Why Fox Should Pick Up Narnia 3

Walden Media is one of the few film companies out there today which consistently puts out quality family films (“Narnia,” City of Ember, Bridge to Terabithia, Charlotte’s Web), but unfortunately, few of their films have made enough money to warrant being called true successes. The first (and perhaps second) “Narnia” movie was box office gold, but Terabithia, Charlotte’s Web, and a few others make only moderate amounts of money and some Walden films are downright flops (City of Ember, The Seeker). Now, Disney in effect wants to cancel  “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

Disney drops Narnia, but Aslan is on the Move.

Unfortunately, Disney decided recently not to continue co-producing and co-financing the Narnia film franchise.  Again, this does seem unfortunate, but there is hope. “There’s a right bit more than hope. Aslan is on the move.” Quite literally. Walden Media, the company that owns the film rights to the Narnia franchise, isn’t giving up hope on the series yet. Apparently, they will be shopping it around to other studios soon to see if anyone is interested.

Narnia 3 and Green Lantern to be shot in Australia?

http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/stay-in-touch/narnia-says-nah-to-mexico/2008/12/17/1229189710132.html

Normally, this would not be something I would post about, but I came across this article on NarniaWeb and was intrigued by it. Not only did it reveal that Disney is going ahead with the The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (the first news of this since Prince Caspian’s first week DVD sales came in); it also revealed that Dawn Treader might film in Australia and — get this — that Green Lantern might shoot there as well. All signs seem to point to both films releasing sometime in 2010 (methinks, December for VDT and July for GL). The significance of all of this — to me at least — is that both films really are happening, which is just awesome times ten.

Unfortunately, the article also lists the budget for Dawn Treader as $100 million, or half of the budget of Prince Caspian. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, as Prince Caspian’s budget was really bloated and this budget cut will force the filmmakers to rely on more than just set-pieces and special effects to win audiences over. Then again, this may not actually be the budget of VDT, as even the article calls Dawn Treader “the reputed $US100 million ($150 million) movie.”

Comparing Narnia Trailers

This post is partially about satiating a geeky desire and partially about looking at what went right and wrong in the two Narnia movies (specifically the marketing aspect). This will not be in-depth, just to warn you.

First, let’s take a look at the “teaser” trailer (it’s a long teaser at around two and a half minutes) for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and see what stands out.

Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair?

Due to an uncomfortable amount of uncertainty surrounding the Narnia film franchise since the weak box office performance of the second installment in the series The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, fans have started to get uneasy about the future of the series. Although the third installment The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is currently in pre-production with hopes to begin filming in April of 2009 for a December 2010 release, it is uncertain at this point how far the series will go after that. Will The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair follow two years later? According to Disney insiders, it all depends on how far above expectation Dawn Treader’s box office winds up. With my three favorite Narnia books still yet to be produced (The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, and The Magician’s Nephew, respectively, though I love them all greatly), I have been rather upset at all of this uncertainty. However, I suddenly got hit by a wave of optimism.

Narnia Experiencing Budget Cuts; Mickey Mouse To Speak Out Soon.

Although unofficial, apparently Disney and Walden are more upset over The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’s under-performance at the box office than they previously let on. Originally, Disney execs didn’t seem too concerned with the fact that Caspian’s domestic box office was less than half of 2005’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrob. They shrugged it off as being the result of a cluttered release schedule. (That was before the near-equally lukewarm international numbers came in.)

However, according to Jim Hill Media, Disney and Walden are more unsure of the franchise than they previously let on. Don’t worry. Apparently, no matter what happens (barring some freakish occurrence), it seems that The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will hit theatres in 2010. The question at hand is of the budget that director Michael Apted will have to work with on the third (and, possibly, final) installment in the Narnia franchise. Apparently, Walden is looking to split a production budget of $140 million with Disney, while Disney is hoping to make the film for around $100 million. However, the final decision any which way – including the official greenlight – will not come until after the numbers come in from the first week of Prince Caspian’s DVD (and blu-ray).

The Graysons are NOT coming to the CW

Last week, I attended a debate between skeptic Michael Shermer and theist Douglas Geivett on the existence of God. For the most part, the two sides argued positions that did little but counteract one another. Put together, their arguments lead to agnosticism. There was one exception about the origin of matter and the laws of physics which lead me to believe that God probably exists. (Probability was the question.) I believed that before but was looking for validation. Now, however, I know not only that God probably exists but that He certainly exists.

How do I know this? I know this because the CW has scrapped plans for their pre-Robin, Dick Grayson, abomination series “The Graysons.” They are now looking into other replacements for “Smallville.” As I have said earlier, there are many options available for development within the DC Universe and “The Graysons” is one of the worst options. It is so very bad an option within DC that it is hardly a DC option at all. So, for any agnostics (or, if you feel confident enough to call yourself such, atheists) out there, you now have concrete proof that God exists. So, you can stop making silly, nonsensical demands and start living with the knowledge that there is, indeed, a Higher Power.

Scream 4?

Recently, Wes Craven was reported as saying that Scream 4 (a.k.a. SCRE4M) is a possibility. That’s pretty much all that’s been said about the fourth installment. This tiny bit of almost-news has led fans of the series to begin speculating about what might happen in a fourth “Scream.”

Years back, Neve Campbell said that Sidney Prescott’s story was over. So, this fourth installment, some have said, might very well be a reboot of the series, with an all new cast. As much as I would like to see the return of Sidney, the reboot idea does not seem to be a bad one. The original “Scream” trilogy parodied ’80s slasher flicks because that was the recent trend of the genre. The more recent trend has been toward remakes. To draw upon this, it would be clever to simultaneously remake the original Scream, while also making the film a sequel, that is, based in the same universe as the original trilogy. By this, I mean have a basically new cast playing different-yet-similar characters and have the set-up of the story be nearly identical to the set-up in Scream. Scream taught us what a parody should be. Let Scream 4 tell us what a remake should be. Remakes should not be simple rehashes of prior material. If that is all that is done, what’s the point (other than to make money)? In Scream 4, the stakes need to be elevated from those in the first film and, while the first act should be nearly identical to that of the original film, it should deviate from there and be something new. If there is a Scream 5, I would like to see the return of Sidney, Gale, and Dewey. Or, they could return (or just Sidney) half-way through the fourth film.

That is all supposing that Neve Campbell is still not wanting to make another “Scream.” After all, Wes Craven said a few years ago that he would not want to make another one and, now, he is singing a different tune. Also, Neve Campbell introduced Wes Craven at the Scream 2008 Awards. After the recent news of Scream 4’s possibility for Craven, I am sure that the powers-that-be wished to get people talking by connecting Campbell to Craven.

What is going on with Scream 4? I suppose only time will tell.

Is Tim Burton’s New Movie Alice in Wonderland?

Is it Through the Looking Glass? Is it both? Is it an amalgamation? Is it something else?

The casting of Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland as the White Queen and Red Queen, respectively, has made me (and other fans) wonder on what book (or movie) Tim Burton’s new movie will be based. It has been known for a while now that Tim Burton has been working on a film titled Alice in Wonderland for Disney, but now, with that casting announcement, it seems as if the new movie will not draw exclusively from Lewis Carrol’s first Alice story, as the White and Red Queens are characters that appear in the second Alice story, Alice Through the Looking Glass or, more commonly, Through the Looking Glass. Furthermore, the majority of the news stories reporting on this casting have mentioned that the Red Queen is known for shouting “Off with his/her/their head!” As anyone who has read the books knows, the Red Queen shouts no such thing, as that is the catch-phrase (of sorts) of the Queen of Hearts, who is a character that appears in the first Alice book, but not the second. There are a few possible explanations for all of this.

Update on Narnia 3’s Release Date

Although there has been no official announcement, NarniaFans has posted a rumor that The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will move dates from May 7, 2010 (the new release date for Iron Man 2 and, therefore, a horrible date for Dawn Treader) to November, 2010 (a horrible month altogether, since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part I is set for November 19, 2010). Obviously, this is not accurate, as Disney isn’t stupid. They will not release a fantasy film in direct competition with such a well-established franchise. However, the fact that this rumor exists (and that it is substantiated by one of the cast member’s websites) indicates that Disney is looking for a new date for the third Narnia film, as May is clearly not the month for the series (Prince Caspian showed this by its lackluster box office). Disney should just get on it and release Dawn Treader on December 11th, 2009, with virtually no competition. This is highly unlikely, but, if they could get it all together, it would be a smart financial move.

I really want this to be a successful franchise, but, if Disney keeps releasing these movies in such highly competitive markets, the series will fail. This would be unfortunate, since each of the Narnia books could be adapted into quality entertainment, if put together by the right people (like… me).