Douglas Adams, Narnia, and Trailers

A few interesting movie tidbits: Joel Greengrass writes "Final post-production has been completed on the long awaited documentary, 'Life, the Universe, and Douglas Adams.' Narrated by Neil Gaiman, the film is a tribute documentary about the life, loves, and passions, of the greatest sci fi comedy writer ever, Douglas Adams. The film will be available for sale on August 4 at douglasadams.com." Reader The_Shadows writes "Sci-fi Storm and Scfi.com's Scifi-wire are reporting that Walden Media exercised options for feature-length, big screen versions of the Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis. They have also found an Emmy award winning writer (Ann Peacock) to adapt the most famous book, 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.'" And finally, there's an interesting piece about the process of turning a two-hour movie into a two-minute trailer.

Re:Narnia Movie

[turman81]

Actually, the BBC adapted a few (all?) of the books into a mini series in 1988. As I recall (and it has been since the fourth grade that I have seen them), they were all very good.

Here is the link for the video (I don't feel like coding a link, sorry):

http://www.bbcshop.com/bbc_shop/dept.asp?dept_id=4 62&shop=bbc

Re:Problem with publishers Rant.

[Battle_Ratt]

This Link [factmonster.com] shows the timeline for Narnia.
I have no idea if C.S. Lewis thought the books should be read out of chronological order or not, but the current order is in the correct chronology.

Re:Problem with publishers Rant.

[xA40D]

I first read the Narnia books when I was about 10. They have to be the first books I ever read that I still read today.

When I first expressed an interest in the Narnia books I was told that The Magician's Nephew was the first. But as my Grandparent's copy had dissapeared I was given The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe first, and The Magician's Nephew second (when my constant moaning forced the purchase of a replacement copy). I then read the remainder in chronological order.

Some 20 years later I've just discovered the order I've always thought was correct was wrong. On reflection I'm sure that reading The Magician's Nephew second taught me something valuable about literature. When I discovered that there was a "correct" order I just knew I had to read them in that order.

A quick google lead to this link [demon.co.uk]. Which indicates that there are actually 3 orders, the chronological order, the published order, and the written order. There is also some evidence presented that Lewis expressed a mild preference for the chronological order

So I suppose the "correct" order is the one you believe in. So I think I'm going to go back to thinking as The Magician's Nephew as the "second" book. And then I'll follow the written order.

Narnia on the small screen

[KalvinB]

Adaptions of three of the books were already made into movies for PBS in the late 80's and early 90's if you're wondering what they might look like on the big screen.

All are available on August 27th.

The Silver Chair [amazon.com]
Prince Caspian [amazon.com]
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe [amazon.com]

Ben

Live Action Narnia at Your Local Library

[trp0]

There are already live-action versions of three of the Narnia books "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", "The Silver Chair", and "Prince Caspian". See here [guidinglightvideo.com].

They aren't master works of film by any means, but they aren't too bad and are probably available at your local public library (if you're in the states). I and my younger sister both enjoyed them.

Re:Problem with publishers Rant.

[EchoMirage]

Actually, Lewis himself preferred the "updated" version of the books. The revised order of the books was originally suggested by a younger relative of Lewis. In his Letters to Children book, he writes to the young boy and tells him that he thinks the new order of the books is more suitable.

Missed point...

[Sigma Kiwi]

I've read a very large fraction of Lewis' published writings and more about them.

First, Lewis rejects the term allegory for Narnia-- he'd call them "supposals." He didn't intend the Narnia series to convert children- rather, he wanted to implant basic ideas and concepts into children's thought processes that were compatable with Christianity. So yes, they are a form of propaganda.

Secondly, I enjoy the Narnia series more and more each time I read them. The messages in Narnia may not be subtle to adults, but they still have a beauty behind them that I can fully appreciate now. Don't expect the same subtlety in a children's book as you would find in an adult's book.

Lewis' greatest (no arguments, darnit!) fiction work is _Till We Have Faces_. Lewis fully displays his skills with words and story as he retells the Cupid/Psyche myth. It's serious, adult literature that deserves greater attention.

His Space Trilogy, while not as good, is just flat out _different_. _Perelandra_ is an amazing read; I was exhausted (physically & emotionally-- but I wasn't tired) and breathless when I went through it the first time. _That Hideous Strength_ is a lot like _1984_ in many ways.

The Space Trilogy, though, is overtly Christian; _Faces_ is not.

If you read nothing else this year, read _Till We Have Faces_.