Jasmine Watson has been hired to do the jewelry for The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe!!

Dorian Mirth’s GaladrielFinwe sent us this Narnia tidbit: “I have it from Jasmine Watson’s own mouth that she has been hired to do the jewelry for The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe!! I was at TolCon in Seattle this past weekend, and managed to detain Jasmine for about an hour to talk about her work in Lord of the Rings. She told us this bit of news and we’re all terribly excited! She says she is really looking forward to making all the crowns mentioned in the book.”

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Variety confirms that British actor James McAvoy has been cast as Mr. Tumnus the faun in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The Walden Media/Disney co-production, based on the first book in the classic C.S. Lewis series of children’s novels, is due to shoot this summer in New Zealand, directed by Andrew Adamson.

McAvoy previously featured in Children of Dune, Stephen Fry’s Bright Young Things, Band of Brothers and the upcoming Working Title pics Wimbledon and Inside I’m Dancing.

Mr. Tumnus is the first creature encountered by Lucy, the youngest of the four siblings, when she first stumbles through the magic wardrobe and discovers Narnia. He befriends her with the intention of betraying her to the evil White Queen (Tilda Swinton), but is too good-hearted to follow through with the plan. The queen turns him into a statue as punishment.

ComingSoon

More on James McAvoy

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The training of all the current horses has commenced. There are approximately a dozen on site and there seem to be 3 main horses so far – 1 black, 1 chestnut, 1 grey. The grey seems to be undergoing specialist trick training -such as rearing. The other horses are currently being trained for liberty work – i.e. like circus horses running in formation left or right while the main horses are ridden.

There is also an interesting ‘device’ on the property – two large poles (telegraph sized but not as tall) with two metal rings attached to both. Guesses are that these will be used for training a horse in levade (in hand training between poles is classical for dressage) OR some sort of acrobatic training for people…

The horses are using an enormous truck for transport – so once filming begins in June this would be easy for any hardcore spies to follow the truck(s) out to filming sites from the base.

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Tilda Swinton is fixing to cast her spell on “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe.” “Narnia” director Andrew Adamson — due in Cannes in a few days for the Competition showing of DreamWorks’ “Shrek 2,” which he co-directed — confirmed that Swinton has boarded the Walden Media/Walt Disney Co. co-production as the evil White Witch. Fellow redhead Nicole Kidman was rumored to be in discussions for the role as recently as last month, but those reports turned out to be false. Budgeted at more than $100 million, according to sources, the film is scheduled to begin shooting in the summer in Adamson’s native New Zealand. “The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe” is the first installment of Walden’s planned “Chronicles of Narnia” franchise, based on the series of classic children’s fantasy books by C.S. Lewis. (Chris Gardner)

We’ll have a few words from Ms. Swinton, here at Narnia Fans, upon her return from Cannes.

Read more about her here: Tilda Swinton

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Here he is folks. Aslan. At least it’s the lion that will be used as the model for Aslan, that is to be Computer Generated for the Chronicles of Narnia films.

Friends of Narnia’s ‘KingCaspian4′ posted this on their MSN Group:

This is the main lion that has been chosen to be Aslan. I have this confirmed from the park where he is kept outisde of Auckland. I know this for a fact as my boss hired the lions for a function and went to visit them again over the weekend when the photos were taken.

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Buena Vista Games, Inc., the global interactive entertainment arm of The Walt Disney Company, today announced that it will publish video games based on the epic tale of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the best-selling story by C.S. Lewis and the forthcoming film by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, Xbox(R) video game system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube(TM), PC and handheld consoles in fall 2005. The action-adventure series, which will be published under the company’s Disney Interactive label, will be the first multi-platform video games introduced that let gamers and Narnia fans step inside and immerse themselves in the magical world of Narnia.

“We are pleased to announce our plans to develop a full slate of video games based on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion,The Witch and The Wardrobe film currently in production in New Zealand,” said Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general manager of Buena Vista Games. “Given the truly unique, creative nature of the story, we see it as especially suited for a spectacular translation to game consoles and something that the millions of Narnia fans and gamers worldwide will love.”

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is based on the first in the series of phenomenally best-selling novels by C.S. Lewis. The live-action film concerns a war between good and evil, pitting the magnificent lion Aslan against the forces of darkness in the magical world of Narnia. A White Witch has used her dark powers to keep Narnia in winter for 100 years, but it is foretold that four humans will be able to help Aslan break the spell. When the children – Lucy, Susan, Edmund and Peter — discover the magic of Narnia by entering the enchanted world through a wardrobe, the stage is set for a classic battle of epic proportions. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe film, under the direction of Andrew Adamson (Shrek, Shrek 2), is scheduled for release Christmas 2005.

“The opportunity to work closely with the video game production team at the same time we’re creating the film is very exciting. I’m looking forward to watching both projects come to life,” said Andrew Adamson, film director, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. “Through the video game, fans will be able to re-open the wardrobe countless times to revisit the magical world of Narnia and all of its characters and environments.”

About Buena Vista Games

Buena Vista Games, Inc. is the interactive entertainment arm of The Walt Disney Company’s Consumer Products business unit. The division publishes, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of PC and multi-platform video games worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with third-party interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. Titles for Buena Vista Games fall under two publishing labels: Buena Vista Interactive, which publishes high-profile, multi-platform games based on creative content from the numerous businesses within The Walt Disney Company, and Disney Interactive, which markets and distributes the company’s interactive entertainment based on Disney bbranded properties.

For further information, please contact: Kehau Rodenhurst, ext. 204, or Andrea Sausedo, ext. 201, of WONGDOODY Communications, +1-310-285-0181, for Buena Vista Games, Inc.; or Angela Emery of Buena Vista Games, Inc., +1-818-553-3923.

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C. S. Lewis is widely regarded as the 20th century’s most successful apologist — or defender — of the Christian faith. And no one seems primed to usurp his role in the 21st century.

What accounts for Lewis’ enduring appeal, his extraordinary gift of communicating the truth of “mere Christianity”?

Richard Purtill, a former professor of philosophy at Western Washington University, sets out to answer those questions. His new book offers a clear, systematic assessment of Lewis’ lasting achievement.

At the heart of Lewis’ body of work — from “Miracles” to “The Chronicles of Narnia” to “The Screwtape Letters” — Purtill finds a rare combination of imaginative, moral and intellectual talents.

Together, they allowed Lewis to reach a wide audience and fueled his passion for “transposing the higher into the lower,” i.e., creating powerful metaphors for difficult theological concepts and turning technicalities of doctrine into everyday speech.

If Lewis remains a vital force in Christian thought, Purtill claims, it is primarily because of the clarity of his philosophical arguments.

As few others did, Lewis made a compelling case for Christianity being more reasonable, more probable than its rivals.

Purtill painstakingly examines each of Lewis’ arguments — the nature of God, the divinity of Christ, the existence of miracles — and highlights their strengths and weaknesses.

He is especially impressed by Lewis’ humility. The Oxford don repeatedly downplayed his own importance to stress the significance of his message.

Purtill showcases the depth and complexity of both the man and his writings. His lively treatment of the great apologist of the 20th century will become a standard well into the 21st century for understanding Lewis’ appeal.

——————————————————————————–
Arlice Davenport

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The part is one of the biggest movie roles of the year – and Tilda Swinton has landed it. She will play the wicked White Witch who rules as the ice queen of Narnia, the fictional land created by C. S. Lewis where it’s always winter but never Christmas, in his classic novel The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe.

The movie begins filming later next month in Wellington, New Zealand, at the Weta studios, where most of the special effects for The Lord Of The Rings trilogy were shot.

Andrew Adamson, who directed the Shrek movies, has been overseeing the creation of mammoth sets and computer-generated creatures.

Ms Swinton – so good in Young Adam with Ewan McGregor and opposite Ray Winstone in the heartbreaking The War Zone – won the part against much interest from Hollywood superstars, although contrary to many misleading reports Nicole Kidman was never up for the role.

Ms Swinton will prepare for the White Witch part once she completes her ten-day service on the Cannes Film Festival jury. She’ll watch movies at the festival, along with jury president Quentin Tarantino.

Fans of the C. S. Lewis book will recall that the story concerns four siblings evacuated to the country during World War II, their journey to Narnia, and subsequent meeting with the god-like Aslan the lion.

James McAvoy, one of the stars of award-winning TV drama State Of Play and TV series Shameless, is rumoured to have been offered the role of Mr Tumnus, the Narnian creature who tries to help the children after they stumble into his world via an old wardrobe.

I remember, as a young kid, being so entranced by this image that I thought that I, too, would be transported to a far away land if I walked through our wardrobe.

I didn’t get very far. The film will shoot for several months and will, with any luck, be ready by Christmas 2005.

An Ice Day for Tilda
By Baz Bamigboye, Daily Mail
7 May 2004

Tilda Swinton
James McAvoy

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Braving rain, 300 tall and short people turned out to the Auckland casting call for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And the film’s officials had a message for those who stayed away: “If you can’t handle the rain you can’t handle a film set,” said extras casting co-ordinator Victoria Cole.

“I am here because I am big enough to be here,” said Carole Rumage, a Glen Eden woman, who is 142cm tall. “It is fascinating to be here with all these really tall people, ” said Ms Rumage. Film hopefuls had to be 192cm (6ft 4in) or over, 153cm (5ft) or under, and aged 16 or older. They also had to be available for work in the South Island from September to November.

Like the other hopefuls, [Carole Rumage] will have to wait about two weeks before finding out if she has a role in the film.

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