Podcast #94: ‘The Silver Chair’ Movie in Development!
The NarniaWeb discussion forum is buzzing with activity in the wake of The Silver Chair being announced as the fourth Narnia film! Rilian, Glumpuddle, and Ransom react to the news and share their thoughts in the latest podcast.
Is this a good decision? What about Walden Media? Would a lower budget really be a bad thing? Is there any chance Will Poulter will return? How should the film be marketed? Will the green mist from the Dawn Treader film play a role in this film? What about Puddleglum? All these questions and more are examined! Listen below:RT 1:00:19
What do you think? Post your thoughts in the Discussion Forum!
Podcast: Play in new window | Embed
This is such exciting news! I am so happy to see that work is finally beginning towards the eventual release of the Silver Chair! 'm glad it was finally decided upon to be the next Narnia film, since it falls chronologically after VDT and I hope that Will Poulter will still be able to portray his role as Eustace. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to hearing more!
I surely hope they will keep true to the book.
Disney BUTCHERED the story of VDT and lost the true symbolism of Eustace's conversion and had important events OUT OF SEQUENCE, which also changes the meaning. We all wait in hopes that this will be awesome and every so C.S. Lewish!
This is great news, as I am not a film expert I don't know a lot about that part of the process, I do feel the past three movies were well made and if any future movies are made (which I surly hope happens)they are made as well or better then the better for fans. In fact I really hope they make all the books into movies–don't just give us part of the story on film we want the WHOLE book.
Great podcast, guys! It's so good to have a news podcast again. Are you going to finish the book commentary podcasts btw? In a lot of ways news podcasts are more fun/exciting, but the first so many commentary podcasts had some great content. They probably went the most in depth of any of them.
Disney had nothing to do with VDT.
Awesome podcast!
Nice opening! I do hope at this point Walden Media won't be involved.
The moment I found out, I was on Facebook. The news was in my feed, and I did a double take and had to jump to NarniaWeb. I was worried this was an April Fools' joke that had leaked six months early.
One of my only wishes for The Silver Chair at this point is that the storyline is not sugarcoated with sweetness. The story is not a lighthearted story in a few places.
I think Will can still do it, but, wouldn't mind someone else.
As always Great podcast im vary excited about Silver chair being the next film I think that with the right people who understand the themes of the book and if they get the characters right it cod be great. to be honest a lower budget doesn't really bother me now of days you don't have to have a 100M to 200M dollar budget to make a good film.
I don't think that I woued wont Will Poulter to return i mean i think he was great in VDT but he's to old now by the time they start filming he'll be even older I'd much rather they cast someone else.
Whoever is directing better work overtime at this…
Narnia used to be the stuff that challenged LOTR.
Now it's comparable to Eregon.
My Narnia senses have reawakened! Praise be to the Lion.
For me personally, I thought will poulter was the best thing about VDT and though he is older I still think he can pull it off. If they were set to say that this story takes place a few year later I don't think that would be to big of a problem but I do undestand the concens if they were to do that. If they can find two great actors for jill and eustace that really get the essence of the characters, then I am all for making it a new cast of actors to play these characters. Either way I am so excited that they are moving forward with the Narnia series and hope they do the books justice!
Great guys! Also question: How does one become involved in a podcast?
Podcast 94?! WOW
Yaaaayy!! I love you Narniaweb!! XD
And Douglas Gresham, I owe you an apologize, I have been so rudely to you previously, I'm sooooo sorry. Please find a better director for Narnia movie!! If Narnia won some Oscar like Cinematography, directing, screenplay, Original score, etc. I'll be very very happy. =D
Yes, it was a really good podcast, well timed to coincide with the Silver Chair news. Two niggles:
1. IMDb has classified Silver Chair as Option property at this moment. Magician's Nephew is still labelled in production.
2. I'm not sure that getting a tall actor to diet would make him eligible to play Puddleglum. Either Johnny Depp or Andy Serkis might do the trick, but surely there are better choices than them around. Why not try Bollywood as well as Hollywood?
I think whoever plays the role of Puddleglum needs to be of a certain exomorphic build, which would be determined more by genes than extreme dieting. That is to say, the type of actor required would not be a candidate for Mr Universe, though he might have had experience on a basketball court. I think he would need to have long arms and legs, a relatively light build, with narrow pelvis and shoulders, and a short torso in comparison with hands, feet, legs and arms. The round face should have a pointy nose and an o shaped mouth.
Just my tuppence worth.
I wouldn't exactly put my trust in imdb for these types of things
I think they could have a CG Puddleglum with a lower budget, I mean look at the prawns in district 9, those are full CG
The part that I'm most looking forward to (and I REALLY hope they do it right!!) is the transformation scene of The Lady Of The Green Kirtle!
Yeah, I think we will. 🙂
What can I say, this is the best news ever. Fans have got an actual confirmation that the next film will be the Silver Chair. I would have liked it to have gone in The Magician's Nephew favour but it does not really matter, a decision and announcement has being confirmed. So roll on with the Silver Chair.
When I learned about the news, I didn't think much would come of it, that it might be false news or false hope. But listening to this makes me think more. Now I want to go read the books again lol.
I'd love it if the people who make the movie all listen to this podcast to get ideas on making the movie. 🙂 Advice from true fans + good creative listeners = great potential for film.
True, it was not Disney, but they have that reputation. Gresham needs to be a much more serious watchdog, and set the rules from the beginning.
We have plenty of time, this is our opportunity to get organized, and make a SPECIFIC LIST of 'wants' and 'don't wants' regarding this movie, known to the next producer.
Adamson -incredibly- openly said he did not like the original PC story, so made up his own… he was not about to listen to fans. Apted seemed to think he was directing for an audience under the age of 10, so not much better there…
When Jackson did the Lord of the Rings, he made a big deal of listening to fan's opinions. Presumably, they were organized into one voice. Wouldn't that be interesting ?
One way this could be done, is people make suggestions, the moderator has us vote on them, and enough votes puts the idea on our list of requests.
For example, two request I would make are:
-Not one word of Aslan's dialogue be changed or cut.
-The 'allegory', as it is in the book, should not be reinterpreted to be more or less obvious. Leave it as it is.
True enough
Good points waggawerewolf27 about the type of actor needed.
Might I make my humble suggestion/ Not that I am too overly biased on this but…..
I have been of the opinion that the best actor to EVER play the role was Tom Baker, a former Doctor Who. But, since he is, (meaning no insult),past his prime. So, given the criteria you mentioned I see Matt Smith, also of Doctor Who fame. Granted he would have to tone down his energy level, but he could pull it off.
I learned about this news through Official Narnia books facebook pages, if I saw this news from other fansite like Narniaweb, Narnia Fans, Aslan's Country, I don't think I'm going to believe it, but it's officially from Official Chronicles of Narnia FB, and I knew it's true, but I still shock when I saw the news. 😀
Luckily I didn't get heart attack! Hahaha! 😛
The three most important things (in order) that they don't change for me are:
1. Everything Aslan says in the book.
2. The whole scene that begins with the release of Rillian and ends with the Lady of the Green Kirtle's transformation into a serpent.
3. The scene where Jill encounters Aslan on the mountain and by the stream in Aslan's country.
This sounds like it could be a great thread in General Movie Discussion: If you could give a short list of requests to the filmmakers, what would you put?
Andy Serkis would be a great choice for Puddleglum But it would be hard to get the right kind of body shape. Still I would like to at least have someone to have the cg based on or actually have an actor Bollywood would be a great place to look for Puddleglum
Oh please not Johnny Depp! I like the idea of Tumnus. Part CG,part real actor.
yes! We need to get organized and put together a short list of what needs to stay the same. Like everything Asian says, I ag tee we. The last scene on Dawn Treader was great. Thew line in caspian about growing was Wrong! narnia web, could you get together with NarniaFans.com and get a short list together? We can make this happen! For Narnia!!
I voted hmm as well. There are so many ways the movie could turn out spectacularly, and so many ways it could suffer from Hollywoodization.
My main requests (other than staying true to Lewis' plot and themes) are:
1. No references to the green mist. Let us forget.
2. Don't go over the top with Puddleglum — he isn't a clown, and is not in the story purely for comic relief.
3. Keep the element of fear/danger present in Aslan, particularly in his first scene.
4. I would like to see Neeson continue to voice Aslan. I think he does a great job, and this would help with continuity.
I hadn't picked up on Jill's struggle to trust. I did find the theme of spiritual discipline really strong: repeating the signs morning and night (prayer/Scripture memorization?), watching for the signs, and following Aslan when it doesn't look fun, popular, comfortable, intelligent, or even safe. This isn't a popular Hollywood theme, so I hope they manage to keep it as strong as it is in the book.
Whoa… that might be too low of a blow. At least the Narnia movies have good books to work off of.
My dream is for a Weta Digital-quality CGI Puddleglum voiced by Tom Baker.
Besides faithful adherence to the source material, I also feel it's important that the film makers do not make SC into an action/fighting oriented film. No superfluous sword fighting! This is a story that needs to be suitably paced and character-driven.
As much as I am a Tom Baker fan, I cannot see CGI doing the character justice.
to be honest I wish that Gresham wasn't involved in making the movies I feel like he makes the "religious moments" feel so forced and awkwardly interjected. I think that VDT felt very forced and weird.
I think that these are hard stories to adapt so let the film making professionals do their job. I think that if the religious aspects were down played the movies would be more successful.
"I'd feel a lot better about another Narnia movie if I knew Adamson was coming back to direct. His movies definitely had room for improvement, but I quite liked both of them and I thought they were (for the most part) worthy of the name "Narnia". Of course, it would be great if the Mark Gordon Company could find a director who understands the books even better and is an even better filmmaker than Adamson, but they could also find a terrible director. With Adamson as director I think we're guaranteed a good Narnia film, but a new director is a shot in the dark. Could be great, could be terrible, could be anything in between.
Another thought I had was Andrew Stanton, director of John Carter, WALL-E, and Finding Nemo. Although John Carter got lukewarm reviews (I haven't seen it yet), I thought his two Pixar movies were fantastic, and I know he wants another try at directing a live action film. Stanton is also a Christian, so he might be able to understand the themes of the book better."
Hahaha!! JOHN CARTER is a great movie, yes, it got a bad B.O., but in my opinion, it's better than Star Wars I, II, III, and as great as IV, V, VI, or even better. Andrew Stanton was a great director, I'm glad if he directed Narnia! 😀
I love the Mars dog Woola.hahaha!! 😀
True, CGI can be a little hit and miss at times, but Gollum was absolutely convincing. While we're on the topic of Doctor Who actors playing Puddleglum, what about David Tennant? As much as I like Matt Smith, I think Tennant would be a better fit for this particular role. He's better at more serious, subdued acting. And he has the build for a marsh-wiggle…
Adamson did a terrible job with PC. Not only was that a bad adaptation, it was a poorly done movie all around–badly written, badly acted (except for Miraz and Sopespian), and horribly cast. I'll give Adamson credit for doing an excellent job on LWW, but that one is so well-known and iconic, he couldn't have gotten away with anything other than doing an excellent job.
Andrew Stanton does sound like a good choice. Another interesting choice (albeit a longshot) would be Andy Serkis. He was the second unit director for the Hobbit movies, and learned from Peter Jackson. If the team for the next Narnia film approaches the task with the same mindset as Jackson's crew did for the Midle-earth films, we could at least rest assured that we would get excellent production quality and world detail.
I think Alan Rickman will do great as Puddleglum.
I like PC, although it's not at the standard of Middle Earth films. 😛
" If the team for the next Narnia film approaches the task with the same mindset as Jackson’s crew did for the Midle-earth films, we could at least rest assured that we would get excellent production quality and world detail."
Agree ofcourse, but I have a feeling this is just a dream, it won't happen, Narnia always have a bad luck, even HP have a better luck. I only hope Narnia will have a better director, and make it have a 7.4 above IMDB rating in total.
Tradition. Your suggestion of David Tennant at first seemed a stretch to me. Looking over the man's career though I can see his playing the part.
Whoever gets the role though will have a challenge. He will not only have to convey the almost morbid temper of the character, but be able to keep a straight face when sayng something funny.
I'm not sure if I'm ready for the whirl of emotions caused by a new Narnia movie.
I'm happy, skeptical, nervous, overjoyed, surprised, and even a little disappointed.
They are calling each other by their oddball screen names. How…odd.
I hope they actually feature *children* in the movie. One thing that bothered me about those 3 Narnia movies was that — except for Lucy — most of those kids looked too old for their parts. Just by the way they talk in the books, you realize the characters in the books are young children. The ones in the movies were too old, so they had to age up the plot. (VDT, the book, did not have a single act of violence. What happened?)
Part of the enchantment of the Narnia books is that you have endearing little protagonists meeting their adventures with a childlike outlook. I want to see children, in over their heads, "triumph" simply by their trust and faith in Aslan. Once you have basically grown-ups in those situations, it doesn't work. They become action heroes and such.
This is why, while I think Will Poulter acted well in VDT, he should not be cast again. We need children, not adults in kid clothes. Besides, the funny cranky-Eustace character in VDT is not in Silver Chair. He's good-Eustace now, so the kind of acting needed for that character is different.
Great podcast. I love the book SC; it is one of my favorites. The character of Jill Pole is one of my favorites, up there with Aslan, Lucy and Reepicheep. I call her "The reluctant heroine". I hope that the movie is a character study of Jill not an epic adventure. This is about Jill learning to trust and obey Aslan. We have all been down this road trying to find grace. Aslan is hard on Jill at first, but in the end she is repaid well. Show the bullies get their just due.
I hope the movie is shot on a small budget. That way the producers will have to concentrate on the script and good acting. This should be an easy book to adapt; just follow the dialog in the book. It's all there; don't change it. Shoot the whole thing in a studio to save money and keep better control. Exterior shots of the land of the North could be done with a small second unit using Lidar or real-time kinematics GPS (RTM) to control the placement of the actors on the set. Use special effects instead of visual effects. Only Aslan, the owls, the green snake and the snow dance need to be animated.
If you use Will Poulter then you need an actress of the same age, tiny – see LB for description, to play Jill. I would like Charlize Theron to play the green witch. Any number of A-List men could play Puddleglum. The actor could be made skinny either optically or in post, but a real actor not animated. Real actors give a better performance.
Of all the books so far, this book is the most doable. I would like the producers to sponsor a contest to help write the script, great PR. This could be marketed, among many other things as an anti-bullying movie.
I totally agree. I'm dying to hear more.
I disagree with Peter here. The Christian symbolism is what makes these books special and set apart from any other series out there. It's because of it pointing towards Christ that makes them special. Douglass Gresham cares about his father's work, and I believe that removing the Christian themes from the movies, undermines the true meaning to Narnia.
I agree. But also Narnia is just an amazing story to begin with. You can't really separate the symbols from the story.
I agree with both of you. The Christian symbolism and moral tales are important, but don't beat us over the head with them. No green mist, please. Lewis was brilliant about finding a balance between the symbolism and a good story. These stories can be enjoyed at many levels. One does not have to be Christian to enjoy them. They are brilliant. SC is a great story in of itself, but yes there is much more. Let the reader (or viewer) figure out the back story.
You know, I never really thought about how epic the SC plot was.
At least the parts of the book Dawn Treader used was in order. Golden Compass was a perversion and Eregon was never read by the film makers.