Hey, Narnia Fans! Welcome to “Behind the Wardrobe” an Interview Series with Douglas Gresham. Join me as we find out about CS Lewis, Narnia and more in this interview series.
Special thanks to Paul Martin (The Webmaster for NarniaFans) and to Mr. Douglas Gresham himself for this amazing opportunity. And an even bigger thanks to Mr. Gresham for putting up with a few of my impossible questions. Thanks for being such a great sport about it!
For this week: On The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe .
On The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe–
JS: The first Narnia movie did extraordinarily well at the box office, and exceeded many people’s expectations . What was your reaction to this?
DG: I expected it.
JS: So then it was really no surprise to you when The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe ended up being one of the top grossing films of 2005 along with the likes of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith , Batman Begins, or Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire?
DG: Not at all, what surprises me is that those other movies did so well. 🙂
JS: I as a fan thought it was pretty neat that the first time outing for the Narnian film franchise did do as well as such films with a pre-established fan basis, such as Star Wars, Batman, or Harry Potter.
DG: We are all very happy about it too, but of course this success means that we have to make our next movie even better.
JS: Do you think Jack would have been pleased with the film? If so, in what ways?
DG: I certainly hope so otherwise I wasted five years of my life. I think he would have loved the realism we brought to unreal estates and characters. I also think he would appreciate our faithfulness to his book.
JS: Where you pleased with the film?
DG: As a producer of it, if I hadn’t, I would only have had myself to blame.
JS: What do you think led to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe being done so well in terms of acting and quality of the production?
DG: Thousands of things, Philip Anschutz, Mark Johnson, Phil Steuer, Perry Moore, Marcus and McFeely, Andrew Adamson, KC Hodenfield, Roger Ford, Don McAlpine, Howard Berger, William Mosely, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Isis Mussenden and —but I think you should be beginning to get the idea. Had I the time and you the space I would name every single member of all the teams that put the movie together from the very first to the very last in no particular order. The folks who cleaned the toilets, serviced the generators, drove the trucks and did a myriad of tasks that the public never even think of, all contributed to how well the movie was made. Each and every one of them was indispensable, and I owe them my heartfelt gratitude and admiration.
JS: Of any one in the film, who do you think gave the best performance?
DG: I did. How on Earth could I single out anyone else?
JS:So would you say the film was more of an ensemble piece?
DG: I think the nature of the story makes it imperative that the film be a team effort not only among the cast, but also with all the invisible members of the team, those amazing guys who do the CGI for example, and everyone else involved. I think that it is important that the star of the movie is in fact the story itself and that no one performance eclipses that.
JS: I felt in terms of casting one stroke of genius was that none of the actors were “major names” ( ie No Michelle Pheiffer as Jadis, or James Earl Jones as Aslan or Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff as Susan and Lucy).
DG: Yes, I agree with you.
JS: Adamson did a marvelous job directing the film. A lot of things he did had always been things I would have done if I made the film. (Such as opening with the air raid on London, haveing Peter and Edmund wear armor into battle, and even the relationships with the children.) He also did a great job making people who weren’t fans of the book interested in what was happening in the story and care for the characters.
DG: Yes indeed. Human beings are made for relationships, firstly a relationship with God and to achieve a good relationship with God we must guard and develop our relationships with our fellow human beings.
JS: In terms of the children, (and even Adamsons direction) they were perfect in the roles. They actually seamed like real life siblings!
DG: And I think that you will find that they actually feel very like siblings in real life. We are so fortunate to have found four really good young actors who are not only that but also very nice people. As the making of the film progressed it soon became evident that a strong bond was developing between the four children and that in turn came through onto the screen.
JS: How was it to have the cameo as the radio announcer?
DG: Fun, but not as much fun as my cameo in Prince Caspian. >:-}
JS: Did you approve the changes made to the film from the book?
DG: Again, I am a Co-Producer which means that I am one of the team that makes those decisions.
JS: I have to admit one of my favorite things in the film was the design of the wardrobe. Many fans of the book noted that etched onto it were scenes depicting the events of The Magician’s Nephew. Was this your suggestion?
DG: No, I think that came from Andrew or it may have been Roger, I am not sure.
JS: What was your favorite scene in the film?
DG: All of them.
JS: I take it as co-producer you got to be onset?
DG: Yes, of course. My ancillary duties meant that I could not spend as much time as I would have liked to on set, but I did spend quite a lot of time there.
JS: Seeing it on film was great , but to actually see it (come to life), well that had to be amazing!
DG: To me it was both exciting and hugely gratifying. After all it is not a gift given to many people to watch an almost life-long dream come true.
JS: I know when I saw the film it actually seemed like the Narnia I saw in my imagination.
DG: I am so glad that you say that, it means that we got it right.
That’s it for this week. Come back next week when wrap up the interview series with part six, in which we’ll get some special ( and spoiler free) sneak peeks into the next installment of the series Prince Caspian
