Narnia Fans » Auckland

Be part of Monte Cecilia Park’s bigger picture.

Auckland City invites the public to pack a picnic and attend an afternoon of entertainment, displays and tours at Hillsborough’s Monte Cecilia Park on Sunday 26 February.

The aim of the afternoon is to give people the chance to experience all that Auckland’s new premier park has to offer and to encourage their ideas about its future development.

There will also be a chance for visitors to register their interest in being involved in workshops, to be held in March, to discuss the park’s future in more detail.

The workshops are the first step of consultation on a masterplan, which will guide the future development and management of the Monte Cecilia Park. More consultation later in the year, once a draft masterplan has been created, will ask the wider community for feedback on what is proposed.

Auckland City landscape architect, Helen Kerr, says “Monte Cecilia already has much on offer including one of Auckland’s grandest old homesteads, magnificent grounds, spectacular views and a rich cultural history. It’s also a great film location – Monte Cecilia House and grounds were used to film house scenes and the grounds of the country mansion in the recently released movie Narnia [The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]. “We want people to experience it all first-hand and get involved in the next stage of the consultation – the workshops in March. By participating they can play their part in developing Monte Cecilia to the standard of Albert Park, Cornwall Park and the Auckland Domain for locals and the wider community to enjoy in future years.”

Details of the afternoon:

Date: Sunday, 26 February Time: 2pm – 6pm Venue: Monte Cecilia Park (located between Mt Albert, Hillsborough, Korma and Herd Roads), Hillsborough, Auckland Programme: 2pm – 4pm Children’s and family activities including a Narnia treasure hunt.

Heritage and tree tours, storytelling on the verandah and ‘tea’ on the lawn with a string quartet 4pm – 6pm Jazz in the park and local performers All afternoon Tours and displays Book of memories about the park Filming to capture people’s ideas and impressions

Members of Auckland City’s project team will be on hand throughout the afternoon to answer questions.

Monte Cecilia Park was officially renamed after the founder of the Sisters of Mercy (Mother Mary Cecilia Maher) in September 2004. Mother Mary Cecilia Maher, along with the Roman Catholic Bishop, purchased the homestead in 1913 to serve as an orphanage and school.

They pulled out all the stops for last night’s premiere of ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe‘ – even going as far as falling snow.

About 2,000 people packed into Auckland’s Civic Theatre for the film’s debut in this country. At the door they were greeted by polar bears carved from ice and real-life huskies.

Some guests thought the snow falling from the ceiling was a stroke of genius while others got their kicks from hobnobbing with the stars.

Helen Clark and Don Brash walked the red-carpet, along with a host of other well-known locals.

The premiere of the Andrew Adamson-directed movie is seen as a dream come true for one of the actors. Shane Rangi plays the part of the minotaur ‘General Otmin’, the leader of the White Witch’s army.

He says being at last night’s premiere at Auckland’s Civic Theatre, with the place decked out as a winter wonderland, was like a dream.

Shane Rangi says as a child he always wanted to walk through the wardrobe into Narnia, but even on set he did not get the opportunity to see it. So he says being at the premiere with the falling snow and the real-life huskies was brilliant.

[Read the rest at Newstalk ZB]

A well-known Wanaka author’s book on the movie “Narnia – the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” will be launched in Auckland tonight. The title of the book is Cameras in Narnia: How The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Came to Life. It was written by Ian Brodie.

The man who guided thousands of movie fans to Lord of the Rings film locations now aims to guide fans into movie-making. Ian Brodie, the man who wrote the Lord of the Rings Locations Guidebook is today releasing Cameras In Narnia, a chronicle of how a huge team headed by New Zealand-born director Andrew Adamson made The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. But anyone expecting a guidebook to locations used for the latest fantasy epic filmed in New Zealand will be disappointed. Instead, Brodie’s book sets about uncovering how hundreds of people with talents in disparate areas like make-up, construction, costume design, camera operation and computer effects go about creating a big budget movie.

An essential guide to the filming in New Zealand of one of the most hotly anticipated movies of all time. The first of the CS Lewis Chronicles of Narnia to be made into a movie is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and has been filmed and produced in New Zealand by Disney and Walden Media, with Kiwi director Andrew Adamson. Ian Brodie has been on set and on location throughout its production, and has documented the making of the film from behind the cameras, with interviews with the director and key crew members. Using this movie as a specific example, he explains in layman’s terms the magical process of turning a much-loved classic of children’s literature into a blockbuster movie. Through the latest Computer Generated Imaging techniques, the fabulous creatures of Narnia will astound viewers and this book explains how Aslan and Mr Tumnus were created, and why the centaurs look so real. Dolly grips, gaffers, clapperloaders and best boys are explained, and the process of making a movie documented with over 200 full-colour movie and behind-the-camera images, nearly all of them exclusive to this book.

This will be a valuable teaching tool and a superb record of a much-loved movie, with anecdotes and information to delight in equal measure.

[Order 'Cameras in Narnia : How The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Came to Life' on Amazon.com Today!]

The howling of wolves might be something residents of Tuakau, south of Auckland, will have to get used to. Ten wolves have been brought in from Los Angeles for filming on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

The pack, which includes seven males and three females, is being housed at Mark Vette’s Animal Rescue. Two siblings, Ricky and Bob, will play the key characters Maugrim and Vardan.

Production of the film will move south from November 1, when Queenstown, Oamaru and Canterbury will feature.

Four children are about to discover a wardrobe in the corner of a room in their uncle’s house that will open up a whole new world.

The first scene in CS Lewis’s ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ is being shot at the old Hobsonville Air Base.

Kiwi director Andrew Adamson, famous for his work on Shrek 2, has been put in charge of the multi-million dollar production.

Movie publicist, Ernie Malik, says they are holding back on announcing who the four main child actors are until filming is well underway.

But he says they will be involved in shooting the first scenes from the book.

Filming is expected to take six months to complete.

MSN Xtra

One of the biggest movie projects Auckland has ever seen is transforming parts of the city.

The magical land of Narnia has begun springing up as shooting of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” begins.

But New Zealand director Andrew Adamson has shrouded the project in secrecy.

An attempt to explore Narnia on screen was made by the BBC in 1988. But this time war-time London is in New Zealand.

A set in Hobsonville is just one of many around Auckland to be filled with 300 extras and cast members to shoot sequences for the film.

Filming stays in Auckland until October, then heads to the South Island and the Czech Republic before it is released at the end of next year.

With his lanky blond locks, black stovepipe jeans and black zipper jacket, ex-pat director Andrew Adamson was destined to shoot movies in West Auckland.

Yesterday the director of the Shrek films brought about 200 crew from his big-budget The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to Glen Eden to be greeted by a warrior, a mayor and a powhiri.

The powhiri, held at the Hoani Waititi Marae, received a slice of the huge international contingent behind the film. In keeping with the wintry vibe of the classic CS Lewis tale, it was accompanied by a chilling breeze and intermittent rain.

Despite the chill, Adamson said the warmth of the welcome equalled only that offered by his family at Auckland International Airport. “And I am so proud and happy to bring some the wonderful, creative people I have met in the United States back with me to New Zealand. It is easy to see that this is a magical land, filled with magical people.”

The former Blockhouse Bay resident said New Zealand had become an ideal location for filming, where he could draw on an industry that had spent six years during the The Lord of the Rings series learning how to meet Hollywood expectations.

On the downside, filming in New Zealand meant The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was competing with Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake for crew members. “A lot of those guys have come through the Battle of Britain with Peter Jackson so obviously they have their own loyalties,” said Adamson. But he estimated his crew would still be up to 90 per cent New Zealanders.

The One Hundred Year Winter (AKA The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe)

Format: International Feature

Dates: PreProd: Feb 2004 Shoot: July – Dec 2004

Location: Ex Auckland

Production Co: Lamp Post Productions

Director: Andrew Adamson

New Zealand Television News Show Holmes featured an article on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is set to filmed in Hobsonville, Auckland.

New Zealand Director Andrew Adamson of Shrek fame will be filming almost all of the film at the Hobsonville Airbase and the Defence Quarters located there. The South Island will give up its identity of Middle Earth, as it will be the new star of Narnia.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will feature a largely American cast and production is to start sometime next year, with a December 2005 release for the USA and New Zealand. Surprisingly enough, Peter Jackson’s King Kong will be released in cinemas also in December 2005 – so there will be two New Zealand epics battling off!

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be the second US film to qualify for the New Zealand government’s new film grants scheme. The first film to qualify was Boogeyman, a horror movie from the producer of Spider-Man, Sam Raimi.

Special Effects Studio WETA, who have done all effects for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy will do effects for both King Kong and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.