The Stone Table Set Report

Narnia Set Report 4 – The Stone Table
By Tehanu

This week I visit in the evening. One film crew is working early morning until mid-afternoon; the second unit starts at 1 pm and works until 1 am. Before seeing them, I have a look at some places that are starting to look familiar – the courtyard of the Witch’s house, and the great hall of Cair Paravel. The courtyard has the same feel as the audience hall I saw the other week – heavy, gloomy architecture loaded with ice and snow. The icicles are made of fibreglass. The sharp smell of fibreglass fills the courtyard. It’s an exciting smell that I remember from the past, when I would watch my brother hatch a new kayak out of its mould, all ready to paint and finish. You can make so many things out of fibreglass that the very smell of it seems ripe with imagination.

In complete contrast to this is the model of Aslan. Two models in fact, which lie utterly still in the midst of all the chaos. One lies bound and haltered on top of the Table, and I can’t get near this one because of the crowds of film crew. I think the lion on the Table is the animatronic Aslan, which I’ve heard exists, despite the claim that Aslan will be “95% CGI”. They will need something solid that the Witch’s minions can handle physically and that can perhaps respond to the jeering crowds. But there is a second Aslan lying abandoned to one side of the set, where I can get right up close. He looks amazingly real, right down to the gleaming half-closed eyes, the full dark mane, the stained ivory of his teeth and the tufted fur on his enormous paws. (Ever notice how some great cats – and housecats – develop these tufts that grow out between the pads of their feet?)

Read the entire set report at TheOneLion.net – it’s very good!