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Disney ditches Narnia
News24 ^ | 12/25/08 | (SA) staff

Posted on 12/25/2008 5:50:35 PM PST by grandpa jones

Los Angeles - Disney confirmed Wednesday that it would not be involved in the third film of "The Chronicles of Narnia" fantasy series, dealing a blow to the franchise based on CS Lewis's classic books.

A spokesperson for Disney confirmed in an e-mail that the company had chosen not to exercise an option to co-produce and co-finance the next Narnia film with producers Walden Media.

The Hollywood Reporter cited "budgetary and logistical reasons" for Disney's decision, which leaves the third film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader facing an uncertain future.

The film was due to start filming early next year with a release date tentatively set for 2010.

The two previous films in the series The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian have grossed more than $1.1bn worldwide since the first film was released in 2005.

(Excerpt) Read more at news24.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: antichristian; boycottdisney; christianmedia; cslewis; dawntreader; disney; hollywood; homosexualagenda; narnia; waltsrotatingcorpse
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To: grandpa jones

well, to be fair, disney didn’t get 1.1 billion, that is just the gross number (box office only? not sure) I think studios get only roughly half of box office grosses.

I do wonder what the 2 films cost to make.


21 posted on 12/25/2008 6:47:22 PM PST by WoofDog123
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To: pvoce

“2: Its been nearly 10 years since any LOTR movies.”

actually exactly 5 since RotK was released...but agree in any event.


22 posted on 12/25/2008 6:48:33 PM PST by WoofDog123
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To: grandpa jones

There was a cooling of interest, the second movie made only 2/3 what the first did, 1/2 domestically, and cost 20 million more to make. That’s bad math.


23 posted on 12/25/2008 6:52:08 PM PST by dilvish
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To: angcat
I got stuck watching that last night with my kids. I wanted to stick nails in my eyes it was so boring.

I thought both movies were very good and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Are you numb to the good vs evil battle going on in the world today?
24 posted on 12/25/2008 6:56:17 PM PST by RushingWater (You say Obama - I say Ayers)
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To: jas3; piytar; Charles Henrickson; grandpa jones
Lion grossed over $700M. Prince grossed over $400M. So yes, there was a drop off, but $400M+ movies aren’t exactly failures, or even easy to find...

Foreign Gross doesn't matter. It might be nice for the studio, but if a film doesn't make its money back domestic, there won't be enough pie to make it worthwhile for the distributors and exhibitors who don't share foreign.

LWW 180M to make, 290M domestic. More importantly opening weekend $18,000/screen, still over $1000 weekend 16.

Prince Caspian 200M to make, 140M domestic. Opening weekend $14000/screen, down to 1000 after 10-11 weeks.

25 posted on 12/25/2008 6:57:18 PM PST by Oztrich Boy (Kill the English their concept of individual rights might undermine the power of our beloved tyrants)
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To: aruanan
Holy crap, no!

Did you read the books? It's a cartoon all the way.

26 posted on 12/25/2008 6:57:36 PM PST by the invisib1e hand (appeasement is collaboration.)
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To: pvoce
Lord of the Rings, or "LOTR" as you referred to it, was the most painful theatrical torture I have ever sat through.

You must be younger than I am -- the generation that needs to have things pounded into it.

27 posted on 12/25/2008 6:58:47 PM PST by the invisib1e hand (appeasement is collaboration.)
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To: RushingWater
I was numb last night. I don't relate the War on Terror to a fantasy movie.
28 posted on 12/25/2008 6:58:57 PM PST by angcat ("When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe".)
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To: grandpa jones

“$1.1 billion? Yeah, that kind of ‘cooling of interest’ says that there is more to this story than interest.”

No kidding!


29 posted on 12/25/2008 7:01:27 PM PST by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: grandpa jones

What I want to see is a computer-generated film of George Washington (done like the movie “300” was done), broken into 3 parts: Washington’s early years up until the French & Indian War, Washington at the beginning and end of the Revolution, and Washington at the Constitutional Convention then President to his death. Since it’s all CGI, all you would need is good voice actors & actresses and all 3 parts could probably be made at a reasonable $250 million.


30 posted on 12/25/2008 7:02:38 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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To: the invisib1e hand

“Call the people who did Shreck. Narnia is supposed to be animated.”

Hell no! I thought “Lion” was very well done the way it was, and I haven’t seen “Casprian” so I can’t comment on that one.


31 posted on 12/25/2008 7:06:11 PM PST by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: the invisib1e hand
Doesn't work as a cartoon. Already been done, twice, once by the BBC. Neither was particularly successful.

The only method that might work would be a mix of live action and very cutting edge animation, like parts of Bakshi's uncompleted "Lord of the Rings" -- which was awful in itself but had some really good ideas buried in the mess.

32 posted on 12/25/2008 7:15:55 PM PST by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse (TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary - recess appointment))
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To: grandpa jones

31 replies and nobody has been clever enough to make a reference to “Hollyweird” yet? I’m shocked.


33 posted on 12/25/2008 7:22:51 PM PST by Dan Middleton
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To: AnAmericanMother
Doesn't work as a cartoon. Already been done, twice, once by the BBC. Neither was particularly successful.

dude, that was high school work from the last century; nay, the last millenium.

"Action" is not what the Chronicles of Narnia are about. If that's what you're after...maybe you want a Mel Gibson movie.

A fantasy about talking animals can only be carried off with first rate animation, like Disney used to do.

34 posted on 12/25/2008 7:26:20 PM PST by the invisib1e hand (appeasement is collaboration.)
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To: the invisib1e hand; ought-six; AnAmericanMother; aruanan
Call the people who did Shreck. Narnia is supposed to be animated.

Are you joking? Hard to tell. Andrew Adamson directed both Narnia films—as well as Shrek I and II. Don't think he would agree with you on the animation thing.

He was actually in a bit of a quandry when Caspian rolled around, because as a fan of the Narnia books, he had already done his version of Reepicheep with Puss… in Boots. He had to come up with a new angle.

35 posted on 12/25/2008 7:27:58 PM PST by GOP Jedi (Democracy, Immigration, Multiculturalism -- Pick Any Two)
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To: grandpa jones

Probably creative differences. If a modern Disney movie doesn’t have its minimum quota of burps and farts, it would appear they won’t touch it. I don’t remember any of that in the first movie, so I suspect they’ve hit their limit.


36 posted on 12/25/2008 7:47:58 PM PST by MCH
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To: the invisib1e hand
Disney animation, even from the golden days, doesn't really work for this sort of story (and if you're worried about primitive animation from the last century, that seems a bit contradictory).

It's not a straight "talking animal" flick, and it's not really an action film (my kind of action film leans towards Kurosawa anyhow), it has a mythic, numinous quality that's difficult to capture. "The Last Unicorn" is another example of how a mythic fantasy doesn't translate to cartoons. Mostly because some of the characters (Aslan, the Unicorn) have to appear fundamentally different from both the other animals and the humans in the story. Cartoons make all the characters look alike. I loved the book of "Unicorn" but hated the cartoon.

The CGI combined with live actors seems to me to be the best way to approach this sort of story.

37 posted on 12/25/2008 7:48:52 PM PST by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse (TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary - recess appointment))
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To: grandpa jones
$1.1 billion? Yeah, that kind of "cooling of interest" says that there is more to this story than interest.

If I had three seconds to guess what large corporation leads all others in the number of homosexuals employed, I'd have to guess...

...that one.

38 posted on 12/25/2008 7:53:06 PM PST by unspun (PRAY & WORK FOR FREEDOM - investigatingobama.blogspot.com)
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To: piytar
It is political. The Narnia Chronicles are a Christian allegory. Gee, shock that Disney won’t touch it, despite the proven bankability. Actually shocked they touched the first two. Even more shocked they didn’t manage to screw them up...

Right. I imagine some of the Disney executives actually started reading C.S. Lewis and got offended all over themselves.

Lewis wrote not only about absolute truth in God (the real, one in the Bible) but discussed such things as universal gender themes, which speak of the nature of God and man. Oops!

39 posted on 12/25/2008 7:56:24 PM PST by unspun (PRAY & WORK FOR FREEDOM - investigatingobama.blogspot.com)
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To: grandpa jones

I wonder if C.S. Lewis Christian allegory aspects had ~anything~ to do with it!


40 posted on 12/25/2008 7:58:10 PM PST by JSDude1 (Like the failed promise of Fascism masquerading as Capitalism? You're gonna love Marxism- Nephi)
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