Right now, the heat is really on Flaherty and Walden Media, the film studio producing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, releasing December 9. Walden partnered with Disney to market and distribute the film, but Walden Media retained all creative control. So, if you like the movie, you can thank Walden Media. If you don’t like it, you’ll know exactly where to lay the blame.
Since Wardrobe – one of C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia – is among the most-loved books in evangelical circles, Flaherty, a Christian and Narnia fan himself, says the pressure to get it right is “insane.” But Flaherty, 37 and the father of three young children, promises it will be a “fantastic, faithful adaptation.”
Some people say Phil Anschutz is just the big-money guy at Walden. How would you describe his role?
Flaherty: He’s intimately involved. Cary and I speak with him several times a week. When we first met with Phil [in 2000] and he decided he wanted to invest in the company, he was involved in everything from writing the mission statement to helping us identify properties. He asked us for ideas of books we would like to turn into films. We mentioned The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and [learned] that was really on Phil’s heart. He really wanted to see that film get made.
You said the Narnia conversations started in 2000. Where did it go from there? Did you just put it on the back burner?
Flaherty: No, it was definitely front burner. We needed to track down where the rights were, and that took up most of 2001 – speaking with Douglas Gresham and the C. S. Lewis estate. Phil and Douglas had many great conversations, and I think Phil really won Douglas’s trust and confidence that he would make a faithful adaptation.
Which couldn’t have been easy, because they’re pretty protective of Lewis’s estate.
Flaherty: Very protective. And I’m grateful that Douglas gave us the chance, because when they were talking to us, we hadn’t released a single film yet.
Why the partnership with Disney for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?
Flaherty: Because the marketing and distribution of films is such an enormous undertaking. With this film, we have full creative control, while Disney is in control of the marketing and distribution. They’re certainly proving that there was no better studio to take this and really create a great franchise with it. We couldn’t be happier with the job that they’ve done.
But hiring the filmmakers and making all the big decisions is all Walden?
Flaherty: All Walden. And that was all in place before we closed any deal with Disney.
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