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.

According to Jim Hill’s blog, 20th Century Fox is trying to get companies and t-shirt makers excited about Dawn Treader.  This picture comes from the Licensing International Expo 2009.

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Q: When the list of eligible songs for the “Best Original Song” Academy Award was released, “The Call” was there but “This is Home” and the others weren’t. Can you explain this?

-Skulblaka_Shur’tugal

Paul: Good question.  I’m not sure the rules on this, and even the official site for the Oscars doesn’t have the rules for eligibility posted in this category.  There must have been a reason, but I just can’t find it.  Can anyone else?

Q: I want to say something about the most recent mailbag; Skulbaka had a question about Fox’s handling of Narnia, and mentioned that Eragon was a poor film compared to the book. While I haven’t read Eragon and haven’t seen the film, so I don’t know anything about it, I do know that Fox has handled STar Wars quite well (which I believe you mentioned). HOWEVER, Fox will not be responsible for what’s in the script, am I right? Michael Apted and the screenwriter(s) are responsible for what goes into the script; the studios (Walden and Fox) will handle the distribution, marketing and publicity.

I also wanted to ask a question: since Disney has bailed on the films, do you think there will be better publicity for Voyage of the Dawn treader, like there was for Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?

-Aravis Kenobi

Paul: Good additional points about the Dawn Treader script, and you are correct about that.  I think that there’s a good chance for better publicity than Prince Caspian had.  20th Century Fox wants to make this a franchise and they don’t want to do one Narnia only to see it fail.  Expect to see a lot in the way of publicity, this time around.

Q: Am I the only one who noticed the Narnia flag (rampant lion) on the opening shot of the Disney castle in the movie theater version of Prince Caspian? I was rather disappointed when it didn’t make the DVD.

Kelley

Paul: Now that you mention it, I sort of remember seeing it.  Anyone have verification on this?  I’m not sure I can find it.  It is interesting if it really isn’t on the DVD.  If I wasn’t watching the Ocean’s trilogy at the moment, I’d check the Blu-ray.

Q: Any idea on when we’ll hear casting announcements?
Do you think/know if TCF/Walden will market VDT to faith groups?

Mike

Paul: Casting announcements, if filming indeed starts in late July, some time this month.  Keep your eyes on NarniaFans.com for these!  I think that that Walden will market VDT to faith groups again, and hopefully with as much stress as they did LWW.  The biggest problem is that the rest of the Narnia films don’t have as public a symbolic reference to Christ.  Nor the name recognition.  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe could have been released under that name alone.  Calling it The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was pure marketing so that when future films in the series were released, people could see the name Narnia and remember the last film on the weight of that name alone.

And that’s it for this week’s mailbag. Keep sending us e-mails, and we’ll keep answering.  If you have any answers, feel free to comment below, or send us an e-mail and we’ll post it in future mailbags.

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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!

What I hope, though, is that they do the 3D film without relying on the gimmicks that usually come with a 3D film.  Although, with the new wave of 3D movies that have come out lately, those gimmicks seem to only happen in movies that were meant to be 3D from the start.  3D films are beginning to use 3D as an advantage, bringing people into the environment of the movie and immersing the viewer in the world presented, instead of intentionally throwing things toward the camera.

Another thing about 3D movies that a lot of people still don’t realize is that the technology is now advanced, and using the red and blue lenses is a thing of the past.  They now use polarized lenses that make the 3D happen.

What do you think?  Would you like to see Dawn Treader in 3D?

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The reason Walden Media refuses to let go of the Narnia franchise (the reason they are still looking to make The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) is because the Narnia movies are the only Walden films that have made blockbuster money. Only one non-Narnian Walden movie has grossed more than $100 million domestically and no non-Narnian Walden movies have made more than $225 million worldwide. Walden is afraid that, if they let go of Narnia, they will go under. This is very likely. They need Narnia because not only does it keep them afloat, but also because the Narnia series has massive potential to rake in the big bucks.

And 20th Century Fox may very well be willing to pick up the series. Fox’s number one movie this past year (Horton Hears a Who) made less than $300 million worldwide. Their number one for the previous year (The Simpsons Movie) made $527 million worldwide. Their number one for 2006 (X-Men: The Last Stand, which cost around $200 million between production and marketing) made $460 million worldwide. And all of these films were marketed appropriately and released on a date conducive for that sort of film making money. Prince Caspian, which we all will certainly agree was marketed poorly and given a bad release date, made very nearly what X3 did worldwide (and X3 was considered a huge success). The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will almost certainly make more than $460 million if it’s released in December 2010. The fact that the gross will probably be higher coupled with the fact that the production budget will be reduced to $140 million (which is less than X3’s production cost) leads me to believe that Fox might be interested.

Fox, unlike Disney, seems to be pleased with moderate successes and Narnia has the potential to be far more than moderately successful. If Fox picks up the option, it might just be a perfect fit, financially speaking. After all, the”X-Men” franchise can only go so much farther and “Star Wars” seems to be all over (at the cinema anyway). Fox, like Walden, needs (something like) Narnia. Even still, the distributor that potentially picks up the franchise has to be careful with Narnia, as it has to be made and marketed just right (not just for established Narnia fans, but for the general movie going public). But, given the right circumstances (which can mostly be controlled by the distributor), Fox and Narnia could work well for one another.

KingOfLostFaces.com

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Many think it quite likely that Fox might be interested. Fox and Walden have worked together many times in the past. (They eventually formed Fox Walden.) Also, Fox is rather sans franchises right now. They have the X-Men characters and… that’s pretty much it. Not only are they without franchises, they are also without many strong tentpoles. An established franchise that shows potential could really be what Fox needs right now.

Furthermore, even Disney admitted that the unsuccessful box office of Prince Caspian was due, in large part, to the crowded release month. If it had been released in December (particularly in 2007), the box office very well could have been near double what it came to. It would certainly have been a few hundred million more worldwide.

If treated properly, the Narnia franchise has huge potential. The question is if Fox (or another studio) agrees about this potential and if they are willing to dish out $150 million to see if the property proves valuable. To restate what has been said many times before, this is a delicate franchise. In 2005, Disney showed how to market Narnia. In 2008, Disney tried something new and bold, but ended up showing how NOT to market Narnia. It’s really that simple now because we know the rules of the game. To oversimplify: Make the right movie and market it to the right audience.

The idea of franchises studio-hopping isn’t unheard of either. For example, back in 2004, Revolution Studios released Hellboy to moderate success. The studio was not displeased with the box office (it ended up slightly in the green, much like Prince Caspian will after a brief period on DVD), but decided against going forward with a sequel and they let go of their right to release the sequel. Universal nabbed that right up pretty quickly and released Hellboy II: The Golden Army in 2008. The Golden Army grossed a bit more than the first installment. Universal was pleased and wants to go forward with a third installment when series director Guillermo Del Toro gets some free time (a busy, in-demand filmmaker, that man is). There is no reason why this sort of thing shouldn’t or couldn’t happen with the Narnia franchise.

KingOfLostFaces.com

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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.”

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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.

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SPOILER: The Fox appears in the Christmas Party in the novel.

Read more about Rupert Everett

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