NarniaWeb: Your Source For Narnia Movie News

10 Days Til Filming and the Crew Starts to Arrive

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 15:03:21 GMT

It is now officially ten days until filming begins on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The bulk of the crew for the movie started arriving at the Gold Coast last week to begin prep work for the movie.
I have to admit this is particularly exciting for me and I'm sure it is for all Narnia movie fans as well — for a short period of time we didn't even know if this movie would be made. Now it's finally happening and hopefully casting announcements will begin very, very soon.

Digital Cameras to be Used on 'Dawn Treader'

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 18:45:45 GMT

Here is an excerpt from a recent interview with Cinematographer Dante Spinotti about the new film, "Public Enemies:"

Q: Why not go with a digital camera you'd already used? Why did you decide on the Sony F23 for Public Enemies?

Spinotti : Michael [Mann] likes depth of field, images with deep focus, and that camera has a chip that's more like 16mm that gave us that depth of focus. It's the same reason why I chose the same camera for the film I am going into now, The Chronicles of Narnia. The depth of field works in our favor. The camera also has an advantage in the sense that it is much more elastic. You can adjust gamma curves and gain for incredible control over the image. You can also shoot much bigger energy in the sense that you can have a zoom lens and the camera can move around in a quicker way.

Your reaction to this news will depend on which side of the Film vs. Digital debate you are on. One side argues that the quality of digital video is not yet as good as 35mm film while the other side argues that the difference is not noticeable. Both "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian" were shot on 35mm film. This year, "Slumdog Millionaire" became the first movie shot mainly with digital cameras to receive the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

From a filmmaker's perspective, filming digitally offers many advantages for the production. You don't have to wait for the film to be processed; you can upload it to a computer and begin editing that very day. Shooting digitally can cut down post-production time by weeks. It may also be cheaper.

The "theoretical resolution" of film is certainly higher than digital. But how noticeable is the difference in quality? That's the debate.

(One more tidbit that may interest fans: Because they will be using digital cameras, there will no longer be any need to "check the gate.")

Interview with Narnia Storyboard Artist Thomas Nelson

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:45:49 GMT

From MundoNarnia.com:

MundoNarnia.com: Tell us about who Tom is and about being an artist who develops storyboards.

Tom Nelson: I started working in animation many years ago, after a while I wanted to work on projects that had a little more drama so I started to work on movies the Narnia chronicles being among them.

MN: Which are the major storyboard projects you took part?

Tom: The Narnia movies are probably the biggest.

MN: How was the production of storyboards for Prince Caspian and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?

Tom: The first movie was very special. Everyone was contributing to the movie, we knew we were working on something amazing. I met a lot of interesting people and found a very special place in my heart for New Zealand. I will always remember it.

MN: Have you ever read The Chronicles of Narnia or got in touch with them only by scripts?

Tom: I read the books when I was a child, and remembered them fondly, I never thought I'd be working on the movies!

MN: I promised you not to make "embarrassing questions", but could you tell us something about the emotions for the forthcoming movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader?

Tom: In some ways its a different feel from the first two if only because of the setting of which a large part is the ocean. I think they've crafted a great story and can't wait to see it!

MN: I truly want to thank you, in the name of all Portuguese-speaking Narnia fans who access MundoNarnia.com, for the interview and let you know that your work is a gift for us, a gift that makes a dream come true.

Tom: Thank you! It's great to work on something that so many people have a great love for.

You can see MundoNarnia's interview in Portuguese and English here. Thanks Lucy P. for the heads-up!

Dufflepuds May Be CGI

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:32:26 GMT

There is a tiny bit of interesting news about The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Dufflepuds, thanks to Lee Ravitz's resume. His resume states "Role: Dufflepud (Green Screen VFX Test Shots Only) / Production: Voyage of the Dawn Treader / Director: Angus Bickerton."

This is intriguing because it implies a few things: First, based on the fact Lee Ravitz is doing green screen tests, it seems the Dufflepuds will be CGI created rather than hiring little people to act in the roles like Trumpkin and Nikabrik. Second, Lee Ravitz, according to his profile is 5' 9" so it looks like they could be making the Dufflepuds in a similar way to Gimli in Lord of the Rings. Whether they'll film actors and shrink them down or have the Dufflepuds fully CGI remains to be seen.

And finally, just as a side note, Angus Bickerton is the Visual Effects Supervisor for the Dawn Treader.

You can check out Lee Ravitz's resume here.

Huge thanks to icarus for the heads up!

Dawn Treader Storyboards!

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:43:56 GMT

MundoNarnia has posted some possible storyboards for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, drawn by Thomas Nelson.

Caspian and Bern riding into Narrowhaven

Landscape with mountain and possibly a castle

You can see MundoNarnia's article and the rest of the images here.

Thomas Nelson, whose online portfolio can be seen here, also did storyboard art for Prince Caspian.

(Please note that we originally were showcasing more pictures here but have been asked to remove some of them.)

Dawn Treader Casting Call for Australians

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:00:20 GMT

If you live in Australia and would like a shot at being in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, StarNow has posted several roles the production is casting for. From StarNow.co.uk: We are currently casting for a number of various roles as listed below for the feature film - Chronicles Of Narnia starting filming from 15th July - 15th November 2009. Location: All states, Australia. Payment details: PAID - Award.

Young Nurse
Any gender, aged 18 to 23 from Australia
Late teens - Early 20s, female, attractive saying goodbye to her (Young Soldier) boyfriend. Visual - nice cameo

Young Soldier
Males, aged 18 to 23 from Australia
Late teens - early 20s, good looking, about to go off to war saying goodbye to his girlfriend (Young Nurse). Visual - nice cameo.

Older Soldier
Males, aged 25 to 32 from Australia
Role type: Supporting role Breakdown:Bit rough, not a pretty boy, has attitude. 1 line dialogue.

Intake Soldier - Actors ONLY
Males, aged 35 to 45 from Australia
Late 30s-45, seasoned soldier, saw action in the last war (WW1) and now responsible for the intake of new soldiers. Couple of lines.

Mediterranean man
Males, aged 30 to 45 from Australia
Mediterranean, fit, man of the sea. Dialogue - good role.

Applications are being accepted through July 15. If you are interested in auditioning, go here to send in your applications and good luck to all of you who give it a shot!

It is interesting that there will be soldiers in this movie as well as the other two. And apparently the time on Earth (as opposed to Narnia) will be expanded. But perhaps the Mediterranean man will be Drinian or Rhince or Rynelf? Can't wait to see how this plays out!

Huge thanks to icarus for the find!

UPDATE: Casting is now complete and applications are no longer being accepted.

A Few Updates from the Gold Coast

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:27:36 GMT

From the HeraldSun.com.au (new information is in bold):

The multi-million dollar Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be filmed on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane this year, Premier Anna Bligh told state Parliament today.
Ms Bligh says the Walden Media/Twentieth Century Fox feature film will employ about 2000 Queenslanders during production.
"This means more jobs for extras, wardrobe assistants, make-up artists, drivers, production staff, set designers, set builders who will gain work and valuable experience during the production," Ms Bligh said.

Locations include Doug Jennings Park on The Spit at the Gold Coast and Cleveland Point in Brisbane's bayside.
Ms Bligh said more Gold Coast locations were being negotiated.
"We faced some very stiff competition for this production from NSW and New Zealand," she said.
"Our location, our infrastructure, our personnel were critical in securing the production."

Read the full report here.

'Engaging the Culture' Weekend Report

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:40:01 GMT

NarniaWebber Odette attended the 'Engaging the Culture' weekend this April at Asbury College and had the opportunity to meet Micheal Flaherty. Here's her report for NarniaWeb.

I was able to attend the "Engaging Culture Weekend" at Asbury College on behalf of NarniaWeb!

Me with the Asbury sign—in my "Highbridge Film Festival" shirt!

First of all, I want to say to the skeptics of the movie version of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, of which I was one before this weekend, there's nothing to worry about! You'll have to take my word that the important moments of the The Voyage of the Dawn Treader book are staying accurate, and that it will be a great movie!

Asbury College Admissions allowed me to stay with a student, gave me meal tickets, and arranged for me to attend all the events for free! So, thank you to Asbury College Admissions!

On the first evening of the "Engaging Culture Weekend" the music department showcased their talents with a performance of "Sounds of Stage and Screen." It was a musical revue of movie soundtracks and Broadway musicals. The hand bell choir did an awesome rendition of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme, so I thought they could have done a Chronicles of Narnia theme, but they didn't!

The next morning, I missed the first workshop of the weekend, "Engaging Culture with Film," to take a tour of the campus. I'm glad I took the tour, because otherwise I might have missed the C. S. Lewis corner of the college library! I checked it out thoroughly later.

After the tour was chapel, where the speaker was Micheal Flaherty, president of Walden Media, the producers of the Chronicles of Narnia movies. I caught a glimpse of Mr. Flaherty before chapel, and got a chance to speak with his host, Greg Bandy, to confirm being able to interview Mr. Flaherty.

Mr. Flaherty in chapel...my camera sometimes takes blurry pictures...sorry!

In chapel, Mr. Flaherty talked about Walden Media's mission of expanding children's imaginations and making good films for kids. He said the vision for the company came from Lewis' statement in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader that Eustace Scrubb was unimaginative because he read all the wrong books. Walden Media strives to encourage children to read and imagine. Mr. Flaherty also mentioned in passing that Walden Media is hoping to start filming the movie version of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader this summer. (A fact that most NarniaWebbers and Narnia fans knew already.) The entire chapel message can be heard on the Asbury College chapel website at http://www.asbury.edu/chapel/podcasts (look for the 4.24.09 message).

I was able to meet with Mr. Flaherty after chapel. I had hoped to do an official, taped interview, but he asked to be off-the-record. All I can say is that from what he told me, we NarniaWebbers should be very excited about The Voyage of the Dawn Treader!!!

Mr. Flaherty and I!!

Because of the interview, I missed the beginning of the second workshop, "Subversive Storytelling," so I went to lunch and then checked out the C. S. Lewis section of the library. It has all of Lewis' writings, several commentaries, and many videos including the old BBC versions and the new The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but NOT the new Prince Caspian. There's also some concept art from Prince Caspian and a wardrobe--complete with fake firs inside and a fan art of Mr. Tumnus and the lamppost. I took a picture of me going into the wardrobe.

Me entering the Wardrobe!

What the C.S. Lewis section looks like...

The concept art of Prince Caspian.

I attended the rest of the workshops—"Theatre in the Trenches," "The Art and Business of Producing Creative Media that Matters," and "Auditioning for Film." They were all pretty interesting. All were filmed in order to be posted online, but I haven't found them on Asbury College's website yet.

The last workshop of the day was a presentation by Dr. Devin Brown, author of the Inside Narnia and Inside Prince Caspian books, called "The Spiritual and Character Lessons from the Narnia Films." The title basically sums up the content of the workshop! At the end, Dr. Brown and Mr. Flaherty answered questions about the Narnia books and films. I did want to highlight a few things that Mr. Flaherty said about The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. First, Dr. Brown asked Mr. Flaherty to answer "yes" or "no" to a series of questions about The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Dr. Brown: "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is being made?"

Mr. Flaherty: "Yes. Some things need to work out, but it is on a very good path to being in production this summer."

Dr. Brown: "It's going to be a great movie?"

Mr. Flaherty: "Yes."

Dr. Brown: "It'll be filled with great adventure like the ones we've already looked at?"

Mr. Flaherty: "Yes. It'll be a great adventure—it'll feel closer in tone and spirit to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. It has all the themes that people enjoy about the book. Eustace is one of the best realized characters we've had in any film—the writers and Michael Apted have nailed Eustace the same way that Andrew [Adamson] really understood Lucy. It's incredibly bittersweet at the end when Lucy and Edmund realize that they're not coming back to Narnia as well. Definitely very excited about that one."

Later, he mentioned that his favorite character is Reepicheep, which bodes well for our fearless warrior. Also, he said that one of his favorite scenes from the Chronicles of Narnia is the un-dragoning of Eustace and how it emphasizes the fact that grace cannot be earned and that forgiveness is a gift. Hopefully, this means that this scene has stayed accurate!

At the Narnia workshop, I randomly met a NarniaWeb fan (she's not a member YET) named Sarah. We ended up spending the rest of the weekend together! She's a great gal and I really enjoyed her company! On Saturday, we went to the theatre performance, 12 Angry Jurors (an AMAZING stage adaptation of the 1957 movie 12 Angry Men), and the "Highbridge Film Festival" (the culmination of the "Engaging Culture Weekend," a competition of student-made 8-minute films). Mr. Flaherty was a judge for the "Highbridge Film Festival," but all we saw of him was when the judges were introduced. The "Highbridge Film Festival" was the last event of the weekend, so I returned home the next day.

Me in front of the "Highbridge Film Festival" signs in my "Highbridge Film Festival" shirt!!

**I do need to make sure I include some thank-yous and credit all the people who helped me! I want to thank everyone at Asbury College for their kindness and help! Thanks to: Abby, the admissions worker who gave me a place to stay, food, and admission to all the weekend's festivities; Kate, my host, who provided a bed, friends, and tons of fun!; Abigail, the best tour guide at Asbury EVER!; all of Kate's friends who accepted me and let me join in their merrymaking; Dr. Devin Brown, for being so welcoming and for being a true scholar of Lewis. I especially want to thank Professor Greg Bandy for setting up this weekend and for allowing time for me to be able to meet Mr. Flaherty. Thank you very much to Mr. Flaherty for allowing me to talk with you as well as being so kind to me!!**

Finally, a GIANT thank you to NarniaWeb, especially Tirian and Rilian, for allowing me to report on the weekend and for permitting me to represent NarniaWeb to Asbury and everyone there!

Thanks Odette for your great report!

Dawn Treader Logo Unveiled

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 10:42:28 GMT

Jim Hill has updated his blog with several pictures from the 2009 Licensing International Expo. One of which is the logo for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Hill says that Fox's licensing department was trying hard to get toy makers and t-shirt makers excited about the film.

To read the full story, visit his blog here. Click image to view larger.

Thanks to caspianX for the link.

So what do you think? Vote here.

Dawn Treader Casting Call Update

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 22:05:12 GMT

The casting call that's was listed on My Entertainment World's website expired at the end of April. However, the production has updated it again. Even though we can't view it, here's the update for those of you who are serious about audition and are subscribed to the website.

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER, THE - August, 2009 - Queensland, Australia; Details Are only Available By Subscription.. STORY: In the enchanted land of Narnia, Edmund and Lucy join King Caspian on a sworn mission to find the seven lost Lords of Narnia. So begins a perilous new quest that takes them to the farthest edge of the Eastern world on board the mighty Dawn Treader. Sailing uncharted seas, the old friends must survive a terrible storm, encounters with sea serpents, dragons, and invisible enemies to reach lands where magicians weave mysterious spells and nightmares come true. They need every ounce of courage and the help of the great lion Aslan to triumph in their most hazardous adventure of all. (Posted: May 8, 2008. Revised: June 4, 2009)

You can see the listing on the website here.