We’ve just posted the sixth edition of the NarniaFans Mailbag. We’ve answered eight letters this week, including such topics as the release of the Extended Edition, Richard Taylor’s possible involvement, and more!
Q: Dear Paul, Hello! I`m Lucy`s little sister, Jill. I share an e-mail address with her. I have lots of questions: when is the Extended Edition DVD coming out? Sissy and I got the Special Edition, so we have to borrow it. Hmph.
-Li`l Jill
A: Wow, that’s quite the e-mail to start us off for this week. As for the Extended Edition, in the UK it’s coming on 20 November 2006. In the US, it’ll be out 12 December 2006. I have no idea why there’s a different release date, but I’m sure it’ll be something special.
Q: I think will was perfect for the part of Peter and I know that he has a girlfriend cause he said it on the audio complimentries.
-Ashley
A: Thanks Ashley!
Q: hi. i read the mailbag concerning the MGM Studios “Journey Into Narnia” attraction. I actually visited that attraction almost exactly 3 months ago, and I just have to say that it was pretty cool. It had A LOT of props that were the REAL props they used in the film. One of the coolest was the White Witch’s chariot in the battle that was pulled by the polar bears. I recommend going to see it if you’re a Narnia fan. I have a quick question: Is Richard Taylor going to have more involvment in Prince Caspian than he did in LWW? Because King Kong is over with, and so that isnt tying him up now. And if he is, are he and Howard Berger going to “join forces” on the project (because that would be really cool)? Thanks and sorry this is so long!!!!
-luis the lion lover
A: Thanks for the update on MGM’s Journey Into Narnia attraction! We appreciate it. It will help other fans far more than I ever could. I was in Disney World about four months before the attraction opened.
I am not sure if Richard Taylor is going to have more involvement with Prince Caspian. Howard Berger is definitely involved again, though. Let’s hope that they also bring back Richard Taylor. With the sudden switch in effects houses, it is interesting to think that someone else will be doing the special effects. Let’s hope that it maintains the same level of realism. Aslan took all of the production time to get right. Needless to say, it’s something that I’m curious about. If anyone from the effects teams read this, and wishes to clarify, send us an e-mail!
Q: Is Richard Taylor going to have more involvement in Prince Caspian than he did in LWW? And if he is, are he and Howard Berger going to join forces on the project?
A: It’s funny that you should mention that . we worked for well over two and a half years with over 100 Weta technicians on The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe. Richard and his team designed the 62 creatures, cultures and helped designed the world of Narnia. Then onto sculpting the scannable Marquette’s for the digital creatures and the production of all of the armour, weapons and chainmaille, minotours, centaurs, dwarves, minoboars, fauns, satyrs, boggles, ankle slicers and the childrens armour, weapons and a number of hero props.
These included the Turkish delight bowl, Tumnus’s flute and keys, the Professors silver apple tobacco holder, the horns, wands, daggers, shackles and the Queen’s poison vial which was fabricated by our in house Jewelery maker in sterling silver.
Richard and Weta are excited by the possibility of working with Andrew and the team again on Prince Caspian. He was thrilled to work in collaboration with colleague and close friend of the past 15 years, Howard Berger who created the Oscar winning prosthetics and creatures for Narnia.
Weta Workshop
Visit WetaNZ: The Home of Weta – http://www.wetanz.com |https://www.wetaworkshop.com
Q: HI! In an interview you did with William he said something about being under a Mickey Mouse contract. What does that mean?
-Ellie
A: I suppose that means that he’s under a contract with Disney. This is all just guess-work on my part, but it might be the same type of contract that Tim Allen has with Disney, Lindsey Lohan used to have, and Hilary Duff had as well. That Disney has William optioned for possible other projects under their banner. This is definitely a guess, so if anyone knows for sure, please e-mail us.
Q: Thanks for your answer on my last question about the rights! I’m really delighted with it! Keep up your brilliant work with mailbag! It’s so useful for us!
And this time it’s not about Narnia actually… But could you tell me what iPod is?) I’ve seen this word mentioned on different sites including yours and just wanted to know… don’t think I don’t know aboout modern stuff I guess we just have it here (in Russia) called differently ( I know that it’s sort of media player ) Sorry for the stupid question anyway.
-Marie, Russia
A: Hello again, Marie. No question is a stupid question if you honestly want to know the answer. iPods are portable media players that are very widespread, here in the US. They have many variations, and some of the latest versions can play video. They also come in a variety of colors, styles, and sizes. They play mp3s and more! For more information, check out the iPod page on Wikipedia.
Q: Are there any rumors on who will play main characters in Prince Caspian, such as Reep, the centaur, Prince Caspian, and Dr. Cornelius? When will a trailer and or poster be released?
-Steph
A: No, there aren’t any specific rumors as of yet. With filming to start in late January of 2007, it shouldn’t be very long before we start to hear of casting, though. As far as a poster or a trailer, if they follow the marketing of the first film, there could be a poster based on concept art available within the next year or so, and a trailer could be available as early as next summer.
Q: I know they’re filming the Narnia movies in order of publication date, but I’ve heard that they were going to switch the order of Horse and His Boy and The Magician’s Nephew. So, with that my question is are they going to film The Magician’s Nephew and Horse and His Boy in the order they published or switch them?
-Lin
A: This is a question that is probably too early to answer. It’ll be quite a few years before the next three Narnia films are all released; at which time, they could change their mind. I don’t think anything is set in stone, regarding the order of the final three films. Creatively, The Horse and His Boy is truly a side story, set sometime during the reign of the Pevensies, so it could fit in just about anywhere. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Q: The Harry Potter franchise movies seem to come out like clockwork every 18 months. It seems that it is taking a long time just to get started with Prince Caspian. What is the problem(s)?
-Larry
A: Looking at the Narnia stories, each one of them is a very different and very epic story. For the most part, the cast and setting changes dramatically from film to film. With Harry Potter, all seven stories are set in the same world with the same cast, and the same setting, so not much needs to be changed from film to film. Another part of it, is that Narnia was an unknown quantity when they made the first film in the series. They had the rights to all seven books from the start, but they wanted to be sure of the success of the first film before commiting to making more films. Now that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has become one of Disney’s largest films, and the biggest selling DVD of 2006, they have no qualms about getting the next film moving ahead. The story of Prince Caspian also took them a lot of work to really flesh out. They worked on it for a long time until they finally figured out a formula that would work, when it comes to translating this story to the screen. It won’t be word for word from the book, but it will be close, with many new things added to make the story even more epic. Sorry for the disjointed answer, ha ha!
And that’s it for Mailbag #6!
