17 years) to play the pivotal Caspian role. In the book, Caspian is a mere 13 years of age.

Although we recently contacted Mr Barnes’ agency, we have not yet received an official announcement. However, The Times has now reported that the actor has dropped his current award-winning theatrical project in London, "The History Boys", in order to accept the Caspian role even at risk of being slapped with a lawsuit. "The History Boys" also sees Barnes playing a schoolboy.

The Times article states that the young actor has a three-film deal to play Caspian. Presumably this means that he will be reprising the role in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair, the next two films after Prince Caspian.

Barnes has an impressive list of film, television, radio, and theatre credits, and has recently completed two films, "Bigga than Ben" and "Stardust". See his profile at IMDB, Casting Call Pro, and The Spotlight.

"PC" has a release date!

2007-02-02T09:16:00.000-05:00

"Prince Caspian" will release on May 16, 2008.

Walden Media's Bob Beltz Talks about "PC" with Infuze

2007-02-02T08:29:00.000-05:00

Bob Beltz has a lot to say. As the Associate Producer of the upcoming movie Amazing Grace as well as the editor of Real Christianity, Beltz talks to us about the life of William Wilberforce and the issue of slavery in the modern world today and what we can do about it. As a part of Walden Media, he also gives the latest scoop on the Narnia series, including which movies have been greenlit, the problem with Edmund and the timeline of releases.

Can you let us in on what's happening with Prince Caspian. Is the script completely finished? And is it sticking closely to the book?

It's pretty close. Andrew Adamson is gonna direct again. Most of the same crew is working on this one. Mark Johnson will produce again. A lot of the cast and crew will be the same. Now, I don't think that will the case for all seven. I don't think Andrew Adamson wants to spend the rest of his life on this one series.

But the script... let me put it this way: All of the elements from the book are present. It's not as easy of a book to adapt as The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe was simply because it has a little bit of a different structure and Andrew wanted to rearrange some of the elements for dramatic effect. But everything that is in the book will be in the film.

What are some of the changes we can expect to see?

I can't talk about that.

(Laughs). Just thought I would try...

(Laughs). They're real good, let me just say that.

What about using the children? Obviously, children grow up so fast on camera...

And we're actually using the same four kids and I know that three of them actually look almost the same as they did. Skandar [Keynes] who played Edmund has grown about seven inches and looks like a full blown adolescent now. In the Lewis story, there's only a year that has taken place between the first and second book and I think that will just get left a little open ended. The big challenge is going to be Edmund I think.

And you've already greenlit the next one?

Yes. The next book after that will be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and we're going to try and film the next two in a way that it won't have to be two and a half years between them. We'll be able to bring them out sequentially a year apart.

Is Adamson attached to that project?

I think whoever actually directs the project will be under Andrew as sort of an overseer on the thing.

So you will begin shooting Dawn Treader right after Caspian wraps?

Yeah, the way I understand it is that it takes six months to do the live photography on Caspian and then a full year of post-production with all of the effects and computer generated things that have to get done. In theory, what we'll do is as soon as they are done filming Caspian and into post-production, then we'll have a new crew to do the filming part of Dawn Treader. Then when that one goes into post-production, we're hoping to go into The Silver Chair, which would be the next book into production.

"PC" auditions in Burbank

2007-01-19T09:04:00.000-05:00

**MILD SPOILERS**

"Caspiankid" submitted the following report about his time auditioning for the role of Prince Caspian in Walden Media’s forthcoming movie "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian", expected to be in theaters in May of 2008.

"I had been working for months to get this audition [for the role of Caspian], and had assumed it was already cast and the chance passed by when I received word that I would, in fact, get to audition. I got the sides right away (which are the script selections with which an actor auditions for the casting director) and was told I would be auditioning for the VP of casting for Buena Vista.

It was here in L.A., up in Burbank to be exact, at the Walt Disney studios lot. Went up to [the V.P. of Casting’s] office, and waited for about an hour and a half (I arrived very early, and had just enough time to finish re-reading the book for the millionth time, as I wanted to be fully brushed-up on the character). Only two other guys arrived during my time in the lobby, and both made it very clear to me that they are in fact looking specifically at darker-featured young men in their early 20s or very late teens. The one guy I talked to was a 22 year old guy from Argentina and really could have passed for 24 or 25. To be quite honest, I was a bit shocked to see someone SO mature in there, but after all, it was just an audition.

It definitely was not a huge open call audition. I ended up finding out from my agent that the Buena Vista people apparently were calling agencies here in L.A. in early December asking for very selective recommendations and pictures, and they finally ended up calling them just last Friday to bring me in for an audition. They clearly are being very selective with who they are willing to see at this point, which would explain the very limited number of guys at the audition while I was there.

The Caspian I read from the script seems to be a bit more humanized, more modernized than the one found in the book. He is still naive, still golden-hearted, but at the same time, a bit more egotistical (as any born prince would naturally be), a bit fool-hearty, and just a bit cocky. Seeing as how they are going for an older Caspian than most would expect, this definitely makes sense. And honestly, the book in and of itself needs a LOT of work to be adapted into a watchable movie. If adapted 100% faithfully, it would be a boring mess. The portions I read seem to indicate some big, but completely necessary alterations. Hopefully it will be the best that could be expected. I really wish they would go darker on this film, but who am I to say or know.

---Caspiankid"

Caspiankid followed up his report by saying that he hopes he hasn’t offended anyone by giving NarniaWeb his information (rather than other sources), that he was privileged to represent the fans of Narnia in the audition process, and that he hopes to share his enthusiasm for the books and the movie with everyone if he is cast in the role of Caspian.

Thanks to Caspiankid for sending in your report!

Narnia executive scouting New Zealand for locations

2007-01-12T08:45:00.000-05:00

By Sue Fea - The Southland Times

A busload of about 40 people, all understood to be heads of department for the second Chronicles of Narnia movie from throughout the world, were driven around Paradise, the stunning backdrop for some of the most dramatic scenes in The Lord of the Rings rtrilogy.

The Southland Times understands Dart River Safaris vans had to transport the group up some of the narrow roads into the Paradise Valley, unable to be negotiated by the Pacific Travel coach they were believed to be travelling in.

Film industry sources were unable to confirm any location scouting in the Glenorchy area yesterday for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian movie, based on the second of CS Lewis’s Narnia books.

However, Department of Conservation communications officer Nick Edwards said movie representatives had approached the department to discuss possible locations in the Wakatipu, particularly Glenorchy.

"PC" to film in Slovenia

2006-12-30T08:23:00.000-05:00

Slovenia’s POP TV channel has recently reported that parts of Prince Caspian will be filmed in the beautiful Soca River region. The story of Prince Caspian involves several memorable scenes that occur along various Narnian waterways. You can read our translated version of the report. (Thank you to our wonderful translators for your assistance!)

Although the filmmakers searched for locations all around Europe, the Soca River and its surroundings proved to be some of the most memorable. They decided to shoot part of the story in Slovenia following successful talks with the Bovec municipal council and officials.

Danijel Krivec, Mayor of Bovec: "They fell in love with the landscape and the views of the river, and especially the colour of the Soca. It was these key points that attracted them. We’re still coordinating some details, but the procedures are underway so there shouldn’t be any obstacles."

Filming in the region will begin in May or June next year.

Thanks to NarniaWeb.com for the information.

The Villager interviews William Moseley (Peter)

2006-12-29T22:53:00.000-05:00

William Mosley finds Narnia in Greenwich Village
By Wickham Boyle

William Mosley is the 18-year-old Brit who plays the oldest brother Peter in the smash hit “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe,” the first story in C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia.” After garnering great reviews and an ardent following of teen screamers, Mosley took the autumn off from his life in England to explore acting classes and wander the streets of Greenwich Village. Just like the Narnia story, Mosley’s energy makes one truly believe that he finds wonder behind every cupboard door. His excitement and joy colors everything he encounters here, from acting classes to cup cakes to Downtown street life. I recently spoke to the young actor about his enthusiasm for the Village, before he left for New Zealand to shoot the second Narnia film.

Why did you choose to stay in the Village?

I knew I wanted to be in the Village — well, really to be Downtown. I have been terrifically happy here. It is not the touristy New York one thinks of — all the bustling suits, crowds and the vertical skyscraper skylines. I am from a rural part of England, from the Cotswold’s and the little hippy town I am from makes me feel at home in the Village. Here, like at home, someone is always showing his or her art or playing music outside or in a café. It was great for me to grow up in a place where it was evident that there were choices of work for those of us who were not brilliant in math or science. I was always surrounded by creative types and that makes me very at home in the Village.

So what places do you love?

I absolutely love going to brunch. I have several places I splash out on: The Grey Dog, a tiny place on Carmine Street; they change the art, luckily, because I am more of a cat person and they had these great huge slobbering dogs on the walls and now they have a calmer version of dog art. I love French toast and also an egg and bacon breakfast I call a heart attack on a plate. I like Jane on Houston Street — a little more up market but I am still just eating pancakes there.

And being in New York City rather than taking this time in London means it is more upbeat, as London can be so rainy and the buildings are close. Another big draw is that New York is not an hour and a half from my parents by train, so I am really surviving on my own.

You did have a plan beyond breakfast, right?

I came to hone my craft a bit before I head off to New Zealand for the next installment of Narnia, “Prince Caspian.” I find the atmosphere here, in New York so motivating. It’s funny, I knew I would have one class to take with Sheila Gray, but I worried I wouldn’t be busy enough, and now I am constantly doing scenes with people from my classes, going to theater and the movies.

For me acting is so much about confidence. If you believe you are good enough you give that off and it makes you actually better. So studying with a teacher where I am being exposed to method and sensory work seems to have moved my acting to a different level.

What’s next after the Village?

Well, I leave for New Zealand at the end of January, and then we shoot there and in Prague, Slovenia and Poland. This role is going to be very physical, with lots of battles. I have been training in Gleason’s gym in Brooklyn. It is a place where they see me, as rather smallish boy with a funny accent, and they make me earn my respect there. I have been studying sword fighting as well, which is sort of a dream come true because when I was a boy my mum wouldn’t let me fight or kick box because she thought I’d just use it against my sister. Now I am getting to do it all.

The hunt for "Caspian" is over

2006-12-20T23:13:00.000-05:00

According to NarniaWeb, the search for the actor to play Prince Caspian is over:

One of the Caspian potentials over at NarniaFans has reported that an email from casting director Pippa Hall has been doing the rounds among all those who participated in the auditions. Caspian has been found! "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" will begin shooting in February. We wish the as yet unnamed young actor the best of luck in his preparation for the role.

I know it’s taken a long, long time to get back to you with news of the casting on Prince Caspian – but it has been a terribly difficult process, and a very wide search. We are now sure that we have our Prince and wanted to thank you for becoming involved in the auditioning process and working with us. Have a very, very Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

Thanks again,

Pippa Hall

"PC" Scoop with Douglas Gresham Interview

2006-12-11T16:49:00.000-05:00

Exclusive Prince Caspian Updates with Douglas Gresham
04 Dec 2006 by Paul Martin

NarnianPrincess had the opportunity to interview C.S. Lewis' stepson Douglas Gresham about the progress on Prince Caspian. It's a very fun and entertaining read, and we'd like to thank Mr. Gresham for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions that we've all had regarding the production.

Hello NarniaFans! This is NarnianPrincess and I had the opportunity to interview Douglas Gresham about Prince Caspian. I tried to ask questions that you all had asked on the forum and such, and I really hope that you enjoying reading it! :-)

NarniaFans.com: At what stage is Prince Caspian right now?

Douglas Gresham: We are pretty well advanced in pre-production with most conceptual realisation about done and a lot of pre-vis animatic being done. Location choices are about settled. Set design is under way and casting is well advanced; in other words we are pretty sure what the movie will look like.

NarniaFans.com: When will you find out who is playing Caspian?

Douglas Gresham: Well that is very hard to estimate, but we are down to a pretty short list now I am told. I am off to Prague tomorrow to attend some meetings at which this question will be further addressed.

NarniaFans.com: When will filming begin?

Douglas Gresham: We hope to start filming in February.

NarniaFans.com: Can you tell us where Caspian will be filmed?

Douglas Gresham: Some of our filming will be done in New Zealand, and some in the Czech Republic, there may well be bits and pieces done elsewhere as well.

NarniaFans.com: What is your favorite part of the book?

Douglas Gresham: I think that the first meetings of Caspian with all the "Old Narnians" are some of the most charming and exciting scenes in the book.

NarniaFans.com: How closely will the movie adhere to the book?

Douglas Gresham: As closely as we can manage and yet still have a really exciting and beautiful movie.

NarniaFans.com: Are you, or would you consider, using any Americans in the movie?

Douglas Gresham: We are not particular about the nationality's of our cast as long as they can look and sound right for the roles they have to play, but that might tend to limit Americans pretty much in the Narnian Chronicles.

NarniaFans.com: Will, Anna, Skandar and Georgie are returning to play the Pevensies, are any other actors coming back from LWW?

Douglas Gresham: Let's see, Liam Neeson will be back as the voice of Aslan, but as we are about 1300 years later in Narnian time it might be a bit difficult to bring back anybody else.

NarniaFans.com: What is the main message that you think Jack (C.S. Lewis) wanted Caspian to illustrate?

Douglas Gresham: Prince Caspian is about a return to truth and justice after a centuries long corruption. Jack was also trying to illustrate some of the most important personal and interpersonal qualities that we need to have as individuals.

NarniaFans.com: If Jack wanted the books to be chronological, why are you making the movies in the original sequence?

Douglas Gresham: Well we aren't really, and in any case the order in which the books are read does not necessarily bear any relationship to how the movies should be made. We are making the movies in the most logically consistent order for filming. With Prince Caspian following The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, we have continuity of casting with the four children, and if we follow Prince Caspian with The Voyage of The Dawn Treader we will still have two of them. This gives us a trilogy of movies with a constant character thread, and then Eustace (introduced in VDT) and Jill, a new character would appear in The Silver Chair. After that we'll see.

NarniaFans.com: There are discussions on the forum about Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom playing Caspian, will you please negate that?

Douglas Gresham: Wouldn't they both be a bit old for the role? After all, how old do you think Caspian is?

[My note, I think Caspian should be 13-14ish. -NP]

NarniaFans.com: Will Henry Gregson-Williams be composing the score?

Douglas Gresham: Yes I think Harry will be back with us on this one at least.

NarniaFans.com: What do you want people to get out of the film?

Douglas Gresham: Several things, first, a great deal of enjoyment and excitement, and also a realisation that the great historic concepts so prevalent in the 19th century and before, such things as honour, loyalty, commitment, personal responsibility, courage, duty, honesty and chivalry to name but a few, are important and although they were more or less discarded in the 20th century, they are vital to the success of the societies of Man and we need to get them back. Also an understanding of the value of myth and fantasy, and the great delight of imagination.

NarniaFans.com: In the last film, you had a cameo as a radio announcer. Do you have a cameo in Caspian?

Douglas Gresham: Hah, wait and see. ;-)

NarniaFans.com: How do you think Caspian will compare to LWW?

Douglas Gresham: I think it will be a faster moving and in some ways more exciting film than LWW, and also there are lots more Narnian Characters to get to know. I think its going to be fascinating. It is our challenge as film, makers to improve and raise our standards of excellence with each succeeding movie, but of course we did set the bar pretty high with the first one. :-)

Blessings all,

Douglas Gresham.

NarniaFans.com: Thank you very much for your time Mr. Gresham! :-)

Thanks for reading everybody!
~NP

"PC" Filming Locations Confirmed

2006-11-23T22:35:00.000-05:00

According to NarniaWeb, "Prince Caspian" will be filming in Auckland, New Zealand and Prague, Czech Republic:

Thanks to Narniawebber "TheWhiteWolf" and the NZ Techos’ Guild, we can confirm that Prince Caspian, code-named "Toastie" (we kid you not), will be shot in Auckland, New Zealand during February and March 2007. This will be followed by a heftier four months of production in Prague, Czech Republic. We do not know of any other confirmed locations at this stage. The Prince Caspian production company is named Wimbleweather Ltd after one of the characters in the story, a Giant.

Interview with Henrik Tamm (Concept Artist)

2006-11-11T22:41:00.000-05:00

We’d like to thank Henrik Tamm for this interview.

Tamm worked as a concept artist on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and is currently working on Prince Caspian. You can also see some of his fantastic concept art pieces.

NW: For how long did you work on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?

HT: I spent about two years on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I worked from the very beginning in January 2003 in Glendale, CA when we were just a few people. I then travelled with the production to New Zealand in early 2004. At that point the production had grown manyfold, and it finally felt like this film was taking shape. We had our offices at an airforce base outside Auckland. Sets started getting built and actors in funny outfits were wandering around. It was all very fun. Every department was busy doing what they do, all working toward the same goal. Somehow all this frenetic creative work came together to make the film. Andrew was very involved through the whole process, guiding all the departments to shape one unified vision. Let’s just say the man was very busy!

We returned to Los Angeles for post production in January 2005. At that point a lot of the work still remained. Much of the film had to be created digitally with Visual Effects, since so much of the story involved talking animals and fantastic, huge scale sets. At that point my position had changed from Concept Artist to Visual Effects Art Director, essentially carrying the look of the film through into the Visual Effects portions. The design for both Cair Paravel and the White Witch’s castle still remained to be finalized. We had gone through several renditions at that point, never quite hitting on what Andrew wanted. I spent most of my remaining time on those two locations. My engagement finally ended in April 2005. At that point I believe only the editor was left, besides Andrew himself, who had started on the project before me and was still there.

NW: Is creating concept art a collaborative process, or is it more a case of coming up with individual ideas?

HT: It can be both. Sometimes the director or production designer has an idea he wants realised, but most times they rely on me to come up with new ideas. Especially early on. A concept designer is often hired for his or her mind and sense of imagination. In the beginning of the process I’m pretty much left to my own devices and just start to create artwork from my own mind. This is my favourite part of the process. Only your imagination is the limiting factor. My best work is usually created during those early days. In time, closer to the start of production, there will be specific input from various people and the design becomes more and more refined. At that point it becomes much more of a collaborative process.

NW: How involved are concept artists with the design process? Do concepts differ from designs, or is there some overlap?

HT: They are very involved. I would say the concept phase is a huge portion of the design process. For me, concept work is not only about feel and mood, but also very much about the overall design language. It involves colour, shapes, scale, composition, architectural styles, light etc. Some of my concept pieces were quite detailed. It’s everybody’s chance to see how the film might turn out, sort of setting the directors vision. On LWW, concept work continued deep into production. At that point you work alongside the Art Director in charge of a specific set, working out the final details. In the transformation from concept art to an actual filmset, things sometimes do change. This is expected. Sometimes the sets differ somewhat from the concept, but retain the spirit of the artwork. Other times it’s spot on. On occasion the final design is completely different from the concept, for various reasons. The story may have changed, or budget constraints dictate a major change.

NW: How does it feel to see your concepts translated on to the big screen? Are they close to the final product?

HT: It can be very gratifying. It can be as if your paintings come to life, which is a great feeling. What first only existed as an idea in your imagination, then as a sketch or painting, is translated onto a gigantic film screen, moving and living. At that point many more people have been involved in creating the final product, often adding their personal touches, making it even richer. Film is a collaborative endeavour. That’s what is so great about it. You are part of creating something much bigger than one person alone would ever be able to do. Even if the final product differs from your paintings or sketches, it often retains an overall feel of what you did.

NW: What do you think is the most evocative scene in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?

HT: For me, it’s undoubtedly the sacrifice of Aslan on the Stone Table. I love the way it came out. It has fantastic mood. The sound design is great too. I love all the creatures, and the way Tilda acted. Everything just came together. Another favourite is also when Edmund sees the White Witch’s castle for the first time. I thought it came out great. That was one of the places where the final product looked almost identical to my paintings. It was also one of the last designs to be completed during my time on LWW.

NW: What kinds of things give you inspiration for concepts? Literary passages, or other artwork, or illustrations?

HT: It’s never one specific thing. And most often you never really know where inspiration comes from. It can be an impression from some time ago, other times an image just forms in your head. I spend a great deal of time looking at images, so that’s always a source of inspiration. You learn to develop a visual memory of sorts. Since the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a book, naturally a lot of inspiration comes from simply reading it. As for anyone, images form in your imagination as to how the world looks and feels. There wasn’t an abundance of artwork already created by decades of artists, like in let’s say The Lord of the Rings, so I felt a bit more free to create from my own mind’s eye. It’s funny how some images just come to you very easily and all you have to do is paint it, others you have to search for. On those occasions, it’s as if I have a shadow of an image in my mind, but have to spend hours with a sketchbook trying to capture it. You just start scribbling with a pencil until something takes shape. I also do an awful lot of research. I would say it takes up about a third of my time. This is mainly from books. Finding the right reference is extremely important. You search for images of everything that might be of interest, from landscapes to architecture to interiors to furniture to lighting and colour schemes to things that just look great but you’re not sure yet where to use it. Then you look at them all and gather your thoughts. Then draw! I can tell you my library of images is quite large after a few years doing this kind of work. I have also learned that after an exhausting project, I need to travel and see new things. Just digest life for a while. You need that input to have output.

NW: What advice would you give to aspiring artists eager to make it into the film business?

HT: The single most important thing is to have the will to do it. As the old saying goes, "If you want something bad enough, you will get it". Spend time learning academic drawing. Be persistent. Hard work and time spent is a talent in itself. I know it sounds boring but there it is. Artistic talent might be a starting point, but you need to stick with it to become any good. Aspiring artists sometimes fail because they give up too easily, thinking it should come easier to them than it does. Try to develop your sense of imagination, learn to draw and imagine things from your head. This is very important. In order to draw it, you have to first think it. Your imagination will be your greatest asset.

NW: Last question, what sorts of interesting new settings and creatures can we expect to see conceptualised in Prince Caspian?

HT: Well, if you’ve read the books you kind of know what to expect. There are a bunch of new fun characters alongside some of the same mythical creatures from the first film. The ruins of Cair Paravel of course, and the How, along with more imaginary landscapes. I’m probably not allowed to say much more than that. Expect fantastic settings and amazing creatures!

Thanks to NarniaWeb for the interview!

Projected "PC" Release Date Announced

2006-11-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

According to ComingSoon, "Prince Caspian" will release on May 16, 2008.

Interview with William Moseley

2006-10-29T12:58:00.000-05:00

The Hook, from Charlottesville, VA, interviewed William Moseley (Peter Pevensie) while he was in town for a screening of LWW:

FILM- Moseley on down: Actor brings Narnia to town

Published October 26, 2006 in issue 0543 of the HooK.
By JUSTIN HUMPHREYS FIVESTARFINAL@HOTMAIL.COM

There was a time when William Moseley was but a fan of C.S. Lewis' classic novel, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

"My mind was spinning with these stories," he recalls. "It's everything a child wants to hear about: valiant children doing something brave and honorable and good."

Never did the boy dream that he would end up in these very same "spinning stories." No, he never discovered a magic wardrobe, but two years ago the English teen became the regal Peter Pevensie, a.k.a. Sir Peter Wolfsbane, Knight of Narnia-- and King Peter the Magnificent in the Disney adaptation of the novel.

Of course, the reality of making the movie was not nearly so magical as the fantasyland Lewis described. While filming Disney's epic, Moseley spent lots of time reacting to nonexistent computer-generated beavers, wolves, centaurs, and, naturally, a certain lion. But he says he was undaunted by the process. "You just be the character, you use your imagination," he says. "When you imagine Aslan [the story's benevolent lion], you just see some highly individual perception-- I saw a majestic creature. I enjoyed being able to create my own Aslan instead of someone else putting it there in front of me."

The finished film delighted Moseley, who turned 19 in April. "We all had very high expectations," he says, "and it actually went beyond them."

Moseley credits the film's success to director Andrew Adamson's adherence to his artistic vision. "We're so lucky that we had someone who said what he wanted, did what he wanted, and didn't let anyone push him around," Moseley says. "He's so quiet, yet he's so strong"

A sequel, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, is in the works, but its producers are keeping details under wraps. "We're going to shoot in January, and that's going ahead," Moseley says, and shooting is slated to continue through the summer. "I haven't seen a completed script yet," he says. "They're keeping it really hush-hush. Whether it's even finished, I don't know."

After achieving notoriety as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe's valiant hero, Moseley says that much as he enjoyed his heroic role, he hopes to play more morally ambiguous characters in the future.

"I'm kind of a nice person, in some ways-- I don't like to do nasty things, I don't like being that rebellious," he says. "But when you get to act, you can be completely opposite to who you are. And sometimes when you're so opposite, you can almost play it more truthfully, because you relish being able to do that."

Still wearing the white hat, William Moseley hosts a screening of The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the Regal Downtown Mall theater on Saturday October 28 at 10am.

Casting Call for "PC" begins

2006-09-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

According to NarniaWeb:

NarniaWeb recently received word about applications for the title role of Prince Caspian (see Word on the Street). We now have further confirmation that the casting process for Caspian is well and truly in gear.Several young actors in the running for the role have apparently attended preliminary auditions this month. We’ve also heard rumblings of workshops being run by casting director Pippa Hall in schools. According to one source, director Andrew Adamson may be jetting over to the UK as soon as October to begin short-listing potential Caspian candidates. We eagerly await the result!

They are also seeking actors of Spanish or Mediterranean descent:

Actors and actresses of Spanish or Mediterranean descent are being sought for roles (possibly extras) in Prince Caspian. Although we cannot say for sure who these actors will be portraying, several sources have told NarniaWeb that actors of Mediterranean appearance may be associated with the Telmarines, a race of Narnians descended from pirates.The Chronicles of Narnia : Prince Caspian will reunite most of the principal cast from The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Prince Caspian finds the Pevensie siblings pulled back into the land of Narnia, where a thousand years have passed since they left. The children are once again enlisted to join the colourful creatures of Narnia in combating an evil villain who prevents the rightful Prince from ruling the land. Shooting is scheduled to begin at end of January 2007 in New Zealand and Europe.

At present submissions are ONLY required for the following roles : Males of Spanish or Mediterranean descent aged 30 to 60; female of Spanish or Mediterranean descent aged late 30s - all must be proficient speakers of English. Also sought are actors of restricted growth, male and female.Visit Stars In My Eyes to apply (you must be a registered member of the site - registration costs £4.95 per month.)

Interview with "PC" producer Mark Johnson

2006-09-02T22:14:00.000-05:00

Here is an interview Mark Johnson had with Infuze Magazine (if you want to read it in full, just register for free). The exerpt regarding "The Chronicles of Narnia" follows below:

Very few people have had the success in Hollywood that producer Mark Johnson has enjoyed. Whether working on Oscar-winning pictures such as Bugsy or Rain Man or blockbusters such as the Narnia series, The Notebook or What Lies Beneath, Johnson seems to have the Midas Touch.

Johnson's latest projects include the recently released How To Eat Fried Worms and the upcoming Prince Caspian. Recently, he sat down to talk to Infuze's Matt Conner to discuss these films, the power of storytelling, and the role of producer.

What can you tell us about the upcoming Prince Caspian movie?
Well, we're not even shooting yet. We start shooting shortly after the first of the year. February actually. We have moved the movie and it is now being released in the summer of 2008.

Working with Andrew Adamson again?
Yes.

How is this process differing from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe?
You know, it's an interesting challenge. Many of the elements from the first film will be involved in Price Caspian, but it's also an original story on its own. Some of the characters from the last one will be back in the new movie and some of them will not repeat.

The children are coming back for this film...

Yes, all four of the Pevensie children are coming back.

Is that a challenge since they are obviously growing up?
Yes, but we are very lucky because C.S. Lewis created a distance between The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. The children are meant to be a year older. So what ends up happening is that we, as the film, are allowed to cheat a bit because the children aren't supposed to look the same.

What about these books? Have you read them?
Yes, definitely!

Did you read them as a kid?
Yes, but I don't think I read all of them. Honestly I can't remember why I didn't' read them all. But I definitely read The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I also know that I read The Voyage of The Dawn Treader. That's the one we are doing third. Actually, I should say that if we do a third one, that will be the one we choose to do.

What do you think it is about the Narnia series that made the film so successful?
I think Lewis did a masterful job of creating the world of Narnia. It's a world of all of us would like to visit. It's a world in which our heroes were really disempowered or unempowered children. All of a sudden, their father is away at WWII and they are lost and they find themselves in a magical world in which they are required to save it. It's just a fantastic place and yet the heroes are just like us.

What would you say is your career highlight?
Hmm... I can't think of one. Isn't that funny? I mean, I'm not sure. There are so many movies that I am so proud of. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe would be one, And A Little Princess... That's as close to a perfect movie as I'll ever come. It's not a perfect movie, but for me it is. Rain Man. Galaxy Quest on some days still makes me laugh. It all depends on what you're doing, I guess. It comes and goes. (Laughs.)

Ok, do you have a personal favorite film you've worked on?
Yes, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was a great experience. We were in New Zealand and it was just great there. We had a cast and crew made up of New Zealanders, Australians, British and Americans and it was just a magical event. We were all setting out in doing something that was important to us all. I think we all felt an obligation to get it right.

Because of C.S. Lewis?
Yes, because the book meant something to all of us.

New FX companies for "PC?"

2006-08-31T22:05:00.000-05:00

According to this article, the three special effects companies that were used on "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" might be replaced by English counterparts, for no other reason than to be closer to the filming locations. Industrial Light & Magic, Sony Imageworks, and Rhythm & Hues appear to be replaced by Moving Picture Company and Framestore, who have worked on Harry Potter films, X-Men films, and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.

August 31, 2006 - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian promises to be an even bigger visual spectacle than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was — if that's possible. However, in spite of the top-notch CG work done on LWW by companies like ILM, Rhythm + Hues, and Sony Imageworks, the producers of Caspian are apparently hiring different companies for the sequel, notably two British effects houses. Industry sources tell IGN Filmforce that Moving Picture Company and Framestore, both based in London, will be responsible for the bulk of the film's digital effects.

The information, if accurate, could hint at where director and producer Andrew Adamson's has chosen to shoot his film. While LWW was made in New Zealand, locales for the second Narnia adventure have been up in the air, with New Zealand and Ireland rumoredly competing for the honor. London is a lot closer to Ireland than New Zealand, and keeping your effects teams close to your production crew doesn't hurt. Nevertheless, New Zealand can't be counted out quite yet. The producers could also be moving effects work to England to take advantage of tax breaks instituted earlier this year. The British government has been trying to make the country competitive again, wooing back a once-vibrant filmmaking industry that has lately fled to less expensive nations like the Czech Republic.

Casting Call for "PC!"

2006-08-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

(Ireland or New Zealand) -
Title: THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN
CAST, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Liam Neeson

EXEC PROD, Cary Granat

PROD, Mark Johnson, Andrew Adamson, Philip Steuer, Perry Moore

DIR, Andrew Adamson

SCR, Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

Shoot Dates: Fall, 2006 (in Ireland or New Zealand)
STORY: The film is about Peter, Susan, Lucy and Edmund, the Pevensie siblings are pulled back into the land of Narnia, where a thousand years have passed since they left. The children are once again enlisted to join the colorful creatures of Narnia in combating King Miraz, an evil villain who prevents the rightful Prince from ruling the land.
Breakdown-- Male Actors: Must be under 4’6". Any ethnicity.

We don’t know what specific roles are being cast here, but perhaps some of the dwarf or half-dwarf characters? It costs a relatively small amount to subscribe to MyEntertainmentWorld for one month, but you will be able to gain contact details about where to send your picture and resume for consideration. Good luck!

Thanks to NarniaWeb for the heads' up!

Initial Updates on "PC"

2006-08-11T10:28:00.000-05:00

According to JoBlo.com, Risky Biz, and Infuzemag.com, there are some initial tidbits of information on the filming of "Prince Caspian:"

Filming will begin in January 2007 for a Summer 2008 release.
Ireland and the forests of Europe will most likely be the locations of shooting sites.
The same actors--including the 4 Pevensie children--will be returning.
Mark Johnson will continue producing and Andrew Adamson is directing.
They only wanted to do a sequel if it could be bigger than "LWW."
"PC" is expected to have around 2200 special effects shots ("LWW" had about 1600).
Howard Berger's company, KNB FX, will be doing special effects again for "PC."

Thanks to NarniaWeb for the updates!

Susan gives an update on "PC"

2006-07-07T12:24:00.000-05:00

In this interview, Anna Popplewell (Susan Pevensie) speaks a little about the upcoming "Prince Caspian" movie:

BANG Showbiz senior editor Simon Thompson tells ComingSoon.net that he talked to Anna Popplewell at the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest in London earlier this week and she gave a quick update on The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, in which she reprises her role as Susan Pevensie. "I am usually the last to know about these things but I know the producers are scouting for locations at the moment," Popplewell said."I've been told we should be starting shooting at the beginning of next year. As far as the children go, I think all the old faces will be back. We're all keen to do 'Caspian' anyway."

She also wants to try and get a namecheck for her hometown London 'burb - Finchley - in the film after managing to squeeze it in the first time around.Anna revealed: "I really want to, I really do. I was so pleased to get it in and was over the moon when it made the final cut."Disney is targeting a summer 2008 release for the "Narnia" sequel.

Liam Neeson possibly returns to voice Aslan

2006-06-14T10:06:00.000-05:00

According to the information on IMDB, Liam Neeson is shown to be the voice for Aslan again in "Prince Caspian."

"PC" may release later than planned...

2006-04-26T11:39:00.000-05:00

According to a report by Walden Media's CEO (Cary Granat), the release of Prince Caspian has likely been bumped to a Christmas 2008 release, rather than Christmas 2007, because of the large amount of special effects that have to be done. According to this article and this report, it looks like it will more likely be released earlier than Christmastime, in the Summer of 2008.

However, they have also stated that they will be filming Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair in order as a trilogy of sorts. Following will be The Magician's Nephew, The Horse and His Boy, and The Last Battle.

"LWW" actors talk about probable return for "PC"

2006-04-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

USA Today talks to the Pevensie kids about their thoughts on the DVD and on coming back for Prince Caspian. Read the complete article here.

’Narnia’ DVD re-creates behind-the-scenes magic

The young foursome who star in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe know how impassioned the fans of C.S. Lewis’ classic books are."I found out the sequel (Prince Caspian) was happening through a teacher," says Skandar Keynes, 14, who portrays Edmund, one of the four Pevensie siblings in the film, which is new on DVD this week. He jokes, "She had the inside knowledge."

Adds Georgie Henley, 10, who plays Lucy: "My teacher did the same thing to me because she saw it in the newspaper that I said yes (I was going to be in the sequel). I haven’t said no, but I haven’t said yes."As for their status on appearing in the second Narnia film, "to be honest, it’s really a verbal contract," says William Moseley, 18, who plays Peter. "We have been told the sequel is happening, but we have no idea when, we don’t know where and we have no idea how. We just have to sort of sit back and let the big guys work it out."

Narnia producer Mark Johnson says Wardrobe director Andrew Adamson and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are working on a Prince Caspian screenplay, and he expects all four young stars to return. The film is scheduled for release in Christmas 2007.

In the meantime, the stars say they hope people will get an idea how much fun it was to work on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe through the DVD. Disney is releasing a $30 single-disc version and a $35 collector’s edition, with a bonus disc of extra features. "I really hoped that, when people saw it, they got to see how much fun we had doing it," says Anna Popplewell (Susan). "If that didn’t come across in the film, it will come across on the DVD because in the bonus material, there’s a lot of insights into the making of the movie."

Harry Gregson-Williams set to compose again for "PC"

2006-04-14T12:35:00.000-05:00

It has been announced in a BMI press release that Composer Harry Gregson-Williams will return to write the score for the next Chronicles of Narnia film, Prince Caspian.

Harry is also set to write the score for, Deja Vu (2006), Flushed Away (2006), The Number 23 (2006), Seraphim Falls (2006), and Shrek the Third (2007).

Thanks to NarniaWeb for the heads' up!

Working furiously to get "PC" out by December 2007

2006-03-21T17:17:00.000-05:00

According to Entertainment Weekly, they are working feverishly to get Prince Caspian ready for release at the end of next year:

Prince Caspian

Producer Mark Johnson won an Oscar for producing 1988's Best Picture, Rain Man, but that's nothing compared to how his Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe kicked Kong's butt at the box office last winter. (Okay, he didn't say that, but he should have!) The result, Johnson told EW, is that ''we are frantically trying to get Caspian ready for next year. For the end of '07.'' And then what? ''And then, you know, we have a tentative lineup. The question is, How soon do we start them? Do we do them — this going to sound wrong — in a factory assembly line sort of thing, sort of the way the Harry Potters are done? And I don't mean that in any critical sense.'' Oh, of course not. He continued: ''The problem with The Chronicles — it's both its strength and its problem — is that each book is so different from the other. And with the exception of Aslan, there's no one character who repeats in all of them.''

Potential Release Date for Prince Caspian

2006-03-07T10:41:00.000-05:00

Per NarniaWeb:

Box Office Mojo has added the potential release date for Prince Caspian to its schedule. "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" may be roaring into theatres December 14, 2007.

This would avoid Prince Caspian coinciding with the release of the first installment of another popular fantasy series, "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass", which would be released one week earlier.

FX Team talks about Prince Caspian

2006-02-19T21:20:00.000-05:00

IGN has been keeping track of the "Prince Caspian" news....the Effects designers for the first movie look like they will be back--quickly--for the second:

The two FX wizards also discussed their Oscar-nominated work on the film and their preparation for work on Prince Caspian now that the sequel has been announced. While LWW was an undeniably large undertaking, Prince Caspian promises to one-up the stakes."Dean Wright comments on Caspian: "No one here has actually gotten the script since it's not written. (Laughs) I did read the book just a couple of weeks ago…""Andrew [Adamson] (director of LWW) just actually signed on to do Prince Caspian just about two weeks ago. And [he] literally took off on the next plane to New Zealand just to get out of L.A. just to recharge his batteries, recharge his creative energy, because it was a marathon. I did read the book and more of the creatures that you saw - and there's new ones - are back. There's new hero creatures... There's huge battle sequences. I know from talking to Andrew before he left, he wants to make this bigger and better than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, so I can only imagine what's in store. Any of us that are lucky enough to be involved. We all love working with Andrew. I can say that on behalf of everyone here, and would enjoy working on all seven books if we could."

As far as the character of Aslan, Caspian promises some interesting evolutions in the look of the character who, according to the original writings of C.S. Lewis, more than doubles in size for this tale. Bill Westenhofer comments on the evolution of Aslan's physical look: "Reading the books, there are some evolutions. One of the challenges is that it is described in the text that he does increase in size. At one point, he's referenced as the size of an elephant. So I think that's where interpretations of the filmmakers are going to come into play and how to pull that off. In this film, he changes size slightly, but I doubt anyone would notice. He's actually five percent bigger after he comes back to life, but even to start with, he was at the top end of the scale of average lion sizes… So, he is a big lion, even at the start. But yeah, I think that's going to be one of the challenges... What creative licenses you carry and how believable that is to have that big a character…"

(more from the LA Times) “Narnia” director Andrew Adamson has just signed on to direct “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and while no contracts are signed, his creative team will probably regroup. Fast.

“They haven’t announced yet how many films they’ll do,” said Wright. “I think they’d love to do them all. At least six or seven is the goal. All the kids will come back for 'Caspian' and two of them, the two youngest, will return for 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.' Right now, Andrew is taking time off in New Zealand and then he’ll write treatments, we’ll get the script and dive right into it. I imagine we will start production based on the kids’ schedules, but it’s all going to happen relatively soon.”
Which is great news for “Narnia” fans.

Prince Caspian Given Go-Ahead: Official

2006-02-06T13:36:00.000-05:00

Here is another article (click here for the full text) which discusses that "Prince Caspian" has already started preproduction, with a planned December 2007 release:

BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, in collaboration with Academy Award(R)-nominated director Andrew Adamson, have begun pre-production on "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," the next big screen installment of the "Narnia" Chronicles, and the follow-up to the international blockbuster, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," it was announced today (2/2).

"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," will reunite most of the principal cast and creative team responsible for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe." Andrew Adamson ("Shrek," "Shrek 2") will reprise his role as director, in addition to serving as a producer, and co-writer (in collaboration with Christopher Markus and Steve McFeeley). Production is set to begin later this year for a Christmas 2007 release. "Prince Caspian" finds the Pevensie siblings pulled back into the land of Narnia, where a thousand years have passed since they left. The children are once again enlisted to join the colorful creatures of Narnia in combating an evil villain who prevents the rightful Prince from ruling the land. "Prince Caspian" was first published in 1951, and is the second book in the seven-book series written by Lewis. It was intended as a continuation of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe."

Adamson said, "Making ’The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ couldn’t have been a more rewarding experience, not just in terms of creative achievement and audience response, but also because of the family we formed during production. ’Prince Caspian’ not only gives me an opportunity to challenge my imagination with another classic story, it also allows me to work alongside the many talented artists who contributed to the first film, and of course to collaborate again with ’The Pevensies,’ Georgie, Skandar, Anna, and William."

Andrew Adamson is attached as Director of Prince Caspian!

2006-02-06T13:12:00.000-05:00

According to these article tips from NarniaWeb and ReelNews, according to Hollywood Reporter, Andrew Adamson has been slated to direct "Prince Caspian," especially since his helming of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" was such a success. Many of the other crew will be working on "Prince Caspian," and the four actors who play the Pevensie children will be back, since they are also in this book. Though it is a year later in Earth time, they are transported back to Narnia 1000 years after they left it.

Adamson Back On Board

Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media are big believers in the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." It was announced last week that the studios would be taking no risks with a new director for the Chronicles of Narnia series, hiring Andrew Adamson, director of the first film, to return to helm Prince Caspian.

Pre-production has already begun on the new film, with most of the principle cast and crew members returning. Adamson, in addition to directing, will also be co-writing and co-producing Caspian. The film is slated to release around Christmas 2007, says the Hollywood Reporter.

Dick Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, responded enthusiastically to Adamson's return. "We're thrilled to be working with such a great director as Andrew, and our friends at Walden Media, in bringing the next chapter of the Narnia chronicles to the big screen," Cook said in a press release. "Moviegoers around the world were unanimous in their love and enthusiasm for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and Prince Caspian offers lots of new thrills and adventures in this magical land. The C. S. Lewis books are a rich source of inspiration for great storytelling, and this book spotlights some wonderful new heroes, and villains, along with many of the characters we came to love so much in the first film."

"PC" in Variety

2006-02-02T09:21:00.000-05:00

Next 'Narnia' shaping up
Adamson to direct 'Prince Caspian'
By MICHAEL FLEMING, CHRIS GARDNER
'The Chronicles of Narnia' has taken in $638 mil worldwide so far.

Andrew Adamson has signed to direct "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," the sequel to the Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media holiday hit "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." The sequel was made official Wednesday by Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook and Walden Media CEO Cary Granat.

Sources said Adamson will be paid an eight-figure salary against gross participation, putting him in league with a handful of the highest-paid directors in Hollywood. Adamson was paid a seven-figure sum to make his live-action debut on the first "Narnia," a deal made before he did "Shrek 2." Adamson, whose deal was made by UTA, didn't get paid gross on the first installment, but got box office bonuses. He becomes a bonafide gross player with the sequel.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" has so far tallied $637.8 million worldwide.

The sequel dealmaking is coming together quickly: Mark Johnson, who produced the original, is also in talks to return.

Adamson, who will also produce, will write the sequel script with Christopher Markus and Steve McFeeley, two of the original's writers. The studio and Walden hope to begin production late this year for a Christmas 2007 release. As with new installments of the Harry Potter franchise, there is extra pressure in ramping up sequels before the young stars get too old for the parts.

Writing has begun and the first sketching has begun in production design, but Adamson said his priority is to make sure the sequel does the 1951 book justice. "The next story involves the same children and their return to Narnia," Adamson said. "It's 400 years later in Narnia, but for our children a little over a year has passed. It is a very emotional story, because by the end the two oldest have to acknowledge that they are too old to come back. They are saying farewell to their childhood."

While it remains to be seen whether or not the White Witch is brought back (she was convincingly killed in the original), the children find conflict as they help Prince Caspian, the heir to the throne, in his battle against his uncle Miraz, who has plotted to rule the kingdom himself. The children bring back the mythical creatures of Narnia, including the lion Aslan.

Adamson will remain involved creatively if the "Narnia" franchise goes beyond a second film. He said he was unsure whether he would direct a third installment. "I imagine I'd like to work on more than just two different franchises in my lifetime," Adamson said.

Ireland being scouted for Prince Caspian locations

2006-01-30T17:42:00.000-05:00

According to this article, scouts are checking out different locations in Ireland to film the next Narnia movie, "Prince Caspian."

Ireland is being targeted as a likely location for a sequel to the Christmas movie blockbuster ’The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. Disney scouts are here checking out locations in several counties for ’Prince Caspian’, based on the next book in Belfast-born author CS Lewis’s ’The Chronicles of Narnia’ series. Irish film industry chiefs are keeping their fingers crossed that Disney will opt for Ireland. More than €200m was spent on the production of ’The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, which was made in New Zealand and has already grossed €600m worldwide since its December release.

There have been secret talks with Irish filmmakers who, if the venture goes ahead, would be involved as co-producers of ’Prince Caspian’. A top industry source said: "The location scouts have been here for two weeks. They have also been looking at sites in Britain. "They know from previous experience what is available in terms of production facilities in Ireland. We're hoping they will find locations here that suit.

"They have to make their minds up pretty soon. They want to start filming by autumn. They want to use the same young actors who played the characters in 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'." Director Andrew Adamson said: "If we don't make it now we'll never be able to, because they will be too old."

Another Irish Independent article continues to report how Ireland is fighting hard to win the sites for "Prince Caspian's" sets, in competition with New Zealand and the Czech Republic.

IRELAND is pitching itself as a production location for the $100m plus budget Prince Caspian, the second part of the Narnia trilogy, following last week's doubling of the film tax break. Narnia maker Walden Media has met with an Irish co-production company and scouted the country for possible locations. A high-level government delegation is to travel to Hollywood next month to promote Irish film, and further talks with Narnia executives are planned. However, New Zealand and the Czech Republic are also lobbying hard for the film. "The Irish Film Board welcomes the significant changes to Section 481 and anticipates an increased level of production in coming months," says commissioner Naoise Barry.

Thanks to NarniaWeb for the tip!

Prince Caspian to Start Production

2006-01-10T11:02:00.000-05:00

According to Variety, Prince Caspian is due to start production during the 4th quarter of (presumably) 2006. A script has already been in the works, and a director should be selected soon.

The success of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the first published in the C.S. Lewis series but second chronologically, is spurring plans for a sequel based on the next title, "Prince Caspian." [Walden Media CEO Cary] Granat said work on a script is under way, with plans to tap a director within a few weeks. "We're planning on starting production by the fourth quarter of next year," Granat said.

This article from Monsters and Critics also corroborates the news. According to this report, Douglas Gresham--CS Lewis' stepson and co-producer of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"--has apparently started his work on Prince Caspian as well.

Thanks to NarniaWeb for the head's up!

Prince Caspian a Go!

2005-12-19T12:49:00.000-05:00

Since "LWW" has done so well at the box office, the rumors are that Prince Caspian has been given the greenlight, to be released in December of 2007!

Source Claims Prince Caspian Greenlit

According to a source at Disney who requested anonymity Prince Caspian, the second story in the Chronicles of Narnia, has been greenlit for a December 2007 theatrical release. Disney was hoping for a $60 million opening weekend for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and since the film’s opening exceeded their expectation they are moving forward.

Don’t expect an official announcement until later in the week or possibly as late as January. Adamson hasn’t decided whether he will direct the new film, but most think he will be back. The script is very nearly finished, and the general feeling is that with a lot of the tech in place for the picture (e.g. Aslan) they could start the shoot on New Zealand’s South Island as early as this summer.

A big thanks to ’Pogostick’ for coming forward with this information. Remember to take this news with a grain of salt since it hasn’t been officially confirmed from the studio. We thought you’d like to hear the rumblings from the ground, though.