Media co-ordinator on the film, Ernie Malik said the Dawn Treader has been a popular attraction for locals who have been curious about the ship’s colossal structure.
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If you’re planning on watching some of the filming for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader at Cleveland Point, on the Gold Coast of Australia, you’ll have to wait until Thursday to do so.  According to the Bayside Bulletin, Narnia spokesperson Ernie Malik has commented on the filming this week, and has confirmed a few things, including the start of filming coming up this week.

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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader started filming at the studios this week across several expensive sets, including a $2.1 million water tank, magicians garden and 30m ship.  Director Michael Apted, whose previous films include the James Bond feature The World Is Not Enough and Gorillas in the Mist, made the most of the glorious Gold Coast winter weather by shooting key scenes in the tank during the afternoon.  ”We came here for the weather and location and so far its been spectacular,” he said.  (Also: new pictures of the back of the Dawn Treader)

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On Friday, Premier Anna Bligh welcomed director Michael Apted and two of the young stars of the film, Georgie Henley (Lucy Pevensie) and Will Poulter (Eustace Clarence Scrubb), to the Gold Coast of Australia.  The premier commented “This is set to be the largest budget film ever produced in Queensland.  It’s a big investment here in the film industry at a time when we need it most.  We expect to see the creation of 2,000 jobs because of this production.  In December 2010 the filming that’s happening here on the Gold Coast will be on the big screen right around the world – I can’t wait to see it on the big screen and to see the Gold Coast shine.”

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Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian has hit the theaters and the film has sold more than 19 million dollars worth of tickets during its first day out alone.

So what really goes into making a film this epic?

To discuss some behind the scenes secrets is Ernie Malik, author of the Official Illustrated Movie companion of the film.

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Prince Caspian Official Illustrated Movie Companion

Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion.
Author: Ernie Malik
Publisher: HarperOne

ISBN-13: 978-0061435607

Summary of the book:

The film adaptations of the Chronicles of Narnia are some of the most anticipated movies ever. Ernie Malik looks at the making of the second film in the series, “Prince Caspian”. From preproduction, to filming to post production this book goers every aspect of the filming of the movie, complete with exclusive behind the scenes photos from the movie.

Review of the book:

It was almost a given that with the success of the first film in the Narnia series, that a second would follow. This book looks at the making of the film and is great not only for film buffs interested in the process, but for fans of Narnia who want to know more about their new favorite movie.

The book begins with forwards from Andrew Adamson, Douglas Gresham and Mark Johnson. Appropriately it concludes with an afterward by newcomer Ben Barnes, who plays the titular prince. These forwards and afterwards are very inviting and welcoming and immerse you in the action of the film making process and make you eager for not only Prince Caspian, but for the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

As expected the book has many biographies on the cast and crew, complete with great photos. This includes some amazing shots of Will, Anna, Skander and Georgie, who, in my opinion are looking more and more like Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie and less like a bunch of actors and actresses chosen to play them.

Readers discover that the four young stars didn’t let their success on the first film go to their heads. What’s more these kids are clearly very good friends with each other, which will help so much in their performances in the film.

The new cast member profiles as just as enjoyable as the ones on the returning cast members. Ben Barnes recounts how he became the “fifth Pevensie” and fit right into their already jelled group of friends. This is great news for us fans when we go to the movie. If he can’t fit into the mix, then the movie would be a bust, but if he seems natural with them, the magic can continue. He even recounts how he grew so close to them that at times Will grew angry at him as it seemed Ben was usurping his role as Georgie’s on set older brother.

Warwick Davis recounts his work on the BBC Narnia films and how much he enjoys being back working on Narnia. There’s even a humorous anecdote about how on his first day on set, Howard Berger, blasted the Ewok theme from Return of the Jedi ( Davis played Wicket, the main Ewok who befriends Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) over the speakers on set to welcome him.

The book goes into full detail about the whole production process from making the props and costumes to designing the creatures. They continually emphasis how everything in Prince Caspian should feel more “used” and “worn out” as opposed to how new and fresh it all felt in the first film.

Casting is described to be just as hard as it was with the first film. The hardest character to design and cast ended up being Reepicheep who was cast at the time the book was being finished. From what we’ve scene already in trailers and sneak peaks, when you read this book, you’ll be glad they did.

The behind the scenes photos are visually stunning and at times are funny to see. You’ll see things like tennis balls, or fake lion heads standing in for creatures like Reepicheep or Aslan. There’s even one of the four Pevensies standing on their marks at the ruins of Cair Paravel, with Anna and Georgie in very modern sandals. In the case of Georgie, they are a clearly oversized pair of sandals.

And of course, lest I forget, our own Paul Martin is mentioned in the Special Thanks section in the back of the book as he helped contribute some information for the book.

This books is nothing short of an exciting look at the magic behind the magic of the Prince Caspian film. It was well written, well researched, the photos were great and in short it had everything you need in a “behind the scenes book.”It is certainly well worth the read. However, when you buy it, make sure to read it after you see the film. There is plenty of juicy spoiler info inside. One thing becomes more sure after reading this book, you will want them to make the rest of the series.

Five out of five shields.

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One of the first big summer family friendly adventures will be “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.”

For a “peek” of “Caspian.” courtesy of publicist Ernie Malik (“We Are Marshall”), the chronicles this time have less of a “fairy tale aura ” and more “swashbuckling” action than 2005’s “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.”

“The same four children return, all ably supported by a big screen newcomer named Ben Barnes. While swashbucklers may appeal to a male audience, girls will swoon over this matinee-idol handsome young Brit,” Malik said.

“Evil personified jumps off the screen in the guise of the story’s villain, Miraz, wonderfully embodied by Italian movie star Sergio Castellitto. He was a delight to watch on the set.”

The sequel returns Aslan the Lion, but anticipate new CGI characters, brand new special F/X make up from Oscar winners Howard Berger and Tami Lane (who took home the coveted gold statue for the first film), and an amazing array of costumes as well.

Publicist Malik has written the “official Making of…” book which contains lots of scenes from “Prince Caspian” and remembering Empire Books from his stay in Huntington, he projects “it may be available in that wonderful bookstore you folks have in the new downtown mall.”

Read more at Huntington News

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By Laura Mills, The Greymouth Evening Star

A large base camp supporting 200 cast and crew from the blockbuster Hollywood series of Narnia movies, has been set up in an old quarry near Lake Moeraki, in South Westland.

The film crew arrived at the weekend in a fleet of 40 trucks.

The scarcity of accommodation in South Westland means some are having to stay in Wanaka for the next week, a five-hour round trip from the film set.

Essential staff are helicoptered in to the set on Department of Conservation-managed land at the mouth of the Moeraki River. Numbers are capped at 60 people.

Publicist Ernie Malik said filming got under way yesterday after some rain.

Better weather is forecast.

As the film employs four children, two of them minors, they can only work certain hours.

However, filming should still be wrapped up in about three days. In a few weeks’ time, everyone will move next to the Czech Republic.

“On February 21 we were filming in Auckland. Four days later, on the 25th, we’re in a remote area in the South Island,” Mr Malik said.

“It’s quite a feat –we’ve some 40 vehicles that had to be driven from Auckland, on to the ferry and across Cook Strait. It was all up and running by Sunday morning.

The base camp in the quarry might be remote, by Mr Malik said it had all the conveniences of home.

“It’s like a little city—we even have wireless internet access. We’re sitting in the middle of a rock quarry.”

There was a food tent big enough to seat for 200, although some food was being flown in to the set. A truck carried portable toilets and there was even hot water on tap, he said.

This is the first major film to be shot in South Westland—Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson did not shoot any scenes from the trilogy in Westland.

Prince Caspian, the follow up to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is being directed by Auckland film-maker, Andrew Adamson. In this movie, the four children—Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy—find themselves back in Narnia.

The first film had a budget of about $US180 million and grossed an estimated $739 million worldwide. According to the Internet Movie Database, it was the 22nd highest grossing movie of all time.

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The New Zealand Herald reports that Prince Caspian filming in the Cathedral Cove area of Hahei has brought about mixed reactions from locals and tourists.

Coromandel locals are frustrated that conservation officials gave producers of the latest Narnia film exclusive access to a popular beach, shutting out hundreds of tourists.

For the past two weeks, Los Angeles film company Wimbleweather has been shooting open scenes for the second CS Lewis adaptation, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, in parts of Hahei, 56km north of Whangamata.

The production company applied to the Department of Conservation to close Cathedral Cove — the main tourist attraction in Hahei — for two days last week. Approval was given and a notice sent to residents and business owners: “Cathedral Cove will be closed … for safety reasons associated with operational activities including heavy lift helicopter and filming activity.”

Andy Williams, owner of Hahei ice cream and pizza shop Leb Parlour, said that while he enjoyed getting late-night orders of 20 pizzas from the film’s crew, the closure of Cathedral Cove had adversely affected the town’s trading. “It is at the height of European tourist time, and the town was dead when they were up filming there,” Williams said.

Hahei General Store owner Pauline Verran said that although they brought “lots of Red Bull, cigarettes and phone cards”, the movie makers brought their own chefs and supplies to the town, rather than supporting locals. Verran said tourists who traveled to the region specifically to see the spectacular Cathedral Cove were turned away. “People look at it on the internet and come here to see the cove. An American couple told me it was on the most beautiful places in the world list, but they couldn’t go there.”

But Wendy Helms and Russ Cochrane, operators of Cathedral Cove Dive and Snorkel which has the town’s sole fuel pump, are disappointed to see the back of the fantasy-film makers with seemingly “bottomless budgets”. The crew spent $10,000 on fuel while they were in town, doubling the business’s normal sales figures.

Ernie Malik, spokesman for Wimbleweather, which is named after a fairytale giant, said the company had no knowledge of Hahei vendors who were inconvenienced due to filming, but when asked if the producers were apologetic, he said: “If I say no, I’m going to sound like an ogre.”

Harukai area manager for DOC John Gaukrodger told the Herald on Sunday that the decision to restrict public access to Cathedral Cove for a period of two days was made with an eye on the bigger picture. “It is unfortunate that some people missed out, but if we think longer term, there could well be some benefits [for the region]. The cove was promoted to us as an ideal spot [by the producers].”

Gaukrodger said the Californian production company removed graffiti from the rock faces at the cove before filming commenced – “We would never have done it ourselves,” he laughed.

The company will be billed for using the beach. Locals hope the money will be used to help restore two hectares of native bush which was destroyed in a fire last month.

In Prince Caspian, directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson, the four Pevensie children return to Narnia, to find that hundreds of years have passed since they ruled there, and the evil King Miraz is in charge. With a heroic mouse and the exiled heir to the throne, Prince Caspian, they set out to overthrow the king, once again with Aslan’s help. The set for the ruins of their old castle, Cair Paravel, has been built on a peninsula adjacent to Hahei. The large crew is now filming on the west coast of the South Island.

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Gloomy Halls and Golden Pillars

SPOILERS!
Note: I’ve cut out much of the detail. For the full article, visit the source link.

The Witch’s House. The architecture is not exactly spiky, but the details on the walls are full of angles, like Art Deco only more threatening. Ranks of icebound pillars march down either side of the hall, and stalactites hang from above. It is truly a winter palace.

It’s a place designed to put the White Witch’s subjects in their place. The main floor is a sunken court surrounded by steps on all sides – no doubt the Queen’s guards and bullies can look down from there onto anyone standing before her throne.

The throne itself is an angular heavy thing, once again looking like Art Deco furniture gone subtly wrong, and it sits on a platform well above the floor of the hall. A huge white fur rug is thrown carelessly across it. When somebody is sitting in that throne, there is no question of who is the boss in this place. The rest of the hall is utterly without comfort. It is empty.

Cair Paravel. Plaster pillars are being cast and decorated for another set. Nothing could be more different from the pillars of the Witch’s hall. These ones are rounded and beautifully proportioned, and they are painted to look like marble of a soft and delicate green colour. There are lots of curves and spirals that seem ready to spring to life. In some cultures, (like the New Zealand Maori, for instance) spirals are a symbol of life and growth. Such things will go into the set for Cair Paravel, and their colours and forms seem full of a Spring-like energy. They should form a perfect opposition to the cold and deadly architecture of the Witch’s house.

Edmund’s Rescue. On my last visit, I’d heard that the other children were fleeing across the melting ice with the Beavers on their way to rescue Edmund from this dungeon. More than one worried correspondent had written to ask whether this meant that Aslan’s role would be downplayed. What if Aslan doesn’t rescue Edmund? I’m able to ask film’s publicist, Ernie Malik, about this apparent plot change. He stresses that the film follows C.S. Lewis’s works very closely and keeps its themes intact. The official word on that is, Lamp Post Productions confirms that Edmund’s rescue is very faithful to Lewis’ book.

Edmund may be imprisoned, and the children may intend to rescue him, but apparently they do not carry out their plan. The Beavers are there, after all, to warn them not to attempt it. There is time for Edmund to be taken away on the dreadful sleigh journey by the Witch first, and her plans for him can be thwarted by Aslan as in the book. Certainly the Stone Table exists for Aslan’s pivotal scene, and film crews have been working around it for over two weeks.

Mr. Tumnus’ Role. What is interesting is that nobody’s denied that at some point Tumnus is imprisoned with Edmund, instead of spending most of the story as a frozen statue in the Witch’s courtyard. I think this may add up to some additional scenes that don’t detract from the book. After all, if the film has a fine actor like James McAvoy playing Tumnus, it’s a shame to have him appear only in one scene near the beginning, when he invites Lucy to tea, and then let him disappear from the film until near the end. It would make sense to give us more time with the character of Tumnus. He is a typical Narnian, and the audience has to get a chance to care about Narnians and their fate. If Edmund spends time imprisoned with Tumnus, we may see him realise that he has been misled by the Witch. He must see that the nature of Narnian creatures is very different to what she made him believe. Perhaps in that dungeon he will finally realise what he has done by betraying them. That could be a very emotional moment. It would lead naturally to his moment of pity later on when he sees the Witch turn other innocent creatures into stone. One of the themes of the book is Edmund’s learning to feel sorry for others besides himself, and the movie won’t suffer from spending time on that.

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