Narnia Fans » 2005 » November

Catholic experts explore Biblical parallels, moral lessons at heart of classic children’s tale by C.S. Lewis, now a major motion picture.

In two weeks, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe hits theaters nationwide. People are talking . . . and asking . . . just what is this story all about?

Does the Lion represent Jesus Christ? Is the Witch a metaphor for Satan? What are the parallels to the crucifixion and the salvation story? Who is Father Christmas? What makes the Wardrobe magical?

Beginning December 9th, these and a hundred other questions will be all the talk at water coolers and across playgrounds.

To help Catholics unlock Narnia’s many secrets, the editors of the NY Times bestseller A Guide to the Passion of The Christ, have just released the definitive Catholic travel guide to Lewis’ fictional land. A Guide to Narnia: 100 Questions about The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is available through Ascension Press and Catholic bookstores nationwide.

The highly anticipated film is being hailed by Christian and Catholic leaders as a faithful rendering on Lewis’ tale about the heroic adventures of four English children who journey through a secret wardrobe into the land Narnia. There they meet The White Witch who has cast Narnia into a spell of perpetual winter. Through a series of captivating adventures, they help the lion king Aslan reclaim Narnia through a redemptive sacrifice. “Beneath the surface of the story lies a beautiful metaphorical tale of Jesus Christ and God’s plan for humanity,” contends Mark Shea, co-author of the book and Senior Editor at Catholic Exchange. “Through ‘A Guide to Narnia,’ Catholics will learn the true meaning of this classic tale.”

Catholic Exchange, in cooperation with Catholic Outreach, has also produced three companion study guides and a youth activity guide to the book. These resources are available for free at www.NarniaOutreach.com, a fan site and resource center for parishes, schools and groups who want to use the film as a faith-formation opportunity.

“The movie is destined to inspire Catholics, especially youth, to face evil in their lives and respond with forgiveness, courage and honor,” said Matthew Pinto, President of Ascension Press. A Guide to Narnia is the perfect resource for individuals, schools, and parishes who wish to pass on the life-changing lessons that can be learned in this epic film.”

[Check our Resource page for that book and more]

A few short months ago Georgie Henley’s greatest role was the “loud growling monster” in an am-dram play. How life changes. Now the 10-year-old from Ilkley has been plucked from obscurity to star in the £110m blockbuster family film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, based on the classic novels by CS Lewis.

With its London premiere next Wednesday and several sequels in the pipeline the Moorfield School pupil has surely taken the first step on the road to movie megastardom.

“I don’t want to sound selfish or anything, but I kind of like being in the spotlight,” she says as preparations for the big night gather pace.

“It’s nice to be noticed. I got to go to New Zealand and the Czech Republic and London to make the movie, but I do have a kind of balance because I can always go back up to Yorkshire and be my old self.

“You don’t get any of this kind of glamour up there.”

Debatable, but at least the White Rose County did provide the youngster with her first shot at acting.

She was spotted in her school’s Christmas play at five-and-a-half when the rest of the cast were double her age.

Gill Jackson, a drama teacher at the school who has worked with the young starlet for the past four years says: “She has always had a talent. I knew she could do it – she could ad lib and improvise even at that age.”

Georgie’s talent developed further at the Upstagers amateur dramatics society in Ilkley where she appeared in a production of Monster Mash and as a Morris
dancer in a separate production.

Mrs Jackson, who heads Upstagers, brought Georgie to the attention of Pippa Hall, London casting director for the Narnia film.

“I told the casting agent that they ought to come and have a look at some of the youngsters from Upstagers,” the teacher says.

“It took some effort to pin her down, but she ended up coming here.”
Georgie was an instant hit and landed the lead role of Lucy Pevensie – the little girl who discovers the magical world of Narnia at the back of a wardrobe – ahead of 2,000 other hopefuls.

[Read the rest at Yorkshire Today]

Ask actress Dawn French where she’d like to go if she had the chance to open a door into a whole new magical land and she barely needs more than a second to come up with an answer.

“Well, I’m quite shallow so I would like to go to choco-world,” she says licking her lips. “A place where there’s lots of chocolate stuff with chocolate stuff on it.”

Icy Narnia, the magical land in her new movie The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, couldn’t be more different.

But the 48-year-old comedy actress isn’t complaining. The film looks set to be a huge Christmas hit, and with six more potential sequels in the pipeline, Dawn is laughing all the way to the box office.

Yet, the Welsh-born star who has made a highly successful career out of mimicry says she almost turned down the offer to voice the part of an animated beaver for the film.

“I knew that when you do a voice for a character it can be a bit of a lonely experience and a bit unfulfilling,” she explains.

“You don’t have all the camaraderie and you don’t have the make-up truck and you don’t have your new little family that you can flirt with, such as lovely James McAvoy (her co-star in the movie) and you don’t get the four o’clock snacking – which is the main motivation for me obviously,” she adds with a cheeky grin.

Beaver teeth

“I was also a bit worried thinking, ‘Will I have to wear beaver teeth or have a beaver accent?’ So, a part of me was thinking, hmm, do I really want to do this?”

It was her comedy partner and close friend Jennifer Saunders who finally persuaded Dawn that Mrs Beaver was worth getting her teeth into.

“Yes, Fatty Saunders as I like to call her,” laughs Dawn. “She said to me, ‘Look. I did Shrek, with the same director Andrew Adamson and if you’re going to do something like this, he’s the guy to do it with. You will have a lot of fun’. And she was exactly right.”

Actor Ray Winstone, who voices Mr Beaver in the movie, was also a big incentive, she admits.

“He was definitely one of the reasons whey I took the job. I know Ray very well. We’re old muckers. I thought we’d be in the same room together having a laugh and in fact virtually everything was done separately. I feel a bit of a fraudster actually because all the other cast members worked really hard on the film whereas I just had a lot of fun in a small darkened room, mainly eating quite a lot of cake.”

Despite being thousands of miles from her Narnia co-stars, including James McAvoy and Tilda Swinton, who were filming in New Zealand, Dawn still managed to wangle herself a trip down under.

“I wasn’t required, but it didn’t stop me going because New Zealand is one of my favourite places, so I just turned up on set,” she adds with her trademark mischievous grin.

Classic

The film, based on the children’s classic The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, by CS Lewis, tells the story of four young brothers and sisters who open a magic wardrobe and stumble into Narnia, a mythical land where the evil White Witch (Swinton) has cast out the kind, noble lion Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) and plunged the world into an eternal winter.

And though she’d never read the book itself, the story back fond childhood memories for Dawn.

“I haven’t read the book at all, I actually had it read to me by my Dad, who was very good at reading,” she explains. “I realise only now that it gave my Dad a chance to be Aslan which is pretty good for a dad – to be wise and in charge and all knowing. That was a good trick.

“So, I remember it as a completely auditory experience, and when I saw it on the big screen it was wonderful, really wonderful.”

Dawn, who has a 13-year-old adopted daughter Billie with husband Lenny Henry, has now appeared in two of the biggest family films of recent times, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban and The Chronicles Of Narnia.

But ask her who she thinks comes out on top and she’s suddenly unusually diplomatic.

“Speaking as a parent. I would say hurray for having two fantastic films to take kids too,” she smiles, “They’re both great in entirely different ways. We’ve had some famine years to take children to the movies and I’m delighted that there are two great films around.”

With plans for another of her hit TV comedy The Vicar Of Dibley, as well as a new West End stage show Smaller and another French and Saunders series, Dawn is busier than ever.

However, she says she’d jump at the chance to return to Narnia – but not necessarily as Mrs Beaver.

“I actually identified with Lucy,” she says of the young heroine of the book, played in the movie by 10-year-old Georgie Henley. “That’s who I wanted to be, completely brave. And I was slightly surprised that I wasn’t asked to play her.

“Let’s just say I am available for the sequel – as Lucy,” she adds with that tongue, as ever, firmly in cheek.

C.S. Lewis, author of the classic children’s “Narnia” books which are about to make their big screen debut, was “absolutely opposed” to a live action version of his stories, a newly published letter shows. The letter, posted on the literary Web site Nthposition.com, revealed that he had strong feelings about how his book should be used.

“I am absolutely opposed — adamant isn’t in it! — to a TV version,” he wrote to BBC producer Lance Sieveking, who had created a radio version of his book which had met Lewis’ approval.

Although Lewis, who died in 1963, said he would have considered a cartoon version, his letter suggests he is unlikely to have approved of Disney’s interpretation, particularly its computer-generated Aslan.

“Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare — at least with photography,” he wrote.

“Cartoons (if only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius!) would be another matter. A human, pantomime, Aslan would be, to me, blasphemy.”

Excuse me if I disagree with Reuters here, but this does not, in any way, discount film as a means. It very clearly states that pantomime with a HUMAN as Aslan, like the old BBC versions of the series, are what he would be distasteful of. However, I submit that if Lewis were alive today, he would have seen the great step forward that we’ve made in technology, and upon seeing this film, he would have agreed that it is possible to fulfill. When he wrote that letter, computer animation in film was still about 25 years away, and about 33 years from being at a good enough point to do realistic creatures (re: Jurassic Park). It’s a shame that people might take this to mean that he wouldn’t enjoy this new Walden Media version of Narnia. Afterall, it’s not pantomime, is it..it’s CG.

From NthPosition.com:

The Kilns,
Headington Quarry,
Oxford
18 Dec. 1959

Dear Sieveking

(Why do you “Dr” me? Had we not dropped the honorifics?) As things worked out, I wasn’t free to hear a single instalment of our serial [The Magician’s Nephew] except the first. What I did hear, I approved. I shd. be glad for the series to be given abroad. But I am absolutely opposed – adamant isn’t in it! – to a TV version. Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare. At least, with photography. Cartoons (if only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius!) wld. be another matter. A human, pantomime, Aslan wld. be to me blasphemy.

All the best,
yours 
C. S. Lewis

[Letter to BBC producer Lance Sieveking (1896-1972), who has written at the top: ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ and, after the address, the phone number “62963”.]

Patrick Kake has taken the time to answer some of our questions about the Chronicles of Narnia. He plays the role of General Oreius, the Centaur that leads Aslan’s army. He was also the stunt double of Kevin Sorbo in Hercules.

NarniaFans.com: Have you read the Chronicles, and if so, when did you first read them and what did you think?

Patrick Kake: Yes, I have read six of the Chronicles of Narnia so far and will probably read the last book “The Last Battle” on the plane to the London world premiere. I first read “The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe” after I landed the role of Oreius. I had always known about “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” but I was always more into Marvel action hero comics and wild life books. I think the two books of the six I have read so far that stand out for me are “The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe” and “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” I would love to see “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” made into a film I could see it being a visually stunning movie.

NarniaFans.com: What are your memories of that?

Patrick Kake: Having read these books only 15 months ago my memories of the books are obviously very clear. The Chronicles of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis are very cleverly written. I loved the way he would come into the story like a storyteller that was surrounded by a group of seated children transfixed by his every word, and would briefly explain how something would sound-like or taste-like and then climb back into the character and continue with the story. Though these books were written 50 years ago, I think they still continue to take people who read them on an amazing mythical journey. I’m looking forward to reading “The Last Battle.”

NarniaFans.com: How did you feel when you learned you’d gotten the part of General Oreius?

Patrick Kake: Landing the role of Oreius was just amazing, and it was a nervous wait I can tell you. My agent “Odd management” would give me updates every couple of days sayin “Patrick you’re being put on the short list,” then it would be “It’s down to 5 of you,” then it would be “It’s down to you and another guy from the UK” and then, “Patrick you have been given the role of Oreius!” YEE HAA!!! For any actor to have an opportunity to be part of such a huge film doesn’t present itself every day, and as a child I had always dream’t of being an action hero on the big screen, so to be honest it was too a pretty emotional experience. To have an action figure made out of your character is also pretty cool. (“Some boys never grow up!”)

NarniaFans.com: What experiences did you have on the set and what will you remember most?

Patrick Kake: The time in the Southern Alps of Flock Hill was mind blowing. First there was the heart stopping scenery of the snow capped mountains that would, on some mornings, be coated in a violet/red sunrise as we travelled to work. My first sight of Base Camp Flock Hill was a sight to behold. It looked like a small town that was made of huge tents placed in the middle of a wilderness. There were vehicles of all shapes and sizes coming and going, film equipment for Africa, 5 helicopters ready for action and horse wranglers with a stable of horses and people everywhere. On any one day there would be 600 hundred people for breakfast, and it was always a carnival type atmosphere with extras singing while playing guitars and bongo drums.

One particular day on set, while we were waiting for the snow to clear, we had a doubles Foo’s ball competition. It was funny to see William and Skandar who had teamed up together, taking on the likes of the gaint ogres and easily beating them within about 2 minutes. Needless to say William and Skandar sweeped all comers to be crowned doubles foo’s ball champions.

One nice moment was after we had finished a scene; Georgie [Lucy] walked up to me and said, “Excuse me Patrick could I get a shoot of you and I comparing sword sizes please?” Very sweet. It turns out that the set photographer had taken the same shoot and passed it onto Perry Moore who put it in his movie companion book. That would have to be my favourite photo of all.

With 3 units shooting film at the same time it always exciting. Sometimes I would be standing on top of a hill beside William with a helicoptor shooting over head then it was off to another unit to shoot battle scene footage with Shane Rangi and then finish the day in the green scene theatre shooting centaur galloping scenes.

Other memoriable moments happened off set. There were birthdays, a wedding, Tilda’s famous barbeques, even a traditional Pacific Island feast cooked using white hot stones prepared by Siaosi Fonua who was one of the stuntman. One afternoon Shane Rangi and I were released early from work so we explored an anicent lime stone cave that was situated a couple of km’s down the road from Flockhill Base Camp. It had freezing water gushing through, which over thousands of years had created an interior that looked like the limestone had melted and then solidified and in some places it was 30ft high. It took us about 25 mins to get through to the other side. It was very cool.

All great memories I will never forget.

NarniaFans.com’s glamel: When are you planning to get married?

Patrick Kake: I’m already married.

NarniaFans.com’s glamel: What type of girls do you like?

Patrick Kake: There is one particular girl I like, and that would be my wife.

NarniaFans.com’s glamel: How do you maintain your body?

Patrick Kake: I train 4 to 5 times a week and do alot of weight training, swissball workouts, cycling and kick boxing.

NarniaFans.com’s glamel: How’s the feeling of working with Kevin Sorbo’s double in Hercules?

Patrick Kake: Working as the Hercules double was awesome. It allowed me to learn a huge amount about the film industry not only from a practical perspective but also a theoretical perspective. I actually caught up with Kevin here in New Zealand about 3 months ago. He and his family are very well.

NarniaFans.com’s Rosymole: If you had to combine your real body with an animal, would you choose a horse?

Patrick Kake: Yes, I would choose a horse. I’ve always loved horses. They are such majestic animals.

Thanks again, Patrick Kake, for doing this interview!
[Our Patrick Kake page here at NarniaFans.com]
[Our General Oreius page]
[See also our Exclusive Interview with Shane Rangi, General Otmin]

Shane Rangi, Patrick Kake and Kiran Shah's production house

Philo and Lady Eowyn from the NarniaWeb costume site had the opportunity to interview Isis Musssenden, costume designer for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Below is an excerpt from their exclusive interview:

Q: How much did you interact with the text of the book itself for inspiration? Did you draw upon other books in the Chronicles as well?

Isis Mussenden: More than you (or I) can imagine! I can not tell you how many times I have read it. Depending on what area of the story we were working on I constantly referred back to the chapters for clues and inspiration. And yes, the other books were also helpful. Although LWW is the first time in the Chronicles we meet the children, it was helpful to understand where their characters were going.

Q: A lot of symbolism seems to have gone in to her costumes. Can you tell us a little more about this? What went into the construction of her gowns?

Isis Mussenden: The fabric we created for her dress is directly related to the ice images I spoke of earlier. The first layer is a velvet dyed with resist areas for a modeled look. The second layer is felted wool and silk. The raw materials were dyed and then felted to fit the shape of each dress. The sheen of the silk is what gave us icy lines and begins to create the depth. The final layer is the lace. This is metallic thread and organza pieces, also dyed, sewn onto a burn out fabric. We would draw the ice crackle from a small scale to a larger scale at the hem of the dress. This gives us the illusion of height, she is a giant. Then a seamstress would machine endless amounts of thread over the lines and finally we would burn out the back. Each panel was made this way for all of the six dresses. Once the lace was ready we would hand sew it on to the felted dress and then and only then the dress would truly come to life. Tilda use to comment on how amazing it was when we would lay on that last layer. It was always a little piece of magic.

[Click here to read the entire interview here]

Folks interested in a sneak peek of the upcoming “Chronicles of Narnia” film can now download the film’s promotional video content to their iPods.

“Moviegoers are increasingly elusive to reach. We want to be able to deliver our content to them to view on the device they want to view it on, in the highest theatrical quality,” Jack Pan, VP of marketing at Disney’s Buena Vista Pictures Marketing, told ClickZ News.

As part of the online promotion of Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,” the Disney unit is making available versions of the film’s trailers, clips, behind-the-scenes segments, interviews, and other film content.

Using technology from Maven Networks, fans can choose to have the content automatically delivered to their desktop, or synched to their video-enabled iPods.

“Marketers want to follow consumers wherever they are. More and more, they are on portable devices,” said Todd Boes, the VP of marketing at Maven. “Consumers are increasingly in control today, and as marketers realize that, they want to deliver their content to them wherever they are.”

Film marketing is slowly moving online, but not at as fast a pace as some had predicted, Pan said. “It will continue to migrate toward emerging media, which is already taking up a larger portion of media spending. But I think TV will be around for a long time.”

Once installed, the Narnia channel automatically checks for content updates, and will also offer a range of interactive options, including the ability to send to a friend, check for movie times and purchase tickets.

[read the rest at ClickZ]

Move over Harry Potter, there’s a new kid in town and she’s just as magical. Little Georgie Henley might only be 10 years old but it looks as if she’s about to give those Potter whiz kids a serious run for their money.

Not only has she bagged a lead role in one of this year’s most eagerly awaited movies, but she’s clearly a star in the making.

Yorkshire-born Georgie has been plucked from obscurity to star in the blockbuster family film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, based on the classic novels by CS Lewis.

The youngster had never acted before landing the role of Lucy Pevensie – the little girl who discovers the magical world of Narnia at the back of a wardrobe – and admits it was all a little nerve-racking.

“I got a bit nervous at first and kept messing it up,” she blushes. “That’s why they did take after take after take.

“But the director told me they had to do it that way because then they could get lots of cuts,” she adds.

Lucy was whisked away from her home in Ilkley to film on the other side of the globe in New Zealand, where she found herself acting alongside some of the biggest British actors in the business, such as Jim Broadbent and Tilda Swinton.

However, the youngster wasn’t fazed by her illustrious company – in fact, she ended up putting some of them firmly in their place.

Shocked at some of the ripe language from the grown ups, the youngster took it upon herself to organise a swear bucket and says the worst offender was and up-and-coming star James McAvoy, star of the hit TV show Shameless.

“He swore on the first day and I made him put four New Zealand dollars in the bucket,” she giggles.

The pair formed a close bond on set, which mirrored their relationship in the book. The Scottish actor plays Mr Tumnus, the friendly fawn who tries to protect Lucy from Narnia’s evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton), who has plunged the land into eternal winter.

[Read the rest at icWales]

C.S. Lewis’ masterpiece comes to life! IM your friends with Narnia as your background. Choose 100 years of winter or bring spring to Cair Paravel. Meet the White Witch and Aslan, the great lion. Buzz your friends and bring a little chill to the conversation. When you buzz your friends, it tell you how many days until Narnia hits theatres.

**BIG SPOILERS**

The 9-Minute trailer can now be viewed on a Swedish television site. Be careful, though, as there are HUGE spoilers in this trailer.

To view the Supertrailer you will need the Windows Media Player.

[Click here to view the Supertrailer at TV4.se]

If you have trouble with the above link you may be able to access the file directly by clicking here.