Empire Magazine (Australia) Talks Dawn Treader
NarniaWebber White Wizards informs us that the Australian version of Empire Magazine also has an article on the upcoming films of 2010, which includes The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. However, this is not the same article we reported on a few days ago. It includes one spoiler in a quote from Michael Apted.
White Wizard writes:
The most interesting bits are a quote from Apted and the cost of the Dawn Treader ship, which was $2.3 million. I have never read this quote from Apted but it is quite interesting:
“This is a lot more psychological; it’s not a big action movie. There are a lot of different locations and adventures but, apart from a huge battle at the end with a sea serpent and a dragon, this is a character story. The quality of the book, and the appeal of the book, is that it’s more of an emotional than a swashbuckling adventure.”
There are definitely a lot of positive lines here, like “not a big action movie” and “a character story.” But I’m sure that the bit that will leave everybody talking is the line “a huge battle at the end with a sea serpent and a dragon.” Is this dragon Eustace? If so, did they move Dragon Island to the end of the movie? Or just the bit where Eustace turns back into a boy? Only 11 months of speculating to go!
Thanks to White Wizard for the report!
UPDATE: White Wizard has provided us with the transcript of the article. It can be seen on our forum here.
Hmmm…I don't really like the idea of have Eustace's transformation closer to the end of the movie, but that is overall a pretty encouraging quote. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
I guess that they moved it. I'm happy that they used two facts from the book, instead of making up a huge portion just to have a battle. So I'm pretty happy, although it would be better if they just stick to the book. But this could give some cool shots, a dragon vs a sea serpent is pretty cool, right, and pretty original too.
It fits Eustace's character perfectly: in the beginning he the moaning little boy, and in the end he fights to protect the ship and his friends.
Don't worry too much about the end of the film. Remember two things: one, we had spy shots of the ending scene being filmed on a beach with an Aslan stand-in (which has to be direct from the book), and two, didn't Ernie Malik refer to a "key emotional sequence" that ends the film?
Maybe they rearranged things to put the serpent toward the end. This might help with pacing, so that the action doesn't all occur in the middle of the film. Pacing was definitely an issue with Prince Caspian.
I'm with Adamie's speculation. They'll probably have Eustace the dragon help save them from the Sea Serpent. Different than the book, sure. But it sounds like a clever way to incorporate those scenes in a more hollywood style finale.
I guess I am alright with the huge sea serpent battle towards the end, but what about the dragon? Are we to assume that it will be Eustace, meaning they are scooting him towards the back of the story? The only reason why I have a problem with this is because I loved how Eustace acted after he changed; and he got some time to be the real him before their adventure was over. I don't want his transformation to be a rushed thing.
I don't know if I'd call this a minor spoiler. I'd call it a "potentially major spoiler".
Maybe Dragon-Eustace will help fend off the serpent… or maybe it's a different dragon all together.
Personally, I love action movies and I'm all for battle scenes! I thought Andrew Adamson did a great job amping up the energy for LWW and PC. Bring on the swashbuckling!
My initial reaction is "NOOOO!"
I suppose this implies that Eustace' transformation occurs much later in the story than in the book? I like that idea. I have been suggesting it for some time now. But a fight at the end? What does Apted mean by "at the end" I wonder? Not panicking yet. This could be good…or a disaster.
Wow! If Eustace is the dragon in that part, they sure did switch things around.
Oh great… big battle at the end with a sea serpent and a dragon?!?! What is that?!?!!!! If the dragon is Eustace, the movie is going to be SO different…
I agree there with you Mike. Personally I"am not adverse to having Eustace's "Dragon" part near the end of the movie as it gives his personal story a parralel with the main story and both climax togather. For a film it's a good idea.
~Further up and Further in~
I hate the idea of taking something original and different, and trying to dumb it down to just a typical Hollywood ending. I hope that's not what this is.
Sounds good to me.
I completely agree!!!
I'm now sure what to think right now… I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Whoa! Glad to hear it's not going to be an action movie. Kind of shocked to hear about the dragon/serpent "battle"? One thought that comes to mind is this: If Eustace is a dragon up till then, does this mean his transformation back to a boy will be the same? I can see it already. Eustace (the dragon) will kill the serpent and end up being deathly wounded. But because he was so brave a self-less, the enchantment will go away and no Aslan will really be involved here. That's my main concern.
This doesn't mean that the serpent scene from the book won't be in tact. It could so happen that the serpent returns. This doesn't mean the dragon is Eustace, but who else could it be??? A Telmarine lord perhaps?
I'm not going to worry right now. We'll hear more eventually and hopefully it will be good news. 🙂
I wish people would stick to the story! LWW was fine and and look how well it did, as opposed to PC which was not true to the book, and look how it did in theatres!
yo ya estoy animado por ver su pelicula sisisisis me emociona mucho sisisisis y todo de su pelicula
I dont like at all if the transformation of Eustance is much later on the movie, but, if they manage, it can be much better.
But the word HUGE is quite alarming, it is really HUGE???
We will have to wait.
I think this could be a good idea. Maybe Eustace gets turned in to a dragon early on in the movie but then doesn't become a human again until the end. It would be cool to have him defend the other people from a sea serpent. It would show a changed character since if he was just the rotten spoiled child he was before he would jus cry and leave them to defend themselves. But if he protected them that would definetly show some character growth.
I tend to be a book purist but we all want this movie to be big in theatres. If it doesn't do well, they might not do the other Narnia movies, and we don't want that happening. So I think some compromises and changes must be made. Just to attract a bigger crowd besides us Narnia nuts :P.
I must say I'm really excited for this movie. I have faith in Apted and Gresham. Maybe PC was a failure (at least in my opinion) but we can really believe that this movie will turn the Narnia series back in to a hit. I'm just happy it is more an emotion and character driven movie than just another typical action fantasy movie. B/c of this, I don't think it will be a typical Hollywood movie. I could be wrong but I have high hopes for VODT :D. After all, it's most people's favorite books and PC wasn't. Let's just hope and pray everything works out :).
I think this is bad on several fronts, assuming this dragon to be Eustace.
1) The transformation that Aslan performs is a gift with no concern of what good Eustace has done, and only hinted as a response to Eustace's change of heart. Making this transformation happen because of some great feat Eustace performed as a dragon circumvents CS Lewis' intent. This is supposed to be a tender moment between the Godhead and a repentant sinner.
2) The fight with the sea serpent was a battle of wits where people had to work together on-board the Dawn Treader to escape it's grasp. That action sequence mimics a verse in Job 41 where no might or weapon can defeat the Leviathan; with the final verse "he is a king over all the children of pride" it implies that only humility can save you from its fierce clench on death. Hence, why their team-work and humble advice from the smallest creature aboard, Reepicheep was the only successful endeavor that saved their lives! We'd miss that picture if they put a huge dragon on the scene.
3) Finally, that ending where Reepicheep makes the sacrifice and goes off to the end of the world is a climax in and of itself. It's no great battle scene physically, but a very emotional battle – particularly for Prince Caspian. This shows how we are sometimes called to stay at our post, which is often the most difficult fight of all.
By moving scenes around, I can't see how any of these three incredibly important points that CS Lewis so clearly placed in the book couldn't be lost. If they continue with the dragon-serpent sequence as planned, people will come out of the theatre with less philisophical and theological conversation and more of the five-year-old emotional response of "what a cool dragon fight! I wish I were a dragon! whooosh!"
In short, it would be a sad waste.
I just thought of something, how do we no the dragon is Eustace, or for that matter even the other dragon in the book, it could just be a third dragon which they added to amp up the tension, or make the plot flow or something. I don't think I would mind if it ends up being similar to the wolf/ waterfall sequence in LWW, I personaly enjoyed that scene. It just wouldn't make sense for it to be Eustace, because he never attacked the Dawn Treader. So I don't no why they would add that in there, unless it is really the people attacking him cause they don't know it is him. I'm glad about no major battles though, it sounds like they are going to stay semi-close to the book.
Here we are down this road again. After the LWW Waterfall scene, Susolas and the rest, I thought somebody would have actually HEARD the complaints of the fans that demanded a more faithful adaptation.
This is a disappointment and a red light for me. The ending of this book with the Silver Sea and Aslan is the best part of it and maybe the best moment of the entire series. If they think they can change it for something more 'epic', change the order of the story and add up characters to scenes they weren't in, then hold on everyone, because no other scenes in the film (or in the series, should it continue) are safe.
Honestly… Changing the best moment in the series. The best. Moment. In the series.
Sounds okay to me, just don't take out the Silver Sea completely. Caspian crying near the end is one of my favorites. I do think they have every right to change the pacing though (do we have to go down the road of book medium vs. film medium again?) and I like that Apted has said it's a psychological journey. I agree.
It does not explicitly state that the battle is BETWEEN a serpent and a dragon, does it?
Okay, this is probably waaaay out there, but I just want to re-ask a question and ask a new one. How do we know that the headless statues at the bell tower are the seven lords any better than we know that this dragon is Eustace? Also, how do we know that the battle includes a dragon? The quote is "huge battle at the end with a sea serpent and a dragon." Was the interview live or through an e-mail or something? If it was live, couldn't Apted have meant "huge battle at the end with a sea serpent (comma) and a dragon." That would change the meaning to be that the battle with the sea serpent is at the end and there is a dragon featured in the movie. In other words, two seperate moments. Also, I think we have proof that these events are seperate. There was the spy video from the set where the sailors are fighting a dragon (presumably Eustace before they know it's Eustace). No sea serpent. There was also the blog or whatever from somebody who went to the set who said that he didn't get to meet Ben and Skandar because they were shooting a scene where they're "falling all over the deck fighting a sea monster[presumably the sea serpent]". No dragon. Not even "The Pirates of the Carribean" would pull a stunt like having two seperate battles with two different creatures, then have another big battle at the end with the same two creatures! (Nothing against "Pirates", but they DO have a lot of somewhat unneeded action)
Yeah, Defender, that makes sense.
hmm…I wonder.
If
Whoops. I was going to say, if there IS a scene with Eustace battling the sea serpent near the end of the movie, it could either be quite good, or quite terrible. If they do it in the right way, it could turn out great. But if they handle it wrong, it could be a disaster. 🙁 We'll just have to wait and see.
I see your point. 🙁
However, the emotional and theological aspects might still be there, if scenes in the movie are handled right. It all depends on when the dragon/sea serpent fight occurs, and what happens before and after it.
It's so hard waiting to find out…
😀 No kidding! I am more than a little frustrated now, as there are some critical scenes in this book that I think really define the whole story. I have a big problem with Eustace possibly not transforming into a nice boy until later because I think it would really be rushed, not to mention they may cut out his scene with Aslan. Why DON'T they just stick mostly with the books? If this one does horribly, I hope they learn their lesson.
I don't know… You're arguments make sense, but that quote, "apart from a huge battle at the end with a sea serpent and a dragon…" sounds like it means pretty much what it says. Still, it's too early to tell yet. Just prepare yourself for the worst.
Sorry, I'm not trying to be negative. 😉 There's always hope.
Ugh…..why do they say stuff that just makes you more confused….and worried…
I don't want the transformation to be rushed either. And perhaps it still won't be.
But I'm so confused right now! When does Eustace turn into a dragon? Early or late in the movie? Does he stay one until the movie is almost over? (That would stink in my opinion) And if he's there when the MLG is there, when do they pick HER up?
And although I doubt this, what if the dragon fighting the sea serpent (assuming there IS going to be a dragon/serpent fight) isn't even Eustace?
I'm going crazy!!!
Totally agree.
hmm I do think the pacing of the story needs to be changed a little bit. I actually was thinking (even before this article) that the serpent should be moved towards the end of the movie. Makes it more climatic. As far as Eustace potentially being a dragon fighting off the serpent; I would be open to the idea. Sounds pretty cool, tho that is kind of pushing it. If the movie is supposed to be as character-driven as they are saying, then I can definitely deal with this dragon/serpent change.
Right with you, Narniamiss and Starlily. I'm getting more and more confused with this whole thing…urg. I almost had a heart attack when I read "huge battle". I've been trying to be optimistic during this whole process, but I really hope they don't mess up Eustace…
You know, scarily enough, I thought of that idea as well: that Eustace defeats the serpent and through that act gets magically transformed back into a boy. I know it's just speculation and all, but the fact that I'm not the only one who thought of that is sort of frightening…
"Big battle with a sea monster and a dragon.." This could mean a lot of things. And define "big".. This COULD be Eustace's transformation..but that wouldn't make much sense. The sea serpent im glad to see. That doesn't bother me.. but dragon? Ah well..this is going to be an interesting wait for VDT. (I still want to know why lucy HAS to have a sword..lol)
My sister knows a guy in her University class who was an extra in VDT while they filmed at Movie World, Australia. He said that he was a rower on the Dawn Treader, and in his scene he had to row the boat so a sea-serpent was smashed into a rock. Nothing about dragons! I agree with what Defender of the King said.
The dragon that fights the serpant at the end of the movie, is a dragon that made friends with eustace when he was a dragon, and after eustace has transformed back, his firend dragon keeps a watchfull eye on him throughout thier journey, and when the serpant attacks, the DT the 'friend' dragon comes to the rescue!!!!! hahaha kidding, iv got no idea!!!
I wonder how a dragon could travel with the Dawn Treader everywhere it went. I believe C.S. Lewis pointed at this problem in the book.
"Too true, too true." -Glimfeather
Or this may be a ruse to have Aslan only appear at the end of the world. That way, they might take out everything about him and just put a couple scenes at the end. If they keep Aslan the same as he is in the book, I'm not going to worry too much about Eustace repenting at the end of the movie instead of the middle. It is a sad loss, though, since it would be nice to see Eustace learn to be a good boy.
PRAY FOR THE MOVIE, PLEASE.
I completely agree with you Paurian. I wish everyone here could just make our own Dawn Treader film; but we can't, the only real thing we can to for it is give the moviemakers suggestions and pray. I would think that they could realize that most of the profits from the LWW came from Christians recommending it to other Christians.
I disagree with the whole idea that Eustace as a dragon will be involved with the battle. I think Michael Apted probably something more along the lines of "the movie has a huge battle with a sea serpent and it also has a dragon" not that those two things occur simultaneously. His remark has been misinterpreted and could have been phrased better, but that's all.
At least, that I hope that's all 🙂
I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I personally loved the battle scenes in the first two movies. I hope that they don't invent something completely new for the dawn treader, but I also hope that there is SOME sort of battle here.
But I hope that they do it in such a way that the emotional battles/events in the movie are not slighted in any way.
asking for a lot, aren't I? 😛
VOTD – VII: How the Adventure Ended ~ page 5, depending on your edition, states:
"But of course what hung over everyone like a cloud was the problem of what to do with their dragon when they were ready to sail. They tried not to talk of it when he (Eustace) was there, but he couldn't help overhearing things like "Would he fit all along one side of the deck? And we'd have to shift all the stores to the other side down below so as to balance," or, "Would towing him be any good?" or "Would he be able to keep up by flying?" and (most often of all), "But how are we to feed him?" …
hmm….very interesting… Not much to say other than can't wait for the movie! 😀 11 months to go!
The concern isn't how they would handle the scenes – it's if they'll even be there at all. Even the sequence of scenes holds some importance.
After turning human again, Eustace tried to fight off the Leviathan, ruining one of Caspian's swords in the process. He can't do that as a dragon.
What's the significance of Eustace doing this? Because of his valiant attempt, all the other people on board started pulling out their swords to attack the beast, too. It wouldn't have been considered as valiant from King Caspian himself, considering all the Eustace had just been through. It's near the birth of any significant change in our hearts that we are most likely to brazen our beliefs and strike out at the evils around us. CS Lewis' work maintains a rich series of word-pictures intended to reflect the human soul. I don't expect a Hollywood film to express this, nor can we expect anyone not intimate with CS Lewis' world view to understand and convey it on film. However, shifting scenes and characters without high regard to the author's underlying purpose only lead to removing other scenes and diluting the entire meaning of the story altogether.
Oi. Totally agree. I wish these balmy directors would leave off on the hollywood stuff and take on a Narnia historian or something-someone who totally insists on using stuff from the book.
Or maybe we just need a Narnian as the next director. ;D I mean, the books did amazingly without a splendiforous shiny hollywood ending…why can't they just keep things straight?
Hmmm…interesting…the stuff about how it's more emotional and character built is very interesting.
On the bright side of things, maybe they're just trying to scare us out of our wits so when the movie DOES come out, it's a lot better than we expected it to be so we don't notice little things like Gael being Rhince the common sailor's daughter. ;D
Or maybe not. But it's still worth putting a bold face on things.
Perhaps it's Lord Octesian…perhaps they've changed his fate and he doesn't die after all…but that doesn't make a lot of sense. Bother.
Holding out hope it's not Eustace. No SuperBoy Saves the Day moments, please. It would be so annoying, and so un-Eustace (he's not a hero; He's the kid who just shuts his eyes and starts slashing in the Last Battle).
Still praying and not panicking…
He might have meant there are two battles, one with a dragon, and one with the sea serpent at the end. Hmm…
im liking the fact that Apted is recognizing this story as a character, journeying and discoverying story, not an action and battles story. thats very encouraging for me. at least we can trust that Apted knows what he's doing with this.
Ohhhhh man, this sounds like a disaster. I'm trying not to panic, though. Maybe it's a different dragon, not Eustace. Or maybe it's some sort of Dark Island sequence where they see all the monsters they've fought up 'til now. That could be cool. If it's Eustace, though, and they move his transformation to the very end, I don't think I'll like it much. It's nice to actually see Eustace change in the book. The quote about this not being an action movie was encouraging, at least. I'm still cautiously optimistic that this might be a decent movie. We'll see…
i must tell that this movie will rock. First of all, having the dragon battle with the sea serpent will look greate!!. I readed the books and i love them, but if the director want to change the story in diferent order its ok, atleast they are making the movies for us narnian fans. Dont worry narnians this movie is going to be awsome. I loved lww and pc they where awsomely made and with hudge budge. When i wen to see PC in theaters i started to eat my nails because of the suspense i had!!!! lww and Pc Rocks I thank Disney for making the movies and walden but now is time to give 20 fox a chance. Im so Happy because vdt is coming in 11 months to theaters!!!! Can wait. Plis ppl go to the movies and pay to see this movie so they can do the complete narnia saga. Im here in my house imagining vdt in my mine, im so exyted and i dont care the changes they made i just want to see it!!!!!!!!!!!!!