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Narnia to be Created in New Zealand 408

SCS writes "It has been confirmed that the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will be made in New Zealand as part of a five film line-up of C.S. Lewis's Narnia fantasy book series, with New Zealander Andrew Adamson of Shrek fame as its director. Filming begins next year, and Weta Digital has already started the graphics work. Also reported at the BBC and HeraldTribune.com."
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Narnia to be Created in New Zealand

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  • by ScottGant ( 642590 ) <scott_gant.sbcglobal@netNOT> on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:38AM (#7773099) Homepage
    Just applied as a compositor/photoshop/cinepaint 2D artist.

    Sitting by the phone, waiting for them to call and send me a ticket to move to New Zealand.

    Gonna call any minute now.

    Any minute now...
    • by Anonymous Coward
      errr, I don't think they had trolls in narnia....
    • by kaan ( 88626 )
      My wife and I spent a few months last year living in New Zealand, and I can assure you that if you end up moving down there you're going to need a lot of sunscreen.

      We're outdoorsy types, have spent the last decade living in Texas, and generally enjoy a sunny day as much as anyone. But not in NZ. The sun's power is significantly stronger down there, to the point that you would literally feel pain when sunlight made contact with your skin. I cannot stress this enough. The kiwis are all used to it, and man
  • Pattern? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:40AM (#7773103)
    1. Pick a book series and film it in New Zealand
    2. ???
    3. Profit!
  • by Janek Kozicki ( 722688 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:41AM (#7773106) Journal
    can't belive it?

    check it out, yourself! [google.com]
  • 5 movies? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by LDoggg_ ( 659725 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:42AM (#7773110) Homepage
    It is expected to be the first of five films based on CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia books, and has the potential to top The Lord of The Rings in economic spinoffs for New Zealand.

    Strange, there are seven books.
    Anyone have any insight into what is being combined or left out?
    • by Korgrath ( 714211 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:45AM (#7773132) Homepage
      maybe they'll get rid of that annoying wardrobe out of fear of too many "comming out of the wardrobe" jokes... man kids these days...
    • Two books? (Score:5, Funny)

      by swb ( 14022 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:46AM (#7773134)
      7 - 5 = 2

    • Don't know exactly. I couldn't read the article because the server was slashdotted to another dimension. But here [scoop.co.nz] is another page with some info.

      My personal opinion is that the producers decided that two of the books are not good material for movies. I don't think there is a much in the last book that could be turned into a movie (and I don't think I could bear to watch it - I really really disliked the last book...)
    • Re:5 movies? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Krilomir ( 29904 ) * on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:57AM (#7773180)
      Since the first movie will be "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" (which is the second book), they probably skipped book one, The Magician's Nephew (which was, in fact, also written after the second book).

      Also, they might choose to skip The Horse and His Boy since it's just a side-story. Or maybe the last book (The Last Battle), as suggested by another poster, because that one would probably be very hard to make into a good movie.
      • I hope they didn't cut the Horse and His Boy. That was the best book in the series, IMHO.
      • Or, as I suspect, as is the case with LOTR, make the movies with the meat and if there is demand afterwards, look to make the other books (or book as is the case with LOTR unless they do the Silmarillion).
      • Re:5 movies? (Score:5, Informative)

        by fredopalus ( 601353 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:34AM (#7773333) Homepage
        "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" is the 2nd book only according to publishers Now .

        When the books were originally written and published by C. S. Lewis, "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" came first and "The Magician's Nephew" was like the 6th book.
      • Re:5 movies? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by SciMed ( 614381 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:50AM (#7773414) Homepage
        ...that one would probably be very hard to make into a good movie

        There's no doubt that "The Last Battle" and "The Magician's Nephew" could be challenging to represent cinematically; but I don't think anyone would disagree that the two are critical to understanding the underlying allegory.

        Only my opinion, but I think "difficulty in making the film" should not be the primary criteria for deciding whether to make the film. Using the "difficulty" argument, one could easily conclude that Tolkien's trilogy should never have been made. Instead, asking one's self which of the stories are core to C.S. Lewis's message and life's philosophy may be better guides in determining which of the 7 books to pursue.

  • I think that would be a great book to make into a mini-series. If SciFi channel would do as good a job as they did with Dune it could be classic.
    • by johnrpenner ( 40054 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:30PM (#7776861) Homepage
      "I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him
      [George MacDonald] as my master; indeed I fancy
      I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him."

      (C.S.Lewis)

      when lewis carrol had doubts whether to publish the 'alice' books,
      it was George MacDonald [george-macdonald.com] who encouraged him to do so. he came
      out with some incredible fiction, among them, 'lilith' and 'phantastes'.

      one could say that macdonald was to carroll as tolkein was to lewis.
      madame l'engel called him the grand-father of the fantastic.
      some of his descriptions make such demands upon the
      imagination, that sometimes i think that 100 years later,
      the technology to make a film out of the book 'LILITH'
      still doesn't exist.

  • Shrek? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by kid zeus ( 563146 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:43AM (#7773121)
    I may be a lonely voice here, but I didn't care for Shrek in the least. Ugly art direction (it resembled nothing so much as a poorly executed video game to me) and stale, juvenile humor. Hearing that the director is doing these films doesn't exactly fill me with unbounded joy. Why not someone with a more literary bent?
    • Re:Shrek? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by GnrlFajita ( 732246 )
      I have to agree. Totally leaving aside the strong Christian allegory of the books, I don't have high hopes that a director of an animated movie that relied on low and/or mean-spirited humor can do these books justice? Aslan != Shrek
    • Re:Shrek? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by BTWR ( 540147 )
      you, sir zeus, are the epitome of what has become the cynical entertainment audience. OK, maybe you truly do hate shrek, that's certainly possible. but it seems to be that today, whenever anything is loved by the masses, it quickly becomes cool and "avant garde" to say that that same thing sucks.

      Believe me, it's only a matter or time, possibly weeks, before we start to hear the "Lord of the Rings was a hackjob" banter. It's true. When Shrek came out, most everyone I knew seemed to like it, then it be
  • It was with the Narnia Chronicles that I found my way into sci fi and fantasy reading at a very young age. As I got older my interest in sci fi lead to my playing with computers at my Dad's office. Now I'm 36 with a job I actually enjoy. Part of me wishes Peter Jackson had the time to do these movies, but I think NZ is a fantastic choice for shooting. I can't wait.
  • by Mustang Matt ( 133426 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:46AM (#7773137)
    These were great books and I still have the set at my parents house somewhere.

    It seems like they would be aimed towards kids movies like Harry Potter vs how LOTR was aimed at adults more than children.

    There are some cheesy versions of the movies floating around at your local blockbuster.
  • by tangent3 ( 449222 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:48AM (#7773138)
    The Chronicles of Prydain (by Llyod Alexander), while not as well known as the Chronicles of Narnia, is a beautiful series which has captured my heart and my fantasies during my younger days. It seems dissapointing that it has not even gotten a small fraction of the recognition that the Chronicles of Narnia has, with only a long forgotten Disney movie "The Black Cauldron" (also made into a Sierra adventure game) to show. It's the perfect fantasy series suitable even for young children, and I found it a way more fulfilling read even than the Harry Potter series. Try to find the series of 5 books... if you can. It would be well worthwhile.
    • I recently read these books, and I liked them better than Narnia. One of the (really) good things about the Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings movie/books hype is that a lot of fantasy books are being published again (here in Brazil where I live). I got to know a lot of great books. Some awful ones too, but that's part of the fun.

      There are other books I would like to see turned into movies, like Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials", Lemony Snicket's "Series of Unfortunate Events" and Terry Pratchett's "Discwo
    • I never knew that there was a "The Black Cauldron" Movie made, i'll have to rent it sometime, the book was quite good (many years ago that i read it) as was "The High King"
    • by BTWR ( 540147 ) <americangibor3NO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:58AM (#7773467) Homepage Journal
      wasn't The Black Cauldron supposed to be the movie was so bad that caused Disney to stop making cartoon movies for like 8 years, until The Little Mermaid came out in the early 90s? (note: I never saw it, I just remember hearing that)
    • I used to live next to the town where Lloyd Alexander lived, and we had a "Lloyd Alexander Day" at school with a costume contest and such festivities (I dressed as Eilonwy ;)).

      Anyway, that turned me on to the books and I read through the entire series in a short period of time. They're definitely great books for kids, with more complex characters and a richer world than, say, the Harry Potter series. They deftly combine both humor and epic scale with nary an elf to be seen, if I remember correctly.

      I'd
  • Screwtape letters (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Would much rather see a movie somehow based on the Screwtape letters.

    *THAT* would be worthwhile.
  • so nifty (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SuperBanana ( 662181 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:51AM (#7773156)

    It's so nifty to see all the books I read as a kid getting a second revival. Problem is, I wish kids would read these books in the first place, and discover that (gasp!) there's more to children's literature than Harry Potter.

    • Uhm..... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Androgynous Coward ( 13443 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:24AM (#7773289)
      Kids *are* reading the books. There have been numerous articles in national newspapers discussing kids reading as a result of some blockbuster movie adaptation in addition to Harry Potter such as Lord of the Rings.

      I think the point of the article I read in the NY Times was that pre-teens were more open to read other books at the recommendation of their parents after reading (gasp!) Harry Potter. Why knock it?
  • How long more before the Dragonlance movie appears?
  • Cool! Good news (Score:5, Interesting)

    by EchoMirage ( 29419 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:53AM (#7773164)
    Cool! This is good news. As a fan of C. S. Lewis' work generally and also the Narnia chronicles specifically, I think this will give these books the same rich setting enjoyed by LOTR. Tolkien and Lewis did weave much of the same setting into their books. As I was watching LOTR:ROTK last night (what an **awesome** movie) I did think to myself several times, "Wow, if they can make LOTR look this beautiful, the Narnia chronicles could be made just as beautiful."

    This is also good news because it means the movies are finally taking shape. They were announced almost two years ago, but there hasn't been much word on them since.

    This will, of course, lend to one major disclaimer for all Tolkien and LOTR fans who haven't read the Narnia chronicles: the movies will seem similar in setting, goal, and underlying theme. That having been said, they're drastically different stories. While there will be numerous similarities (which ignorant reviewers will peck at Narnia for, unfortunately) Tolkien was setting out to tell a story, create a world, and totally immerse the reader in Middle Earth. Lewis had more apologetic aims with his books, and this is by no means a secret fact. Hopefully they don't temper this angle too much with the movies. Certainly not everybody is thrilled by an underlying Christian theme, but removing it would make the story anemic.

    Even so, Lewis' books are strong strong works on their own, and they deserve as rich a treatment as LOTR received. The two books/series are widely regarded as some of the best fantasy work written in the 20th century. That Lewis and Tolkien were friends sweetens the deal.

    I'm looking forward to it!
    • Re:Cool! Good news (Score:5, Insightful)

      by instantkarma1 ( 234104 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:22AM (#7773280)
      Dude, I've read the Narnia series and liked it.....but in putting LOTR and Narnia on the same level is like putting War & Peace on the same level as Tales from the Brother Grimm.

      While both fantasies were written by British authors who were friends and happened to work together, that's about the end of that. Tolkien detested allegory of any kind, whereas the whole Narnia series were just that. Tolkien created a rich mythology with a deep history, whereas Lewis simply took the Christian mythos and branched out a bit. The characters are deeper in LOTR and the sheer weight of the history behind the stories by Tolkien was immense.

      To sum up, one is an epic tale (or mythos), whereas the other is a children's story.
      • Re:Cool! Good news (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Janek Kozicki ( 722688 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:29AM (#7773307) Journal
        To sum up, one is an epic tale (or mythos), whereas the other is a children's story.

        I strongly disagree. I'm a fan of both LOTR (I've read it 7 times and it was my FIRST book I've read once I learned how to read), and a fan of Narnia Cronicles (which I actually have read only 3 times).

        Both of them are excellent tales for children and I'm going to read them both once again. But this time aloud, for my cute little daughter when she goes to sleep.
      • Re:Cool! Good news (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Tolkien detested allegory of any kind,

        It is a strange thing. In foreward to the second edition of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes:

        Other arrangements could be devised according to the tastes or views of those who like allegory or topical reference. But I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers.

      • To sum up, one is an epic tale (or mythos), whereas the other is a children's story.

        Who says one can't be the other?

        And for that matter, what's wrong with making a beloved children's story into a film or television series, as long as the makers stay faithful to the author? I don't see you complaining about PBS' treatment of Brian Jacques' Redwall books.

        Yes, there's a discrepancy between Narnia and LOTR... but to dismiss a work simply because you're not the intended audience-- or because it's not in a
    • Re:Cool! Good news (Score:3, Insightful)

      by timeOday ( 582209 )
      Eh gads, let the knockoffs begin. Somebody makes a successful movie, the entire industry has to crash the party. Ooh, let's all do a disaster movie! OK, now let's all do a Mars movie, now comic books, now fantasy! It's pathetic. Like the scene on Simpsons where the TV execs have a "brainstorming" session: they whip out remote controls and start flipping through the channels for "ideas."
    • Re:Cool! Good news (Score:3, Insightful)

      by macshit ( 157376 )
      Lewis had more apologetic aims with his books, and this is by no means a secret fact. Hopefully they don't temper this angle too much with the movies. Certainly not everybody is thrilled by an underlying Christian theme, but removing it would make the story anemic.

      Strongly agreed.

      While it's no secret that Narnia was a christian allegory to some extent, I think one of Lewis's most charming features was his ability to do this without seeming preachy. I'm no christian (rather an atheist/agnostic/what-have-

      • ...was the scene in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, where Santa Claus distributes weapons for Christmas presents, to help the war of resistance being led by the kids^Wfreedom fighters^W^Wterrorists.

        Probably the most annoying part was the blatantly racist scenes of part of The Last Battle. (There's an entire Narnian race called "Darkies"? What the fuck?)

  • Allegory in Movies (Score:5, Interesting)

    by buckhead_buddy ( 186384 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @10:56AM (#7773179)
    I suspect (perhaps incorrectly) that the adaptation of the stories of a WWI veteran to movies in New Zealand was given the greenlight because of the success of another WWI vet (JRR Tolkien), but this brings up a question that I've had in my mind for a while "Do good allegorical stories make for good movies?"

    An allegory (at least as I use the term) is a subject that is described by using another subject in it's place (sort of like an extended metaphor).

    Tolkien and Lewis are on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to allegory. Tolkein despising it and Lewis making heavy use of it. On the written page, I think that the use or avoidence of allegory is fine, but I'm not sure that it works on film.

    Film is just such an overwhelmingly visual medium and allegory is such an abstract tool. It may be possible to depict the Lion Aslan as an allegory of Jesus on the written page, but on film you will see such an overwhelming embodiment of "big cat" that unless there's a narrator or someone hitting you over the head with "Lion = Jesus" the allegory will just be overwhelmed.

    The only example of strict allegory that I recall in a modern film was Battlefield Earth but that may be an unfair example (as there were many other reasons why that movie was so poorly received).

    Of course, many people already know the allegory that Lewis used in his tales and no doubt it will be brought up again and again by movie critics and sunday school teachers before the movie debuts, but if people didn't go in already having been told what to expect, would the allegory have been obvious?

    Just idle wondering I suppose...
    • by Jon_E ( 148226 )
      I guess you never read "The Inklings" .. they were essentially part of the same writing club including other notables like Dorothy Sayers and Charles Williams (master of Dante) .. I believe GK Chesterton also had some influence here, and Owen Barfield had some good ideas that Lewis latched onto.

      This is much more about the ideas that formed the foundations for later fantasy and science fiction.

      Personally I'd like to see a good rendition of "Til we have faces"
    • by Jah-Wren Ryel ( 80510 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:58AM (#7773464)
      I read the Narnia books around the time I was in 5th grade. My family is not religious, never go to church, no praying before dinner, none of that etc. I didn't catch *any* of the christian allegory in Narnia and I still really, really liked the stories. (In fact I was really surprised to learn that CS Lewis was such the theological philosopher since I had heard stories of fundies trying to ban Narnia at the same time all the D&D-is-devil-worship hype was going on.) So, I think that these movies could be entirely successful if they just left the allegory as it is, let people the audience draw their own conclusions but don't try to hit them over the head with it.

      I like to think I was a precocious kid (as opposed to the dimwit adult I grew up to be today) and given how well LCD type entertainment does nowadays, I figure that was interesting to a smart 5th grader will probably be interesting enough for the average American adult movie viewer (as well as most kids).
    • Umm...can you say The Matrix? The series was loaded with references to Neo as some sort of God-like figure (mainly Jesus, I suppose). Granted, a lot of people didn't really like Revolutions, which seemed to lay it on the heaviest, but the allegory was there even in the first one. Perhaps subtlety is the key to making it work on film.
    • You can buy the versions PBS showed years ago at Amazon.com. I believe 3 of them were made.

      So yes, they make good movies.

      Only in the Matrix did they beat you over the head with the rediculous notion that Neo == Jesus (he was far far too flawed to be anything more than a hero).

      Those who are familiar with Christian theology will recognize Aslan as Christ without ever being told.

      Ben
  • Hollywood will destroy another good book :-(((
  • Oscars? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Zocalo ( 252965 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:05AM (#7773211) Homepage
    So, any bets on how long before New Zealand really does win that Oscar for "Best Supporting Country" like their tourist board is using in its adverts?
  • by iiioxx ( 610652 ) <iiioxx@gmail.com> on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:11AM (#7773227)
    My prediction is that we will see, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, followed by Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and possibly The Silver Chair. These "core" books feature a fairly contiguous story, and a steady progression of main characters.

    The Horse and His Boy is very much a standalone tale with little to do with the other books in the series (other than the fact that it is set in Narnia and surrounding countries and features brief appearances by Aslan and the Four Children). I'm not sure it would fit well in a series of "sequels".

    The Magician's Nephew is actually the prequel to the entire series, detailing the creation of Narnia, etc. It would be difficult (though, not impossible) to integrate it into a Narnia series if it was produced after LWW. Then again, I'm still holding out hope that Peter Jackson will make The Hobbit now that the Lord of the Rings series is complete. So maybe, the producers of the Narnia series will build fanbase with the "core" books first and then bring in The Magician's Nephew to wrap up the series.

    However, I doubt The Last Battle will ever hit the silver screen. It was always my least favorite book of the series, for many of the reasons that would probably make it a poor film. It takes a long time to get rolling, it's really kind of a downer for much of the book (well, duh, it's about the end times), and the Christian religious undertones of the previous books become the overtones of The Last Battle. It clearly shifts from being a fantasy series to being a Christian theological tretise.

    One other reason why The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle will likely NOT be made into films: without a major rewrite, they both paint the religion of Islam in a very unfavorable light, and in these times of post-9/11 issues of religious discrimination, would likely be more controversial than the studios would be willing to accept.

    The original post mentioned a five-movie series, and I couldn't find anything in any of the links detailing what five books of the seven book series would be made. Maybe this was a typo on the submitter's part, or maybe I just missed the reference in the articles. But if in fact, there will be only five movies made, I would guess that The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle would be the ones to be dropped.
    • One other reason why The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle will likely NOT be made into films: without a major rewrite, they both paint the religion of Islam in a very unfavorable light, and in these times of post-9/11 issues of religious discrimination, would likely be more controversial than the studios would be willing to accept.

      Gee, just because the pseudo-Arabs of Calormen worship the pseudo-Satan Tash? I'm sure the Islamic world be be comforted by the idea that "good" Calormenese will be accepte
  • by lunadude ( 449261 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:12AM (#7773228) Homepage
    They have the torch. ILM was real good at envirnments, hardware, and explosions. WETA seems to bias in the direction of organics. Nifty turn of style and public taste.
    • Organics? Like all three jurassic parks, all the star wars characters, the hulk, the pirates of the carribean, dragonheart, the animals in jumangi, aliens in men in black, the mummy movies etc.
  • I love the LOTR books and loved the movies... love the Narnia books and look forward to the movies (with awaiting wrath if they suck)... love the Ringworld series and can't wait to hear about plans for the movies!

  • by telekon ( 185072 ) <{moc.liamg} {ta} {wontoirewnac}> on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:22AM (#7773275) Homepage Journal
    That these were made into films? Most (but I believe not all) of the books were adapted in British made-for-TV movies that aired over here on "Wonderworks" on PBS in the 80's.

    Granted, I haven't seen any of these in years... I was a little kid at the time... but those films were great, production values notwithstanding.

    I really hope the new films do as well with the text as those did. And, as a side note, I don't remember a whole lot of heavy-handed Christian doctrine in the films... although even at that age, I could see it plainly in the books.

    • The books that they made into movies for the Britsh "Chronicles of Narnia" series were: The Lion, Whe Witch and The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Teader, and the Silver Chair. They were produced in association with Wonderworks in 1988 for the BBC. I picked up the entire set of tapes for my kids a few years ago and everyone in the family really enjoys them. They are indeed well done with respect to the fact that they stay quite close to the books. Even the "Christian doctrine" was in there
  • by rklrkl ( 554527 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:27AM (#7773301) Homepage
    The BBC in the UK already made TV series of four of the Narnia books and have just released a 3-disc Chronicles of Narnia DVD box set [amazon.co.uk] as well...
  • What next? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Reducer2001 ( 197985 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:33AM (#7773324) Homepage
    First they corrupted Dr. Suess, then Lord of the Rings, now this? What's next?

    "Where The Sidewalk Ends", starring Ben Affleck as the sidewalk?

  • Official site... (Score:3, Informative)

    by phatsharpie ( 674132 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:52AM (#7773427)
    Sorry if this is posted elsewhere, but here is the official site...

    http://www.narnia.com/

    Enjoy!

    -B
  • by donglekey ( 124433 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:53AM (#7773434) Homepage
    In the five articles that I have read so far anouncing this, they all say that Weta Workshop will be working on this, but none say that Weta Digital will be. I don't think that the bulk of the visual effects work has been awarded yet. I think that Weta Digital will actually be too busy wth King Kong and Evangelion to do a significant amount of work on this movie.
  • Dragonlance (Score:3, Insightful)

    by cyranoVR ( 518628 ) <cyranoVR@@@gmail...com> on Saturday December 20, 2003 @11:54AM (#7773438) Homepage Journal
    If Hollywood (New Zealand-wood?) is going to jump on the Fantasy Bandwagon, at least let them make a movie from another kick-ass series like Dragonlance.

    The Lion, Witch Wardrobe. Sheesh, what's next, A Wrinkle in Time? Let's hear it for grade-school fiction!

    And please, no responses about how Dungeons and Dragons sucked (i.e. therefore Dragonlance will suck and/or won't be made). Some people thought that LotR was going to turn out like Willow - well, we know now how wrong they were.
  • by Brown Line ( 542536 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @12:34PM (#7773668)
    The Narnia books have some wonderful writing in them, but the allegory is pretty heavy-handed. Also, Lewis's jumbled mythology - fawns and satyrs alongside Father Christmas and Norse frost giants - just doesn't work; and the children are weak protagonists. Also, the scriptwriters will have their hands full with the children's dialogue: either they can be true to the originals' pre-WWI public-school slang and confuse many of the American viewers; or they can update it and risk the wrath the books' fans. Not an easy problem.

    I would much rather see Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet adapted to film. Weda could do marvelous work imagining the space voyage and the inhabitants of Lewis's Mars. The hero, Dr. Ransom, who was modelled after Tolkien himself, is much more interesting than anyone in the Narnia books, including Aslan. It would be another great role for Ian McKellan; or if you think McKellan is too old, perhaps Alan Rickman. Just my $0.02 worth.

  • by whitroth ( 9367 ) <whitroth@5-cent . u s> on Saturday December 20, 2003 @12:51PM (#7773758) Homepage
    I read it, a long time ago. One trouble with the series, if you aren't totally *into* it, is Lewis' usual problem, that of the ham-handedness of the convert/True Believer. (Do *not* get me started on That Hideous Trilogy).

    But the real problem with the series is the ending.
    [spoiler alert]

    He *cheats*. "Oh, well, actually you think you've gone through all this, but actually you were in a railroad accident, and you're all dead."

    Deus ex pancake.

    Give me Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising, anyday.

    mark
    • by overunderunderdone ( 521462 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @03:46PM (#7774662)
      He *cheats*. "Oh, well, actually you think you've gone through all this, but actually you were in a railroad accident, and you're all dead."

      NO, they DO go through all this, & come back, & back into Narnia & then different kids go & come back, etc. etc. The only ones who get squished by a railroad accident are the protagonists of the last book. Which makes sense for those particular characters in that particular story since they go to heaven in Narnia which would be a bit problematic if they're in not dead back on earth.
  • by frankmu ( 68782 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @01:11PM (#7773853) Homepage
    here's an interesting article [salon.com] on how the two authors and the the two sagas were intertwined.

  • Till We Have Faces (Score:3, Informative)

    by EchoMirage ( 29419 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @01:12PM (#7773857)
    Given this news, I also can't help but wonder if C. S. Lewis's magnum opus Till We Have Faces [amazon.com] will ever be turned into a movie. In some ways I think it would be a very very difficult translation; on the other hand, it's a story beyond description. The Lord of the Rings moves imagination and emotion, but Till We Have Faces moves the soul. I don't know if the book could be synthesized into a coherent movie (the ending would take a good deal of finessing by a screen writer), but it would be a sight to behold if it could be done.

    Till We Have Faces is one of Lewis's lesser known books, but virtually everyone who has read it agrees it was Lewis's finest book, and perhaps one of the finest books of the 20th century (and an undiscovered jewel at that).
  • by Maul ( 83993 ) on Saturday December 20, 2003 @01:25PM (#7773922) Journal
    It looks as if the blatant success of Lord of the Rings may start a trend of drawn out fantasy series being made into movies. If or not these will be successful as well remains to be seen, but I personally think that it will be hard to reproduce LOTR's phenomenon.

    Narnia's story line is a lot less continuous than LOTR's, especially when you get past the fourth book.

    Since they are making five films, it would almost make sense that they are doing LWW, Prince Caspian, Dawn Treader, Silver Chair, and then Last Battle. This would skip The Magician's Nephew and A Horse and His Boy, which would likely be OK. It is also unlikely that they'll make each movie 3 hours long. They may decide to release two a year.

    I wonder how mutilated the stories are going to be though. Narnia's "Christian themes" are considerably stronger than LOTR's. The Last Battle especially forces a lot of things down people's throats. I wonder if things will be changed so that these themes aren't as strong.

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