Narnia Fans » Prince Caspian Cast News

Originally scheduled to begin filming in October of this year, filming was pushed into early 2009, for a January start date. Now, it appears that date will also be missed, as filming looks to be starting in April of 2009.

Ben Barnes Online has a forum post by member “Kim” that was at the Prince Caspian panel at the London Expo.

We managed to get front row seats for the Heroes Panel which was immediately before the Prince Caspian one. I’m afraid I was completely oblivious to the whole thing & I could not tell you one thing that was said! I was feeling very tearful & absorbed in my memories of Ben & the anticipation of seeing him again! When Ben came on we were to the left hand side of him – what an exquisite view that was – couldn’t keep my eyes off of the man! Ben was his usual scintillating, effortlessly sexy self! Warwick acted as compère, asking Ben and the other guy who played the lead-centaur questions and discussing their experiences of the filming. Cat was brave enough to ask Ben a question, though I can’t remember what it was (sorry Cat). I remember someone asking Ben a rather enigmatic question about how he got on with the women in the Narnia crew – Ben answered that there were 2000 people in the crew! (I think the questioner was hinting at the famous practical joke “kiss” from the director’s assistant or maybe she was just basically wondering if every woman on the set fell hook, line & sinker for him – as one would expect). Ben mentioned the women centaurs were wearing skin-tight green lycra trousers – “I liked that” he said naughtily!!! Warwick then said: “so if you want to impress Ben, girls, get out your green lycra trousers!”. I remember another question about whether Ben was nervous when he started filming Prince Caspian – he relayed the anecdote about his introduction to the set & the filming of the first scene, where he’s falling off his horse & gets dragged through the forest. He said that the director just barked at him: “get down on the floor”! He said that if anyone were nervous for seven months they’d have an ulcer.

The Panel were discussing that the centaur-bloke had also played the wolf in the scene with the White Witch and they shared a wonderful anecdote about Ben seeing the wolf costume in the corner of the set not realising that the head was animatronic – he went up to it and had a huge fright when all of a sudden it snarled angrily at him! Warwick said that Ben let out a “squeal”! Ben butted in at this point with the classic line: “But it was a manly squeal”. Hilarious! Ben and Warwick also had some banter (a bit like he does with Colin Firth) about the fact that Warwick’s character was killed off & Warwick wondered if he could be a Dufflepud in the next film – Ben said “no” quite flatly (& sexily!). Ben said that VODT was due to start filming in April 2009 (plenty of time for him to make something else in the meantime perhaps?!) I also remember someone asking Ben about Dorian Gray – he didn’t disclose anything we don’t already know though.

My favourite bit of the panel was when Warwick showed some lovely personal never-before-seen pics of him and Ben together to the music of Michael Jackson’s “Ben” – it was so funny & Ben was hilarious – “oh god, I know this music!” he said mock-petulantly and stood up to watch it. He then did something quite breathtaking! As the screen was on the wall behind the panel’s seats, instead of straining to look at the screen as he had been doing (affording me quite wonderful views of his hair and, ahem, derrière), he got up and sashayed stunningly down the catwalk-like structure in the middle of the room and sat down in the centre of it, leaning back to watch the screen! At this point I was not watching the screen anymore – my eyes did not leave Ben for one second – I cannot tell you how extraordinarily sexy he looked sitting there giggling and scoffing at Warwick’s distorted pics! No doubt Andrea will have taken lots and lots of pics of this – it was a photo opportunity to die for!

Referring to the picture of Prince Caspian & Nikabrik running through the forest fleeing the Telmarines, Ben explained how there were actually no ferns in that particular wood – they had all been placed there in pots by the set-gardeners; as the scene involves them dashing swiftly through these ferns, they both ended up falling flat on their faces many times! Ben said Warwick fell over 2000 times! Warwick responded to this by saying that Ben fell over less than him but Ben’s falls were more spectacular & embarrassing – actually he said Ben “fell on his arse” – at which point Ben said: “go on, say ‘arse’ again”! Apparently footage of Ben & Warwick falling over the fern plants is a treat we can look forward to on the DVD bloopers!!! Yay!

The Panel ended with a competition to win a DVD of Prince Caspian – but it wouldn’t be able to be sent to the winner until November 17th!!! Warwick’s idea of having a game of “Aslan says” (sort of like “Simon says” – the rules just went completely over my head – I was concentrating on Ben) failed miserably – when everyone was supposed to stand up and a lot didn’t, Ben laughed and said: “you just couldn’t be bothered!” Ben was chuffed because he came up with a better idea for awarding the DVD by asking the question relating to the names of Reepicheep’s companions.

Bigga than Ben producer Liz Holford wrote to us, inviting you to see Prince Caspian’s Ben Barnes in his earlier work. She says:

Thought I’d let you know… just in case you have any UK-based fans who need a dose of Ben Barnes before the next Narnia movie… “Bigga than Ben” (the film he made before Prince Caspian) is coming out in selected cinemas in London on October 10th.

Ben’s really proud of his performance in “Bigga than Ben“, and is working hard to promote the film. But we’re a little indie movie, so any help you could give in spreading the word to UK-based Ben fans would be hugely appreciated. We’ve just found out today that the movie has been given a ‘15′ certificate.

Visit the official website for Bigga than Ben.

Ben Barnes star of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian will be attending London MCM Expo on Saturday, Ben be taking part in an on stage panel with other Narnia star Warwick Davis who played Nikabrik in the recent summer block buster.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian 2 Disc special edition is released November 17th in Europe, December 2 in the U.S.

UK: Order Prince Caspian on DVD and Blu-ray
US: Order Prince Caspian on DVD and Blu-ray

Movie Magic magazine released an issue mostly dedicated to “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.” The issue includes:

An “Introduction” by the editors of the Movie Magic.

“C.S. Lewis and the World of Narnia”: This is a brief biography of C.S. Lewis that focuses mostly on how his life influenced the creation of the Narnia series.

“Secrets of ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’”: This part is a “making of” article for “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” It features quotes from director Andrew Adamson, notes about how the cast was selected (quotes Tilda Swinton and James McAvoy), and a discussion on the challenges of bringing Narnia to the screen with special effects and WETA.

“William Moseley Returns to Narnia”: An in-depth, four-page interview with William Moseley (Peter Pevensie) about coming back to Narnia and about Peter’s character in “Prince Caspian”.

“Anna Popplewell’s Call to Action”: A three-page interview with Anna Popplewell (Susan Pevensie), which discusses Susan’s maturation in “Prince Caspian”, Anna’s feelings about returning to the set of Narnia, and how Anna feels about leaving Narnia behind after “Prince Caspian.”

“Georgie Henley’s Encore as Lucy Pevensie”: A two-page interview with Georgie Henley (Lucy Pevensie). Georgie discusses returning for “Prince Caspian”, her role in “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, and “Dawn Treader” director Michael Apted.

“Skandar Keynes–Warrior in Training”: A two-page interview with Skandar Keynes (Edmund Pevensie). Skandar shares his thoughts about being on the set of “Prince Caspian”, his role in the fight scenes, and director Michael Apted.

“Ben Barnes Is Prince Caspian”: A four-page interview with Ben Barnes, who talks about Caspian’s character (including the rivalry between Caspian and Peter), joining the Narnia cast, his role in “The Voyage of the ‘Dawn Treader’”, and working with CGI characters.

“The ‘Prince Caspian’ News Diary”: A timeline of the production of “Prince Caspian” from December 2005 to February 2007. This article is basically a list/summary of press releases about “Prince Caspian” and other future Narnia movies.

“Directing Prince Caspian”: Director Andrew Adamson discusses what he learned from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, working with child actors and CGI, and the challenges of making “Prince Caspian” into a movie.

“Meet the Narnia Costume Designer”: An article about Isis Mussenden (costume designer for the Narnia movies) and her work on the costumes of “Prince Caspian” and the upcoming “Voyage of the ‘Dawn Treader’”.

“Who’s Who in the Magical World of Narnia”: Brief biographies of the major characters in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and “Prince Caspian”, including Jadis the White Witch, Aslan, Mr. Tumnus, the Beavers and Badgers, Professor Digory Kirke, Reepicheep, and Oreius.

The rest of the magazine is about other summer movies, such as “The Dark Knight”, “Iron Man”, and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”.

This issue of Movie Magic is available until August 4th, 2008 at most bookstores and is priced at $9.95.

Adam Sibley e-mailed us from the Talented Young People organization. They are a non-profit organization set up to help young people. They’ve nominated four of the actors from Prince Caspian for their Talented Young Person of the Month Award for July which is celebrating the release of Prince Caspian. Below is the information. Voting closes the last day of July.

Talented Young Person of the Month Award – July Nominees

To celebrate the release of Prince Caspian the latest film in the Chronicles of Narnia series we only have four nominees for the July award and those four nominees are the awesome four young actors who play four of the lead roles.

Georgie Henley – Lucy Pevensie

Georgie Henley is a precocious twelve year old who the fans of the new Narnia Film series have taken to their hearts. In Prince Caspian she has a lot of on screen time and gives a brilliant performance which plays a big part in why the film has been so greatly received. The Chronicles of Narnia is Georgie’s first work in film but I’m sure when the series ends she will have people beating down her door to work with her.

Skandar Keynes – Edmund Pevensie

Skandar Keynes was born in to a very successful family with many different members of his family tree excelling in various fields including writing and radio. It could have all been so different for Skandar as at the same time he auditioned for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe he was auditioning for a role in Nanny McPhee and if he had been successful in that and not in his Narnia audition then his career may have gone down a different path.

William Moseley – Peter Pevensie

William is the oldest out of all four young people playing the roles of the Pevensie siblings at the age of 21. Again The Chronicles of Narnia is his first film work although he did have a few small parts in some TV programmes. William has wanted to act since the age of ten and even went to audition for the role of Harry Potter when it was originally cast.

Anna Popplewell – Susan Pevensie

Out of all four Anna has the most acting experience with her first major credit coming in the film Mansfield Park in 1999. Since then she has gone on to a star in a variety or projects until she landed the role of Susan for The Chronicles of Narnia. Not only is Anna a talented actress but she is talented in the classroom to as she currently studies at Oxford University. Anna has won awards for her portrayal of Susan and was even nominated for a Teen Choice Award.

To find out more about this month’s awards and to cast your vote go to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/awards/index.php

Ben Barnes was sent fan questions regarding Prince Caspian, and there is now a video of his answers to those questions. Take a look.

Thousands flocked to the National Exhibition Centre for the return of the BBC Summer Festival and to gain a glimpse of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian star Ben Barnes.

The lead actor made an appearance at the festival’s Gardeners’ World Live show in the Prince Caspian garden.

Designed and created by Marney Hall, the garden recreated landscape from the film including the beaches of Narnia, the ancient woodlands, rock pools and won a gold award at the event.

This year the five-day festival, which also includes the BBC Good Food Show Summer and areas dedicated to Good Homes and Countryfile, aims to educate and persuade people to adopt a greener lifestyle.

Visitors yesterday were asked to start their eco-campaign at home before they arrived at the show by gathering their old mobile phones and bringing them along to take part in the UK’s largest ever mobile phone recycling event.

They were also invited to take a journey around the Sustainable Future feature and learn practical ways of reducing their carbon footprint. “Energy Doctors” from the Energy Saving Trust will be on hand to identify simple steps that everyone can take to make a difference as well as giving visitors the chance to get an energy-saving “prescription” for their home.

In the heart of the Sustainable Future feature is the Green Clinic with free sessions hosted by environmental broadcaster, author and consultant Joanna Yarrow and guest speakers over the next few days will include John Craven, Ben Fogle, Oliver Heath, Tina Jesson and Hannah Genders.

The eco theme has been used throughout the shows, with BBC Gardeners’ World Live demonstrating how to grow vegetables, collect and recycle water and construct an ethical garden from recycled materials.

At the BBC Good Food Show Summer, Slow Food Taste workshops aim to convince visitors that locally-grown food tastes great and that reducing your carbon footprint on food does not mean compromising on quality. There will also be an opportunity to stock up on environmentally friendly picnic ware from The Wholeleaf Co., which has produced a range of plates, bowls and platters made entirely from palm leaves.

The festival concludes on Sunday.

Birmingham Post

Here it is, the interview that many of you have been waiting for. Prince Caspian himself, Ben Barnes. He walked into the room and really ran the place. A totally cool and laid back guy, he was really easy to talk to. After the interview, Ben got a sword. One of the toy, Caspian swords, that makes a noise when you swing it. The first thing that he did when he got it: he swung it at my neck. He was very excited to finally have a sword, and whenever he walked around, he was swinging it, so that it would make the awesome slashing sounds.

Paul Martin: Hi!

Reporter: Hello, gorgeous!

(laughter)

Ben Barnes: (laughs) Dang! This is gonna be fun!

Paul Martin: How you doing? Paul Martin, NarniaFans.com

Ben Barnes: Ben, nice to meet you. How are you?

Paul Martin: Good, nice to meet you.

Ben Barnes: Narnia fansite, huh, that’s cool.

Reporter: So, how exciting was it for you to get this part to be Prince Caspian?

Ben Barnes: Um… do you know, I can’t even describe that, that evening I found out. I told them to ring me anytime that they made their decision. Just ring me either way, I’ve gotta know either way, and it was about four a.m. London time when they called me, and I was just ran around the house, screaming. I can’t explain to you the thrill of the first, you know, lead… Hollywood… big film.. and particularly when it’s something that you’ve grown up reading and you don’t get many moments like that.

Reporter: It is quite big though… the pressure on you alone must have been quite a bit. At what point did that hit you, the size and scope of the movie as a project?

Ben Barnes: I don’t know. I rented the first movie when I was auditioning, and I thought ‘these are big, aren’t they?’ Cause I remember watching the BBC series and finding it just charming and lovely and I, you know, I was eight, and it’s magic and it’s real. And then you watch it back, and you go ‘It’s just a dwarf in a mouse suit. It’s just a… that’s not an effect! That’s not a mouse, that’s a dude!’ And I brought that up with Warwick, cause it was him in the original series. You know, and I watched a few minutes of it when we were shooting this, and I just, you just think it’s lost… you can’t watch too much of it because it’s like all those things. It’s like when you rewatch old He-Man episodes and you realize they’re just using the same frame over and over again, and you don’t want it to lose it’s magic. Kids today don’t know how good they’ve got it, I mean, I was completely overwhelmed by the way it looked last night. I mean, I wondered what Andrew’s been doing since September and now I know.

Reporter: Was it easy for you to watch it as just a movie and enjoy it…

Ben Barnes: No.

Reporter: …or were you picking at everything you did?

Ben Barnes: I wasn’t picking, I found it very hard to form any sort of thoughts about anything as I was watching it. But I was… I might as well have been watching it on my own. I mean, I was totally engaged in it. I remember watching the first ten minutes of it and sort of sitting with my feet up on the seat, thinking, you know, as Glozelle moves towards the wardrobe that I’ve hidden in, with the secret passage… feeling tense. And then realizing that I knew that I’m not in there, so there’s no reason for me to be. And I kind of felt a little bit like that all the way through. I felt like I wasn’t quite sure what was gonna happen next, even though I’ve already shot it, because a lot of the lines, even the dialog had changed for the animated characters. They changed a lot of the dialog from the original script, you know, Eddie Izzard, one of my comic heroes, I’ve seen him so many times on stage. And he’d obviously just gone in there and thought, ‘well it’d be funny if I did this, and how about this way’ and I can just imagine him doing it. And it was great to sit down and see what is essentially a year of your life condensed into two and a half hours of relentless action and emotion and all that good stuff. What was the question?

(laughter)

Reporter: It think you got it, about could you just watch it and enjoy it as a film, that was the question.

Ben Barnes: Right, yeah. I mean, no I think is the short answer to that. I mean, I need to see it again to be able to relax a little bit. I was feeling kinda sick before it. Because it’s been such a long time.. ‘what did I do? Did I know how to act then?’

Reporters: (talking over each other) Ben did you — How did–

Ben Barnes: Wait, uh disfu– (laughter)

Reporter: Was..

Ben Barnes: I didsu– (laughter)

Reporter: Was it tough to get used to the choppier style of acting as opposed to the stage, where you are a character all this time?

Ben Barnes: Yeah, yeah. It is, it’s a different skill entirely. On stage you have two and a half hours to go through a two and a half hour journey. And this is seven months to go through a two and a half hour journey. So you have to kind of syke yourself up for each individual moment. And I think, actually, the main enemy there is that you can syke yourself up too much for one particular moment, because it’s the only moment you have to make sure of that day. And so it’s the most important thing in the world to you at that moment and it actually might not be that important a moment. And I think you have to remember that it’s part of this whole through line, and there are moments where it has to ease off, and you can’t be too intense and earnest about it all the time. But I think it’s probably something that takes years to get used to the difference and be able to kind of flit between the two, and obviously most of my experiences on the stage. I’m kind of looking forward to doing more in the film world and seeing how I get on.

Reporter: I can imagine how excited you were to get the role, but I’m sure there was a lot of stress as well, having to make the decision to leave History Boys as well. Could you talk about that?

Ben Barnes: Yes. It was a very difficult period for me, actually. Much more difficult than I kind of let on at the time, I think. You know, it’d always been my dream to work on The National Theatre. (England’s Royal National Theatre). If you’re British and an actor, and you’re ten years old, and you’re going to The National Theatre with your parents; that’s the pinacle of all acting, really. And then I got this job, and I’ve been on the tour with them for six months and I was in the west end, and it was this amazing play by this brilliant British playwright, Alan Bennett. And then it just so happens that a few weeks before the end, you get this opportunity to work on C.S. Lewis, another great British thing, in a film context, which you haven’t really done. I had only done two films before and it was just unfortunate that both those, sort of, dreams came true in the same year. And that sounds like an awful, conceited thing to say, you know, ‘whoa is me, two of my lifelong dreams have come true in the same year.’ But actually, it was a difficult time, because I consider myself to be quite a loyal guy, and it was tough for me to leave earlier than I wanted to. And I hoped it would work out, but it didn’t quite.

Reporter: Ben, did you feel that your character conveyed a specific message, and if so, what?

Ben Barnes: I’m not sure there’s… I’ve been discussing this in the other room. What I like about Caspian: it’s not too spoonfeedy. There’s not one particular moral message that kind of comes to the fore, but I think that there are good lessons in there. I mean, there’s moments where he makes mistakes and you learn about his regret of those mistakes. And there’s moments where he has to trust in other people around him, and their ideas, and learn to kind of concede. And then there’s, obviously, this sort of overarching message that believing in something that’s greater than yourself. And, you know, nature is the thing that saves the day at the end, and you know, fifty years ago when these books were written, that was a much more allegorical message. And now it’s something that looks really cool, but I think it’s there if you choose to see it. I think that Miraz – Telmarine – imagery is very strong. I mean, you’ve got all the eagles, which is a very sort-of Nazi-esque kind of look to it, but it’s only there if you really look to see it, you know, this faceless race with this ethnic accent. And it’s set during World War II, and you know, Sergio would be the first to say, he thought Miraz was kind of, that sort of Hitlerian figure. And then you look at Caspian, and his uncle has murdered his father, and has him thinking whether vengeance is the best policy, you know, which.. Pop quiz: which Shakespeare play does this remind you of? You know, so yeah, I think there’s a lot of these interesting layers, and I think there’s a lot of good, interesting moral messages about humility and all those. You know, there’s a lot of different messages in there, and they’re there if you choose to see them, and if you don’t, then there’s cool battle scenes.

Male Reporter: What are your thoughts on being sexy and a Hollywood heartthrob?

Ben Barnes: Ummm…

Male Reporter: Sorry, I have to ask.

Ben Barnes: Really, ummm… you don’t have to.. Sorry..(laughter) that was your question?

Female Reporter: Let me, take it from a woman.

Ben Barnes: Okay, you ask. (laughter)

Reporter: I saw the film last night..

Ben Barnes: Yes, yes.

Reporter: And all of the women around me, including yours truly, were swooning.

Ben Barnes: She’s much better at this than you. (laughter)

Reporter: We were like, all, is he good looking?

Ben Barnes: Yeah, now you’re embarrassing me, stop it. (laughter)

Reporter: How are you going to take it, because you’re going to get this?

Ben Barnes: I don’t know, I take it as it comes. It’s all very flattering, and still feels slightly ridiculous and surreal at the moment. You know… take it as it comes. It’s putting a smile on my face.

Reporter: Was the kiss between you and Susan, or Prince Caspian and Susan, the epitome for you?

Ben Barnes: Was it what?

Reporter: The epitome, the big thrill in the film.

Ben Barnes: No. I was worried about it, actually, if I’m being honest. Not doing it, it’s fine. You know, I’ve done screen and stage kisses in almost everything I’ve done, so that part of it is fun. But I was actually worried about it because it wasn’t in the book, and as a Narnia fan I knew it wasn’t in the book. And I thought, actually, there’s certainly one massive scene between Caspian and Susan that’s not in the movie. It will be in the deleted scenes, but it’s not in the movie. And I think it helped a lot that it wasn’t in the film. I understand why they took it out. And actually, seeing it last night was one of the things I was most relieved about, because I thought it really was something that felt very real. There’s a few glances between them, and then they go through this thing together, and they don’t really talk about anything because they’re in the midst of doing all this stuff, and then they say goodbye, and she walks away, and she thinks ‘you know what, I’m not coming back, why not?’ And it felt like a real moment, and that’s thanks to Anna and thanks to Andrew and you know, I’m just standing there, really. You know, I receive a kiss, that’s the easiest job in the world. But it did feel like something kind of quite subtle and real, and I felt the same. Well not the same, kind of relationship between Caspian and Peter, because I was worried about that being a bit too rotting stags, or whatever. But actually, it does feel very born out of the story, and born out of these situations they find themselves in, and the tragedy of losing the people in the night raid, and stuff, and it sets them really on edge. And neither of them are quite sure where they fit in this world. One was a ruler and then came back, and the other, my character, is very ambivalent about where he finds himself and he doesn’t feel he’s ready to be a king or a leader or a man yet, really. And yet he’s forced into this situation, so I think, I was very please at the subtlety and the, sort of, the adult feel of the relationships.

Reporter: How is it playing a younger person when you’re twenty-six – but you look like you’re seventeen or eighteen – to play that?

Ben Barnes: I honestly didn’t play an age, I think it’s very hard to try to play younger or older. I think you get in a world of trouble if you start trying to play an age. I think you are the age you look, and people will kind of believe it, or they won’t. And I thought it was very important for the story of our version, that Peter and Caspian seemed like similar ages, and I think they do.

Paul Martin: Now, you said before that you had never ridden a horse before, but then you said that you did. Can you sail a ship for Voyage of the Dawn Treader?

Ben Barnes: No. And, uh, but now I’ve definitely got the part, I can say whatever I want, so I CAN’T SAIL A SHIP! (laughter) AT ALL! (laughter)

Reporter: Did you get to take a sword home with you, or anything from the set?

Ben Barnes: Do you know what? I asked for a sword, I still haven’t got it. WHERE’S MY SWORD? (laughter) They said they would give me a sword, but I really wanted one. I got one of, you know, Edmund’s torch. I’ve got one of those.

Reporter: You’re gonna need one to beat the women off. (laughter)

Ben Barnes: (laughter) Ha ha! I love her!

(laughter)

Reporter: Can you tell us about one of your most embarrassing moments on set? Were there any?

Ben Barnes: Do you know what, there were a couple. My very first day on the actual set, I wasn’t shooting anything, I was doing a costume and make-up test. I’m sure William has told you this already, because he’s kind of proud of it. I had hair extensions in, they were trying a wig as well, they weren’t quite sure which to go for, so I had the hair extensions and the wig, and this fake tan, and I had the costume on for the first time, and I had spent two hours. They were trying to get it right for when we started filming, because then you can’t change it. And I was standing there, waiting for them to come back from set, and I could see Andrew’s car coming towards us to come and sort of check me out and we were discussing it. I was a little nervous, I had only met him like twice before, and Will comes up to me as a joke, and pretends to throw orange juice in my face. But instead of pretending, he squeezed the thing, and it goes *sshhshshshhhh* all over me. (laughter) And I’m like ‘you little..’ and I start, and he just runs. (laughter) Will is really fast. So he’s just gone. And I’m just standing there, surrounded by these poor people who spent ages dressing me up and making me up and doing the hair, and they’re all surrounding me, just going *mouths dropped open*. (laughter) You know, their mouths agape, and Will’s run off, and Andrew’s come up, and we have to go in and get changed again, so that was really embarrassing. But one they really set me up on was, you know the scene at the beginning, where the professor wakes me up and he puts his hand on my mouth and I go, ‘Oh, it’s you, five more minutes.’ You know, that bit. Andrew came in and he goes ‘Okay, that was good, we got it, we just want to change a little something with the lights. We just gotta turn up just slightly, do exactly the same thing Ben, same thing.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’ And I go back to sleep. You’re kind of vulnerable in this position, I realize now, when you’re asleep with your eyes shut. And instead of Dr. Cornelius, I feel these lips on my lips, and I’m like, ‘if this, if I open my eyes, and this is the professor, I’m gonna be furious.’ (laughter) So I open my eyes, and it was the director’s assistant, who’s quite good looking, so it was okay. (laughter) I’m sure it will be on the extras.

Reporter: Did you ever get Will back?

Ben Barnes: Did I ever get Will back? No. Well, not in so many words, but ther was continual banter every time I would draw my sword. I’d be like ‘Oh, so.. how long is your sword, Will? Big as that?’ And he’d be like ‘no, it’s not.’ So, I had the biggest one, so I was one up on him there.

Reporter: Speaking of that, are the action scenes all just work, or can you have a little fun when you’re doing that, too?

Ben Barnes: Umm, half and half. I really enjoy choreographing them and rehearsing them, and when you actually get to do them, actually, it’s four o’clock in the morning, and it’s raining and you’ve got pathetic tennis elbow and it can be quite grueling. But really satisfying when eight guys come at you and you’re just like: ‘one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and done.’ (laughter) And you can’t lose because you’re in the next movie.

Female Reporter: Are you dating anyone?

Ben Barnes: No.

Male Reporter: Is there a follow-up question to that? (laughter)

Female Reporter: No.

Ben Barnes: Thank you, everyone!

Reporters: Thank you!

Paul Martin: Thank you very much!

Ben Barnes: Cheers.

Paul Martin: Awesome job in the movie.

Ben Barnes: Thanks

Paul Martin: (hands Ben a NarniaFans.com card) Here’s my website.

Ben Barnes: Cool, these are the real, the real real fans.

Paul Martin: The real deal. They’re gonna love it!

Ben Barnes: Oh, good! Thank you very much!

Up next in the series, we’re going to talk about the exhibit that was on display upstairs from the interviews. It’s right on time, as the exhibit opens this weekend! Stay tuned!

Sci-Fi Pulse has finally posted their red carpet interview video for Prince Caspian. In that, Douglas Gresham mentions a bit about what they’re doing with the production order for the Narnia films. From what he says, it looks like the production will continue as the books were published.

This is the smartest way to do it. Narnia purists will tell you that the only way to read the books for the first time is the original publication order. That’s what I tell anyone to do, that has not read them yet to do.

Anyway, on the red carpet in New York, Douglas Gresham says:

We still have five books to do. I’m working right now on pre-production on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and I’m 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.

This doesn’t confirm it solidly, but it does show a bit more of what they’re planning. That’ll just leave The Magician’s Nephew and The Last Battle to close out the series.

Watch the video on Sci-Fi Pulse. There’s a great part where Georgie Henley meets Liam Neeson. Priceless!

We’re getting to the home stretch of the interview series from Day 2. This one features Anna Popplewell, who played the role of Susan Pevensie in both Narnia films, and Peter Dinklage, who played the role of Trumpkin. There are some spoilers in this interview, so if you’re still avoiding those, then tread carefully. Otherwise, have fun. It was another great interview. At the end, learn who is next in the interview series.

All of us: Hi!

Anna Popplewell: Hi!

Peter Dinklage: Hi!

Reporter: So what’d you guys think of the film, last night?

Peter Dinklage: Umm..
(laughter)

Reporter: It was your first time seeing it, right?

Peter Dinklage: Yeah, it was great. I just.. I have no perspective on it, my wheels are still turning, and I have to see it again to sort of watch it with a clearer head.

Anna Popplewell: Yeah, I feel a bit speechless about it. I was very excited and nervous to see it, and I need to see it again so that I can watch it without thinking ‘oh but this day we were here and then we were over there’ and watch it as a movie rather than making so many connections. But I was really pleased with it.. I was really excited by it.

Reporter: Peter, what was it like being welcomed into the Narnia family?

Peter Dinklage: They welcomed me with big open arms. It’s great working with a bunch of people, like these guys and Andrew and some of the producers and one of the effects people had worked on the first movie. So they already have a built in relationship that you sort of walk into, which was sort of… you get passed the meet and greet stage. A lot of the times on a movie, for an actor, you sort of meet somebody and five seconds later you’re doing a love scene with them, and it’s so disorienting and crazy but it happens. But for this movie, for people that hadn’t been a part of the first one, felt like you were walking into a whole world that had already been created. And relationships. And they really welcomed myself and Ben and anybody else who had not been on the first movie.

Reporter: I’m wondering if they kinda had any traditions set up or ways they spent their down time that might have struck you as a little odd at first.

Anna Popplewell: We’re very eccentric people.

Peter Dinklage: They’re very eccentric. They stay in one trailer together. They have these pamphlets they’re always trying to convert us to (Anna Popplewell: Yeah, it’s more of a cult, really.) some sort of cult thing: The Pevensie Way. (laughter) They would chant on lunch breaks, it was creepy, but uh… what was the question?

(laughter)

Reporter: You’re answer is good enough, thank you.

Peter Dinklage: Okay.

Reporter: Anna, Peter, are there any particular messages you wanted your character to convey?

Peter Dinklage: Wow, uh..

Anna Popplewell: I don’t know, I think… people often… I think from the first film, Susan is kind of not very likable because she’s always the one saying ‘well hold on a minute, this doesn’t make sense.’ And I think that a lot of people forget that actually, if you’re treating it at all realistically, and you’re plunged into the world of Narnia, then someone is gonna stand up and say ‘well hang on a minute.’ And she’s kept that element this time around. She’s still asking questions and posing problems, but I think she’s a lot more human this time, so I wanted people to be a little bit more sympathetic and kind of see where she’s coming from.

Reporter: She’s also a bit more of a warrior princess in this one, too!

Peter Dinklage: She kicks..

Anna Popplewell: Yeah, yeah. We were talking about the death count after we saw the movie last night, and you know it’s a PG film so you don’t see a lot of people dying and you don’t see a lot of blood, but I think I probably win the death count. I mean, Will kills a lot of people in the night raid, but they’re on his own side, so that counts negatively.

Peter Dinklage: So death count’s important to you!

Anna Popplewell: Yeah.

Peter Dinklage: Sorry..

(laughter)

Peter Dinklage: Death is.. killing is good to..

Anna Popplewell: Maybe not killing, but the whole…yeah.

Peter Dinklage: Yeah..

Anna Popplewell: Yeah

Peter Dinklage: Good.

Anna Popplewell: But, yeah, I was really… I really enjoyed being part of the action sequences this time around, because it wasn’t something I got to do last time, and it was fun to be involved in that.

Reporter: What about you, Peter, what did you feel that your role conveyed? You have a very strong character.

Peter Dinklage: Healthy cynicism. A little bit of comedy. I think in this world of wonderment and exploration, it’s important to have somebody who’s like ‘I don’t want to do that.’ You know, like ‘I want to go eat a sandwich!’ You know, just somebody who kind of.. for a Narnian it’s weird to be the character that sort of roots it in reality, cause it’s sort of an oxymoron, if you will, right. I just, sort of, love that disgruntled hero, if I can call Trumpkin a hero. Yes.(to Anna) I save you, don’t I?

(laughter)

Reporter: Anna, how was the kiss with Ben? Was there a lot of practice?

Anna Popplewell: Umm, there was no practice, whatsoever. We filmed it right at the end of the shoot, so we did it after we’d known each other for five months already. And it just felt like, okay, this is something that we’re gonna do on set.

Peter Dinklage: That’s not what Ben said. Ben was looking forward to that a long time!

(laughter)

Anna Popplewell: I thought it was gonna be really awkward and it wasn’t at all, so it was fine.

Reporter: Did you have any extra archery training on this one because of the extended battle sequences you had to be in?

Anna Popplewell: Yeah, I had some more of that. I mean, I’m not a perfect archer. I’m sure if you put something in front of me, I’d probably fire behind or something. But they make me look good with CG arrows and things. And I really enjoyed knowing how it’s done. It’s just that you then have to alter it to fit cameras under your arms and over your head and things like that. The nice thing about this movie is that it’s not just kaboom, I get to use the bow more creatively and throw arrows around.

Peter Dinklage: Alan Poppleton is our stunt coordinator, and he was the stunt coordinator on the first one as well and he worked on Lord of the Rings. He’s really really good at what he does. And he has a great team. They’re a New Zealand company. They make us look really good. I mean, all that stuff is because of them and the training they put us through.

Anna Popplewell: We’re not like real life action heroes, really.

Peter Dinklage: No. Kind of scared of that.

Anna Popplewell: Kind of ordinary.

(laughter)

Reporter: Peter, is this the most action you’ve done in a film?

Peter Dinklage: Yeah, I guess so, right? Yeah. I’ve done a lot of emotional action but..(laughter) alright, I’m gonna stop now. (laughter) Sorry. What’s wrong with me? I can’t help it!

Anna Popplewell: It’s the coffee, Peter.

Peter Dinklage: It’s the coffee. I’ve had a lot of coffee. But, yeah, definitely.But it’s fun. When you get a sword and a bow and arrow, and you’re in armor you, it really helps with the make-believe. It really does a lot of the work for you. It really puts you into that world.

Reporter: Anna, you’re studying at Oxford now?

Anna Popplewell: Yes.

Reporter: So, how difficult is it for you to be acting and juggling your education?

Anna Popplewell: Well, I should be writing an essay right now, so actually I should.. (gestures for the door) (laughter) No, it’s, I’ve been doing bits and pieces since I was about seven on sets and things, so it’s always been part of the routine for me, studying in the evenings or during lunch or whenever I can. And I’ve always been really determined about juggling the two, and I think if it’s something that you want to do, you manage it. So while I’m in Oxford, I’m doing lots of student drama and when I’m not, I hope to do some stuff in the holidays, and I’m just gonna see how it goes and try and keep both up for as long as possible.

Reporter: Do you have any upcoming dramas at Oxford?

Anna Popplewell: I’m doing Spring Awakening in a couple of weeks. Not the musical version, because I just can’t sing for toffee, but the play.

Reporter: So your major is drama?

Anna Popplewell: I’m actually studying English literature.

Peter Dinklage: Sing for toffee? I like that.

Anna Popplewell: British expression.

Peter Dinklage: Sing for toffee.

Anna Popplewell: Can’t sing for toffee.

Peter Dinklage: I’m gonna use that with an American accent.

Anna Popplewell: If somebody offered me toffee, then could not sing.

Peter Dinklage: I can’t sing for toffee.

Reporter: Peter, do red heads have more fun?

Peter Dinklage: Do red heads have more.. oh Trumpkin’s a red head, right! (laughter) I’m like ‘Hello, back there! Let me think, what magazine do you work for?’ (laughter) Yeah.. apparently. Although Trumpkin is losing his red hair, isn’t he? He needs to go to Red Hair Club for Men. (laughter) Yeah, that was fun. That was all yak hair and human hair. Somewhere on a mountain top, there’s a very cold yak, because of my make-up. But I made sure the yak was treated properly. Yeah, it’s fun. It’s a little toasty in the hot weather of Eastern Europe.

Anna Popplewell: Pete was amazing. You know, in a battle scene I have a leather bodice on, and bits of chain mail and stuff.

Peter Dinklage: You had a corset though, you could breathe!

Anna Popplewell: Yeah. And I feel uncomfortable, and I look at Pete and he has a yak on his face. (laughter) And he’s still smiling.

Peter Dinklage: Some days, I was smiling.

Anna Popplewell: Occasionally.

Peter Dinklage: Yeah, Occasionally I’d smile.

Anna Popplewell: Yeah, every now and then.

Reporter: What was it like working with Ben?

Peter Dinklage: Ben’s great. I have a new friend. He’s really funny. We have a very similar sense of humor and that’s always important and I loved his performance last night in the film. Movie acting’s tricky. I think with a lot of it, you can’t tell. I mean, I’ve worked with some great actors, and when you’re doing scenes with them, you sort of can’t tell if they’re acting. You can’t see their greatness, really, and then you see it on screen and it’s amazing. I think Ben has that quality and he made the eight months much easier. I think he has a great career ahead of him.

Reporter: Peter, you’re a star in your own right.

Peter Dinklage: Thank you.

Reporter: James McAvoy’s career really soared after Narnia. Do you have great expectations after this film?

Peter Dinklage: Uh.. yeah.. I mean. You know, expectation is a funny thing. I enjoy working. As an actor I think you’re lucky if you’re working, so you just sort of surround yourself with good people and good scripts and hopefully it will pay off. And apparently I’m doing the next one. I can say that because our producer announced it at comic-con last week, so I’m looking forward to that.

Paul Martin: So you worked with Warwick Davis a little bit.

Peter Dinklage: I did.

Paul Martin: Would you like to work with him again?

Peter Dinklage: Sure! If the opportunity arises, yeah. I don’t think we had enough in this film, so I’d love to work with him again. Yeah. Definitely. He’s a very good actor and very experienced with the make-up. I mean, that was sort of one of my first times in that heavy make-up, and Warwick has done so much of that work. He’s an old pro. So, yeah, he’s a good guy.

Reporter: Other than the Narnia projects, are there any other projects that’re coming up that you’re working on?

Peter Dinklage: Yeah, I’m gonna do a play over the summer. A Chekov play.

Reporter: On Broadway?

Peter Dinklage: No, summer theater, upstate New York. Then I’m doing about three or four independent films here and in Los Angeles, before the next Narnia.

Reporter: Did you audition for Narnia or not?

Peter Dinklage: No, I met with Andrew Adamson out in L.A. and I wasn’t actually completely sold on doing it until I met Andrew. I really loved the first movie, but I was a little wary of my involvement and my character because I hadn’t read the script yet. I had read the book. But meeting Andrew changed my mind. He brought me into the animation department where they were already storyboarding the whole movie on computers, and I saw that they had used my face as a reference for Trumpkin. And there I was all over the walls, and running with a bow and arrow on a computer. I was like, ‘That’s me as a video game! Hmm! I guess I can’t say no! I guess I gotta make their jobs easier!’ (laughter) But, not, that was interesting, but it was really meeting Andrew. He’s such a creative force and such a nice person in a great way. You know, cause you meet nice people all the time, but they are nice to sort of just to be a people pleaser. And Andrew’s just genuinely nice, and so talented and creative, so I couldn’t turn that down.

Reporter: Well you mentioned reading the book. When you have a movie that’s based on such a beloved book, do you feel the need to immerse yourself in it, or is the script enough to get you through it?

Peter Dinklage: The script and the director is enough for me. I mean, that’s all you have when you say yes to a movie, or no to a movie. You don’t know who you’re going to be working with. You don’t know what egos you’re going to be working with at that point. So, yeah, it’s all decisions that I make as an actor are all based on meeting the director. I have to meet the director before I say yes. And the script. Although I didn’t read the script for this, I just met Andrew, and that was enough. And seeing all the storyboarding and everything. And obviously the first film.

Reporter: Peter, it’s me back here again.

Peter Dinklage: Hello! (laughter) I’m ready for your sauciness. (laughter) Are you listening to music while we do this? (referring to her headphones) (laughter) What are you doing? (laughter)

Reporter: Listening to my audio.

Peter Dinklage: Are you with these people? (laughter) No, I’m just kidding.

Reporter: You have a serious persona, but yet you are funny in the movie. Was that scripted or did you improv at all, your lines?

Peter Dinklage: No. I didn’t improv anything. I mean, we had tweaked stuff a little bit, I guess, on set. And Andrew was always very willing to change things dialog-wise for everybody, if they weren’t working. Sometimes words on a page are different than words being spoken by an actor in the environment you are in. So that’s just common sense to sort of change things, and if you’re working with a really good director, who is luckily also – we’re lucky to have Andrew as one of the writers of the movie as well – you don’t have to call L.A. and get approval, Andrew just goes ’sure, alright, yeah, let’s change it, because you’re right.’ So that’s always nice. But improving, no. It was more about tweaking some dialog and mutually agreeing upon it.

Reporter: Anna, your character is not in the next one, and we talked with William about it and he actually seems ready to kind of move on, just like his character, move on and he’s learned all he can from this movie and he’s ready to move on. Do you have the same kind of feeling or are you kinda sad to see your end?

Anna Popplewell: I mean I think Will and I were both sad, you know, on the last days on set. This has been a big, long journey for both of us, purely in the amount of time that it’s taken up. let alone what has happened. But at the same time, I don’t think that I would gain a lot, or that audiences would gain a lot from me playing the same character seven times for seven months at a time. And so, I’m sad to go, but I’m happy to move on. I finished shooting in September, August/September, and I started Oxford in October and I’ve just been reading and playing and doing plays and things like that ever since. And having a great time, really.

Reporter: What do your friends think of you as like a movie star, or as a film star?

Anna Popplewell: I don’t think my friends really think of me as a movie star. (laughter)

Peter Dinklage: Friends are like that, aren’t they. (laughter) I guess that’s why they’re friends.

Anna Popplewell: Yeah! Well, I mean, the people I’m friending with are very cool about it, and not particularly interested in it really. I mean, I’m sure they’ll see the film, but they’re not sitting around.. uh..

Peter Dinklage: I think we both have friends who are outside of the business, which is very healthy sometimes.

Anna Popplewell: Exactly.

Peter Dinklage: Who are just like: ‘I don’t care.’ (laughter)

Anna Popplewell: Yeah, I mean, I don’t walk down the street in London with huge sunglasses and a sign saying ‘look at me, I was in Narnia.’ (laughter) I lead a pretty regular life.

Reporters: Thank you!

Peter Dinklage: Thank you guys!

Anna Popplewell: Thank you!

Reporter: What are some stuff that you indulge in or splurge on, like…

Anna Popplewell: Indulge in…um… I don’t know, really.

Reporter: Shoes, bags, music, make-up.

Anna Popplewell: All the normal stuff, really.

Peter Dinklage: With her? Books.

Anna Popplewell: Yeah, a lot of books, DVDs, that kind of thing.

Reporter: Favorite book?

Anna Popplewell: Oh, it changes all the time. At the moment, I’m really into Henry James.

Reporters: Thank you!

Coming up next in the day, producer Mark Johnson. Beyond him is the final interview in the series: Ben Barnes. Stay tuned!