David J. Theroux, the Founder and President of the C. S. Lewis Society of California has e-mailed us with the latest updates on many upcoming events that you’re all invited to attend! I hope that some of you have the chance to visit these events and join Lewis Societies, or even have the opportunity to start one in your own area if one does not exist. Here’s the update:

In this Issue of C.S. Lewis Society Update:
1. Upcoming Films
2. Important New Books
3. Next meetings of the C.S. Lewis Society’s Bay Area Book Club
4. Other Upcoming Events

1. Upcoming Films:

With the enormous film success of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” based on the first volume of C.S. Lewis’s beloved 7-volume series, “The Chronicles of Narnia,” plans are underway at Walden Media to produce the following films based on other Lewis novels, for public release as follows:

“Prince Caspian” — mid-2008
“The Screwtape Letters” — Christmas 2008
“Voyage of the ‘Dawn Treader’” — mid-2009
“The Silver Chair” — mid-2010

In addition, the Duncan Group is in post-production for the forthcoming program for PBS:

“Myth, Imagination & Faith: A Spiritual Journey through Literature”

Featuring the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald and C.S. Lewis, this new documentary will explore the central theme of “the true myth” with experts and scholars weighing in from various perspectives. The show plans to follow in the traditions of both the acclaimed programs, “The Magic Never Ends” and the PBS special “The Question of God.”

2. Important new books:

* The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950-1963
Edited by Walter Hooper
HarperSanFrancisco, 2007

The final installment of the three-volume collected letters of C. S. Lewis, this volume contains the letters Lewis wrote during the last part of his life, spanning his time at Cambridge, his brilliant creation of the land of Narnia and the children’s series that followed, and his struggle with his wife Joy’s serious illness and death. Editor and friend Walter Hooper calls him “one of the last great letter-writers” — the last of a generation who did not lift a telephone receiver when he had something to say or tap out e-mails on a computer keyboard. Some of the recipients richly merited his ink: the detective novelist, theologian and Dante translator Dorothy Sayers; St. Giovanni Calabria of Verona (correspondence in Latin); T.S. Eliot; the sci-fi maestro Arthur C. Clarke; and the American writer Robert Penn Warren. In these letters, Lewis swaps quips in Latin and Greek and quotes Spenser, Statius, Beowulf, Horace, Wordsworth, Terence and Augustus. Other letters were from cranks, whiners and down-and-out charity cases; he answered them all.

* The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community
By Diana Glyer (Professor of English, Azusa Pacific University)
Kent State University Press, 2007

The creators of Narnia and Middle Earth, C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends and professional colleagues. They met frequently with a community of fellow Christian writers at Oxford in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, all sharing their works-in-progress. The group became known as the Inklings. Diana Glyer invites readers into the heart of the group, examining diary entries, personal letters and manuscripts.

* C.S. Lewis: Life, Works, and Legacy (4 volumes)
Edited by Bruce L. Edwards (Professor and Associate Dean, Bowling Green State University)
Praeger Publishers, 2007

This splendid, four-volume reference set on the life and works of C. S. Lewis includes such contributors as Devin Brown, Wayne Martindale, Victor Reppert, Lyle Dorsett, Perry Bramlett, Diana Glyer, Marjorie Lamp Mead, Colin Duriez, and many other Lewis scholars.

3. Next meetings of the C.S. Lewis Society’s Bay Area Book Club:

Book for Discussion:

PERELANDRA, by C.S. Lewis (from his acclaimed Space Trilogy)

“Mr. Lewis has a genius for making his fantasies livable.”
–NEW YORK TIMES

“Lewis, perhaps more than any other twentieth-century writer, forced those who listened to him and read his works to come to terms with their own philosophical presuppositions.”
–LOS ANGELES TIMES

“If wit and wisdom, style and scholarship are requisites to passage through the pearly gates, Mr. Lewis will be among the angels.”
–NEW YORKER

“Writing of the highest order. PERELANDRA is, from all standpoints, far superior to other tales of interplanetary adventures.”
–COMMONWEAL

Meeting moderator/leader: Tom Price
Wednesday, May 30th, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 13th, 7:30 p.m.

The second in C.S. Lewis’s acclaimed Space Trilogy, which includes Out of the Silent Planet and That Hideous Strength, PERELANDRA continues the adventures of the extraordinary Dr. Elwin Ransom as he journeys to a new world, Perelandra, and meets a human native, a glamorously beautiful woman who is the equivalent of Eve. The book is a a truly magical tale, completely unique in the science fiction genre. Pitted against the greatest of human weaknesses, temptation, Ransom must battle for good on Perelandra when it is invaded by pure evil. Will Perelandra succumb or will it throw off the yoke of corruption and achieve a spiritual perfection as yet unknown to man? The outcome of Dr. Ransom’s mighty struggle will alone determine its fate.

The meetings will be held at:

11990 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94619
510-482-2906 phone
wine, soft drinks and other refreshments served

Here also are articles that discuss PERELANDRA:

“PERELANDRA,” Wikipedia

“PERELANDRA, by C.S. Lewis,” reviewed by Peter Schakel, The Literary Encyclopedia

“C. S. Lewis: Science and Scientism,” by Henry F. Schaefer III

PERELANDRA is available in paperback and on CD.

Here also is the schedule of future Lewis Society book club meetings:
http://www.lewissociety.org/bookclub.php

Here also is information on C.S. Lewis:
http://www.lewissociety.org/aboutlewis.php

We hope that you and/or others you know will be joining with us! (Please feel free to forward this update to others.)

4. Other Upcoming Events:
http://www.lewissociety.org/events.php

Dorothy L. Sayers Society Annual Convention
Sponsored by the Marion E. Wade Center
Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL
June 13-17, 2007
http://www.wheaton.edu/wadecenter/news/news.html

The 26th Annual Chesterton Conference: “The Man Who Was Today”
Sponsored by the American Chesterton Society
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN
June 14-16, 2007
http://www.chesterton.org/rediscover/conference.html

“Opposition Is True Friendship: Love, Friendship and Philosophy in C.S. Lewis’s World”
Sponsored by the Southern California C.S. Lewis Society
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Monrovia, CA
June 16, 2007

C.S. Lewis Summer Conference: “Finding the Way: C.S. Lewis as Pilgrim Guide in an Age of Pluralism”
Sponsored by the C.S. Lewis Foundation
San Diego, CA
June 28-July 1, 2007
http://www.cslewis.org/programs/sumconference/2007/index.html

The 38th Annual Mythopoeic Conference (Mythcon XXXVIII), “Becoming Adept: The Journey to Mastery”
Sponsored by the Mythopoeic Society
University of California, Berkeley, CA
August 3-6, 2007
http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon38.html

“The Crisis of the University: Freedom, Tolerance and the Pursuit of Truth”
Sponsored by the C.S. Lewis Foundation
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
October 5-6, 2007
http://www.cslewis.org/programs/ff/2007/index.html

“C.S. Lewis: Man and His Work: A 21st Century Legacy”
Sponsored by L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture
Southeastern College at Wake Forest, Wake Forest, NC
October 26-27, 2007
http://www.sebts.edu/CSLewis/

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Laura Zamzow was able to attend the World Premiere of the Chronicles of Narnia Suite last night. She sent us along some pictures from the event that she took in the lobby (as I’m sure no photography of any kind was allowed in the auditorium). The pictures are primarily props from the film. Very cool stuff. She also tells us about the concert itself. Read on!

As a fan of your site, I thought you might like to at least see some photos from the World Premiere of the Chronicles of Narnia Suite by Harry Gregson-Williams in Denver last night. In the lobby they had some props from the film including Peter’s sword and Father Christmas’s Robe.

The concert was wonderful-the suite was made up of all the main themes from the film and the highlight for everyone seemed to be the fourth movement: The Battle of Beruna. There were 3 screens in Boettcher Hall and they displayed still photos as well as clips from the film while the music was being played. Another highlight was a taped introduction by William Moseley and Anna Popplewell from the set of Prince Caspian.

I hope you enjoy the photos and thank you for creating this fun website!
~Laura Zamzow

View the Images at WaldenFans.com

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After years of snow and wardrobes, Narnia’s long winter has ended and become full of lush green valleys, trees, and sunshine. And no, we’re not talking about the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Narnia.com has finally updated it’s site from the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and made the transition to Prince Caspian. It has also added a countdown clock for Prince Caspian’s release.

See the new front page!

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Blesk, a Czech newspaper, was able to get a picture of the Telmarine castle set where (in the book) Caspian lives with his uncle Miraz and his aunt Prunaprismia.

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Two young world travelers have spotted the filming of Prince Caspian! They’ve been to many places, and have seen many things. Here’s their report of stumbling upon some filming of Narnia while traveling New Zealand.

There’s a little place called Paradise near Glenorchy, just north of Queenstown and this too was another LOTR location. The problem is- the road to paradise is hard to find and extremely treacherous at times. We crept slowly along a dirt track for ages, hoping not to damage our vehicle and just as we decided that we should turn and go back we approached a sign.

We decided to continue for a little longer and eventually came to a large field filled with vans, tents, and cables. Across from this was a group of horsemen in costume with a young man in their midst. The young rider was dressed differently and clearly stood out as the star of the show. A large camera followed the riders as they rode across the field. We asked someone what was being filmed and they said it was a little New Zealand documenary. This was said with a smirk and it was clear from the costumes and size of production that this was no small documentary.

We cheekily took some photos and then drove on a bit looking for the LOTR site. We think we found the site but the road became extremely rough and eventually we came to a stream that blocked our way.

We headed back towards the filming and passed an old man who had the exciting job of stopping cars from getting into shot. He was happy to inform us that they were filming the new Narnia movie- Prince Caspian! The young horseman was clearly Caspian. The old man waved us through and we drove past while they were still filming. So when the movie comes out and you are watching a scene with Prince Caspian and maybe a dozen horsemen in a field, look out for a bright orange spaceship in the background!

See the pictures along with more images of their adventures through both Middle-Earth and Narnia here, as well as their visit to Tatooine elsewhere in their blog.

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Yes! That’s right! In exactly one year from today, Prince Caspian will be released into theaters.

So what has actually happened this year in Prince Caspian? So far, pre-production, the principle characters have been cast (see our cast page), and filming has begun.

Then, what are we looking forward to in this next year? Of course there is always the end of filming, but mainly, post-production (digital characters being added, finalizing what will be in and out of the movie…).

Prince Caspian is on it’s way. The production has come far, but there still is a lot of work to do in only one year!

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

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

“Of course I care about visibility,” says Favino, “but I’ve never been that hungry for popularity.”

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

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

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

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

Read the rest at Variety.com

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My Entertainment World has just posted a casting call for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. There is no further information as for what roles are being cast. We do know that the film isn’t being cast by Pippa Hall this time around, and we cannot yet disclose the name of the new casting director. Details on this casting call are available only by subscription to the site.

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” Could they be looking for their Eustace Clarence Scrubb?

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER, THE – (Date – TBA) – UK; Details Are only Available By Subscription.. STORY: In the enchanted land of Narnia, Edmund and Lucy join King Caspian on a sworn mission to find the seven lost Lords of Narnia. So begins a perilous new quest that takes them to the farthest edge of the Eastern world on board the mighty Dawn Treader. Sailing uncharted seas, the old friends must survive a terrible storm, encounters with sea serpents, dragons, and invisible enemies to reach lands where magicians weave mysterious spells and nightmares come true. They need every ounce of courage and the help of the great lion Aslan to triumph in their most hazardous adventure of all. (Posted: March 20, 2007. Revised: May 16, 2007)

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Months ago, we reported an advertisement showing that Narnia is coming to Blu-ray Disc. Disney has followed through with the advertising promise, and officially made the announcement. No release date has been revealed, nor any details about the features that will be included on the disc.

The disc was announced on Monday night. Disney Home Entertainment threw a lavish bash where it revealed the plans for release of the Narnia disc, and to preview next week’s Blu-ray debut of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean‘ films. The event was held at the Highlands nightclub in Hollywood, CA.

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Sophia Perennis Publications has just brought back into print eight books by Owen Barfield, colleague of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, who has been acclaimed one of the most original minds of the 20th century; his Saving the Appearances remains a universally recognized classic. The titles newly available are:

The Rediscovery of Meaning and Other Essays
Romanticism Comes of Age
Speaker’s Meaning
Worlds Apart
History, Guilt and Habit
Owen Barfield on C. S. Lewis
Unancestral Voice
What Coleridge Thought

Owen Barfield, who died in 1997 in his hundredth year, was one of the most original minds of the twentieth century. T.S. Eliot wrote of his Saving the Appearances that it was “one of the few books which made me proud to be director of the firm which published them.” C.S. Lewis wrote that “he towers above us all,” describing Barfield as “the wisest of my unofficial advisers.” But his books have won respect from many writers other than Eliot and Lewis, among them J.R.R. Tolkien, John Lukacs, and Saul Bellow. His lifelong passion was the history of meaning, which he illumined from many sides, always against the backdrop of the evolution of consciousness (he wrote that “the full meanings of words are flashing, iridescent shapes like flames — ever-flickering vestiges of the slowly evolving consciousness beneath them”). He drew much inspiration from the works of the Austrian thinker Rudolf Steiner, and in his efforts to uncover the deeper significance of the Imagination as a faculty of knowledge within an evolutionary context, turned especially to the work of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who for him served as an exemplar of this faculty, as Goethe had done for Steiner. Barfield’s writings are full of life and insights well fit to inspire a new generation of thinkers.

Check out each of these new publications in our Amazon Store.

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