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You can now see Pierfrancesco Favino (Glozelle) in “Angels & Demons,” a sequel to “The Da Vinci Code.” Favino plays the role of Inspector Olivetti, and gets a good amount of screen time. The film, based on the novel by Dan Brown, is directed by Ron Howard and stars Tom Hanks. It grossed an estimated $48 Million in its first three days.

Are the Narnia books really sexist in how they portray women? What about the Calormenes’ resemblance to Middle Eastern culture? Was Lewis, as is so often claimed, a bigoted, chauvinist man typical of his generation? Come join NarniaWeb’s new reading group to discuss! We will be reading an article by Dr. Devin Brown titled, “Are the Chronicles of Narnia Sexist and Racist? A Discussion in Eight Parts.” The subject of Lewis’ alleged sexism and racism has always been popular on the forum, and we’re excited to offer an in-depth, step-by-step discussion that will look at the evidence presented by both sides. The first section of the article may be read here. Please join us for what promises to be a fantastic discussion!

KNB EFX, home of our good friend Howard Berger, has updated its website to include a full portfolio of all the work they do (yes, that includes pictures from Narnia). According to Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero (another KNB EFX head), they’ve put this website together to show what they do, how they do it, and why. The website itself is really cool to browse, but be warned: since much of their work is for horror films, some of it is a bit gory and inappropriate. But to a geek like me, it’s worth looking through. Check it out here. You can see the websites of other people and companies who worked on Narnia on our Resources and Links page.

Edward Douglas from ComingSoon.net recently interviewed Ben Barnes about projects he is working on, Easy Virtue and Dorian Gray. At the end of the interview, Ben talks a little about Voyage of the Dawn Treader. When we interviewed Ben in November, he had not seen a script. It appears that has not changed. Here are a few highlights:

CS: Of course, you’re going to go shoot “Dawn Treader” very soon. Have you read a script or started training or anything for it yet? Obviously, it was pushed back six or seven months.
Barnes: Twice. It was supposed to go the January before last, that was the original plan.

CS: Is there anything in the book you’re excited about doing?
Barnes: Yeah, there’s a lot of it! Obviously, I’m hoping Ramandu’s daughter is hot… there’s the beginning where he dives in and saves Lucy, there’s all the cool stuff with the golden pond. I think the Lucy stuff, and the monopods where she goes to the Professor’s room and sees her past, that’ll be cool. The sea serpent and the mermaids and mermen will be cool.

CS: Well, I’m assuming that it’s basically the book.
Barnes: Yeah, but I’m still very intrigued and anxious about what stuff they’re going to leave… because “Dawn Treader” is such an episodic book. Read a chapter and that’s a kid’s book, and it doesn’t link together as a story. Apart from the fact they’re on this voyage, but you need motivation in a film, so the way they sew it together is going to be the interesting thing.

Read the entire interview here (Scroll to the end to read his VDT comments)

Running time 1:11:08 Rilian and Dr. Elwin Ransom use the break in the news to discuss one of the oldest controversies in the history of the Chronicles: what to make of Emeth’s fate in The Last Battle.

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Empire Magazine has a new “20 Stars Who Weren’t Even Born When Empire Started” List and Will Poulter is number 20. “Why’s he good? He provided many of the laughs as tearaway Lee Carter in Garth Jennings’ Son of Rambow. While he may not be quite as cute as Bill Milner, he has the range of facial expressions that give him the comedy edge. Will he have an adult career? He is up next in The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader as Eustace, the dour cousin of Lucy and Edmund Pevensie, which is a good first step. It’s early days to predict anything more, however.” You can check out the online article on Empire’s website here. Thanks to Rebekah for the heads up!

Apparently the GoldCoast.com report last week wasn’t official enough, but now they are reporting that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader IS officially filming on the Gold Coast in Australia.

THE Gold Coast has won an international tug-of-war for the multimillion-dollar production of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Premier and Minister for the Arts Anna Bligh yesterday confirmed the Pacific Film and Television Commission was finalising negotiations with movie giants Walden Media and 20th Century Fox.

“In one of the Australian film industry’s most hotly-contested marketing campaigns, Queensland fought fierce interstate and international competition for this coveted project and is now in final discussions to become the enchanted world of Narnia,” said Ms Bligh.

The film’s budget is said to be about $150 million, making it the biggest film for the Coast since the $136 million Peter Pan in 2003.

Principal shooting is scheduled to begin in late July and wrap early November.

You can read the full report at the GoldCoast’s website here.

Thanks to myartismylife for the heads up!

UPDATE: From the BrisbaneTimes.com.au:

Twentieth Century Fox and Walden Media location scouts were seeking a seaside spot to film shots of a 40-metre royal vessel called the Dawn Treader.

The Whitsundays, the Gold Coast and Redland City, on Brisbane’s southern bayside, are preparing for starring roles when the multi-million-dollar production begins in July.

The film set would sit atop a barge temporarily anchored offshore.

You can read the full article here.

Thanks to Lucy P. for the heads up!

From ContactMusic.com: “[Ben] was desperate to be a part of a fox hunting scene in the film adaptation of Noel Coward’s hilarious play – but insurers insisted he keep his feet on the ground. Director Stephan Elliott recalls, “Ben really wanted to ride in the hunt scene, which was the last thing we shot, but the insurance company wouldn’t let him. It was such a shame because he’d learned to ride for Prince Caspian and he knew he was good on a horse. “I put all the money we had left into this hunt and it looked great, so I just said, ’Ben, get on the horse.’ He was thrilled… The producers found out too late and I could see them rushing to the set, where they’d attempt to pull him off the horse. “I yelled, ’Action,’ the hunt took off and Ben rode his horse straight into a tree, was thrown off and knocked himself out. He was fine but for a minute there, I was really concerned… “

From KungFuCinema.com: “RECLAIMING THE BLADE, a new documentary on the history of the sword featuring legendary fight choreographer Bob Anderson, as well as many other film professionals, historians and experts on the sword, has recently been released to iTunes and is coming to DVD on July 7th. Perhaps the coolest part about this documentary from an action film lover’s perspective is an exclusive interview with Bob Anderson, an Olympic fencer and British actor who began his film career as a stunt double for Errol Flynn in the 1950s and went on to become one of Hollywood’s top fight choreographers with recent credits that include the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. Other film folk featured include actors Viggo Mortensen and Karl Urban, NARNIA and LOTR conceptual artist John Howe, and director/effects supervisor of film prop and special effects company Weta Workshop.”
Bob Anderson was the stunt coordinator for both The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. This will probably be well worth checking out for those of you who love sword history and stunt fighting. Read the rest of the article here and visit the official website for Reclaiming the Blade here.

MTV has announced the nominees for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. Ben Barnes was nominated in the catagory of Best Breakthough Performance (Male). Fans voted to decide the nominees, and now they can vote for the winners. MTV writes: “A charasmatic Ben Barnes has your eyes glued to the screen as Prince Caspian, the Spanish heir looking to reclaim his throne.”

Go here and vote for Ben!
(Vote as many times as you want. If you don’t have an account, it takes less than a minute to sign up)

The show will air on May 31 at 9:00pm ET.