C.S. Lewis’s stepson, Douglas Douglas Gresham, grew up with Narnia. The Horse and His Boy was even dedicated to him and his brother. Douglas has since become the creative and artistic director of the C.S. Lewis Company. He was the co-producer of 2006 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and is currently at work on the sequel of Prince Caspian.
He has twice taken time from his busy schedule to answer questions from the Philippine Order of Narnians, and here are some excerpts (Some parts were taken from the first interview):
On Lewis for an International Audience
TPON: It would seem that CS Lewis wrote Narnia more or less for a readership that was mostly either British or American. But its appeal has certainly crossed many boundaries. With Narnia turning into a movie franchise, readers in many countries are discovering Lewis for the first time. What aspects of the books are most difficult to translate for an international audience?
Douglas Gresham: It is very interesting that despite the fact that Jack was originally writing for only a British audience (the Americans came as a later after-thought), the Narnian Chronicles appeal to everybody no matter what their culture or background. There is no difficulty at all in translating or perhaps transporting would be a better term, all of Jack’s story lines and themes across all cultures and seemingly across all times. I think this is because the issues that he deals with in Narnia, and the ways in which he deals with them, are common to all people no matter where they live, or their cultural origins.
TPON: On a personal note, do you think CS Lewis would have enjoyed a visit to the Philippines if he had the chance?
Douglas Gresham: Yes indeed, I think he would have found the Philippines both beautiful and fascinating as do I.
TPON: On an even more personal note, would you mind horribly if we called him Jack the next time we email you?
Douglas Gresham: No of course not, it was the name that he preferred.
On Lewis for Today’s Youth
TPON: You gave an interview once and this quote was very interesting: “One of the things that happened is that the great concepts that people have lived by were thrown out in the 20th century as if we thought they were outmoded or out of date, and as a result our society is crumbling all around us. Now the new younger thinkers are beginning to grope around looking for new answers. What we need are all of those virtues of personal commitment, courage, honesty and honor that we had thrown away but are there to be found in the tales of Narnia.” CS Lewis, of course, addressed this issue a lot in his works. Do you think today’s youth face any particular stumbling blocks to “groping around looking for new answers?”
Douglas Gresham: No I don’t. One great advantage that we have over the forces of evil, is that they are incapable of originality, they cannot create or come up with anything new, so time and time again throughout the history of Man the Devil keeps trotting out the same tired old lies and temptations over and over. Our great failing is that we look for “new answers” instead of looking back over the centuries and realising that the issues faced by the men of the Old Testament are, at root, precisely the same issues that we have to deal with today and that Jesus came here to deal with all of those. All we have to do is study what he said and then put it into practice. The answers to all our dilemmas and temptations are all there, all we have to do is learn them and use them. Looking for “new answers” to old questions is symptom of our pride and arrogance. The better way is to look back, re-discover the old answers that Jesus gave us two thousand years ago, and then use them.
On the Accuracy of Portrayals of Lewis
TPON: What’s the most common misconception people seem to have about CS Lewis?
Douglas Gresham: That he was a dour academic who kept himself apart. He was actually a consciously joyful redeemed Christian who surrounded himself with good and brilliant friends. A man full of humour and warmth. He was a great companion and full of fun. He was also a man who was never afraid to show his Christianity in practical ways whenever the opportunity arose.
TPON: What’s your opinion about the portrayal of Lewis and you in Shadowlands? [Editor’s Note: The movie Shadowlands, adapted from a play of the same name, showed how CS Lewis and Joy Gresham met. It starred Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger.]
Douglas Gresham: The portrayal of me was very good but Jack’s role as done by Tony Hopkins was not in the least like Jack.
TPON: What’s your favorite among the seven [Narnia] books?
Douglas Gresham: Which ever one I am Reading when somebody asks that question.:-)
TPON: What character can you easily identify with yourself?
Douglas Gresham: Lots of them in part, but perhaps Shasta in The Horse and His Boy the most.
TPON: Of today’s authors, do you think any has work which has similarities to CS Lewis’?
Douglas Gresham: No (though many have tried).
TPON: Aside from Narnia, what’s your favorite book?
Douglas Gresham: “Ingathering” by Zenna Henderson.
On Bringing Narnia to Film
TPON: We know that Andrew Adamson and Walden Media have been very respectful of the original material. In theory, though, how much veto power do you hold over the script?
Douglas Gresham: We create the scripts in a collaborative manner, I meet with the writers and Andrew, and we go carefully through every line, honing and refining until we are satisfied that what we have is right. I have as much “voice” in this process as anyone on the team who are all very respectful of my knowledge and expertise.
TPON: The biggest criticism of the LWW film seems to be that there isn’t enough of Aslan in it, and Aslan doesn’t seem to be as all-powerful as he is portrayed in the books. Any thoughts on that?
Douglas Gresham: Yes, two thoughts. One is that no matter how much of Aslan we might want to put in a movie we are, as always, constrained to some extent by budget realities. To make a Lion for Aslan who looked anything less than perfect would be terrible, so we tend to try to make every hair of his mane and every move that he makes as close to perfect as we can. You have seen the result on screen. Now I am not about to tell you how much it costs to produce that quality of CGI, but let’s just say that it is not cheap. Somewhere along the line one has to decide how much money is to be spent on what, and to put more of Aslan in the movie means to put less of other things. We had to try for a good balance and I think we achieved it very well.
On the topic of Aslan being all-powerful (but restraining his power), just how would one portray that in a movie? Remember this? 1 Kings 19:11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
Aslan in the LWW, is the still small voice (except when he roars).
TPON: Many people are into the Narnia stories particularly because of the themes that are behind them. What do you think are the most important themes of Prince Caspian that absolutely must be in the movie?
Douglas Gresham: That one I will wait to answer till after the movie is released. I am not about to give anything away at this stage. 🙂
TPON: Many are apprehensive about the portrayal of Calormenes in the Horse and His Boy, which seem to have a Middle Eastern flavor. It’s still far away, but do you have any idea how the Calormenes might be approached in the movies, given a post-9/11 audience?
Douglas Gresham: Yes I do, but I am not about to give that away either. However, I don’t think that the descriptions of the Calormenes do have a Middle Eastern flavour. I think you need to look further afield and further back. But in any case, taking offense is a personal choice, and if people want be offended by what I do in a movie that is their right and their responsibility. I will not pander to the likes, dislikes, preferences or prejudices of individuals who might be in our audiences, if you start to do that, sooner or later you wind up with artistic porridge.
Some Personal Questions
TPON: How was it like to grow up with CS Lewis?
Douglas Gresham: It was just my childhood, and I have nothing to compare it with so that is a very difficult question. In all it was a time of great learning and privilege.
TPON: What aspect of being raised by CS Lewis and Joy Gresham did you find most difficult?
Douglas Gresham: Their (from my viewpoint) untimely premature deaths.
TPON: Do you feel you have to follow in your stepfather’s footsteps?
Douglas Gresham: I don’t feel that I have to but I would love to be able to.
TPON: We’ve often read interviews where you would describe your stepfather, or your mother’s relationship with him. What do you remember most about your mother, as an individual?
Douglas Gresham: Her warmth of character, her wit, her almost incredible intelligence, her musical talent, her immeasurable courage and her love.
TPON: How is your involvement with Rathvinden Ministries? Has the busyness from the Film Production limited your role in any way?
Douglas Gresham: This question is now redundant as Rathvinden Ministries is no longer. Merrie and I were beginning to realise that all ministries have their allotted life-spans, as do we ourselves, and as we moved into our sixties, we were finding 17 bedrooms on 20 acres of land to be just too much work for us. If God’s way of telling you to slow down is allowing you to become ill, His way of telling you to stop may well be allowing you to die. Merrie and I were beginning to wear out so we decided the time was right to sell Rathvinden and move to somewhere that the sun shines a bit more often than it does in Ireland. So we now live in Malta and are waiting to see what the Lord has in mind for us here. As for me, the Lord seems to be keeping me pretty busy with the film industry, but His will comes first and if He decides to change that, so be it.
TPON: What’s the weirdest question ever asked to you?
Douglas Gresham: Wow, I can’t really remember , but I have had some pretty weird ones over the years.
TPON: Do you like Turkish Delight?
Douglas Gresham: Very much.
TPON: Having asked all that, we’d like to say how much we appreciate the work you’re doing with the CS Lewis Company, bringing the Narnia stories to audiences around the globe, among other things. It’s quite a blessing to us. We are all looking forward to Prince Caspian, and 2008 is going to be a long long wait. Some of our members are also eager to see a film version of Till We Have Faces ( ! ), but again, are willing to wait. 🙂
Douglas Gresham: Thank you. But to see a film version of Till We Have Faces would be easy; you find me the budget and I’ll make the movie. 😀
TPON: Thank you again for your time and for being such a blessing to us all.
Douglas Gresham: You’re welcome. Blessings, Douglas.
Full interview recovered with the internet archive.