Micheal Flaherty on Dawn Treader’s Box Office and the Undragoning
Just in time for today’s Blu-ray/DVD release of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, ChristianityToday has posted an interview with Micheal Flaherty, Walden Media president. Flaherty reiterates that they are making The Magician’s Nephew next because they believe it will draw the largest audience. When asked about Dawn Treader‘s box office performance, he says “international box office was so strong—three times the domestic. We always look at these things from the international standpoint, that cumulative number.” At the end, he says they take the opinions of the “Narnia police” most seriously.
A couple highlights:
On the undragoning: “What’s interesting is that when you read the book, you actually don’t see that scene; Eustace just recounts it when he gets back in the boat. We wanted to show it, but what we ended up doing was reinforcing that message when Eustace says later, “No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do it myself. And then he came towards me. It was a good hurt.” Visually, I was pleased with it. But yes, there was a response where people wanted to see lion paw firmly placed in dragon flesh and ripping it off. That was a common disappointment.”
On Aslan’s dialogue at the world’s end: “With all the Aslan parts, particularly the dialogue, there’s always a very spirited and healthy discussion, and generally any time there’s a discussion, the tie goes to C. S. Lewis. So we always come to the agreement, ‘Listen, let’s not think that we can reinterpret this and do a better job than Lewis. If we disagree about this, if people think there are different ways to say this, let’s just make sure we preserve what Lewis said.’ That’s a mistake we made with Prince Caspian, where we changed Aslan’s dialogue with Lucy.”
No, I meant Passion Of the pirates Of The Carribean!!! dummyhead ! LOL you missed that one? 🙂
almost no average person in the USA knew it was even opening when it did, just hard core fans waiting for it. And it's not turning out well trying to make a deep meaningful book into a shallow bang em up series, you end up pleasing nobody.
Attention: For all the Suspian romance haters it was like 3 whole years ago! Its done with! OVER! So please drop it!
Sorry if I was rude. But its just ridiculous that poeple keep talking about. Anybody agree?
yeah, i thought pawing the ground way more symbolic actually, showing his power MORE by just making a symbolic act- and the secular audience would NEVER have understood if it looked like Eustace was clawed apart by Aslan.
I agree, I will miss them!!!!!!!!!!!! seeing Caspian standing all by his lonesome watching the kids leave was heart renching! just seeing the photo chokes me up!
you are right on, as usual, Non. but i'm happy this Reep was a step up from
pC's , who was a raving nutcase and totally miscast. when i heard the originaal actors comment on the PC dvd extras, i said to myself-"are you kidding? did ypu even read the book? you are portraying him as the total opposite of his intended character!!" at least VDT veered more toward him being gallant and chivalrous, instead of murder happy for sport.
i enjoyed Suspian very much. it brought balance to the film for the audience that haden't read the book (which is most of the movie going audience, let's face it.). i thought it needed MORE romance to balance out the endless, mindless battling. keep in mind we had no idea at the time that caspian was 12 in the book.still, they needed to age him up so he wasnt getting engaged at 14 in vdt. and would it even be plausible for 2 people that look like them to be alone at that age and not be attracted after the things they had been through together to bring them close?
I don't have a problem with discussing various points from all the movies.
But for those who still can't wrap their heads around things like Suspian and such, I would have to agree. Get over it and move on. It can't be very healthy to hold on to all of this negativity. At some point you have to make a decision. Way I see it, there are three options available:
1. Like it.
2. Learn to like it. This is where I believe some of the Narnia Film Nay-sayers have trouble. An inability to adapt to what is given to you. You may not like The Green Mist at first, but finding a way to enjoy it (or perhaps cope with it) is not impossible. I've done it. I think The Green Mist is awesome. But I had to think about it. I had to use my own imagination. Some purists here have a complete inability to deal with the finished product.
3. Hate it–but move on. Constantly griping about Suspian or The Green Mist or whatever is not going to accomplish anything. The Narnia films are what they are. Either like it, learn to appreciate it in your own way, or don't like it. But if you hate it, move on.
Thanks, Mayor…Actually glad they got all this practice before getting to MN !
–That seems to be the way the producers see it– no story deserves it more…
I agree that Reepicheep's character in the movie was not C S Lewis's Reepicheep, that was disappointing…at least they had that great moment on the beach between him and Eustace/dragon,
but that was not Reepicheep.
'sedated, dulled, sanitized'–quite right…
i cant wait for magicians nephew i think it will be a great film
Okay, so it seems like they know what needs to be done but they aren't doing it. I was expecting Aslan to dig his claws into Eustace and tear the scales off. That would have been so unique and so amazing! Why did they have to copy something that had already been done?
I was happy with Aslan's dialogue at the end of the film. it was an improvement from PC but why do they have to make the mistakes, know that they are making a mistake and them have to correct it later? Can't they just do it right the first time? They know what they have to do and if they want to keep the spirit of the books alive then do it!
MN will be a great film. They just have to do it right and stop relying on the visual effects. There is more to a film than just the vis effects.
I'd like to address the descision of releasing MN next instead of SC.
Really guys. When is the perfect time to make MN? There is no perfect place to do MN. The same thing with HHB. Those 2 books can be read any time before the Last Battle. They're not connected to the Pevensie/Eustace storyline that runs through 5 of the books. Why should we be so mad that the Silver Chair isn't next. You guys would all react the same way if MN was released after SC and before LB. And with the franchise in jeporady, MN is the most likley to rekindle the excitment for Narnia and get enough money to continue the rest of the films.
For those who think people would forget LWW, Walden could maybe work with Disney to rerelease the film in theatres in 3D like Disney did with Toy Story 1-2 before 3. Also making a new edition of the film for home video will also stir more interest.
Not sure where you're getting 12. The book doesn't state his age, it only says that he's the same age as Peter, who comes across as being somewhere in his early to mid teens. The Hooper timeline says that Peter is 14 in PC.
oh! I'll go see Narnia, DEFINATLEY! I LOVE Narnia, but… I love The Hobbit that much more 🙂 Though, I wish Middle-Earth had an Aslan 🙂 That's what makes Narnia for me: Aslan 🙂
And I don't particularly want Narnia to be smashed (not that you guys were accusing me of it 😉 Just saying: that's a bum date to choose. I know lots of people will see Narnia. Always Narnian, our family, our church friends etc. But THAT many MORE people are gonna see The Hobbit 1 and 2! Narnia just doesn't have the same speed/weight etc. that the LotR movies had. They broke records.
And as much as I love Narnia, as far as *movies* go… Peter Jackson prolly deserves to have the spotlight with Hobbit, after all he gave us with LotR. I mean, he's gotta be the best director ever, as far as faithful, true to the spirit of the book goes. I don't think that following a book 'page by page, word by word, line by line, period and exclimation mark' makes a good adaptation. It can also be a LOSER of an adaptation. I have a few examples, but refrain from saying what 🙂
I mean, How To Train Your Dragon doesn't look like the book at ALL! and it's one of the best adaptations out there. Even the author LOVED it.
So, in the long run, Peter Jackson deserves the spotlight, but I still want Narnia to do well 🙂
Well if they made the undragoning mainly a standalone scene that was a bit longer and did no flashbacks I would guess it work just as well. What was personally lacking for me was the build up to the dragoning….but I'm repeating myself again. Agreed the visual/artistic inspiration was sorely missing.
The only thing that stumps me is why they don't consider how much older the actor who plays Eustace will be if they do The Silver Chair after the Magicians Nephew. That's one of the biggest deals that many of us vewers have. I wouldn't like to see another person take that role because the actor has gotten to grown up to play that part. Don't movies take about a year or two during the making process?
I still really dislike the green mists, and for more reasons that I'm too lazy to write about. 😛 lol
But you're right, Eustace and Lu didn't have much screen time in the book as well. However, that's no excuse for the poor quality time they got on film. Poor Georgie will probably not even include VDT on her acting reel, because her acting performances were not as good as we've seen her. Her reaction to the snow in the Magician's room still has me cringing. What teen girl would grin that big and goofy for magical snow? She didn't even react like that when she came out of the wardrobe! Hmph.
And I LOVE Eustace in the movie. One of the things that they really, really did well. His character development I like as much as any character that they have shown in all of the Narnia movies.
We really don't know what Walden/Fox is thinking in regard to Will Poulter's future with the franchise. From the way they've been going I'm inclined to think they are thinking more about dollar signs than that and am really afraid they will take so long to get to making Silver Chair (if they even ever do) that they will have no choice but to do a recast. 🙁
You assume that everyone who is against MN as Narnia 4 feels that way for the same reason. According to you, people think that MN would somehow benefit from being made later rather than sooner. In fact, I have not heard a single person argue that point.
There are a number of reasons why the pro-SC crowd want that movie next. The most common reason is that people feel that SC would suffer (possibly irreparably) from coming after MN rather than VDT. Some are concerned that Will P would have to be replaced. Others are concerned that the chronological link between VDT and SC will be broken. SC follows the continuing story of the the new hero who is introduced in VDT. To introduce Eustace, switch to a prequel that doesn't even involve him, and then go back to Eustace might confuse audiences.
My own personal reasons for not wanting MN next are as follows:
MN is extremely hard to adapt. The entire flow and sense of purpose in the story depends on the psychological narrative, rather than the action or the dialogue. The psychological narrative, when not connected to action or dialogue, is the part of the book that is most likely to be lost in translation when a book is adapted to film. Of course, you can always turn narrative into dialogue, but that can become awkward and tedious after a point. Basically, without the book's connecting narrative, the plot will come across as pointless and incoherent. The movie will get dreadful reviews, and audiences are likely to shun it, having already become leery of the series since Prince Caspian.
If they must wait until 2013 than a late November-early December b4 Hobbit 2 (to me it will be the one of that series with the least interest) would be better. Seriously it would be better to release it in November-sure they wont' have the holiday crowd, but what kind of competition will they have?
But, in any case, I don't think it'll have more competition with Hobbit 1 or 2 than it did with Deathly Hallows before it and then Tron: Legacy right afterwards.
DT should have been one of the easiest of the books to convert to film. It has an Indian Jones quality to it…long before there was an Indian Jones. The filmmakers just simply didn't understand that desire was really what was driving Caspian to the end of the world…and NOT the desire to find the 7 lords. A missed opportunity but still a good film!
parents with younger children (the target audience for TCON) are NOT going to take their kids to see the Hobbit because it will be too violent. The earlier HP movies did quite well against the LOTR movies even though released during the same time of the year because they targeted different audiences.
The lack of narrative ( which is central in the books ) is the main reason the movies have been hard to adapt. Luckily, there are different ways to get around this, with a very good script, music and a lot of creativity.
Were you are wrong, and it makes it difficult to take you seriously, is were you assume they will not do it right. They have improved since the PC disaster, and there is no way you can know that the movie will be bad, when the producers have not even found someone to write the screenplay.
Maybe you just can't stop venting your bitterness at not getting SC next…
Quite right. But forget about Disney, I think; not much chance there.
Well! I'm glad MN is coming next; I love that book. And the reasoning Mr. Devin Brown gives in the link from the article is very good. Audiences need to remember LWW to get the full picture of MN. The time to make it is now, not later. And it's my favorite book 😉
As for VotDT… in my opinion it was by no means perfect. But I never yet saw a movie that was. VotDT was different from the book… and yet for me the feel of island to island adventure was the same. Reepicheep was wonderful. I loved him, more than I did in the book, in fact. Some parts were a little rushed… but the scene at the end of the world was powerful and had me in tears of joy and longing. Deep and unquenchable longing for "Aslan's country". I think if only for those few moments (and I quite enjoyed the rest) the whole movie was worth it.
I think bitterness is the wrong word to use. Disappointment would be a better word. I'm sad they're not making SC but not bitter (that implies that a person really can't ever get over something). If they make the rest of the movies with good quality I would be really happy.
I actually thought that the way they portrayed the undragonning was okay – it showed that Aslan was the one taking the scales off, while it wasn't at all scary. However, without the conversation following afterwards, it was meaningless. :'( Edmund and Eustace have a unique friendship in the book after Eustace is returned to his human form, because they have so much in common: redemption by the grace of Aslan. Without the conversation in the film, this relationship is non-existent, which disappointed me greatly.
Spot on, Stateofgreen. And now we face the heart of the problem… why couldn't they just stick to the plot of the book? (That was a rhetorical question – we know why) I think the more important question is why the filmmakers thought some evil green mist was more exciting than Lewis' amazing story. Yes, audiences like battle scenes. So why didn't they go into more depth in the Lone Islands? It wasn't exactly a battle, but it had strategy in it as well, and I think that audiences enjoy strategy, not just mindless fighting. And what about character development? Contrary to popular VDT filmmaker beliefs, audiences enjoy character development and strong bonds between each of the characters. Which brings us back to the all important CONVERSATION that was MISSING from VDT. In the film, Edmund showed little interest in Eustace's transformation at all! *head desk*
For myself I will be going to see MN, but most likely not the hobbit, I only watched LOTR a year or so ago, and while I was intrigued by the plotline, I didn't care for tolkien's "universe," many of the creatures or the amount of violence, and I'm almost in my mid-20's. Not saying anything wrong about the movies or the violence it's just my personal preference.
I don't see why you all hate it so much, I thought it was the best series, even after I read the book AND watched the first two movies before seeing it. I thought the undragoning was fine, although I can think of a way of doing the undragoning with Aslan's claws that isn't R rated. They could've had Aslan clawing the skin off and the skin would come off in layers like shedding, that would've been acceptable, right?
The best in the series I meant.
Part of the reason why both PC and VDT failed was because of how far they both deviated from the their respective books. Although it worked with VDT, PC's changes resulted in its Christian messages being drowned out and it became kids going into a fantasy world and killing everyone there, that's why I personally think it's the worst in the series. Whereas LWW was faithful to the spirit and story of the book, and if Walden wises up and makes MN as faithful as it could possibly be, then it will be as successful as LWW, and so will the rest of them.
Dunno, people remember LWW very well, in fact, more so than the last two.
As far as VDT goes, I hear "Best in the series" as often as I hear the opposite.
I personally enjoyed it A LOT more than "Prince Caspian." As far as the potential success of "The Magician's Nephew" goes, I think there is so much passion for it on the part of the producers and the film makers. Every chance they get, they mention "Magician's Nephew" and it's like a light goes off in their eyes. They WANT to do "MN" with a mad passion. That kind of drive is very likely to produce some kind of success, I would think.
Tilda Swinton has always seemed equally motivated. She has called it her "favorite" on a number of occasions. So it's probable that she will reprise her role as Jadis in complete glory. And let's face it. Aslan and The White Witch are the most iconic and popular of the film characters. Tons of Neeson and Swinton… I can't see how that could go wrong.
And now, permit me some selfishness. 😛
If I get "The Magician's Nephew" film with Tilda Swinton as Jadis and Liam Neeson providing the voice of Aslan…. I'll be happy. That's all I'll need. I'm not saying I wouldn't like to see the other films made. I hope they make all seven. But if I get "MN" with Tilda Swinton, I'll have what I want. As long as I like "The Magician's Nephew" movie, I really don't think commercial success will matter as much to me.
That said…. there is great potential for commercial success. 😉
I didn't hare, most liked it, the haters make more noise…
Anhun:
"So certain are you? Always with you, it cannot be done."
Your arguments regarding the complexity of the story, and the imminent doom of the production, continue to be nonsensical and grossly exaggerated. It's a SIMPLE, beautiful, very easy to follow concept, integrating the creation story with Lewis' patented morality tale of a young boy facing temptation and the possibility of great personal loss. THAT'S ALL THEY HAVE TO FOCUS ON. The rest of the elements are ancillary. Is it easy to adapt? Nothing in life worth doing is "easy". But, I don't see how this is any harder than adapting the story of Jesus as a lion being sacrificed to save four kids from Finchley who walk through a wardrobe the size of a universe and have fish 'n' chips with talking beavers.
The key to adapting this book, as it is with ALL of the Chronicles, is to focus on what you FEEL after reading it. What does this story MEAN to me? What have the characters just been through? What was the HEART of Lewis' message? To disseminate the information sequentially, and systematically evaluate each individual story element in terms of its ease of cinematic adaptability, is a waste of time, and results (as we have seen with 'Dawn Treader') in a product that is almost completely compromised, entirely devoid of any genuinely moving sentiment, and does not represent the author's intended meaning. What can an INTELLIGENT filmmaker take from the book, and them complement those elements respectfully and coherently with additional material (if necessary), in order to represent the heart of the story in a recognizable and entertaining product of the cinema? THAT is your starting point. Never, EVER evaluate any potential solution to a problem in life with: "Why bother? That won't work!" I mean, if ever there was a message that these books would NEVER want to convey, it's "If you think it's too hard, don't try."
Really.
Why are you so afraid to try ANYTHING that's even the slightest bit ambitious? Your posts just drip with fear, and an outright hostility towards the unconventional. There are no guaranteed successes in life. It's the passion, intelligence, and sheer blood, sweat, and tears of the filmmakers that produce entertaining fare, NOT how "safe" and "easy to adapt" a story is. Have FAITH in the stories. What's the point, otherwise?
@non-negotiable: First of all, you're wildly exaggerating the difficulties in adapting LWW. LWW is not the story of a Jesus Lion sacrificing himself for a bunch of children who walk through a wardrobe. It is the story of a group of children who discover a magical land, and undertake a journey to save their brother from the clutches of the White Witch. The focus is on the children's perspective, as it is in all of the books, and that sense of perspective is easy to maintain since the children are the focus of most of the book's action. Also, while there are a number of side adventures along the way, the overarching story is pretty straight forward, and they don't lose sight of their mission.
Anhun:
The point I was making with 'Wardrobe' is that ALL of these books, including the most well known and beloved of them, can *appear* to be unappealing and impossible to adapt, if you want to make a case for them to be so. And you clearly do. It's finding the heart of their magical qualities, as I just said, that makes all of the difference in making a coherent, entertaining cinematic product of reasonably mass appeal without compromising it beyond repair.
Digory's "mission" in 'The Magician's Nephew' is to learn that he cannot make his mother better by himself, no matter WHAT power he manifests. That easy solutions and quick power only make things much, much worse in the end. This message is VERY clear and CONSISTENT, not only for him, but for Uncle Andrew and (on a far worse scale), Jadis. The book NEVER loses sight of this, and the integration of this message into the beautiful and solemn imagery of Narnia's creation makes for a FANTASTIC story for any filmmaker with the intelligence and drive to represent it appropriately. It is NOT the unworkable mess you are painting it as. I simply do not understand why you are so afraid to try something different, because the status quo is NOT working.
There is no magic formula for HOW to tell a story. There are only good scripts and bad scripts, and intelligent filmmakers and hacks. I know I am not particularly well liked here because of my near complete loathing of the 'Dawn Treader' film. But, at least I gave it a chance! I was very hopeful of the production up until I actually saw the film. I just don't understand how you can be so completely defeatist and bitter about the IDEA of attempting something that COULD turn out to be very satisfying. You vastly, VASTLY, underestimate both the power of the medium of film, as well as the wonder of these books, in the hands of skillful, passionate craftsmen.
It's not the structure, it's the story. It's not the tools, it's the carpenter.
I rank the movies in this order:
1. LWW
2. VDT
3. PC
Frankly, I've never understood the hatred for "Dawn Treader."
It's a very moving picture. I loved every minute of it. 😀
I've watched it about 4 or more times already.
There's a lot of complaining here.
I try my best to ignore it. That doesn't always work.
BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah: I love your name 😉
I liked the VDT film. It's good. Not perfect, but good!
The first time I liked it, but was somewhat confused by the changes. Luckily I saw it again, and liked it much better.
I can recommend seeing it several times to everyone!! I'm glad I did! Despite the changes the VDT film is still way better than a lot of films out there; with it's good, sound moral messages. Much better than a lot of stuff, my small pupils watch.
I look very much forward to the DVD coming out in my country.
VDT really is another (bit deeper) version of the LWW redemption story. Aslan died for Edmund. With VDT Eustace is dying to his old self. The change to Eustace's character after he was undragoned is another core point that the book more fully showed. That's why Edmund's thoughts about Eustace's conversion are key as you say as Edmund has already been through it all and he could empathize with his cousin's experience.
"in the hands of skillful, passionate craftsman." . . .
You're forgetting that we're talking about the same production company that tried (unsuccessfully) to turn LWW and PC into Lord of the Rings, and turned VDT into "Barney the Purple Dinosaur of the Caribbean."
We also disagree on the central plot of MN. It is much more complex than a quest to save his mother, although his longing to save her is certainly important to the story. MN is about Digory's spiritual journey from confusion to darkness into light. At the beginning of the story, his whole world has been turned upside down by his mother's illness. Yes, he wants her to get better. But he also longs for answers, although he doesn't know the right questions. In the barren red lands of Charn he plunges into a spiritual darkness. Forgetting about his mother and abusing his friend, he comes face to face with the ugliest part of his own soul. Then, when he comes to Narnia he awakens to his capacity for virtue. Aslan gives him the gift of nobility, honesty, sacrifice, and the truest form of bravery, just as he gives the animals the gift of life and speech. I feel that the symbolism and spiritual metaphor of the book is so powerful, and that Digory is one of the most beautifully developed characters in literature. That's why I have no interest in seeing a shallow, glitzy blockbuster epic version of this book. Also (and again we go back to the structure) that sort of "give the people what they want" treatment will result in a thoroughly lousy movie that almost no one will enjoy.
It seems to me that if The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe made the most money, coincidentally being the movie that followed the book the closest, maybe Walden and 20th Century Fox could try the method that has worked the best (sticking with the book) for The Magician's Nephew. I know that they can't put everything in and that a book is different from a movie, but they've really messed with the story lines for the last two books.
It seems to me that if The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe made the most money, coincidentally being the movie that followed the book the closest, maybe Walden and 20th Century Fox could try the method that has worked the best (sticking with the book) for The Magician's Nephew. I know that they can't put everything in and that a book is different from a movie, but they've really messed with the story lines for the last two movies.
Anhun:
My reference to skilled craftsmen is clearly THEORETICAL. We have NO IDEA who is going to write or direct the film. You are speaking in absolutes: "Can't be made! Don't try! No hope! All is lost!". I'm looking at POSSIBILITIES: "The right people with the right approach CAN do this justice." If Walden is intent on treating this book in the same ghastly manner in which they adapted 'Dawn Treader', then, yes, there is SINCERE cause for distress. We don't know ANYTHING about the production yet. I'm HOPING they've learned from their egregious errors with the last film. Your complete defeatism at this point is ridiculous.
Furthermore, I did NOT state that the story was merely a "quest" for Digory to save his mother. THROUGH his mother's illness, Digory learns to accept that some things are completely out of our control, and we can't force things to be right by taking immoral and dangerous shortcuts. This is the same lesson that Uncle Andrew eventually learns about dabbling in the occult, and one that Jadis never learns about the price of absolute power. These are universal themes about dealing with suffering, pain, and our heart's desires that are CONSISTENTLY stressed throughout the story. The story never "loses sight" of anything. It's a brilliant weaving together of the birth of this fantastic universe with the very basic themes of longing that all of the characters face in some way. Digory had a happy ending, but the point is, we can't FORCE happy endings. We have to hope for the best in life, but be prepared to accept the worst with grace and faith. Once Digory accepted God's will for his mother's life by handing over the silver apple, he came out of that "darkness" that you mentioned. There is NO PROBLEM representing this book on film IF the filmmakers understand the story, and are passionate about representing it faithfully. "Faithfully" does not mean a highlight reel of selective sequences that are word-for-word transcriptions from the book, strung together with no coherent structure, complemented by every fanboy wish list, thrown in with the kitchen sink. It means producing a film that represents the essence of everything I learned from, and loved about, a wonderful book, in a respectful, entertaining, and accessible fashion.
I refuse to accept that this is impossible, and I refuse to give up on anything just because it's not "easy".
Very interesting insite into the depths of MN, Nonny and :
' Your posts just drip with fear ' –I love it . . .
But, Mayor Wilkins, YOU constantly gripe about the people who "constantly gripe". Isn't that a form of negativity that YOU should "let go of"? If criticism bothers you so much:
1) Refute it.
2) Ignore it.
3) LEARN from it.
I love the subtle inference that criticism of something YOU happen to like is somehow "unhealthy". Classic, classic Narniaweb. Thumbs up! Nice job. Heh.
By the way, I loved the first film, was content with the second, and couldn't stand the third. Does that make me a book purist, or a film apologist? Please define me!
This place is just awesome. I mean that.
It's nice to see the creators of the narnia movies admit to their mistakes with PC and even VDT. Now lets just hope they'll make up for those mistakes in The Magician's Nephew, stay faithful to the books, because we all want that, and take their time and a lot of care into making it a great movie, like how peter jackson took great time and care into The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
I think that's one of the reasons why VDT wasn't that good because they rushed the movie to much by trying to get it to come out 2 years after PC, if they would have released it 3 years after PC, so it would come out in the winter of 2011 instead of 2010. So they would have more time to carefully and creatively work on every aspect of the movie so they would all be great.
But they didn't they wanted to get VDT as soon as possible putting a lot of pressure on them to rush things. That's the problem with movies these days; the studios want everything to be done as fast as possible, giving the filmakers less time to put more quality into their movies; the people who run the studios should know that quality in movies equals more money at the box office, but it takes time to make that qaulity sometimes for filmakers, especially in big budget blockbusters like the narnia movies. Just look at how it took James Cameron to make Avatar, and what was the end result…. highest grossing movie of all time. And I really hope that the narnia filmakers don't make the same mistake with The Magician's Nephew, because I love The Chronicles Narnia and I really want to see these movies suceed.
I think they had plenty of time to work on VDT since they started while they were filming PC. To delay the release of VDT until 2011 would have been terrible. It wasn't time they needed, it was not having the right 'craftspeople'=writers, production team, director to make a faithful adaptation.
LOL. wel yes i do have a brother, but he's more into playing hendrix -lol
caspian-13: PC 16: VDT and 66: SC says narniaweb character profiles. my bad.
i keep thinking of the actor in the bbc one , he's so young looking in 'pc.
I guess it boils down that this is a FAN site, not a Hater site, so people get bummed when the flicks are put down TOO harshly.
they won't recast, he was the biggest hit in vdt. and they are not sticklers for the book ages.
i don't see ANYTHING hard about adapting MN- it looks pretty easy to me-
I agree, Laura Elizabeth. The dialog with Lucy and Aslan in PC didn't bother me very much. But it DOES bother me when they change the entire direction of the plot (like in VDT) and change core themes and messages.
Wow, I don't think any of my comments have ever gotten this many replies posted on it before (even if not all of them are direct replies to me). Maybe it's because I got the first comment. Anyway, I know it's a little juvenile of me, but I'm flattered! 😛
Fair point.