Narnia Fans » 2008 » September

I know this is a bit late, but here’s last week’s update from the C.S. Lewis Foundation! Enjoy it! (If you have a C.S. Lewis Society, and have a newsletter or would like to promote your group, e-mail us.)

Oxbridge 2008 a Success!

Greetings to all!  Oxbridge 2008 is now officially over, and we hope that all of you who attended enjoyed safe travel back to your homes.  A hearty thanks to both Oxbridge alumni and to those who have yet to go but generously donated their time, money, and prayers to help make it all possible.  It made all the difference!

We have been processing all of the evaluations and the overwhelming consensus declares it a resounding success. We have been greatly encouraged by all of you who shared the many ways in which Oxbridge nourished you both intellectually and spiritually. To God be the glory!

Now that the summer is over, we are beginning to redirect our energies in preparation for other exciting programs and initiatives. Oxbridge serves as a source of enormous inspiration and instruction that informs so much of our work. It has the ultimate intention to inform and direct our outreach in many other areas, all of which contribute towards fulfilling our mission to advance the rich legacy of C.S. Lewis through “the renewal of Christian thought and creative expression throughout the world of learning and the culture at large.”

As a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization, we depend upon your partnership to help us reach out to those around us. Please keep reading below to discover the exciting ways in which both alumni and friends of the Foundation can join together to make the most of the Oxbridge experience!

In particular, keep a close eye on your inbox for an announcement about the launch of our new online communities where you can contact others, share photos, participate in message board discussions, post related links and articles, and do much more.

CDs of Oxbridge 2008 to Be Produced Soon – Order Now!

Whether you want to buy your friend or spouse that “perfect Christmas gift,” refresh your memory of your favorite talk, make up for the morning  you missed, or simply bring a taste of Oxford and Cambridge to your morning commute, the audio recordings from Oxbridge 2008 are currently in production and ready to be ordered for your listening pleasure!  Individual talks and services are available, as well as our handsome double boxed sets.  Orders should be placed by September 19th to ensure fast shipping, but individual orders can be made at any time.  Click on this link to place your order right now:   http://www.cslewis.org/resources/audio.html

C.S. Lewis Southwest Regional Retreat – Sign up Now!

Do you want a glimpse of the Inklings experience of fellowship in mind, soul, and body?  Are you looking to reconnect with the friends you made this summer in England?   Then join with friends old and new at beautiful Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas, October 31 to November 2!

“Redeeming the Time: Overcoming Screwtape in our Everyday Lives”: With wit and insight, C.S. Lewis’ landmark book, The Screwtape Letters, reveals many ways in which evil can take hold, both within and without. In this intimate woodland retreat, join Professor Ralph Wood of Baylor University as he imparts lessons from Lewis on how to better perceive and resist the snares of Screwtape in our everyday lives. Also featuring worship with Rev. Michael Wyckoff, break-out sessions with Lewis scholars Louis Markos and Andrew Lazo, and performances by Ad Deum Dance Company, this retreat will challenge your mind, refresh your body, and renew your spirit!  www.cslewis.org/programs/regional/sw/2008/index.html.

Donate Today to Support the Foundation in Its Strategic Mission

Your gift will enable Christian faculty, administrators, and trustees serving in colleges and universities across the U.S., Canada and abroad, to make a real difference where it counts – within the lecture halls and classrooms of our nation’s campuses, right where our future leaders are being formed. In addition, your gift will support the C.S. Lewis Foundation’s efforts to challenge and nurture our churches in supporting this strategic outreach to the university world.

Donate online using our secure gift program.  For your convenience, we are able to accept donations made via credit cards and direct debit from your checking account. Begin the process by clicking here. Alternately, you may donate over the phone by calling toll-free 1-888-CSLEWIS Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Or donate through the mail by sending your donation to C.S. Lewis Foundation, P.O. Box 8008, Redlands, CA 92375

Our Needs List – Contribute to the Work of this Ministry!

Our programs, including the C.S. Lewis Study Centre at The Kilns in Oxford, CSLF Internship Program, Faculty Forum, and Oxbridge Summer Institute, have need of the following equipment:

(2) 15 in. or larger flat panel/LCD monitor (est. $189 each)

(1) Special request for our out-of-state volunteer Interns serving at the C.S. Lewis Foundation main office in Redlands, CA: We have need of a car, used or new, to be used by Foundation Interns in commuting to the office (model year 2000 or newer with automatic transmission preferred.)

Please prayerfully consider supporting our ministry in this way and joining us in our mission to promote the legacy of C.S. Lewis!

If you would like to sign up to receive future e-mails from the C.S. Lewis Foundation about their news and events, please click here: C.S. Lewis Foundation Contact Page

Just after the release of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN, composer Harry Gregson-Williams shares about his return to Narnia, his feelings about moving on from the franchise, what he’s doing with up-and-coming-composers like David Buckley and Stephen Barton at his Wavecrest Studios, and his upcoming projects which include X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

CC: Outside of the relocation, what would say your biggest challenge was musically on PRINCE CASPIAN?

HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS: My biggest challenge was to embrace Andrew (Adamson’s) notion that I should bring forward themes from the first movie. Of course, there are a number of new themes that I had to write, but the real conundrum for me was figuring out just how much of the thematic content I was going to bring with me from the last movie. It’s strange not starting from square-one. I actually worried about this quite a bit, so what I ended up doing was to push all of that to one side and write Prince Caspian’s theme and the cue for the first 8-minutes of the film. I knew this piece would have no reference to the previous movie, so this was good for me because it made me feel as though I was on a fresh musical journey.

CC: Would you say that, at least in some ways, it is more difficult in doing a sequel?

HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS: Yes. I would say that. I don’t know what David Arnold would say when one does Bond movie after Bond movie. Perhaps intellectually it’s not so difficult for him because what would a Bond movie be without ((hums James Bond theme)) – because you just need those John Barry moments. But somehow he is able to make the scores feel fresh. So for me, once I could see the arc of the story that I’d be able to follow, it all became much clearer.

CC: David Arnold is the composer taking the reigns, as it were, for the franchise…..How does it feel? Is it easy to cut the chord and say, “I’ve done my part and so whatever he does, great!”

HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS: I think if Andrew Adamson was directing the next movie and I hadn’t been asked to do it, then I don’t think I could help myself from feeling extremely disappointed.

Check out the full interview here!

Mark Sommer, from Hollywood Jesus, writes:

The Paramount Theater in Aurora, Illinois will be hosting the Theatreworks USA musical, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. There will be three shows on Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 9:30am, 11:45 am and 7pm. Family-friendly entertainment.

For more information, be sure to visit Hollywood Jesus

If you were at LionCon 2008, you’d have learned that the animated version of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is partially responsible for my love of Narnia today. I grew up watching that version of the story, and have it on DVD today.

The creative force behind the style of that animated version has passed away.

The Hollywood Reporter writes:

Bill Melendez, best known for bringing the Peanuts characters to life with such classics as “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” died Tuesday at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica. He was 91.

Melendez, the only animator permitted by Charles M. Schulz to work with the Peanuts characters, earned eight Emmy Awards, 17 Emmy nominations, one Oscar nomination and two Peabody Awards. He began his career at Disney and Warner Bros., working on classic characters at those studios, and spent more than 70 years in the entertainment industry.

In 1948, the Mexican native left Warner Bros. and for more than a decade served as a director and producer on more than 1,000 commercials and films for United Productions of America, Playhouse Pictures and John Sutherland Prods.

It was at UPA that Melendez started doing work for the New York-based J. Walter Thompson ad agency, whose client included Ford. The carmaker expressed interest in using the Peanuts characters to sell its cars on TV, and in 1959 Melendez prepared his animation work and showed it to Peanuts creator Schulz.

Melendez went on to bring Charlie Brown and his pals to the screen in more than 63 half-hour specials, five one-hour specials, four feature films and more than 372 commercials. In addition to perennial favorites “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965) and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (1966), Melendez produced the Oscar-nominated “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” (1971), “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” (1973), “She’s a Good Skate, Charlie Brown” (1980) and “You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown” (1975). He also provided the voices for Snoopy and Woodstock through the years.

Melendez also animated TV specials “Garfield on the Town,” “Cathy,” “Babar Comes to America” and “The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe,” among others. He shared an Emmy in 1987 for outstanding animated program with three others for “Cathy.”

His last credit was as a producer for 2006 TV special “He’s A Bully, Charlie Brown.”