Last week, I got an e-mail offering the opportunity to interview Ben Barnes. He had played Prince Caspian in the latest Narnia film and will be reprising that role when they film Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He is looking forward to that film, greatly, as we all are.
I jumped at the chance to interview him again. Hanging out with him in New York for the Prince Caspian junkets and the premiere was a lot of fun and he was a really cool person, so how could I not?
What follows is most of the interview, but not all of it. We went off into so many tangents that it might even be a bit hard to follow. It was a fun conversation, but not all of it is required, nor would it make much sense.
The interview was set up because of the Narnia Exhibition that is opening at The Franklin in Pennsylvania next week. Tickets are available now. It’s a fantastic exhibition and you can see authentic props and things from the movie, and learn a little bit while you’re at it! Read the full press release following this interview.
Ben Barnes: Hi Paul!
NarniaFans.com: Hey Ben, how’s it going?
Ben Barnes: Excellent, how are you?
NarniaFans.com: Very Good, very good. It’s been a little while since New York, and everything, that was fun.
Ben Barnes: Yeah, I remember, yeah, it’s been a while.
NarniaFans.com: Yeah, so how’s it been, since then?
Ben Barnes: Yeah, it’s been great. I managed to squeeze in another film and listening to all the gossip about moving on with these [Narnia films] and just waiting for that to happen, really.
NarniaFans.com: Right, and I trust you’ve been learning how to sail a ship in the meantime as well?
Ben Barnes: I wish I had been, yeah, I wish I had been. You know, we’re so unsure as to the scheduling that if I started training now, I might be training for years before we actually film it. But most recently I’ve been assured that hopefully we’re going to get going with it in early summer, which would be good.
NarniaFans.com: Excellent.
Ben Barnes: I’ve been looking forward to it since the end of the last one. This is the story I was really excited about when I got the part in the first place.
NarniaFans.com: Oh, of course! So, tell me, how did it feel going through the exhibition, like have you gone through it yet?
Ben Barnes: I’m going through it this afternoon, actually. Have you been through it already?
NarniaFans.com: I went through in Arizona.
Ben Barnes: Oh, okay, how was it?
NarniaFans.com: Oh, fantastic.
Ben Barnes: Great!
NarniaFans.com: People, because it’s Arizona and the desert, people would start to tear up as the snow starts to fall on them and they remember their childhood.
Ben Barnes: Oh, that’s fantastic. I mean, apparently you’ve got the wardrobe and then the snow and you can sit on the icy Witch’s throne and the Telmarine war machines and everything. Sounds great.
NarniaFans.com: So, did you bring any family with you to the exhibition?
Ben Barnes: No, they’re home in London. They’ve got their own very busy lives.. I’m looking forward to it!
NarniaFans.com: What are you looking forward to most? Because you’re seeing all of your stuff in a museum… and you know, it’s all of your old Prince Caspian stuff!
Ben Barnes: I think, obviously, from a very selfish point of view I think it will be kind of cool to see the costumes that I was wearing day in, day out, in a glass case. I think that’s kind of cool and interesting.
NarniaFans.com: You’d probably feel the urge to pick it up and put it on right away!
Ben Barnes: Right, exactly, I’m just imagining walking up to it and having a museum guard say “please don’t touch that, sir!” and I’ll be like “But it’s mine!”
NarniaFans.com: Like your old sword and everything.
Ben Barnes: Exactly, and I just finished shooting Dorian Gray, based on Oscar Wilde, and they got this fantastic portrait painted. This very expensive portrait painted. And I was like “can I have that, afterwards for my mom?” and they were like “absolutely not, do you know what this is worth? We’re giving this to a museum.” And I was like “but it’s a picture of me, what do you mean you’re giving it to a museum, it makes no sense!”
NarniaFans.com: Right, and that’s a huge movie for you as well.
Ben Barnes: I’m 27 and my world is already in museums around the world, it doesn’t seem to make any sense. It should be at least 50 years after you’re dead that things from your career end up in museums.
NarniaFans.com: Right, it’s like, you’ve done two big films and a couple of independents and you’re already in museums. Have you been able to stay grounded in all of this? Is Dorian Gray going to skyrocket you?
Ben Barnes: I don’t know, I don’t think so… I’m very lucky, I’m a quite private person, it’s actually quite good for me, I would much rather have it this way round. I find it very uncomfortable, really, reading about myself or watching myself on things, so I would rather have it this way round. And I’ve been very fortunate, the kind of attention I’ve been receiving has been mostly very positive and I get thousands of lovely letters from literally every country in the world about how much they’ve enjoyed the movies and things. And that part of it is wonderful, because that’s why you do it, you know, you do it so that there are people around the world who watch it and get something out of it and enjoy them and take something away from it and that is what, on the whole that they achieve. In the same way that that’s why C.S. Lewis wrote the books in the first place: to allow kids’ imaginations to run away with them and to deliver decent moral and ethical messages and I think that that’s an important thing, escapism.
NarniaFans.com: I’ve got a friend who babysits a little girl that has a pillow with your face on it, she’s like four years old.
Ben Barnes: So she’s the other one, because my mom has one and I know that they sold two.
NarniaFans.com: (laughter) Yeah, and she kisses it before she goes to bed every night.
Ben Barnes: Oh, that’s so sweet. A little scary, but very sweet. Oh, and she’s four, that’s absolutely adorable.
NarniaFans.com: What are you looking forward to the most out of this whole exhibition?
Ben Barnes: You probably know better than I do, what was the highlight for you?
NarniaFans.com: I don’t know, there was a lot of great stuff. The ice wall, going into Narnia…
Ben Barnes: Let me ask you a question: have you played the Caspian video game?
NarniaFans.com: Oh yeah.
Ben Barnes: Have you finished it?
NarniaFans.com: I have.
Ben Barnes: Okay, cause I need help. I’m at the part with the White Witch and Nikabrik and the Werewolf are coming at me from either side and they keep running away and I can’t get past them. How do I kill them?
NarniaFans.com: I can’t even remember how that part played out, that was a long time ago.
Ben Barnes: I have it on the Wii and I am so stuck.
NarniaFans.com: Right, I do too.
Ben Barnes: I figure there must be six year olds who can do this, and I can’t do it. But you’ve been completely unhelpful and I’m gonna have to ask someone else.
(laughter)
NarniaFans.com: I’m sorry man.
Ben Barnes: That’s alright.
NarniaFans.com: Let me look it up and I’ll e-mail you or something.
Ben Barnes: Yeah… I’ll work it out eventually, I have to do it on my own, I have to learn to do it on my own.
NarniaFans.com: I mean, we’re both the same age, and I have problems with it too, you know.
Ben Barnes: Yeah, yeah, see, me and my brother sit there in my apartment and go “Come on, Nikabrik, die!” I mean, I’m literally calling up Warwick Davis going “how do I kill you?”
NarniaFans.com: Nice, I don’t know… the internet has a lot of good tips for it.
Ben Barnes: Yeah, I’ll have to go look it up there.
NarniaFans.com: So, what’s next then, for you?
Ben Barnes: Well, I don’t know, I’m hopefully going to try and fit in a movie or two before Dawn Treader if it’s going to be summer time. It could be a little earlier than that, in which case I might only do one. But I’d like to do something a bit more contemporary. And I’d like to do something American, too, so I’d like to do something like some kind of supernatural thing or a spy thing or something along those lines, but we’ll see.
NarniaFans.com: That’d be kinda cool.
Ben Barnes: I need to do a movie so I can tell my mates in London that I’m doing this, and they go “oh cool.” Yeah, so obviously you can say you’re acting opposite Jessica Biel and they get excited, and then you tell them it’s a Noel Coward adaptation and they lose all interest. So I have to do something where they get excited.
NarniaFans.com: Right. I mean, they’re doing Alice in Wonderland.
Ben Barnes: Yeah, Tim Burton’s doing that with Johnny Depp and Matt Lucas, yeah. That could be cool. I look forward to seeing that. But I’ve gotta stop doing things that are based on like high end British literature, because my last six projects have been Alan Bennett, C.S. Lewis, Noel Coward, Oscar Wilde, and I’ve gotta start being a little less precious about it, I think.
NarniaFans.com: Well, you did do Bigga than Ben.
Ben Barnes: That’s true, that is true. Which I was thrilled that it got actually a cinema release in the UK in five or six more artsy cinemas in London and then it got really fantastic reviews which I was really pleased about.
NarniaFans.com: Excellent. So you’ve got big things ahead.
Ben Barnes: Well, I hope so. Dawn Treader is going to be awesome because it’s my favorite of the books, I think it certainly has the potential to be the best of the movies.
NarniaFans.com: Have you kept in touch with the rest of the cast, since Prince Caspian?
Ben Barnes: Yeah, absolutely, I speak to Anna all the time, I saw William in Los Angeles last week. Less contact with Skandar and Georgie because they’re kinda doing school and everything, but I’m gonna get the whole next movie with them, so.
NarniaFans.com: Excellent, well it’s been great talking to you again.
Ben Barnes: It’s been my pleasure. I’ll talk to you soon!
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition” will make its East Coast debut at The Franklin in Philadelphia on November 28, 2008, one of the biggest family weekends of the year. Based on the blockbuster film series and C.S. Lewis’ beloved fictional books, the 10,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art entertainment and educational exhibition will offer visitors the opportunity to tour scenes from the famed literary fantasy world of Narnia. Through authentic costumes, props and set dressings from the magical Narnia films, visitors will enter three-dimensional settings that combine the wonders of science with aspects of fantasy.
Tickets are now on sale to “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition,” which is presented by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media and produced by the Becker Group, and are available for purchase at www.fi.edu/Narnia or by calling 215-448-1254. The exhibition will run through April 19, 2009, at The Franklin.
“The scene displays and props from the Narnia films, coupled with the scientific and educational aspects of the exhibition, create an immersive experience that stimulates the senses and the mind,” said Glenn Tilley, president and chief executive officer of Becker Group. “It captivated audiences when it opened at the Arizona Science Center earlier this summer, and we are thrilled to now be able to share this exhibition with the people of Philadelphia.”
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition” premiered at the Arizona Science Center (ASC) in Phoenix in June 2008, where it was one of the highest-rated guest experiences the ASC had ever hosted, receiving nearly perfect scores, according to a survey conducted by Jacobs Media. Philadelphia marks the second stop on the multi-city tour, which will include eight additional domestic and international cities during the next five years. As the book series has long been a regarded source of reading inspiration that merges fantasy and history, a special teacher’s guide that includes information on weather and climate also will be available to academic communities and school groups.
“We are honored to host the East Coast premiere of this exhibition,” said Dennis M. Wint, president and chief executive officer of The Franklin. “We know that people are drawn to our institution because of our dynamic approach to science and education, and we feel that ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition’ offers the perfect mix of education and entertainment.”
To help create the science portions of the exhibition, scientists from the California Institute of Technology and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory were brought on board to review label copy for the exhibition text panels. Two of the scientists also appear in video presentations that play in corresponding areas within the exhibition in support of the science aspects, including a video that highlights how animals communicate. The video aims to teach visitors how and why animals choose their homes and how they use eye contact, color and sound, among other things, to communicate. Real world animals, such as chimpanzees, apes and dolphins, can be seen communicating with each other and with humans in a video in the forest section of the exhibition, accompanied by an interview with animal communications expert David Mizejewski, host of Animal Planet’s “Backyard Habitats.”
Visitors to the exhibition will view artifacts from C.S. Lewis’ personal study and experience exciting, iconic environments such as the famous attic and wardrobe that served as the portal into the Narnia adventures.
Once passing through the portal, guests will explore immersive, themed scenes, beginning with a wintry Narnia world, complete with falling snow and cold wind, as seen in the series’ first film, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” The tour then continues through other spectacles from the films, including the White Witch’s ice palace, Cair Paravel and additional displays and environments from “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.”
Incorporating the movies’ original props with newly created engaging and educational elements, the exhibition allows visitors to enter three-dimensional settings that combine both fantasy and reality. Some of these interactive and instructive elements include:
• A replica of the Witch’s Throne that delivers a unique sensory experience, where visitors have the opportunity to sit on the iconic, icy throne and feel the chill. A nearby display describes the impact of climate change on our planet and investigates whether our planet could be frozen for 100 years, like the world of Narnia.
• An area featuring King Miraz’s Castle from the most recent film, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” where visitors have the opportunity to build an arch, learning about the architectural structure and strategy involved in the design. Starting from the ground, visitors place pieces of the arch in their correct positions, complete the structure by placing the keystone at the top, and finally, step back to marvel at the architectural wonder.
• An area highlighting the mythical creatures of Narnia allows visitors to create their own creatures featured in the film. Three stacks of rotating, square blocks stand in 3-, 4- and 6-foot configurations, each level featuring different aspects of a creature – the lower level features creature legs, the center the torsos and the upper level the faces. By rearranging the different levels, visitors can create well-known characters from the Narnia films or mix and match the squares to create new characters.
• In an area of the White Witch’s castle, visitors have the opportunity to see and touch pieces of petrified history. Petrified specimens from around the world are featured in the exhibition, including a 5 million-year-old petrified cave bear tooth from Romania and a 45 million-year-old fish from Frontier, WY.
First published in 1950, more than 100 million copies of “The Chronicles of Narnia” series have been sold in more than 50 languages. The series’ first big-screen adaptation, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,” grossed more than $745 million worldwide. The second installment in the series, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” was released this past summer and already has grossed more than $410 million.
Here is the official news release about the Exhibition, in full for those who wanted more information. Thank you to Mark Sommer for reminding me that this was available!
Narnia Spy Shad wrote to us about the Narnia Exhibition that is now at the Franklin in Pennsylvania. If you get the chance, go to it. It very impressive! Here are scans that he send in of a brochure that he picked up there.
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