‘THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE’ BEGINS FILMING; ‘SHREK’s’ ANDREW ADAMSON DIRECTS BELOVED C.S. LEWIS BOOK IN HIS NATIVE NEW ZEALAND

Rupert Everett, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone, Dawn French join Tilda Swinton and James McAvoy in a stellar cast

Magical visual effects partnerships with Rhythm & Hues and Sony Imageworks

BURBANK, CA, July 26, 2004 — “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” a spectacular live-action/CGI motion picture adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ beloved literary classic, began principal photography on location in Auckland, New Zealand, on June 28, 2004. The production, a joint venture between the Walt Disney Studios and Walden Media, is the first live-action adaptation of Lewis’ book for the motion picture screen, and represents one of the biggest undertakings ever mounted by both companies.

The film marks the first live-action directorial effort for New Zealander Andrew Adamson (the Oscar(r)-winning “Shrek,” “Shrek 2″), who also co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with Emmy Award-winner Anne Peacock (HBO’s “A Lesson Before Dying”) and scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (HBO’s “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers”). The film is produced by Academy Award(r)-winning filmmaker Mark Johnson (”Rain Man,” “Bugsy,” “A Little Princess,” “The Notebook”) and is slated for a global release in December, 2005, through the Walt Disney Studios distribution division of Buena Vista Releasing.

Already in the planning and preproduction stages for two years, the project’s towering production schedule of eighteen months encompasses a six-month live-action shoot followed by a yearlong post-production schedule leading to its December, 2005, worldwide release. To bring his dazzling vision to the screen, Adamson has secured the talents of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Donald McAlpine, A.S.C., A.C.S (”Moulin Rouge,” “Peter Pan”), Oscar(r)-nominated production designer Roger Ford (”Babe,” “Peter Pan”), seasoned costume designer Isis Mussenden (”Shrek,” “Shrek 2,” “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights”), film editors Sim Evan-Jones (”Shrek”) and Jim May (”Van Helsing”) and composer Harry Gregson-Williams (”Shrek,” “Shrek 2,” “Antz”). Industry veteran Philip Steuer (”The Alamo,” “The Rookie”) joins director Adamson as the film’s executive producer.

Inspired by Lewis’ imaginative creations, the story’s human cast will be complemented by a gallery of original and wondrous characters and creatures portrayed onscreen in the combined efforts of live-action and CGI animation under the supervision of visual effects supervisor Dean Wright (”The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”) and VFX producer Randy Starr. They will collaborate with the movie magicians at two of Hollywood’s VFX giants: Sony Imageworks (”Spider-Man 2″) and Rhythm & Hues (the Academy Award(r)-winning “Babe”), whose dazzling array of computer-generated effects will breed such creatures as the mighty lion king, Aslan; Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, the kindly mammals who accompany the children on their journey; Maugrim, the savage gray wolf who serves as the White Witch’s henchman; and a host of other beasts including minotaurs, centaurs, cyclops, and broods of others not before seen on the motion picture screen.

The film’s creative team also includes four-time Academy Award(r)-winning visualist Richard Taylor (”Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Heavenly Creatures”) and the wizards from his Weta Workshop, a collective group of artists based in New Zealand who designed and created the visual and makeup effects for all three chapters of Jackson’s landmark movie trilogy. Taylor’s team (who designed the film’s armour and weaponry, with early creature concepts) will team up with veteran movie makeup magicians Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, partners in the award-winning company of KNB EFX Group, who will manufacture and apply hundreds of special makeup prosthetics for all of the unique and unusual characters in the story.

Acclaimed cast drawn from both international and local New Zealand talent

Starring in the film is acclaimed, award-winning actress Tilda Swinton (”The Deep End,” “Orlando,” “Constantine”) as Jadis, the powerful, evil White Witch. Joining Swinton as the Pevensie children are screen newcomer Georgie Henley as Lucy, the youngest of the quartet and the first to enter the portal to the magical land of Narnia; Skandar Keynes as Edmund, the younger boy who follows Lucy into Narnia, only to fall under the bewitching spell of the White Witch; seasoned British actress Anna Popplewell (”The Girl with A Pearl Earring,” “Mansfield Park”) as Susan, the cautious and practical older sister skeptical about entering the kingdom of Narnia; and, in his motion picture debut, William Moseley (”Goodbye, Mr. Chips”) as Peter, the eldest of the siblings whom the others look to for leadership during their adventurous journey.

Co-starring in the film are Scottish actor James McAvoy (HBO’s “Band of Brothers,” “Wimbledon”) as Mr. Tumnus, the kindhearted faun (half-man, half-goat) who risks his own fate to ensure Lucy’s safety in Narnia; diminutive British talent Kiran Shah (”Lord of the Rings,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark”) who portrays Ginarrbrik, the White Witch’s dwarfish sleigh driver; Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner Jim Broadbent (”Iris,” “Moulin Rouge!,” “Gangs of New York,” “Topsy-Turvy”), who appears as Prof. Kirke, whose lavish country home houses the magical wardrobe; and veteran Scottish performer James Cosmo (”Troy,” “Braveheart”) as Father Christmas.

Adamson has also cast several Kiwi performers to portray a variety of human and Narnian creatures in the film, including Judy McIntosh (”Arriving Tuesday,” Ngati”) as the matriarch of the Pevensie family; Elizabeth Hawthorne (”The Frighteners,” “The Tommyknockers”) as Mrs. MacReady, the caretaker of the mansion; Patrick Kake (”Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”) as Oreius, Aslan’s head Centaur; and Shane Rangi (”Lord of the Rings”) as Gen. Otman, the fierce Minotaur and leader of the White Witch’s army.

To bring the story’s magically computer-animated creations to life, Adamson has cast a host of acclaimed performers to lend their vocal talents to the film, including Ray Winstone (”Sexy Beast,” “King Arthur”) as Mr. Beaver; Rupert Everett (”The Madness of King George,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “Shrek 2″) as The Fox, another ally of the children; and veteran British comedienne Dawn French (”The Adventures of Pinocchio,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” BBC’s “The Vicar of Dibley”) as Mrs. Beaver. Additional casting announcements are forthcoming, including that of Aslan the Lion.

An enchanting, timeless adventure

Lewis’ timeless adventure follows the exploits of the four Pevensie siblings — Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter — in World War II England who enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of ‘hide-and-seek’ in the rural country home of an elderly professor. Once there, the children discover a charming, peaceful land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants that has become a world cursed to eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Under the guidance of a noble and mystical ruler, the lion Aslan, the children fight to overcome the White Witch’s powerful hold over Narnia in a spectacular, climactic battle that will free Narnia from Jadis’ icy spell forever.

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is the first (appearing in 1950) of Lewis’ seven-book “Chronicles of Narnia” series, long regarded as one of literature’s most enduring and imaginative classics. Since its publication between 1950-56, Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” series, with a long and loyal following, has sold over 85,000,000 books in 29 different languages, making it the second biggest book series (after J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” tomes) the world over. In addition to the first novel, Lewis wrote six additional books, with one published annually between 1951-56. Those titles include “Prince Caspian,” “The Voyage of the ‘Dawn Treader’,” “The Silver Chair,” “The Horse and His Boy,” “The Magician’s Nephew” (the prequel in chronology to the first book) and “The Last Battle.”

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” will film on both the north and south islands of New Zealand over a five-month period. After almost four months of sound stage work in Auckland, the company will move to the breathtaking locales of Queenstown, Oamaru and the Christchurch area in the nation’s south island before heading to London and the Czech Republic for additional filming. Production will conclude in January, 2005, before Adamson embarks on a yearlong post-production schedule leading to the December, 2005, worldwide release.

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Holly is one of four animatronic reindeer working on Andrew Adamson’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe after the living variety struck problems with Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry regulations. The movie’s producers withdrew an application to import 14 reindeer after MAF officers raised concerns over the possibility of introducing the potentially-deadly Q fever, which is present among American herds.

Their eerily realistic replacements were built in six months by Mark Rappaport and his Los Angeles-based Creature Effects team from fibreglass, servo motors and synthetic materials. Each is controlled by up to five puppeteers who control all movements of their heads, neck, hips, nostrils, ears, eyes and tail as well as simulating breathing by expelling vapour from their nostrils. A movie spokesman declined to disclose how much they cost to manufacture.

The team will stand in for close up, stationary shots and will wear white synthetic pelts when pulling the evil White Witch’s sleigh and brown when with Father Christmas. Any scenes showing moving reindeer will be computer generated.

Mr Rappaport said his creations will go into storage once shooting is completed, but was hopeful they would be needed again if Disney decides to film further novels from CS Lewis’ Narnia series.

The scenes with Father Christmas, played by Braveheart’s James Cosmo, were shot over the past week. Mr Cosmo was present on the West Auckland sets for only two days to complete his part in the project.
(Anyone have pictures? Send them to us!)

The only live animals to appear in the Disney-Walden Media production will be horses and wolves, which were yesterday working on sets near Henderson.

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Enid Blyton’s Famous Five have come top of a poll to discover which books today’s adults most enjoyed as children.

The adventures, featuring Julian, Dick, George, Anne and Timmy the dog, have pipped other classics like Treasure Island and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in the survey.

More than 1,000 adults, between the ages of 25 and 54, were asked to name their favourite children’s book while growing up.

Blyton’s series of 21 Famous Five adventures, which were penned between 1942 and 1963, came top of the list.

Today two million copies of the Famous Five novels, which made Blyton the most successful children’s writer of all time, still fly off the shelves each year around the world.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the 1950 fantasy tale by CS Lewis and the best loved of the Narnia Chronicles,  came second in the survey carried out by the Cartoon Network, followed by Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, published in 1883.

Enduring favourite JRR Tolkien makes it on to the list with The Lord of the Rings, the trilogy which began life in 1954, in sixth spot, and The Hobbit, written in 1937, ranking eighth.

Enid Blyton’s daughter Gillian Baverstock, who lives in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, welcomed the results of the poll, saying: “It is wonderful that my mother’s books are remembered so fondly.”

“Moreover, the mystery and adventure books continue to be avidly devoured by each successive generation.

“The secret of their success is that they centre squarely on children, with adults only ever playing a minor role.

“The injection of adventure and excitement on to every page stimulates a child’s desire to continue to read not just one book but the whole series.

“In some respects my mother was also ahead of her time. She was probably the first children’s writer to give girls equal billing to boys.”

Head of the Cartoon Network Richard Kilgarriff said: “The Famous Five are stories based on kids taking charge of their own lives, a premise which is also at the heart of the most successful cartoons.”

The Top 10

1. The Famous Five, Enid Blyton
2. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
3. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
4. The Secret Seven, Enid Blyton
5. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
6. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
7. Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
8. The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
9. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
10. Little Women, Louisa M Alcott

By Sherna Noah, Arts Correspondent, PA News

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As we look forward to the upcoming big screen production there are a few key points in the book that we hope find their way into the motion picture. I am not talking about scenes or images that I can’t wait to see at the theater, but themes that bind not only this book but also all the Narnia books together. Themes like redemption and healing, brotherhood and the undying Good vs. Evil. C.S. Lewis was a deeply spiritual man, and being so he could not separate his spiritual ideas from his books. Ideas like a redeeming savior, however the literary idea of a redeeming savior is not a new idea. Any book can be a good one if it tugs on our heartstrings with a savior of man that has to die. However the themes that propel the Narnia series past the rest of the literary world are not based upon just one savior, but more touching themes that hit us at home in our chairs reading it. If the motion picture can hold true to these, then it may also one day be a classic story just as the book has become.

The most prominent of these themes, as it over arches the whole book is brotherhood. The brother that Edmund is, the brother he should be, and the brother he is to his sister, especially Lucy. All of the other themes fall into play under this one idea of brotherhood. The redemption he seeks from his family after his fall, the redemption given to him, and the Evil White Witch, choosing him to in act her plan against the Good Aslan.

The opening of the book finds the Pevensie children, playing hide and seek in their uncle’s house. Lucy stumbles into the magical land of Narnia first. After her comes Edmund, at this time they were the only two to have come to Narnia. At first when questioned about Narnia he denies ever being there showing Lucy to be a liar. When the evil witch tells him to bring his brothers and sister on his next visit, he finally comes clean with them. When they all are in Narnia they are befriended by a family of beavers and Edmund sneaks off to find the white witch. After betraying them many times and lying to his brother and sisters he finally finds his way back to the good side after a run in with Aslan. Weather or not the White Witch wins you will have to read the book or wait for the movie.

Lets take a look at this very short synopsis of Edmund. When we first meet him he is bad tempered from pretending. Next he is lying to his brother and sister:

“Oh, yes, Lucy and I have been playing – pretending that all her story about a country in the wardrobe is true. Just for fun, of course. There’s nothing there really.”

He wants to spite Lucy, and put on a show for his older siblings. Once they all got into Narnia and they found out Edmund was lying about the whole ordeal, aside from getting the cold shoulder from his siblings they marched on after a robin they came to the beaver’s house. Edmund made his escape then to go to the white witch. All the while planning to be King and have Peter serve him. He doesn’t want them turned to stone, but:

As for what the Witch would do with the others, he didn’t want her to be particularly nice to them – certainly not to put them on the same level as himself

His delusions didn’t end until people started to die and in the heat of the battle he finally turned on the witch and broke her wand. After his meeting with Aslan he was knighted and pardoned.

We can track the journey from being a selfish bad tempered boy to a knight in Aslan’s court, A King at Cair Paravel, King Edmund the Just. With all this betrayal and deceit the other children still take him back, as a brother. This shows great character on their part, if the movie can portray the difference between Edmund and his siblings with the great art of characterization, then we are looking at a good movie. Susan however, has a dichotomy all her own in the whole series of Narnia books. I would like to see hints of her disbelief in this movie.

There is a lot that could be done in the upcoming motion picture The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and all of it could be great. I wouldn’t get your hopes up to high for this film, because the books were written by one of the greatest authors of his day and to transpose those to film would take someone like Peter Jackson. We can only hope for the best. However if the motion picture can hold true to these themes and ideas, then it may also one day be a classic story just as the book has become. Edmund takes his journey through evil to arrive with Aslan (God), his siblings still are able to forgive him after his betrayal, and the timeless idea of Good fighting Evil. These are just a small taste of the themes in this classic children’s story. If the movie can play out these ideas through acting and screenplay we are looking forward to one of the best pictures coming out December 05. I look forward to seeing the portrayal of Edmund and a tear jerking Lucy, Peter the high king and his Queen Susan, who should have a dichotomy larger then the other two but smaller then Edmunds. We can expect a somewhat open ending to leave way for Susan to become the lady she turns out to be, and even Prince Caspian in the near future.

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The first installment of what could become a seven-part Chronicles of Narnia series will be released on December 9, 2005.

A spokesman for the $170 million production could not confirm whether the movie will be screened worldwide on the same day, or if the date refers to its release in the United States only.

New movies are normally released in New Zealand on a Thursday, so it is likely C. S. Lewis fans will have to wait until December 15 to see the Pevensies do battle with the evil White Witch.

Casting decisions have yet to be made on six major roles: Aslan the lion, Maugrim, the wolf who heads the White Witch’s police, and the four children – Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter – as adults.

Aslan and Maugrim will be voice-over roles as the characters will be computer-generated by Hollywood special effects companies Sony Imageworks and Rhythm & Hues. New Zealand’s Weta Workshop, which worked on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will create the makeup prosthetics for all of the Narnian creatures.

The latest actor to be announced is Ray Winstone (King Arthur, Cold Mountain, Sexy Beast), who will provide the voice of Mr Beaver.

Other major adult roles will be played by Tilda Swinton (the White Witch), James McAvoy (Mr Tumnus the faun), Dawn French (Mrs Beaver), Jim Broadbent (Professor Kirke), James Cosmo (Father Christmas) and Rupert Everett (the Fox).

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Chud.com reports that the release date for LWW has been moved up. Here’s the news:

In other Narnia news, the film has been moved from a Christmas 2005 release to December 9 – no clue why, although it does place the film very close to Peter Jackson’s King Kong. And while we know that Tilda Swinton (who was in The War Zone with Winstone) will be playing the White Witch, we still aren’t sure who is playing Aslan the lion.

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Another Lord of the Rings alumnus joins the crew of LWW, joining other LOTR alumni Kiran Shah and Shane Rangi on the set. It is unclear at this point what role he will be playing. He was ‘Sauron’ in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” and ‘Man Flesh Uruk’ in “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” He also performed stunts in both, and was a locations manager on “The Last Samurai.”

If anyone has information on what job Mr. Baker is doing in Chronicles of Narnia, contact us and let us know.

We’ve been informed that he is not among the cast. He does do stuntwork though, so we haven’t ruled him out as of yet.

Sala Baker

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Ray Winstone has been cast as the voice of Mr. Beaver in the upcoming Narnia film. Winstone will co-star with British comic Dawn French who will voice the part of Mrs. Beaver.

Ray Winstone is a seasoned British actor who has appeared in over 50 films since 1977. Most recently he has played Bors in this year’s King Arthur. He has also played in Cold Mountain, Darkness Falls, and The War Zone (with Tilda Swinton).

Read more about Ray Winstone

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On Day 18 of Adamson’s epic shoot that began on June 28, the man who made magic with both Shrek films led his cast and crew into Narnia for the very first time as he filmed actress Georgie Henley’s (playing Lucy, the youngest of the four Pevensie children) first footsteps into the sprawling, snowy landscape envisioned by production designer Roger Ford on a set that measures approximately 80×50x18 meters (roughly the same size as the massive James Bond stage at Pinewood Studios in London).

Adamson is mounting his first live-action endeavor in sequence, a rarity in Hollywood filmmaking. Meaning, his first 17 days of production depicted the evacuation of the four siblings from their war-torn London home out to the pastures of rural England (the lush, green hills of the Tahekeroa District some 45 km from Auckland) and their relocation into the plush surroundings of the kindly Prof. Kirke’s Victorian country home (built on sound stages at Auckland’s Henderson Studios), where the youngster Lucy unexpectedly discovers the magical wardrobe while playing hide-and-seek with her family (more on the wardrobe set piece in a later report). Ford even built the interiors of a London train station (patterned after the Paddington station) in an old airplane hangar at the Hobsonville Airbase in West Auckland.

The Narnian landscape is one of over two dozen sets being created by Oscar-nominated production designer Ford, who was inspired by the wintery countryside found when the filmmakers visited the Czech Republic in 2003 in their search for a place to mount the film project (Ireland and Chile were also scouted as possible locations for the film).

The now-defunct riding center had the necessary dimensions for the first Narnian set, christened “Lantern Waste” by the filmmakers. In addition to the creative visions of director Adamson and designer Ford, two other film craftsmen were key in creating the eye-popping magic envisioned by Adamson – head greensman Russell Hoffman, who “planted” almost 200 trees (firs, pines and oaks) to create the dense frozen forest, and special effects supervisor Jason Durey, whose crew dusted the icy snowscape with over 28,000 lbs. of insulating foam, “paper” snow and a detergent (called “Snow Business”) that turns into wet, falling snow when blown through a special compressor.

Adamson and company will continue filming inside the old riding center for about ten days before returning to the Henderson stages. While at Henderson, Ford’s crew (led by supervising art director Ian Gracie) will make some subtle changes to the “Lantern Waste” set to prepare for the first scenes with Jadis the White Witch, being portrayed by renowned English actress Tilda Swinton.

Brian Linder

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