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[Patrick]

Release Dates

UK - 27th June 2008

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Today this article was posted on http://www.stuff.co.nz

Disney has axed plans to make The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe sequel in New Zealand, wasting pre-production work and potentially leaving about 200 crew jobless.

And New Zealanders have been warned they must lift their game if they want to keep their edge in the film industry.

The Andrew Adamson-directed Prince Caspian was set to be based in New Zealand.

But Walt Disney International president Andy Bird has announced that the film, which it is making with Walden Media, will be shot entirely at Britain's Pinewood Studios, including all the post-production work, The Times reported.

Mr Bird, a Briton, said that the United States media giant was determined to shoot in Britain as part of its policy of localising its image by basing productions away from America, the newspaper reported.

Pre-production work on the Chronicles of Narnia sequel - with a reported budget of $300 million - was already well under way in New Zealand.

Weta Workshop was also reported to be doing the film's special effects.

The five-week shoot alone was understood to be worth at least $10 million to New Zealand's industry.

Neither Adamson nor Prince Caspian's producer, fellow Kiwi Tim Coddington, returned calls last night.

However, one industry source said there was a possibility some minor location filming could still be done in New Zealand.

The film's departure casts doubts on Walden Media's future in New Zealand - it has made Waterhorse and Bridge to Terabithia here in the past year alone.

The decision also highlights the increasing competition among countries trying to score studio shoots. New Zealand Screen Council executive director Tim Thorpe said the country had to lift its game if it did not want to be left behind with countries such as the United States, Australia and Canada all upping their offerings to studios through incentives and tax breaks. "We're a small player, we have punched above our weight."

The Times reported that Britain's new film tax incentives, introduced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and due to take effect from next year, had played a key role in luring the studio.

Prince Caspian's makers were considering New Zealand, the Czech Republic and Ireland as locations for the film.

Despite its budget, it is unlikely Prince Caspian would have qualified for a 12.5 per cent rebate through the Large Budget Screen Production Grant scheme, because an overseas studio needed to spend more than $50 million in New Zealand if it was not shooting the entire film here.

Mr Thorpe said Disney was obviously taking advantage of the new tax opportunity.

There was no doubt the grants scheme, which saw nearly $50 million returned from King Kong, had helped lure big studios, he said.

The council recommended last year that the grant's scope be widened, including lowering its threshold.

"The Government, when we made those recommendations, chose not to take any of them on board at that time, but I understand that next year they will be looking at (it) again."

So looks like Pinewood will get the movie, just hope this does not cut on the realistic look that was seen in the lion, witch and the wardrobe.  I mean the article compares the idea to Kong and that just turned out fantastic didn't it :lol: .

[Kristof]

MADRID — Alicia Borrachero has been cast as Prunaprismia, the wife of General Miraz, Narnia's evil king in Andrew Adamson's "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

Pic is the second film in the Disney and Walden Media franchise.

Spain's Borrachero previously played Escolastica, a devout aunt, in Mike Newell's "Love in the Time of Cholera." She is repped in Europe by Katrina Bayonas, head of Madrid-based Kuranda.

Source

[Kristof]

Some random news from IGN.com

March 19, 2007 - Disney announced another addition to the cast of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian as production continues in New Zealand and the Czech Republic. Mexican actor Damián Alcázar has been cast as Lord Sopespian, a Telmarine noble and military leader who secretly plots to overthrow King Miraz. Alcázar has won numerous Silver Arial awards in Mexico for best actor, the latest being for his part in the 2006 fantasy-drama Las Vueltas del citrillo.

In other Narnia news, Disney has been promoting the film along with its other upcoming pictures at ShoWest, the annual motion picture industry convention. Although there's not much in the way of footage to show off just yet, attendees were treated to a production reel with concept art for the new characters and computer-generated battle pre-visualizations. The impression among those who saw it is that Prince Caspian is indeed going to be a "bigger" film than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

[disney_dudette]

Why are they making number 2 & 4 and not 1&3? Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is no. 2 and prince caspian is no. 4! :evil: My fave The magicans Nephew is no.1 and the houres and his boy is no.3! NO FAIR
 :cry:

[Anthony]

They've got a page up for this on BVI's UK website already, including a backstage preview with Ben Barnes, Prince Caspian himself (incl. some very brief shots from the film):

http://www.bvimovies.com/cinema/narniap ... spian.html

He's much cooler already than the other kids, isn't he? :lol:

[The Butlin Boy]

Thanks for the link Baloo, the film looks great

[Soap]

New poster, dutch site, but the poster speaks all tongs  

//http://www.filmtotaal.nl/module.php?section=newsDetails&newsID=9723&titel=Prince_Caspian_poster

[Anthony]

Brilliant poster, just spotted it on Jim Hill. Very nice colours and design. Kinda reminds me of Zelda... can only be a good thing.

[peep]

Wow, does look good. It seems a bit odd the way they are choosing the books to make into films though. Meh, can't wait to see more.

[Anthony]

I've never read any of the books, but maybe they're picking them out a bit at random with the intention of mixing it up? The Harry Potter series is a bit dull the way it trundles on every year or so with the next book. It becomes less "this'd make an awesome film!" than "right, what's next?".

At least this one has a nice short title, unlike planned Narnia 3 -- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Phew. :lol:

[experiment627]

The first teaser trailer has been released: //http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809244324/video/5318792

Looks halfway promising, I'd say...

[Soap]

I've never read any of the books, but maybe they're picking them out a bit at random with the intention of mixing it up? The Harry Potter series is a bit dull the way it trundles on every year or so with the next book. It becomes less "this'd make an awesome film!" than "right, what's next?".

At least this one has a nice short title, unlike planned Narnia 3 -- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Phew. :lol:

No that's not quite the reason. There's the book order (just the simpel 1,2,3,etc) as intended by the writer which was not chronological and there's the chronological order that was decided by the book editor later.

For more background, just check the wikipedia
//http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narnia

[DisneyAlba]

No that's not quite the reason. There's the book order (just the simpel 1,2,3,etc) as intended by the writer which was not chronological and there's the chronological order that was decided by the book editor later.

For more background, just check the wikipedia
//http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narnia

Aha, that explains things! So, the movies are made in the order the books were originally published, and in this order the story itself is non-chronological.... Ahhh.

Interesting read on that Wiki, on the arguments for both reading orders. I think the whole "the magic of Narnia lies in the way it unfolds non-chronologically" argument has my sympathy, for this publishing order was most likely the order in which the stories came to the writer's own mind, too...
Ah well, to each his own.

[Anthony]

The new trailer looks very promising! Funnily enough I just watched the first film again yesterday for the first time in ages, I hope the sequel keeps some of the great things about it. Another short London sequence at the beginning is great to see for a start.

It looks very CGI-heavy later on, but I suppose that comes with the genre. Great colours and images though, nice to see what they're going to do with a summertime Narnia.

Strange to see that the older two kids actually look younger now... only Georgie Henley seems to have grown up.

[Anthony]

New trailer now in Quicktime and HD here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/th ... cecaspian/

And also here: http://www2.disney.co.uk/DisneyMovies/narnia/