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! This has been a real pleasure.
I also apologize to all our readers for my tardiness in posting this article. I had some problems with my internet connection so sending/recieving responses from Mr. Gresham was imparied.
For this week: On Prince Caspian and Beyond.
PS. To all fans who want to stay spolier free don’t worry. Aside from one slight question there are no spoilers. Mr. Gresham and I felt it best to save some surprises for all of you as if we told you everything there would be not point in either reading the book or seeing the film. Mr. Gresham did a great job of dodging a round some of those questions at that. If there is anything spoilerish, I’ve blocked it out as usual and you can highlight it.
So without further ado… let’s get on with the interview!
On Prince Caspian and beyond
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JS: The new film was greenlit during the first films first week end in theaters. Did this surprise you?
DG: No, I was talking about it with Mark and Andrew at the Premiere of LWW. They both told me that they wanted some time off first. 🙂
JS: Time off! Didn’t they know people wanted more movies ASAP? 😉
DG: Everybody needs a break now and then, even if they are movie makers and love what they do.
JS Did you feel you needed the time off from the project before going on to the sequels?
DG Not really, time off is something that I don’t really handle that well, I am happiest when I have the next challenge ready and waiting for me.
JS: How do you feel about Ben Barnes as Caspian?
DG: As Co-Producer I was one of those who hired him.
JS Which casting choice do you like the most?
DG: The four Pevensie children, I could not choose between them.
JS: I do agree with you on the Pevensies. Soon as I saw the cast photos on the internet I thought they looked exactly as I imagined.
DG: I always thought so too. 🙂
JS: I read that the producers decided to give Caspian and the other Telmarinians a more ethnic flavor in contrast to the Pevensies. How do you feel about this?
DG: As Co-Producer I was one of the team that considered and discussed this decision.
JS: I admit the casting for the Temarninians is a fitting idea. The names( such as Caspian, and Miraz) do have an almost exotic flavor to them.
DG: To say nothing of Sopespian and Glozelle for example.
JS: And from what I’ve seen of pictures from the film on the internet, ( such as the teaser poster) Ben Barnes fits the part of Caspian perfectly. I can’t wait to see how he acts as the part, myself. If he’s anything as good as the actors and actresses who brought the Pevenises to life I have the feeling he’s going to blow a lot of people expectations out of the water.
DG: Ben does look pretty right, but he is also a very accomplished young actor.
JS: How have the young actors from the first film grown?
DG: Upwards mostly and in Anna’s case outwards in all the right places. Naturally they are a couple of years older and thus they are growing up in every way.
JS: From what you’ve seen so far, can you say that Prince Caspian is even better than the first film in terms of story telling, acting and special effects?
DG: I am not about to give anything away, but we have tried very hard to make sure that it is.
JS: What’s different with this film as opposed to the last one?
DG: Start by reading the book and then you should be able to tell me. 😎
JS: Well, I did just finish reading the book Prince Caspian, but I guess for those who haven’t read the book yet we should save them a few surprises. Wouldn’t you agree? 🙂
DG: Of course.
JS: Have you seen the rough footage of Reepicheep? How does it look?
DG: As yet I have not seen any more than pre-vis stuff an thus it is far too early to tell how he will turn out, but I have great faith in our team.
WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILERS JS: I heard rumors of Susan fighting in the film? Are these true?
DG: Wait and see the movie.END SPOILERS
JS: There is only one character that they haven’t announced who’s playing him. That of Reepicheep the mouse. Can you tell us who’s voicing him or is that kept under wraps?
DG: Well I probably know more than you do about that and if I told you, then you would probably know as much as I do.
JS: How about your role in the film? Are you allowed to talk about it, or is it also kept under wraps?
DG: I don’t talk about it but I am not sure that I am not allowed to.
JS: What can fans expect from this new film?
DG: A very enjoyable evening or two, or three or four or in some cases five or six depending on how often you see the movie.
JS: It’s been as much of a dream of mine to see the Narnian Chronicles adapted into movies as much as it has been yours. So you can definitely count on me to plan to be one of those fans to see Prince Caspian in theaters more than just one time. I have to give you all reasons to make the rest of the series!
DG: Good idea!
JS: How about future films?
DG: If you know anybody with a spare few hundred million, please send them my way so that I can get started on The Science Fiction Trilogy at once.
JS: I’ll be sure to send the first person I find with a few spare million dollars your way to have The Space Trilogy made. I want to see those too!
DG: A few spare millions won’t quite cut it, I will need a few spare hundreds of millions to make that series.
JS: Again, thank you so much for your time, Mr. Gresham.
DG: You’re very welcome.
JS: NarniaFans everywhere are already looking forward to the next film.
DG:I know, that’s why we’re making it. 🙂
Blessings all, Douglas Gresham.