Narnia Fans » Don McAlpine

Nominations in an additional three international categories at the upcoming Australian Film Institute Awards were announced Monday by AFI president James Hewison.

AFI International Award for Excellence in Filmmaking nominations include Donald McAlpine (cinematography for “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe“); Roger Ford (production design for “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe“); Dion Beebe (cinematography for “Memoirs of a Geisha”) and Roger Donaldson (producing/direction/screenplay for “The World’s Fastest Indian”).

The AFI will hand out its annual awards at ceremonies in Melbourne in early December.

On Saturday 6 May, Douglas Gresham, Co-Producer of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, local members of the crew, film and TV industry, and writers are taking part in the first ever Australian national C.S. Lewis Conference in Sydney.

Along with Douglas Gresham, Don McAlpine, Director of Photography, and Tracey Reebey, Make-up and Hairstyle (and member of the BAFTA and Academy Award-winning team) will take part in a conversation with Linda and Robert Banks (co-authors of a new discussion guide, The Wonderful World of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia).

As well as a book signing of his recent biography, Jack’s Life: Memories of C.S. Lewis, Douglas Gresham will give a talk on his stepfather entitled “C.S. Lewis: The Man and the Myth”, followed by a time of discussion.

At the final session, award-winning scriptwriter Tony Morphett, well-known poet and children’s fantasy author, Andrew Lansdown, and Christopher Mitchell, director of an international centre for research on Lewis, Tolkien and Sayers in Chicago will discuss Lewis’s ongoing influence and legacy.

The program also features days for educators (4 May) and scholars (5 May) earlier in the conference.

For further information about any of these events and how to register, check the conference website at www.cslewistoday.com/.

Press Release Follows:

The C.S. Lewis Today Conference in Sydney 4-6 May 2006 is open for registration.

Join Douglas Gresham (Lewis’s stepson and co-producer of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ), Dr Christopher Mitchell (Director of the international Lewis study centre, the Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton, Illinois), plus academics, theologians, Lewis scholars and fans from Australia, New Zealand and America over three days of panels, talks, debates and workshops.

The conference aims to reach educators, scholars and the general public, exploring all aspects of Lewis’s life and work, in light of the recent commencement of the Narnia film series.

Thursday 4th May will see teachers, pastors and the public gather at the Wesley Conference Centre in the Sydney CBD. Poet and pastor Andrew Lansdown will speak on fantasy and faith, and Christopher Mitchell will talk on ‘The gospel in Narnia’. Afternoon workshops explore Lewis in the classroom, dramatic presentations of the Narnia stories, and the latest Narnia resources.

Friday 5th May is aimed at scholars and academics, but all are welcome. Hear Douglas Gresham interviewed about the Inklings, Chris Mitchell on ‘Faith and Learning in Lewis’, plus 15 scholars presenting short papers on all aspects of Lewis’s writing—from the apologetics to the science fiction trilogy to his study on grief. Join in the evening debate on “Misogynist, madman or mere Christian? The debate about the character of C.S. Lewis.”

Saturday 6th May is for all interested in Lewis. Featuring a keynote talk by Douglas Gresham on “C.S. Lewis: the man and the myth”. Also hear Douglas Gresham, Tracey Reebey (make up, Narnia), and Don McAlpine (cinematography, Narnia) in conversation about the making of the film with Linda and Robert Banks. Afternoon session includes book signings and panel discussion on Lewis’s influence on the imagination with Andrew Lansdown and screenwriter Tony Morphett.

Full conference details are available at www.cslewistoday.com/, where you can also register online.

Unprecedented Worldwide Trailer “roadblock” debut for Disney/Walden Media’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.”

Estimated 200 Million+ Global Audience to experience Theatrical Trailer with Convergence Availability on TV, online and via mobile phones.

Poised to reach the largest worldwide audience ever for a theatrical trailer debut, an estimated 200 million+ viewers in 32 countries, 13 languages, across five continents and spanning over 12 time zones will experience for the very first time Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” with an unprecedented first-ever global “roadblock”, it was announced today (5/2) by Oren Aviv, president of marketing for Buena Vista Pictures Marketing, and Nic Crawley, senior vice president of marketing for Buena Vista International.

The worldwide “roadblock” will be anchored by the U.S. broadcast debut of the “Chronicles of Narnia” trailer on Saturday, May 7th during ABC’s network premiere of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (available in over 106 million households) along with online visitors to America Online Web sites (including AOL Welcome Screen, AIM, Moviefone, etc.), and Verizon Wireless V CAST customers. The trailer will also air simultaneously on Disney Channel, and on four channels across the Starz Entertainment Group network. Verizon Wireless customers will also be able to access the trailer through the company’s V CAST wireless multimedia service.

Within a 48-hour period surrounding this domestic launch, the international “roadblock” (dubbed in over 11 languages) will similarly introduce the trailer around the world, with simulcasts on popular programs in such countries as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Korea, and Latin America. In addition to the broadcast launches, each territory will partner with print and online outlets to maximize exposure.

Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,” opens in theatres everywhere on December 9, 2005. Directed by Andrew Adamson (“Shrek,” “Shrek 2″) and produced by Mark Johnson (“The Rookie,” “Rain Man”), the film stars Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Rupert Everett, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone, Dawn French, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Mosely and Anna Popplewell.

Commenting on the announcement, Aviv said, “With all the interest and great anticipation that we’ve had for this epic big screen adaptation of the C.S. Lewis classic, we thought this was a great way to allow viewers and fans around the world to see the first images of the film at virtually the same time. We’ve lined up an extraordinary group of broadcast outlets around the world, and the AOL network will make the trailer available to online viewers everywhere. This first theatrical trailer for “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” will give moviegoers a tremendous sense of the great adventure that awaits them in theatres this December.”

Crawley added, “‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’ is generating incredible interest all over the world, and we are thrilled to be introducing the movie trailer to a global audience through this broadcast and online “roadblock.” With its universal themes, great characters, and fantastic adventure elements, we believe that this film is going to be a huge hit in the international marketplace. Television audiences and online participants are going to have a unique opportunity to see this first look at the film.”

Based on C. S. Lewis’ timeless adventure, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,” follows the exploits of the four Pevensie siblings — Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter — in World War II England who enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of “hide-and-seek” in the rural country home of an elderly professor. Once there, the children discover an incredible new world inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants that has become cursed to eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Under the guidance of a noble and mystical ruler, the lion Aslan, the children fight to overcome the White Witch’s powerful hold over Narnia in a spectacular, climactic battle that will free Narnia from Jadis’ icy spell forever.

The film marks the first live-action directorial effort for New Zealander Andrew Adamson (the Oscar®-winning “Shrek,” “Shrek 2″), who also co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with Emmy Award-winner Ann Peacock (HBO’s “A Lesson Before Dying”) and scribes Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. The film is produced by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Mark Johnson.

To bring his dazzling vision to the screen, Adamson has secured the talents of Oscar®-nominated cinematographer Donald M. McAlpine, ASC, ACS, Oscar®-nominated production designer Roger Ford, seasoned costume designer Isis Mussenden, film editors Sim Evan-Jones and Jim May and composer Harry Gregson-Williams.

The White Witch’s Courtyard was the first one we were taken to and it was easily the one that impressed me most. We saw close to two dozen life-size creatures (meaning there weren’t any miniatures), frozen in statuesque form and in mid-animation; all very eerie, precise and realistic. 90+ creatures, we were told, had been constructed in this form. The other statues will be used in the lengthy final battle between good & evil at the tail end of the film. The gray and stony centaurs (male & female), hedgehogs, lions, boars, bears, rhinos and the rest all looked truly extraordinary but nothing was more awing and magnificent than Rumblebuffin the giant, frozen in space with his weapon raised above his head (in mid-battle) with that horrific, fierce look on his face. Close to three times my height, it was odd to see the giant that I had read about for the first time on the plane just a few hours ago, in front of me and among all the rest of Aslan’s virtuous “soldiers” – dead, for the time being.

One other “statue” that stood out for me and brought a smile to my face was one I spotted in a corner further away from the rest. It was of an extremely detailed dwarf couple, man and wife, holding one another and pointing upwards, presumably just as they got ‘zapped’ by the witch’s wand. It was the one time I was truly tempted to sneak my camera out, had I brought it along…

The courtyard itself is completely surrounded by ice, which will look even grander in scale when the CG-techies are done with it. There is a scattering of ghostly, leafless trees as well in the area. On another visit there we got to meet the director, Andrew Adamson (Shrek, Shrek 2), who kindly introduced himself to us and took a fiver away from behind the camera. A long, blond-haired hippie looking type (and that’s a good thing), he was pleased to see and hear our reactions about the majestic set. This was the first time I spotted Aslan’s head as well; it was probably there for lighting purposes. I’m not certain if it was attached to its body or not, as it was behind a lot of camera equipment, trees and statues but it stood out mainly because it was the only thing of color and life in the otherwise dank, colorless and graveyard-like surroundings. If this set, which comes into play at a key point in the movie, was any indication of the effort they’re putting into this film, then we were sure not to be disappointed with the rest…

Before leaving that set, we were escorted to a gigantic Mac computer that the director of photography, Don McAlpine, fiddles with. On it, we were shown movie stills from the opening 20 minutes of the film, from the children’s evacuation from war-torn London up to and including the famed magical wardrobe, which had a variety of trees encrusted on it; undoubtedly there to symbolize the Narnian apple tree it was built out of and which gave it its power. The period look of the Pevensie kids, rubble-riddled London, railway stations and the professor’s country house blew all of our minds. The thought and care put into every detail of the costumes and production design, was enough to rival any from a Merchant/Ivory picture. It was really that good…

When Don McAlpine began making movies in Hollywood, his biggest challenge was appearing relaxed around screen legends.

“It took me a long time to stop stargazing,” said McAlpine, who filmed Paul Newman in Harry and Son (1984) shortly after making the leap to Tinseltown. “Now, if people ask me what it’s like to work with Jane Fonda, I say, ‘I think she enjoyed working with me a lot’.”

McAlpine, one of Australia’s most distinguished film-makers, is now preparing to shoot a big-screen adaptation of C. S. Lewis’s novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in New Zealand. He celebrated his 70th birthday yesterday at his home at MacMasters Beach.

In many ways, McAlpine’s journey from teaching sport in country NSW to becoming the cinematographer on a string of revered films – they range from Breaker Morant to Moulin Rouge!, the movie that earned him an Oscar nomination – mirrors the evolution of the local film industry as a whole.

Born in the NSW town of Quandialla, McAlpine was working as a physical education teacher in Parkes when he began using a 16 millimetre camera to record athletes preparing for the Melbourne Olympics.

He has never had a real career plan, but admits to studying Italian in the 1960s with the idea of working on spaghetti westerns.

“Hollywood appeared totally closed to Australians back then,” he said. In 1969 the director Bruce Beresford asked him to shoot the classic The Adventures of Barry McKenzie.

Two weeks later he was on a plane to London. America came calling in the early ’80s, when three of McAlpine’s films – My Brilliant Career, Breaker Morant and The Getting of Wisdom – were released in New York. The director Paul Mazursky offered to fly him to Greece for a two-week trial on the movie Tempest.

McAlpine passed the test and began an eclectic Hollywood career that has ranged from the sci-fi carnage of Predator to the comedy of Mrs Doubtfire and the stylish action of Patriot Games.

Asked to pick the films he is most proud of, McAlpine nominates The Getting of Wisdom and Romeo + Juliet.

And the worst? “I did Anger Management to get the chance to watch Jack Nicholson at work,” he said. “You do [a film like that] as well as you can, but you don’t get much satisfaction.”