The third Chronicles of Narnia movie is tipped to be made outside New Zealand because of a lack of studio space there.

Tim Coddington, the New Zealand production manager of Prince Caspian and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, said the third movie in the fantasy series would probably go to a country with more studio infrastructure.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is likely to be filmed mostly in the studio. Because the story takes place on a boat and a series of fantasy islands, it will require large indoor sets.

Only about a third of Prince Caspian was filmed in New Zealand. However, landscapes from the South Island and Coromandel Peninsula appear alongside scenes from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. Studio scenes were filmed in Prague.

Almost all of the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was filmed here.

Screenmark consultant Tim Thorpe said a lack of studio space was an ongoing issue in New Zealand. The Government had done its bit by investing in studios in Auckland and Wellington, but studios were not generally good money-spinners.

Mr Thorpe said Kiwi Andrew Adamson, who directed the first two movies but will not direct the third, was always keen to film in New Zealand but money managers would decide.

Baja in Mexico, where the third film is tipped to be made, has three or four studios the size of that used in Henderson.

The Ministry of Economic Development says The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe makers spent $133.8 million in New Zealand. Just under $17 million of that was repaid by the Government under its large budget screen production incentive scheme.

Interim figures from the ministry show Prince Caspian makers spent $52.3 million here, $6.7 million of which was paid back in a government grant.

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An attraction based on the second film in The Chronicles of Narnia series, Prince Caspian, officially opened on June 26, 2008 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In attendance at the opening were Prince Caspian, who rode in on horseback, Warwick Davis, who plays Nikabrik in the film, and Dave Hoffman, Walt Disney Imagineer and Art Director for Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

After a short introduction, guests find themselves within Aslan’s How, a chamber that plays a prominent role in the film.

The attraction is targeted toward fans of the Narnia series who already know the story of Prince Caspian. A full plot summary is delivered via movie clips, touching on most of the major twists and turns in the film. If you haven’t yet seen the film or read the book, this attraction may spoil it for you (just as many other Disney movie-based attractions could for their respective films).

See higher-resolution video here

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USA Network has agreed to pay Disney ABC Domestic TV about $15 million for the network-window rights to “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.”

“Caspian” is perceived as darker and more adult than its predecessor, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which was bought by ABC and its Disney Channel and ABC Family siblings.

USA has harvested some of its best ratings in recent years with big action movies including “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “National Treasure,” the “Indiana Jones” movies and “The Bourne Identity.” Not surprisingly, USA has outbid other cable networks for all three “Pirates” movies, for “National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets,” “Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “The Bourne Ultimatum.” The network has also bought “The Golden Compass” and “Casino Royale.”

Because of the fantasy elements in “Caspian,” USA has included in the Disney deal some runs of the movie for its Sci Fi Channel sibling.

USA takes title to “Caspian” in September 2010 on a 4½-year contract, permitting Disney ABC to carve out some runs within the contract for sale of the movie to another network.

Before USA, “Caspian” will get an exclusive 15-month pay TV window beginning next summer on Starz as part of its overall output deal with Disney.

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

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A former secretary of Oxford author CS Lewis is giving away signed first editions of the author’s Narnia books to raise money to renovate a city church.

The Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius, in Woodstock Road, is set to receive the windfall thanks to the generosity of Walter Hooper.

The church is launching a £3m appeal to carry out renovation work and build a new chapel and student accommodation.

Mr Hooper, 77, who lives in North Oxford, briefly worked as CS Lewis’s private secretary in 1963, shortly before the author’s death.

After Lewis’s death, Mr Hooper devoted himself to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe author’s memory and co-wrote the author’s biography, and edited his letters and diaries.

He said: “I have kept these books close to me all these years but when this appeal came up, I wanted to do something.

“In a way it will be a wrench to part with the books but in another way I’m glad, because they might do some good.

“CS Lewis gave away two thirds of his income and it was wonderfully liberating to see a man who did not seem to amass wealth at all – he really was a good man.”

Mr Hooper will retain a copy of Lewis’s poetry volume Spirits in Bondage, because he still finds inspiration from the verses.

Mr Hooper has donated 11 CS Lewis titles, including three signed first editions – The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader, The Horse And His Boy and The Last Battle.

All 11 books are estimated to sell for up to £3,000 each at auction in London next month, with the hammer price boosted by the release today of the movie version of Prince Caspian. The books will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in London on July 17.

This year marks the 110th anniversary of Lewis’s birth in Belfast on November 29, 1898.

Philip Berrington, books specialist for Sotheby’s, said: “With the film of Prince Caspian coming out, the timing for this auction couldn’t be better. The connection between Walter Hooper and CS Lewis makes these books very collectable.”

The Oxford Oratory was built in 1875. Redecoration will restore marble, stonework and stencilling of the original Victorian design.

A smaller chapel for Masses, pilgrimage groups and baptisms will be added, together with a small garden.

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Daily Mail is reporting that actor Will Poulter has joined the cast of “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” in the role of Eustace Clarence Scrubb. It is amazing just how much he looks like the Eustace that I think we all imagined him to be.

Will Poulter, who has been cast as pain-in-the-butt Eustace Scrubb, the Pevensie children’s cousin, in the next Narnia adventure to go before the cameras – The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader – which Michael Apted will direct.

Awful things happen to Eustace in this tale, but he learns. Will played Lee Carter, the scamp schoolboy in the film Son Of Rambow.

In fact, when I interviewed Will a few months ago I thought he’d be one holy terror, but he’s a very likeable 14-year-old Londoner, and I was struck by his perfect manners.

In Voyage Of The Dawn Treader he’ll join Ben Barnes, as Prince Caspian, and Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley, as Edmund and Lucy. Peter and Susan don’t feature in this story – at least not in the one C.S Lewis wrote.

The second Narnia picture, Prince Caspian, had its premiere last night and opens next week.

Talk about it in The Dancing Lawn
Read about him on IMDB

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When they talk about “living the dream”, they are talking about people like Weta guru Richard Taylor. He loves movies, he loves making things for movies, and he’s just completed work on the latest Narnia, Prince Caspian.

All the visual effects magicians at Weta have been toiling away to bring Prince Caspian and all the other inhabitants of Narnia to life.

They have also been in the weapons business, creating swords and armour for the Nanian and Telmarine armies.

Kate Rodger had a secret tour of Weta’s off-limits weapons store, and talked all things Narnia with Richard Taylor.

Watch the full, uncut interview.

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CS Lewis’ beloved classic is listed among other notables like JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird as one of the top 50 novels . The list, which was featured in the Telegraph.co.uk story about Play.com’s top 50 Novels, listed some of the 50 best novels of all time.

Here is a look at the top 10 novels:

1. To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee

2. Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien

3. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- C.S Lewis

4. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

5. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

6. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

7. Animal Farm – George Orwell

8. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – JK Rowling

10. Lord of the Flies – William Golding

Give the full list a look over if you are interested in getting ideas for what to read this summer. Here at NarniaFans, of course, we recommend you start with Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe first and then read Lord of the Rings. Once you’re done, I’d say read Pride & Prejudice followed by Great Expectations. After that it’s all up to you.

You can read the full list here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk

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I guess we’re better off just waiting for the official word from Walt Disney Home Entertainment. There’s a little bit of mis-information out there, and it’s primarily because someone misread the following:

Consumers who want to buy a Blu-ray player that supports BD-Live need to look for the “BD-Live” logo on the front of the machine.

Fannon said he expects the prices to drop over time as production meets demand and Hollis said he expects this technology to become standard in most new Blu-ray players by October.

Disney’s first BD-Live releases, Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbell, will come out in October. Wall-E and Prince Caspian are in the pipeline but no release date has been set.

The only two BD-Live releases from Disney, in October, will be Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbell. The article goes on to say that no release date has been set for Prince Caspian or Wall-E, though both are in the pipeline.

My guess would put Wall-E in November and Caspian in December.

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iF Magazine has interviewed composer Harry Gregson-Williams. Check out the full interview at the source link, or just read the portion below.

iF: There’s a real flow to PRINCE CASPIAN. Talk about how you integrate the orchestra with your samples for its unique, and melodically pleasing sound?

Harry Gregson-Williams: Caspian is more or less an acoustic score, as was LWW. As I often do, I integrated some of my customized sounds (nothing heinously electronic!) alongside an orchestra, a choir and various ethnic instruments from all around the world to create the sound of Narnia. It is amusing to me that on LWW I seemed to ruffle some people’s feathers for sounding too electronic. Please! I enjoy and listen to plenty of ‘electronic’ music and sometimes create scores along those lines, but…. well…. I don’t know what some people’s idea of ‘electronic’ is, but it’s not mine.

iF: You make ample use of choral music in PRINCE CASPIAN. Do the words have any actual meaning, a la Howard Shore’s use of Elvish in his RINGS scores?

Harry Gregson-Williams: As it happens they do, and they did for the most part in LWW. There are many sections where I used various Runic phrases (a very old English language) which served as exclamations that the choir would sing – usually small, rising phrases that I always thought of as a sort of ‘Greek Chorus’ commenting on the action as it happened. Also, in the more noble and heroic parts of the score there is a large use of Latin. Secular Latin.

iF: Is it more difficult writing “lighter” fantasy scores like SHREK and the first NARNIA, or going for the more sophisticated sound of epics like PRINCE CASPIAN?

Harry Gregson-Williams: If you know me, you’ll know that I find it stimulating and creatively necessary to move between genres. I wouldn’t say I find any particular thing easy, either. Working on the NARNIA movies has been a blessing and I have been aware of what a responsibility this has all been. I’d follow Andrew Adamson in to any old battle at any old time, too. He’s a brilliant director who has an amazing ability to get the best out of the people around him, and he’s a good friend too.

iF: How do you see your NARNIA sound developing for the next film THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER?

Harry Gregson-Williams: No idea. Ask David Arnold — he might have given this subject some thought!

iF: In addition to scoring CASPIAN, you also voice the swashbuckling squirrel Pattertwig. What’s it like to finally be part of the fantasy universe? And do you hope for an action figure?

Harry Gregson-Williams: When I phoned my two children from a London ADR stage to tell them that I was about to voice one of the characters in the movie, there were squeals of utter delight- initially. But as my son, not so much his sister, discovered that it was to be Pattertwig’s voice that I was going to do and not some mighty Minotaur or something, he had great difficulty hiding his disappointment! It was fun to do nonetheless, and yet another reason I feel amazingly fortunate to have been a part of the Narnia adventures thus far. Of course, a Pattertwig action figure would have to be kept on a very high shelf, well out of sight …

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