The Voyage of the Dawn Treader marks the first time Okabayashi has worked as a 1st AD [assistant director] from prep to wrap. “I think the biggest change from 2nd AD to 1st is that as the 2nd I was the executor of the plan; as the 1st I create the plan.

“Last Friday was the big storm sequence on the ship,” Okabayashi explains with a boyish glee. “We’re talking rain, mist, violent winds, and dump tanks and water cannons for waves, which all have to be created at an exterior location without real storms or weather taking us out. The actors, kids, stunts and background are all on the ship, which is 20 feet above ground on a gimbal that rocks the boat so hard the performers have to be harnessed so they don’t fall off. You just have to sit back and think, ‘Wow! That was really cool.’”

Okabayashi has worked on all three Narnia films
as the first assistant director on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and the second assistant director for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian.

The full interview is available on DGA Quarterly’s website here.

Thanks to icarus for the heads-up!

Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader: A Guide to Exploring the Journey beyond Narnia by Devin Brown
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: Quest for the Lost Lords (I Can Read Book 2)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: Aboard the Dawn Treader (I Can Read Book 2)

There is no sign yet of a Dawn Treader Official Illustrated Movie Companion.

Thanks to 7chronicles for the heads-up!

ChristianityToday

It is definitly worth reading the entire article, but here are some highlights that will get everyone talking:

The Ending:

Kathy Keller: “I’m glad the final interaction between Aslan and Lucy was there in its unadulterated entirety, because I consider that the pinnacle of the entire seven books.”

I have spoken with Tirian, and he confirmed that the line “there I have another name” is in the film! This is something NarniaWebbers have been concerned about for some time. Rejoice!

The Undragoning:

Keller says she learned that writers originally wanted Eustace, still in dragon form, to fight a sea monster and “earn” his return to human form. But she says Flaherty, a committed Christian, “put them straight that you don’t earn grace, you receive it once you are humbled and aware of your need.”

Tirian also confirmed that, in the film, we will see Aslan ripping the dragon skin off of Eustace! If you have not read the book, you are probably incredibly confused right now. If you have… rejoice again!

And now for the big spoiler:

“I was less than enthusiastic about the imposition of an invented quest to recover the seven swords of the seven lords to undo some evil magic of a new witch,” [Keller] said. “It is a fairly innocuous addition, but as a purist I would have been happier without it.”

Tirian confirmed the bit about the seven swords, but added: “I haven’t seen any evidence of a new witch being added to this story.”

There is sure to be both positive and negative reactions to these spoilers, but it seems that just about everyone in attendance, even those that disliked the first two films, was generally very happy with what they saw and heard.

Thanks to Icarus for the tip!

UPDATE: There was a good deal of confusion due to the line about a witch being in the film. And while both Tirian and Specter from NarniaFans denied it, it was thought that perhaps they weren’t present when the information was given.

However, ChristianityToday released this statement today which puts any confusion to rest. “CT has since learned from Walden that the ‘new witch’ is not in the final version of the film, but was scrapped during script discussions.” So there you go, no witch!

Thanks PrincessMia241 and Narnialover101 for the heads-up!

The production has asked us to remove the photo and we have complied.

The Dufflepuds are one of the most memorable parts of the book, but they will likely be challenging to visualize for the screen. We don’t know much about how they will be achieved. Will they be entirely computer-generated? Or half CG, half makeup (e.g. Tumnus)? All we know is that green screen tests were shot during pre-production. This picture seems to suggest that at least their upper body will be filmed on set, but it may also be that Billings just wore this to interact with the actors on set and will eventually be replaced with a fully computer-generated character.

Another issue is the character’s height. According to the book, the Dufflepuds are about dwarf-sized, but Billings is certainly not. Will they find ways to make him appear shorter, like the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings?

Thanks to Grant for the find!

Narnia Panel Discussion

The first group in the Narnia discussion panel was Professor Devin Brown of Asbury College (and author of Inside Narnia), Walden Media President Micheal Flaherty, and Douglas Gresham, the stepson of C.S. Lewis. They told the story of how Walden got the franchise in the first place and about how this film came to be. Gresham also shared some anecdotes about life with Jack (C.S. Lewis).

The next panel was made up of David Weil (CEO of Anschutz Film Group) and Elizabeth Gabler (President of Fox 2000 Pictures). David told the story of moving the production from Disney to Fox and Elizabeth shared that she had flown to New York to try to secure the rights to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at the same time that Walden was doing so. She was disappointed not to secure the rights to make the films so when the opportunity came up to work on Dawn Treader she jumped at it.

Concept Art

Next, Michael Apted and Mark Johnson were interviewed. He shared that this is a very character-driven film and that it is not going to be a film that has special effects without any real content. He said this movie is about temptation and learning how to overcome it, wrapped in an adventure story. Michael then took us through a 20-minute presentation with concept art and a few still frames to give us the basic outline of the movie. He described the five islands, where we’ll see them, and what will happen on each one. He also pointed out how each island will have a different and unique look to it.

I’m not going to go into a lot of depth here or share a lot of spoilers, but I will tell you that the concept art looks very good. Some of the still shots in particular show the tremendous work of cinematographer Dante Spinotti. There were shots of Goldwater and the sailing Dawn Treader which blew me away. Just the concept art that we were shown of Aslan at the end of the film made my heart catch in my throat.

Apted’s description of the movie’s storyline made a lot of sense. I can now see the storyline complete with changes that they’ve made and the rough outlook seems like it will work really well.

A Super Trailer

Finally, we were treated to about five minutes of the film. The format was that of a trailer, with small 5-20 second scenes one after another. There were some shots that weren’t complete yet and still needed the full CGI treatment. Toward the end of the presentation it began to feel a bit more like a trailer with quick shots and cuts back and forth. I’d say the whole piece together could be described as a super-trailer.

Without giving away too much, I will mention a few things about the footage we saw. There were shots of the transition into Narnia and some shots onboard the Dawn Treader with Eustace (quite funny). We saw some interaction between Lucy and Gael and quite a lot of shots of Lucy in the magician’s house. There were a few finished shots of Reepicheep, several “beauty shots” of the Dawn Treader sailing, and some incredible shots of the entrance to Aslan’s Country from the end of the film. Liam Neeson’s lines have been recorded so we heard Aslan several times throughout the footage.

Can’t Wait For This Film

As you can imagine, it was intensely exciting getting to see these first images from the film. My first impressions are that Michael Apted’s Narnia “feels” like the same Narnia that we’ve seen on film so far. The new director has brought a new energy and vision to the project, but the continuity between the previous films is vastly encouraging. The visuals are completely stunning. As good as we thought the Dawn Treader looked during filming, it looks much better on screen and sailing on the water–just absolutely phenomenal! All the footage that I have seen tells me that this is going to be a very well-built, well-paced film with a lot of attention to detail and character.

I’d like to thank to Walden Media, Twentieth Century Fox, and Grace Hill Media (event hosts) for the invitation this weekend. I came away more excited than ever for this film. I was really encouraged by what I saw on all fronts: directing, cinematography, and storyline. Fans: you are going to love what you see when you see it!

My colleague Paul Martin of NarniaFans was at the event as well. I’d encourage you to check out his report posted here.

This news was revealed by Nighy himself in an interview with David Frost posted on YouTube which can be seen here. (Comment made at 5:26.)

Eddie Izzard voiced Reepicheep in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. There is no word on why he was replaced for Dawn Treader.

Bill Nighy, the 60-year-old actor from England, is probably most famous for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean as the octopus-faced Davy Jones. His full list of films can be viewed on his IMDb profile here.

Full credit for the find goes to ladisneyprincesse on IMDB. Thanks to icarus for the heads-up!

So what do you think? Go back to the homepage, scroll down, and vote!

In the early months of production on “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” Martin met Courtney at a youth services meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They first became friends before Martin asked her out on their very first date in late 2005 — a visit to their local theater to see the first “Narnia” movie.

Now four years into their courtship, friends and family began asking the obvious question — was marriage in their future.

And, thatʼs where the third filmʼs title character played another role — as a backdrop for Martinʼs proposal of marriage to Courtney. That special moment took place just after Noon on Monday, September 21, a day after the couple had flown on three separate flights from Grand Rapids to Brisbane, Australia. Arriving a little more than 24 hours before he popped the crucial question.

The whole article is pretty amazing. Read the rest of it here.

On behalf of NarniaWeb, we’d like to offer our hearty congratulations to both Paul and Courtney! Way to go Paul!

While Prince Caspian received a lot of flack, Narnia was never destined to be the next Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, despite its auspicious beginning. The first movie was based on the only widely-known book in the Narnia series and it was a complete journey, whereas all of the Potters and Rings were famous and had the benefit of story continuity. The wait was longer between the Narnia movies than for Potter and Rings, and Prince Caspian came off as just another fantasy adventure, nearly indistinguishable from the plethora of similar fantasies made in the wake of Potter and Rings.

Read the full report here.

In the final paragraph, he writes, “One should expect the ship to sink further than Prince Caspian.” Let’s prove him wrong, NarniaWebbers! As Douglas Gresham would say, bring your friends, and have them bring their friends (and enemies too).

Thanks to narnian1 and Kotarki for the heads-up!

Post-production continues in London, but we have been experiencing a bit of a news drought since filming wrapped. Perhaps the return of the official site is a signal that updates are soon to come. Keep checking back as the countdown to the release of the first footage continues! (In the meantime, running your mouse over the logo is pretty fun. Try it.)

When it was proposed (or mandated) that Skandar and co-stars Will Poulter and
Georgie Henley don a wet suit to earn their scuba PADI (Professional Association of
Diving Instructors) certificate before filming commenced on “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” the teenage trio dove right in, you might say, to yet another adventure and challenge.

The third book in C.S. Lewis’ series begins when the two youngest Pevensies, along with their irritating cousin Eustace, are swallowed into a bedroom wall painting, which depicts a ship sailing on the high seas.

To create the effect of the bedroom flooding with water, the production’s mechanical SFX crew, under the direction of veteran movie magician Brian Cox, and working with Barry Robison’s and Ian Gracie’s crack art department and construction crew, duplicated the sound stage bedroom set on an elevated platform which was then dunked into the smaller of Warner Roadshow’s two exterior studio water tanks. The three actors were then instructed to swim out of the bedroom door and windows to the surface.

Weeks before their scenes were filmed, Keynes, Poulter and Henley underwent a three-day scuba diving course under the supervision of Aussie diving instructor Andrew Allen. The actors trained in a local swimming pool and at sea.

You can say they all took to the lessons like fish to water.

After a relatively short rehearsal period in the studio tanks, filming began on the bedroom water scenes in late July, the first week of production. A short time later, the three young actors dove into a second studio tank, to enact the moments where they surface in the ocean and are saved by Caspian and his crew aboard the Dawn Treader.

You can read the full blog on the official Facebook page here.

Thanks to everybody who sent this spy report in!