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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader came in fourth over the Christmas weekend box office. Little Fockers opened at $30.8 million followed by True Grit at $24.9 million and Tron Legacy which made $19.2 million in its second weekend.

Dawn Treader grossed another $9.5 million in its third weekend bringing its domestic total to $62.6 million. Dawn Treader also continues to do fairly well overseas where it pulled in over $40 million throughout last week, bringing its international total to $165 million, and its worldwide total to $231 million.

During the press junket in London I had the opportunity to interview Douglas Gresham, Georgie and Will, and Liam Neeson.

I asked Liam Neeson about his preparations for voicing the role of Aslan, whether he spent any time on set and about his favorite scene in the film. He’s a very interesting man:

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Since the release of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, we at NarniaWeb have received almost daily inquiries about auditioning for the role of Jill Pole in The Silver Chair. After the release of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, these inquiries have risen to almost unbelievable levels. We wanted to take this opportunity to give some information about the film industry and answer the questions that folks may have about how to acquire a role.

Pre-Production and Greenlighting

Before casting begins for a film, there are several steps that take place. A script is written (or at least begun), the story is pitched to the studio, and the studio then “greenlights” the film, which means that the production is formally approved and financed. After the film is greenlit, it then enters pre-production, during which the script is finalized and plans are made for the actual shooting of the film. It is during this pre-production stage that casting is done.

Casting and Auditions

The casting process for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was somewhat unique in that casting director Pippa Hall held many public auditions when searching for the four Pevensie children. These auditions were generally held at schools around the UK, with children from the drama clubs being invited to attend. This is not typical, though, and usually a casting director will work directly with agents and industry contacts to come up with a list of potential actors to fill a specific role. Several actors are given auditions and the director and producers together decide which one will best play the part. This is the way that Will Poulter was cast for the role of Eustace.

Occasionally there will be open auditions for extras at a film location shoot. When that information becomes available we always post it at NarniaWeb.

Silver Chair Status

The future of the Narnia movies depends on the box office results for each film. If The Voyage of the Dawn Treader doesn’t do well enough in theaters, it is likely that there will not be any further Narnia films. If it is successful (and no one is sure exactly what the threshold of success is in the eyes of the studio), then Walden and Fox will likely move forward and attempt to get another Narnia film greenlit.

In interviews the producers have mentioned that they are considering The Silver Chair as well as The Magician’s Nephew for the next film. This could mean that The Silver Chair would be skipped or passed over temporarily, or that both films could be made at the same time. There are any number of possibilities, but the reality is that the future of the franchise and The Silver Chair is very much in limbo right now. It also goes without saying that production for The Silver Chair has not been greenlit and is not currently looking for any actors for the simple reason that there is no production.

Advice

If you are interested in auditioning for the role of Jill Pole or any other character in a Narnia film, the best advice that we can give is to 1) get involved with a local drama group to hone your skills and 2) hire an agent who can acquire an audition for you with the casting director when the time comes. There likely won’t be any public auditions. This is simply the way that Hollywood works.

Another question that we are often asked is about what the producers are looking for. Again, since there are no producers and no production (yet), we have no idea. During the casting process for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Pippa Hall was quoted as saying that she felt that there were so many brilliant British actors that there was no need to look for someone who could “fake” a British accent. So our expectation is that the producers would probably look to the UK first to fill the role of Jill Pole.

Conclusion

To sum this all up, The Silver Chair has not yet been greenlit so there are no roles yet to be filled. If you are interested in auditioning for a role when one becomes available, we recommend that you hire an agent who can acquire an audition for you when the time comes. Good luck!

A new 10-minute behind-the-scenes video reveals how the filmmakers achieved the scene where Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace are drawn into Narnia through the picture in the bedroom.

It turns out they did not fill the room with water. Instead, they locked the camera down and sunk the entire set into the water… creating the illusion that the water was flooding out of the picture. Safety was a major concern of course; the actors all had to receive scuba lessons in order to film the scene.

Thanks to ‘Liberty Hoffman.’

The London Critics’ Circle Awards announced their nominations for 2011 and Will Poulter has been nominated for the Young British Performer of the Year award. The full list of nominees include:

Will Poulter – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Fox)
Jessica Barden – Tamara Drewe (Momentum)
Conor McCarron – NEDs (Entertainment One)
Saoirse Ronan – The Way Back (Entertainment One)
Thomas Turgoose – The Scouting Book for Boys (Pathe)

Congratulations Will and good luck!

NarniaFans has posted their video interview with Douglas Gresham (producer/Lewis’ stepson) at the premiere of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Gresham talks a little about why the green mist was added to the story, and then transitions to The Silver Chair. View the interview here; he starts talking about the LotGK at the 2:48 mark. (Thanks to Danyelle)

NF: Does [the green mist] foreshadow The Lady of the Green Kirtle?
DG: Well, that’s probably why the mist is green. But, that’s the only foreshadowing effect.
[...]
NF: Would Green Kirtle Lady be a new cast or would Tilda–
DG: I think it will have to be a new cast. This evil spirit has found a new, young body in which to inhabit, and I think that has to happen.

NF: Do you know if the plan is to go forward with The Silver Chair if this one does really well?
DG: Well, that’s a moot point. We are still in discussions as to exactly what to do next. The leading opinion, I think, among the filmmakers is that we should do Silver Chair. There are probably some who would like to do The Magician’s Nephew or something. This is a decision we will have to make when we know whether we’re going to be making another Narnia movie.

Barbara Kellerman

For budgetary reasons, the BBC Narnia productions cast the same actress (Barbara Kellerman) as both The White Witch and The Lady of the Green Kirtle. Some fans have been speculating about whether Walden might take the same route and cast Tilda Swinton as the Lady of the Green Kirtle. Now it appears they will cast a new actress.

IMDb currently has The Silver Chair listed for a 2011 release, but this is NOT an official announcement. The reason as to why it is listed as a 2011 release can be found on our FAQ page here. Keep checking back; maybe there will be an announcement soon!

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader made an estimated $12.4m in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $42.7m. Together with its foreign box office totals of $123m, the film has now made $166,420,000.

Tron took first place this weekend, making $43.6m and Yogi Bear came in second with $16.7m.

Click here to view the week 2 results at Box Office Mojo.

The Official Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Facebook page is giving away four props from the movie — Eustace’s diary, Lucy’s letter from Susan, Lord Mavramorn’s ring, and Lord Restimar’s shield.
To enter, go to the official Facebook page and click the Competition Tab at the top. Enter your name, email address, and the state you live in and hit submit. Open to US residents only.

From BoxOfficeMojo.com: “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader had a better second Friday percentage hold than The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Golden Compass and Eragon. The fantasy sequel dipped 57 percent to an estimated $3.55 million. Its $33.9 million tally in eight days was still below par.”
Meanwhile Tron: Legacy opened with an estimated $18 million.
A full review from this weekend and hopefully some overseas numbers will be available tomorrow or Tuesday.