12.31.06
Posted in NarniaFans.com
at 3:15 pm
by Paul Martin
May 2008 is beginning to get very crowded, in terms of movies that are springing up to entice viewers. On the slate for the month are Iron Man (May 2, 2008), Speed Racer (May 23, 2008) and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (May 16, 2008). Recently another film has been added to an already crowded month: Indiana Jones 4.
Iron Man is going to be a live action superhero film featuring Robert Downey Jr. in the title role of Tony Stark/Iron Man. It is being directed by Jon Favreau (Elf, Zathura). This is a Marvel Comics character that is inflicted with very real problems. If done well, it could be the next Spider-Man.
Speed Racer is being written and directed by visionary directors The Wachowski Brothers. Now much is known about the film, but rumor has it that they’re going to use new technology to bring the cars to life, and new filming techniques that we’ve not yet seen (perhaps more advanced than the Bullet Time seen in the Matrix Trilogy). Based on the anime, it has the potential to be visually stunning.
Indiana Jones 4 is the long in development fourth film from legendary filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Featuring Harrison Ford returning to the title role, it looks like this winning team is actually going to come back together in 2007 to finally create the next and final chapter in the Indiana Jones saga. This project has had many writers attached over the years, including a favorite of mine: Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile); but the only recently finalized the script that they’re going to use.
Iron Man and Speed Racer aren’t really threats to Prince Caspian’s potential box office take (they’re all pretty spread out, and Speed Racer has a different audience, and even that is currently an unknown quantity). But Indiana Jones could pose a direct threat. The audience for Indiana Jones has grown up, and now has children about the same age that they were when the originals were released, if not a bit younger. If the filming plans go as they were saying a few years ago, Spielberg is going to capture this one in the same way that the first three were filmed: no digital computer effects. That would make this a breath of fresh air, and it’s one that holds quite a history of adventure.
However, Prince Caspian is following up one of the largest grossing films of 2005. It is also the next in a seven book series that is widely known throughout the world. However, it’s not the most well known of the Narnia books. It does have the promotional might of Disney again, plus another film leading into it, it is sure to hit the box office hard. But will it be enough? Only time will tell, and 2007 is bringing us the filming of Prince Caspian, as well as a teaser or so for the film. We’ll know soon enough.
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12.29.06
Posted in NarniaFans.com
at 6:10 pm
by Paul Martin
It has recently been reported the director Guillermo del Toro turned down the opportunity to direct The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. According to Yahoo News:
[He] was asked to direct “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” but he turned it down because, as a lapsed Catholic, he couldn’t see himself bringing Aslan the lion back to life.
Instead, he put his dark, fervid imagination to work on an original story, “Pan’s Labyrinth,” a bloody and harrowing fairy tale that incorporates elements from C.S. Lewis’ beloved Christian allegory and various other classics of children’s literature.
Set during the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, “Pan’s Labyrinth” shows why del Toro’s sensibility is somehow both perfectly suited and utterly alien to the gentle “Narnia.” He subjects his hero, an 11-year-old girl whose mother has married a captain in Gen. Francisco Franco’s army, to shocking violence and vexing moral quandaries.
“I’m not proselytizing anything about a lion resurrecting. I’m not trying to sell you into a point. I’m just doing a little parable about disobedience and choice,” del Toro said. “This is my version of that universe, not only `Narnia,’ but that universe of children’s literature.”
Guillermo del Toro certainly has a creative vision, having brought to life such comic book characters as “Hellboy” which is about a demon that was conjured up by Nazis, and then rescued from them, and who fights against the forces of darkness. He also directed “Blade II” and the aforementioned “Pan’s Layrinth.”
This leads us to wonder what del Toro’s Narnia would be like. How would the characters have been different? We’ll never really know, and having seen none of del Toro’s films, I have to ask, would he have been the right man for the job? Would it have been a film of fantastical wonder? After all, he has “never been interested in working in the real world or with real characters.”
What do you think? If you’ve seen any of his films, how would his Narnia have been in comparison to Adamson’s Narnia?
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12.25.06
Posted in NarniaFans.com
at 1:23 pm
by Andy Filipowich
I would like to wish everyone on Narniafans.com a Merry Christmas! Remember to spend the day with your family and friends, and keep safe.
With that said, I would like to tell you a little Christmas story. When shopping on Friday for my sister’s gift, I phoned home to ask her what she wanted. She, being a self-proclaimed bookworm, asked for two novels. When wrapping the Christmas gifts I did not want her to guess my present, so I wrapped the novels in such a way that it looked like a box for a mini baseball bat. I also asked my brother if I could borrow his belt, so when she picked up the “box” it would have irregular edges. Although she knew I bought her two books, she had doubts as to what the present was.
When she opened the gift, however, she was pleasantly surprised. Although she had the two books she wanted, she was disappointed that she had to give the belt back to my brother. Overall, it was a great Christmas.
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12.22.06
Posted in Misc., Narnia Films
at 11:56 pm
by Andy Filipowich
J. K. Rowling started an international buzz when she released the seventh title of the Harry Potter series. People were analysing the new name to death, coming up with theories on who is going to live, who is going to die, and everything in between.
At the forefront of these discussions were the various Harry Potter fan sites. Within hours of the title’s release, Mugglenet.com’s staff member Ciaran posted an editorial of possible book release dates. Pottercast, a Harry Potter podcast, rushed to release an analysis of the title. Forums everywhere, including our own Dancing Lawn were discussing the new name.
With all of this happening, one has to wonder if news from the Narnia world will achieve the same reaction.
Unfortunately, the author of the beloved Narnia series has deceased and we cannot expect a new title for a book. However, there are many other news stories that the Narnia community is waiting to know, like who will play Prince Caspian in the next Narnia movie.
However, the question remains; Will the release of Prince Caspian create as much of a buzz as the new Harry Potter book title?
Probably not. The Harry Potter series has been a defining moment of the upcoming generation, along with the Internet. Many Harry Potter fan sites have been posting their thoughts on the books for years, while the Narnia fan sites have only begun a short time ago.
Furthermore, while the new actor will be a big topic in the Narnia forums, the series is not as popular as the Harry Potter books. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first Narnia movie, was released the same time as the fourth Harry Potter movie The Goblet of Fire. While the Narnia movie made 744.8 million last year, the Harry Potter movie grossed 892.2 million dollars, a 147.4 million dollar difference. (Source: Boxofficemojo.com) Furthermore, many of the Harry Potter fans are teens and more likely to be technologically inclined. Meanwhile, many Narnia fans have loved the books for their whole lives, or are in their first years of their life, and are less likely to know how to discuss our passion on the Internet.
So what do we do about it? How do we create hype for the new Prince Caspian?
The best thing we can do is talk about it. When the name of the actor is released, tell as many people as you can. Post on as many different forums as you can. Talk to your friends, your family, and your peers.
Let us show the world that Narnia is just as good as Harry Potter. Let us create the hype that the movies deserve.
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12.21.06
Posted in NarniaFans.com
at 8:50 pm
by Paul Martin
We’ve just received a shipment of our latest T-Shirt design. This one is available for immediate shipping. We’ve got seven of each size from Small to XL on hand, in Turkish Delight Red. It matches the color of the Turkish Delight that enchants Edmund in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It’s an enchanting and entertaining design, and has our NarniaFans.com logo on the back. Order yours today in our shop! (Also available outside the U.S.) Shipping for Christmas is not possible right now though, sorry.
Are there any other NarniaFans.com products or apparel that you’d like us to carry? Comment below and let us know. And if you’d rather order via Google Checkout, instead of Paypal, comment below or send us an e-mail, and we’ll get it added into the shop for easier payment!
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12.08.06
Posted in Narnia Stories, NarniaFans.com
at 3:18 pm
by Paul Martin
We’ve decided that having news, a mailbag, a podcast, a forum and more Narnia than you can handle just wasn’t enough.
I was out to dinner last night, and noticed something really interesting, which got me thinking about how I could share it. The news just wasn’t the right place for a story like that. It was more of a story that would fit a blog.
I was minding my own business, eating dinner at a Fazoli’s, when I looked up and saw something that I did not expect. Lucy was walking toward the Wardrobe, still under the dust cover. At the table next to mine, a young boy and his mother were watching LWW on a portable DVD player. There I was, sitting one seat over in my NarniaFans.com beanie, and listening to them explain to one of the employees that this version was new, and that they really enjoyed the film. I didn’t interrupt though, it was a moment that was best left alone, to be enjoyed from afar.
And then I realized that there have been many many times when things like that have come up, and have probably come up in the lives of our many moderators as well! Therefore, I’ve come up with a solution that might help to capture that.
I was thinking that having a single NarniaFans.com blog would be the answer. That each of the moderators could potentially be involved in posting stories here.
WordPress was selected after conducting much research, and it was down to WordPress vs. TextPattern. We’ll see how this one works out though. Stay tuned for more later!
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