A low-quality picture of the “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” logo is posted in an entry on the Jim Hill Media blog.
Check out the entry here. The VDT logo appears about half way down the page. It’s very similar to the original logos for both The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, which is great considering the change in production studio.
This week’s mailbag is a little bit late, and I apologize for that. I had some stuff to get done this week, and I’ve started doing a new project. Not to mention that I have been a little sick, so I’ve gotten a lot of extra sleep lately. Not that it has anything to do with this. Anyway, let’s get to it, some interesting letters came in this week.
Fox has revealed plans today to continue ramping up the number of 3D films that they release. This year, they are releasing two films in 3D: Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Avatar. Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos announced, at ShoWest today, that they plan on releasing three films in 3D in 2010.
What he didn’t mention are the names of those three films. In 2010, they have a few films that would make great potential 3D releases, that we know of. One of those is the remake of Fantastic Voyage, which is about a scientist with a potentially fatal health problem takes a risk on his only chance of survival: for five of his colleagues to be miniaturized in a ship and injected into his bloodstream.
The other film on the list of 2010 releases includes The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Does that mean we have the potential to see a Narnia film in 3D? Definitely!
Walden Media is one of the few film companies out there today which consistently puts out quality family films (”Narnia,” City of Ember, Bridge to Terabithia, Charlotte’s Web), but unfortunately, few of their films have made enough money to warrant being called true successes. The first (and perhaps second) “Narnia” movie was box office gold, but Terabithia, Charlotte’s Web, and a few others make only moderate amounts of money and some Walden films are downright flops (City of Ember, The Seeker). Now, Disney in effect wants to cancel “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
As you all know by now, Disney decided recently not to continue co-producing and co-financing the Narnia film franchise. This does seem unfortunate, but there is hope. “There’s a right bit more than hope. Aslan is on the move.” Quite literally. Walden Media isn’t giving up hope on the series yet. Apparently, they will be shopping it around to other studios to see if anyone is interested. But what studio might be interested? Why would a studio pick up this franchise? Even supposing it gets picked up, is it possible for the franchise to survive the studio-hop?
Playthings.com continues their great coverage of the New York Licensing Show with news on not just Prince Caspian, but other Walden Media projects as well. Take a look to see what they’ll be a part of!
For younger fans, Fox also has an array of properties and product on the horizon. The company was recently named licensing agent for Walden Media, producers of the The Chronicles of Narnia, Charlotte’s Web and Bridge to Teribithia. Fox will develop licensed merchandise programs for the upcoming Prince Caspian, the second film in the Narnia series, as well as the additional upcoming live-action film products The Dark is Rising, City of Ember and the Tortoise and the Hippo, which is based on the popular Scholastic children’s book series about the friendship between the now famous African animal friends, Owen and Mzee. “Fox has got a very robust portfolio of brands,” Peikoff said. “Walden gives us a complementary layer, and we’re broadening our consumer base … We don’t want to be all kids’ [brands] but we certainly don’t want to be all adults’ [brands.] It allows us to leverage all parts of the demographics.”
Movie studio 20th Century Fox and Walden Media, the company behind “The Chronicles of Narnia” films, have formed a joint venture to produce and market family friendly films, the companies said Tuesday.
The move gives Walden, which has been producing films with a number of studios, a permanent home for future projects while giving Fox the means to expand its reach into the lucrative family entertainment sector.
Walden, which is owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, will remain an independent entity under the deal with its own production staff. Current projects under development with rival studios, including The Walt Disney Co., Paramount Pictures and New Line, also will remain in place.
The new, as yet unnamed joint venture, will market and promote films generally rated “G” and “PG,” including movies that will be contributed to the venture by both Walden and Fox.
As part of the deal, Fox will have first look rights at future projects from Bristol Bay Productions, Walden Media’s sister company under Anschutz Film Group. Bristol Bay’s past projects include 2004’s “Ray” and 2005’s “Sahara.”
Fox has been focusing on the family audience once owned almost exclusively by Disney. Fox has been releasing more animated films, such as Ice Age.
The studio also distributed the home video of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ and last year launched a website to target Christian and family films directly to a religious audience.
“‘G’ and ‘PG’-rated pictures make up 10% of films released, but they dominate the marketplace with almost 30% of the gross,” Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairmen and chief executives Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman said in a statement.
“It’s a great business to be in and this venture is a great fit between our two companies.”
Last year, after the success of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which was released by Disney, Walden started a book publishing unit and began to explore a potential partnership with a studio.
The new label already has a number of films under development, including Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman, and City of Ember, based on Jeanne DuPrau’s novel and produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman for Playtone Productions.
Walden already has started work on a sequel called The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian which is based on the third book in the C.S. Lewis series. It’s scheduled to be in theaters by the summer of 2008.
The New Zealand Herald has announced that Rupert Everett is playing the part of a Fox in The Chronicles of Narnia: FOX VOX: With filming about to start for director Andrew Adamson on his adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, there’s been another star added to the cast – sort of. Colourful British actor Rupert Everett will be the voice of the Fox, one of the CGI-animated characters in the story. Everett’s dulcet tones can, of course, already be heard as the voice of Prince Charming in Adamson’s Shrek 2.
SPOILER: The Fox appears in the Christmas Party in the novel.
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