Here’s another report from the BIOLA Media Conference! This one features some new information that previous reports may not have mentioned. Really great stuff! Here’s it is from Joelle of TheLonelyIsle.net:
I was able to attend the event yesterday and wrote up some notes from what Rick Dempsey, Ned Lott and Mark Joseph had to say about along with a couple notes about the trailer and the other clips they showed.
Because the trailer is already online here’s my notes from the other two things:
What the Disney/Walden guys had to say:
– The guys who basically got this project off the ground were a group of guys who all graduated either from BIOLA or Masters College, both Christian colleges.
– When one of the Disney guys called Douglas Grisham and asked if Disney could make CoN, Mr. Grisham said, “Disney is the last place that Jack wanted to make Narnia into a movie”
– They are, I quote, “contractly obligated” to make it accurate.
– I quote again, “We cannot sneeze without Doug Grisham’s permission.”
– The trailer will be released May 7th
– It will be attached to Episode III
– There are/ will be 1000 special effects shots
– It will be dubbed in 23 languages
– There will most likely be a song at the end, like LOTR, but not definate
– There will definately be four movies (we do NOT know which ones), but they’re hoping for seven
– Brian Cox no longer has the job as Aslan. He lost 40 lbs and it changed his voice, so he’s no longer able to be Aslan! 350 guys auditioned for Aslan. The most noteable being, aka, the guys that seem to be the closest to what they were looking for:
* Sean Bean
* Timothy Dalton
* Gerald Butler
Notes about the characters that were featured in the other clip we saw, but not in the trailer itself:
The Professor: He kinda looks like a leprechaun, so far the only character that I’m not thrilled about
Mr. Tumnus(!): I wish I had a picture of him right now to show you guys, not how I pictured him, but better. He looks so *real*, not like a guy in a costume.
Mr(or)Mrs Beaver: I had to take a double take here, I thought this was a clip of a nature video or something. Wow has technology come a far way, they look exactly like real beavers!! It’s amazing! If it had not been in this context I would have sworn they were real until they started moving, then it was obvious these aren’t your everyday beavers.
Dwarves: They look exactly like dwarves. But not like Middle Earth dwarves. You couldn’t get the two mixed up.
Santa Claus: Ok, I kinda thought it would be a given that this part of the story (when ol saint nick comes by and gives everyone Christmas presents) would be the Tom Bombadil of Narnia, but no, there was quite clearly a fat guy, with a beard, and a bag of stuff and a sleigh!!
~Joelle of TheLonelyIsle.net