Writer Changed

[Truman]

Just read that Stephen Knight is off of Dawn Treader. :( Apparently replacing Knight in the screenwriting department is Richard LaGravenese, who I thought did shining work with "The Little Princess" (1995 version).

So... I don't think it's a total loss; they still got a good children's writer, eh? :)

[General Oreius]

A quick glance at iMDb confirms that Richard LaGravenese's name is on the list as the screenplay writer and not Stephen Knight. With no official press release though, we'll see. However, Mr. LaGravenese has done several screenplays that are adapted from books, and I believe have a bit of popularity in their respective genres. The films from books/novels include: A Little Princess (1995, NOT Shirley Temple), The Bridges of Madison County, Unstrung Heroes, The Mirror Has Two Faces, The Horse Whisperer, and more recently, Freedom Writers. He also did the screenplay for "P.S. I Love You."

Granted, except for "Little Princess," I know nothing of the other films except for their names, but it appears Mr. LaGravenese was brought on because of his expertise in adapting books to films screenplays. But then again, I don't know how those films turned out, except that "Horse Whisperer" is pretty popular with some people on this board :D.

[Aravis_yanes]

Well I just hope that he stays on the book. "The horse whisperer" is a good movie hope he do an excellent job in VDT!!!

[Aravis Kenobi]

Just read that Stephen Knight is off of Dawn Treader. :( Apparently replacing Knight in the screenwriting department is Richard LaGravenese, who I thought did shining work with "The Little Princess" (1995 version).

So... I don't think it's a total loss; they still got a good children's writer, eh? :)

never heard of the guy....either one honestly. :o but I've heard that The Little Princess wasn't all that close to the book.

[ChildOfAslan7]

I liked The Little Princess. Haven't seen it in a very long time though.
I think as long as the new writer doesn't make any drastic changes, he'll do just fine. There's a whole lot more pressure on him in this project though cause the fanbase is so big. I'm sure he'll tread carefully. hehe.

[MRW]

While I wasn't terribly thrilled with some of the changes he made to A Little Princess (her father was supposed to be DEAD!), it was, nonetheless, a good script. The Horse Whisperer was quite a good adaptation, given how large the book is and how much he had to cut to make it a feature-length film. While he, again, changed the ending (dead characters should DIE in their movies), it captured the spirit of the novel quite well. I haven't actually read the original novel for P.S. I Love You so I can't speak for quality of adaptation, but the movie was quite good.

Most of those movies are quite dramatic, and very emotionally touching, which I think is a good feel for Voyage. If I don't cry when Reepicheep sails over the wave (which I do every time I read/listen to the book), I'll know the scriptwriter hasn't done their job. But knowing the tone of this guy's work, I'm quite hopeful.

[ChildOfAslan7]

Most of those movies are quite dramatic, and very emotionally touching, which I think is a good feel for Voyage. If I don't cry when Reepicheep sails over the wave (which I do every time I read/listen to the book), I'll know the scriptwriter hasn't done their job. But knowing the tone of this guy's work, I'm quite hopeful.

that is a very good point. i'm really glad you brought that up MRW.

[Powl']

ok with all those changes Caspian will be played by Orlando Bloom :eek: (just kidding) we're going to no where with this movie, I'm actually wondering if it's ever going to start filming ... :(:(:mad:

[Aravis Kenobi]

Since Fox and Walden have reached an agreement, I believe there was an article on NF.com's homepage that said the filming for VotDT would begin sometime this summer or fall, which would put the release of the movie around the holidays of 2010. Had disney not bailed on this movie like they did, I have a feeling the filming would have already been underway, or at least been closer to it. But even with that, I doubt that the film could have been released earlier than 2010. and Since PC bombed with a summer release, it's wiser to aim for a holiday release, in November or December as with LWW. Of course, marketing and publicity helps in that too, and those were almost non-existent for PC. :rolleyes:

[Into the Wardrobe]

Agreed AravisKenobi. It will be interesting to see how this new person fares. I want to know that the film will stay as close to the book and the spirit of the characters as possible. I want to see a proper adaptation that does not venture into the realm of fan fiction....there's a difference. I hope the new writer will be an improvement. I wonder why Stephen was replaced? Maybe Fox wanted someone else in there. Time will tell.

[General Oreius]

Or perhaps Stephen Knight had to leave for some reason. Who knows? Maybe we'll find out later, otherwise, I'm guessing we'll have to wait for the movie to come out before we make any judgments on VDT.

[Into the Wardrobe]

Very true General Orius. The trailer will be very telling. If they do a comic con panel it will be insightful as well. I hope that they'll do a good job at the adaptation phase of it all...the story is the most important part of the film.

[General Oreius]

And for a second I thought "But Comic-Con was this past weekend! It's too late!" THEN I remembered that we have NEXT year, lol.

[Into the Wardrobe]

There's also the major Comic Con in San Diego which is usually in July. They've featured Narnia panels in both San Diego and New York. And yes, there is next year as well. But I think panels at those events and the trailer will give us an idea of where the writers allowed the story to venture. Granted the director can change things up, but then, if we see Trumpkin on the ship we'll know they took more license than they should have. Time will tell. I just hope they will stick to the books.

[Aravis Kenobi]

Maybe Apted decided to switch writers....

aw, rats. Stephen Knight wrote the script for Amazing Grace and the film was, pardon the pun, amazing. :( of course, imdb.com doesn't say if AG was written off a screenplay....

[~Lava~]

And the script writer is: none of the above

According to a story on NarniaFans.com (the news section), a Michael Petroni is writing the script. So no, it is not Stephen Knight, nor is it Marcus and McFeely, nor is it Richard LaGravenese

[Into the Wardrobe]

Michael Petroni is in now. It sounds like they're having a tough time with the script. Marcus and McFeely are gone. Knight and LaGravenese are gone. Regardless of who they have in there....I still wish I could see the script before they shoot one frame of the film. Then if they have stuff in there that would make the fans mad (like the Susan and Caspian romance did in the last film), they could change it without too many problems. I want the franchise to be a success. Time will tell.

*Whispers advice to Petroni* "Stick to the book!"

[Aravis Kenobi]

Good grief...nothing on this film seems final. I wonder if they'll change composers next? :rolleyes:

[Into the Wardrobe]

Since they've filmed nothing thus far, everything is up for grabs and changes. Once they get started this will be much more difficult.

[Pardine]

This is a bit disturbing, that they are going through so many writers.

The latest writer has a small selection of writing credits to his name, including:

Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned
Masters of Science Fiction (He wrote one of the weaker screenplays in that set)
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

And a small selection of shorts.

This guy is not a good writer. He's very, VERY green.

[~Lava~]

Perhaps that means that this is a way of cutting budget.

[Aravis Kenobi]

You never know though; he might turn up being VERY good at adapting the book, and I say that because since he's not big into the business, perhaps he will go a different direction than the writers of PC. (i.e. he doesn't have the Hollywood mentality)

[Truman]

To me, it seems like almost everyone here who hated PC is determined to be as pessimistic as they possibly can toward the turnout of VDT. Aravis is right. Give the guys a chance at least. :rolleyes:
Good grief...nothing on this film seems final. I wonder if they'll change composers next? :rolleyes:
Actually, I kinda hope they will. Sure, he might be good at adapting themes (Casino Royale), but it seems like a lot of his work has centered around composing remakes and sequels.

I'm a bit confused about what's happening with the score. Will it be the same? My highest hopes are that it isn't, at least not like HG-W's Prince Caspian. I loved the soundtrack to PC, but it was pretty much the exact same music as the first movie with maybe two new themes added. Maybe Dave'll bring some life to the series... but then, they might choose a different guy. Who knows? :)

[Pardine]

I get the impression that we're going to have to be happy with who we get. That we're not done switching writers.. switching directors.. switching cast members might even occur.

This is quickly becoming a cost cutting film. I hope they don't cut too far.

[Into the Wardrobe]

You never know though; he might turn up being VERY good at adapting the book, and I say that because since he's not big into the business, perhaps he will go a different direction than the writers of PC. (i.e. he doesn't have the Hollywood mentality)This is a great point! I hope you're right about that!

To me, it seems like almost everyone here who hated PC is determined to be as pessimistic as they possibly can toward the turnout of VDT. Aravis is right. Give the guys a chance at least. :rolleyes:
They have every right to be Truman. The comodity that the franchise lost with PC was trust. That is not something easily regained. It just isn't. Anyone would expect the fans who struggled with PC to be beyond wary of VDT. That is a normal reaction. They will give them a chance, but it's not a bad thing to let them know that the franchise is on a very short leash. In all honesty, the franchise did a lot to let the fans know that they didn't matter in regards to the last film and then they put something out that was in some ways offensive to many of the die hard book fans. Bottom line, they set themselves up for it.

I get the impression that we're going to have to be happy with who we get. That we're not done switching writers.. switching directors.. switching cast members might even occur.

This is quickly becoming a cost cutting film. I hope they don't cut too far.The economy stinks. I hope things will be good to go for it all. They'll have to cut costs. It's not optional at this point.

[Pardine]

The economy stinks. I hope things will be good to go for it all. They'll have to cut costs. It's not optional at this point.

Well, unfortunately, what we have right now is a studio that has picked up the film.

In this economy, that doesn't mean it is going to happen.

I've seen the more expensive composers with the longer record get replaced with the one who's just done Bond movies and a few other things. I've seen the director replaced. I've seen the writer replaced, and thus, a script rejected.

We need to accept that this thing is NOT going to be made on $140 million or however much people said the budget was going to be.. and it's not going to be as grand as the novel.

It just concerns me to see things like this. Our own Badger here has about as many writing credits (albeit in a different field) as this new writer. And our own Badger doesn't write about Anne Rice Vampires and the proclivities there of.

[Into the Wardrobe]

I'm well aware that the film can be canned at any point up until it's most of the way through filming. What I meant when I said that it wasn't optional for them in regards to cutting costs, is that they cannot just spend and spend and spend the way the other films have been able to. There will be a tight budget with little to no freedom to go over it. We'll have to wait and see what will happen as you say. I guess it's common for writers to change, and for other crew members to change. However, barring a horrible accident of some sort, I don't think that they will replace Skandar, Georgie, or Ben. They just wouldn't. They have contracts and the whole franchise is thrilled with them.

[Specter]

I know a bit more about the new scriptwriter situation than the whole lot of you, guaranteed. I can't say what I know about it, but I do know that there are two questions that I had about it, that I got answered.

The new scriptwriter is going to be fantastic. I wish that Markus and McFeely were still on it, as they were able to capture the nuances of things very well, and were great guys. But their skills have been recognized and they're on to Captain America now. Good on them!

Michael Petroni, though, he's a very good script re-writer. He's done some major films that aren't even listed on IMDB yet, which is the reason that people around Fox are talking about him.

I think that reading the script before seeing a movie is a mistake that says that you might not trust the filmmakers. I know we've gone around and around about the Narnia films, but I have written something about the new Ghostbusters that you can apply to Narnia: http://www.sweetpaul.com/ghostbusters-3-thoughts-and-feelings-on-continuing-the-series/

[Aravis Kenobi]

I only give VDT the benefit of the doubt because it's basically a brand-new team. I havent' heard though if Weta is going to work on it.

[~Lava~]

Thanks Spec, that is encouraging.

[Driad54]

Definitely encouraging. But one member mentioned above that "at least he's a good childrens writer", I think this was attributed to LaSomthing..
And well, quite personally, I don't want a childrens movie. These movies have some very adult themes (and I mean in the virtuous and ethical way). I'd like this one to display that.

[Truman]

They have every right to be Truman. The comodity that the franchise lost with PC was trust. That is not something easily regained. It just isn't. Anyone would expect the fans who struggled with PC to be beyond wary of VDT. That is a normal reaction. They will give them a chance, but it's not a bad thing to let them know that the franchise is on a very short leash. In all honesty, the franchise did a lot to let the fans know that they didn't matter in regards to the last film and then they put something out that was in some ways offensive to many of the die hard book fans. Bottom line, they set themselves up for it.
I'm sorry, but who is this "they"? The director is changed. The writers are changed. The producers are changed. The composer is changed. The main sponsor is changed. Prince Caspian is considered by many to be the down point of the Narnia series, and VDT, the highest. So actually... no, I don't think anyone has a right to be pessimistic about VDT. :rolleyes:

[~Lava~]

I am on a wait and see basis with Dawn Treader. I am hopeful for this movie because of all of the changes and the all together better cinematic feel of the book. But I tend to be a "once burned, twice shy" type of person. So, while I will definitely see the movie and probably purchase the film (I do want the whole collection whether or not I like each movie); they are going to have to give me some sort of sign with this one that relieves my fears about the movies for my continued support of their work.

[Truman]

...So, while I will definitely see the movie and probably purchase the film (I do want the whole collection whether or not I like each movie); they are going to have to give me some sort of sign with this one that relieves my fears about the movies for my continued support of their work.
I did the same with the PotC movies, though I didn't enjoy all of 'em until later. :o

[Into the Wardrobe]

I'm sorry, but who is this "they"? The director is changed. The writers are changed. The producers are changed. The composer is changed. The main sponsor is changed. Prince Caspian is considered by many to be the down point of the Narnia series, and VDT, the highest. So actually... no, I don't think anyone has a right to be pessimistic about VDT. :rolleyes:

"They" are the fans who were disappointed in the last film in any way. So what if the director, composer, and several others have been changed. And NO, not all of the producers have been changed. Walden itself has not been changed much in and of itself either. There is no reason for the fans to trust the franchise again unless they are given a reason to. We do have a right to be pessimistic and we will be unless given good reasons not to be. People know that when making a film based on a book there are changes that are likely to be imposed. Die hard book fans of Narnia are going to be wary anyway because the stories are beloved to them, and many changes won't be tolerated or accepted easily. So yes, people have a right to be wary. It is expected. VDT is one of the favorites among the Chronicles so they better get it right. People can use the excuse that PC is a low point in the series for this short time, but if other books don't fare well in the films, that excuse won't be there to fall back on in regards to those other Narnia films. If you choose to not be pessimistic, that's fine and dandy. But don't tell others that they can't be. They're allowed that freedom, and it is no suprise to me if they feel that way.

It's ok to be excited about VDT. I hope it does well. Really, I do. I'm excited that one of my favorite books of all time will be made into a feature film. I'm excited for the attention Narnia has received in the last 6 years or so. Having said that, even with a great team working on the film, I still don't trust Hollywood. Past experience has shown me that it is not wise to blindly trust Hollywood. So, while I'm excited for the film to be made, I too will be wary. They did fairly well with LWW, with maybe one or two blunders. They didn't get PC right on too many levels. So I will be waiting to see what happens with VDT. Trust is not there for the franchise, just a minor bit of hope and excitement. All I can do now is sit and wait.

You didn't buy all the PotC films without having seen them first, so you were wary of those on some level. Somewhere in there it seems that you know what that feels like. Allow others that freedom as well.

[office]

With Andrew Adamson still involved, I have faith it will be good.

[Into the Wardrobe]

Andrew is not involved on the writing end. He is involved with the film, and he will be as much as Georgie and Skandar need him to be. He's available to help with problematic bits with special effects as well, but overall he won't be doing a whole lot on the film. I'm very glad Andrew is still involved. He's very talented and creative.

At present we know nothing about how the script is shaping up. I guess we'll have to wait and see. They'll do well if they stick to the books and merely seek to adapt the book to film. If they change it up all over the place like they did in the last film, it won't be pretty.

[inkspot]

They can totally make the voyage more exciting in a PoTC kind of way, and that would be tremendous! They have slave traders, a sea monster, an island where nightmares come true, a treasure island, a dragon -- they have a ton of tremendous material to work with which they can realy make it shine! They don't need to look outside the book for more excitement like they did with PC, so I expect to see a really dazzling sea voyage that in essence stays true to the story. That should be reall do-able, and I am looking forward to it. :)

[office]

I`m sure it will be exciting but the book felt kind of episodic and I don`t want the film to be that way. It`s fine for a book, but it wouldn`t work on screen in my opinion.

[Truman]

That's what I thought about Prince Caspian; then the movie was made. ;)

[BarbarianKing]

I don't understand people who think Prince Caspian the book was the low point of the series. I don't think they fully understand the book!

[MrBob]

"I don't understand people who think Prince Caspian the book was the low point of the series. I don't think they fully understand the book!"

Barbarian, I always felt that PC suffered from the sophomore slump. In LWW, Lewis created a great land with a great story. In PC, he decided to abandon that land he created by moving it 1,000 years in the future. He wasn't as successful in PC in creating that great land with a great story.

VotDT was much better as he now could expand on the second Narnia he created. In fact, he decided to just explore his world more and move around it with expertise.

MrBob

[inkspot]

I disagree that PC did not have the Narnia magic. The Dancing Lawn and the Romp are too classically Narnian magics, and the fact that the Lawn is now a total mystery to Caspian, he is seeing and meeting Narnia for the first time, makes it doubly magical, to my mind. I think VDT could definitely suffer from a lack of Narnia-ness because so little of it happens in narnia -- but it has great potential to be a real swashbuckling adventure.

[~Lava~]

^I agree with inky on this one.^

[MrBob]

"I disagree that PC did not have the Narnia magic."

Inky, I never said that it didn't have the magic. I was merely stating that it didn't have as much of that magic as the other stories. I enjoyed it least of the seven books. I love the faith walk, Caspian awakening to the Narnia he had never known before and the romp. They were highlights from that book, but I just thought that the story lacked in comparison to the other six books.

MrBob