Beyond Narnia DVD Release

Originally produced for Hallmark Channel and the BBC by Faith and Values Media, C. S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia is now available in a repackaged format on DVD. Read Jenn Wright's review of the DVD version by clicking on the link below!

MORE HERE
Hollywood Jesus, 28.03.06

New Exclusives at Narniafans

First, Paul Martin records his notes from a discussion with Oscar-winning special effects man Howard Berger. Later in the week, Narniafans' moderator "Rogue" had a (very informal and non-snooty) talk with Skandar Keynes.

MORE HERE and HERE
Narniafans, 23-25.03.06

Mark Johnson on Sequels

"You know, we have a tentative lineup. The question is, How soon do we start them? Do we do them — this going to sound wrong — in a factory assembly line sort of thing, sort of the way the Harry Potters are done? And I don't mean that in any critical sense. ... 'The problem with The Chronicles — it's both its strength and its problem — is that each book is so different from the other. And with the exception of Aslan, there's no one character who repeats in all of them."

MORE HERE
Entertainment Weekly, 17.03.06

March HJ Feature

The March Hollywood Jesus Narnia Feature Article has been posted: " Cleaning Our Windows." TheOneRing.net contributor Maureen Stewart has graciously written a guest analysis for us, explaining how the supposed flaws that we might find in Andrew Adamson's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe can help us gain a new appreciation for the things which Narnia represents.

Here's a snip:

It is, in fact a good thing that the children do not cease being children in a big scary battle. Our customary conventions for modern tales make men and women the primary movers of the plot. Heroism today is defined as effectiveness and superior power. But in this tale it is Magic at work moving the story and enlarging its characters, and a Magician behind it all (to borrow from Chesterton again).

Narnia Opens on Chinese Screens

A Chinese website is carrying a report on the movie's opening in China, where it is expected to gross in the neighborhood of $8 million.

Oddly, the Chinese government last week outlawed the exhibition of films that mix animated characters with live action. I guess they didn't realize that Aslan is just really good-looking Roger Rabbit. Maybe it's just traditional animation that they find offensive...

MORE HERE
CRIEnglish.com, 08.03.06

Kiss and Makeup

Well, Ted Baehr's Movieguide Faith and Values Awards followed the money and dished out the "Most Inspiring Movie" and "Best Family Movie" prizes to the Narnia film, which earned a $50,000 prize in the process for its producers. I guess they'll be able to buy a few more cigars with that!

Hollywood, on the other hand, failed to grant its top-grossing best-picture nominee the top award, giving the nod to Crash instead of Brokeback Mountain. The Narnia film picked up an Oscar for Best Makeup.

In other news, the Narnia flick opened to boffo boxoffice in Japan this last weekend, pushing the film back into the number one slot for international grosses.

MORE HERE
Cinematical, 03.03.06

A Lifetime of Narnia

The franchise is not only real, it's taking over the world.

In a very interesting article, my colleague Terry Mattingly discusses the future of The Chronicles of Narnia on film. The piece includes some juicy details about production plans, based on an interview Mattingly did with Bob Beltz, "director of special media projects for the billionaire media entrepreneur Philip Anschutz" (the gentleman financier for Walden Media).

MORE HERE
Scripps Howard, 01.03.06