The Chronicles of Narnia - The Silver Chair (Directed by Joe Johnston)

[BloodBoal 7491]

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[Jay 9923]

That's lame, they should make the Silver Chair next.

I don't care if they ever make a Horse and His Boy or not, but it would be weird to do The Silver Chair after Magician's Nephew, before The Last Battle

[Quintus 3522]

So these movies still make money, then?

[Faleel J.M. 1503]

what sucks is that if the kid who played eustace dies or gets super old, the franchise will die

[Stefancos 8204]

Either recast him of hire Andy Serkiss!

[ChuckM 1]

what sucks is that if the kid who played eustace dies or gets super old, the franchise will die

That's my concern more than anything. They'll need to make The Silver Chair soon or they'll have to recast, and Will Poulter was perfect as Eustace.

Either way though, I'm very glad to hear that the franchise is continuing!

[Koray Savas 1191]

Now the question is: Who will be directing?

[John Crichton 4]

Who will be scoring?

[Koray Savas 1191]

Well the answer to my question should answer your question.

[El Jefe 435]

So these movies still make money, then?

Nowhere near the first one. But apparently enough to continue cranking out films.

Narnia : $292 million Domestic $453 million Foreign

Narnia 2 : $142 million Domestic $278 million Foreign

Narnia 3 : $104 million Domestic $282 million Foreign

[crocodile 3532]

The more acoustic and traditional the scores, the less successful the films.

David Arnold's usage of 7 themes in this film nearly killed the franchise. Somebody stop him!

Karol

[El Jefe 435]

Part of me thinks the first film came at a time when the genre was going strong or at its tail end.

[crocodile 3532]

Maybe. I kind of wish they made the other parts of The Golden Compass thing. It wasn't nearly as bad as people say.

Karol

[Jay 9923]

I agree

[Faleel J.M. 1503]

I believe that had to do with all of the boycotters

[John Crichton 4]

Part of me thinks the first film came at a time when the genre was going strong or at its tail end.

Lord of the Rings coattails. I mean, they even filmed in New Zealand!

[Stefancos 8204]

Yeah, this was always LOTR's rather stupid litte brother.

[Delorean90 22]

That's what I hate. I still haven't seen PC or VDT, but my opinion of the first film has diminished since I first saw it as a 15-year-old. There's a certain cute glossiness to it--and it may actually be mostly visual, but it makes a big impact. I feel as though they could be taken more seriously while still holding their own place, removed as far as possible from any negative LOTR comparisons. The Magician's Nephew is a great place to do that, but frankly, in my admittedly uninformed state, I'd almost wish for someone else to take the reins and just start over.

[Faleel J.M. 1503]

More like LOTR's "stupid" friend

[crocodile 3532]

That's what I hate. I still haven't seen PC or VDT, but my opinion of the first film has diminished since I first saw it as a 15-year-old. There's a certain cute glossiness to it--and it may actually be mostly visual, but it makes a big impact. I feel as though they could be taken more seriously while still holding their own place, removed as far as possible from any negative LOTR comparisons. The Magician's Nephew is a great place to do that, but frankly, in my admittedly uninformed state, I'd almost wish for someone else to take the reins and just start over.

I used to like the old BBC version. It didn't need all the digital effects to make an impression on me when I was a kid. The newer version seemed like cheating. And very artificial looking at that. I didn't care.

Karol

[John Crichton 4]

I'd like to see the Beeb's Narnia. Give me solid writing, performances, and pure charm over technical glossiness any day.

[Faleel J.M. 1503]

I don't tknow about the performances, The White Witch was TOO LOUD for me..

here is what to expect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u3wzX5dxJo

[Uni 304]

Yeah, I think you'd find it pretty well short of "solid" when it comes to performances and pure charm.

For me, it was Lucy that did it in. She was purely annoying, even just to look at. It actually made you root for Edmund when he started bullying her.

- Uni

[Faleel J.M. 1503]

I have to say it got better with Caspian

[Koray Savas 1191]

Ironic, since Lucy was my favorite part of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. She had acting chops.

[Uni 304]

I assume you mean the newer version--in which case, I agree. She made a very solid foundation for the film (which was necessary, given the importance of her role).

- Uni

[Koray Savas 1191]

Ah, I assumed you were talking about the newer version as well. So we agree!

[John Crichton 4]

Yeah, I think you'd find it pretty well short of "solid" when it comes to performances and pure charm.

Yes, that clip is not very promising. The White Witch is seriously OTT. But even the Beeb gets it wrong sometimes (classic Doctor Who has its fair share of duffers).

I have to agree about Lucy in the new Lion, Witch and Wardrobe film, she was easily the best of the kids. And I loved James McAvoy's Tumnus, that was a great performance. I remember being quite excited by rumors of him maybe getting to play Bilbo when Del Tormo was still doing The Hobbit.

[King Mark 1613]

The more acoustic and traditional the scores, the less successful the films.

David Arnold's usage of 7 themes in this film nearly killed the franchise. Somebody stop him!

Karol

It's not Arnold the film just sucked bid time

[Uni 304]

Ah, I assumed you were talking about the newer version as well. So we agree!

I think we're going in two separate directions here. I was referring to the Lucy in the BBC production--she was the annoying one (and had cheeks like Dizzy Gillespie to boot). The Lucy in the new version was hardly annoying. I was indeed agreeing that she had good acting chops.

- Uni

[ChuckM 1]

What exactly are acting chops?

[Matt C 228]

Lord of the Rings coattails. I mean, they even filmed in New Zealand!

The first film shot a majority of scenes in NZ, but some outdoor and interior stuff were shot in Prague and Poland.

Realistically, the first book was so popular and that's why a lot of people saw it. And it was charming and an ideal holiday film. The second one had several problems, namely the summer 2008 date and the huge budget. The third film did somewhat better, due to the holiday release and decent word-of-mouth.

Yeah, I think you'd find it pretty well short of "solid" when it comes to performances and pure charm.

For me, it was Lucy that did it in. She was purely annoying, even just to look at. It actually made you root for Edmund when he started bullying her.

- Uni

It was a while since I've seen the BBC miniseries, but it hasn't aged well. Tilda Swinton's Jadis easily trumps that old hag in the miniseries, as well as the new quartet.

[paleo 13]

Yeah, I think you'd find it pretty well short of "solid" when it comes to performances and pure charm.

For me, it was Lucy that did it in. She was purely annoying, even just to look at. It actually made you root for Edmund when he started bullying her.

- Uni

I totally agree... I bought the series on DVD for nostalgic reasons, but was sort of shocked how poorly it had aged. And yes, Lucy and the Witch are both really annoying.

[El Jefe 435]

Lord of the Rings coattails. I mean, they even filmed in New Zealand!

The first film shot a majority of scenes in NZ, but some outdoor and interior stuff were shot in Prague and Poland.

Realistically, the first book was so popular and that's why a lot of people saw it. And it was charming and an ideal holiday film. The second one had several problems, namely the summer 2008 date and the huge budget. The third film did somewhat better, due to the holiday release and decent word-of-mouth.

Correct, they made the mistake of pushing the second one to a summer release. And truthfully the poor performance of the second film more than likely affected the third. I don't know the DVD and rental figures.

I haven't seen the second 2, I found the first one to be rather silly and laughable, especially in its message but that's for offline discussions. And people could be tiring of that genre, it's going to be interesting to see how well the Hobbit films are received and whether or not PJ can recapture the magic.

[paleo 13]

You may find that Prince Caspian is quite different in style, tone and message from the first one... I guess that's what really killed its box office performance; there's hardly anything of the "message" in it... hence the loss of its original audience.

[El Jefe 435]

Perhaps that did play a reason.

[Jay 9923]

The second one was just a big action movie

Haven't seen the third

[paleo 13]

The third one goes back to the roots... very little real danger and also not much action in it, but a good dose of what many people liked about the original one. Strange it didn't do better; guess they never forgave them the second movie and thus didn't give Dawn Treader a chance.

[crocodile 3532]

I haven't seen the second of the third film, but I remember very little happening in the second book. Is it that different?

Karol

[paleo 13]

They vastly expanded the story of the novel; adding a raid on the Telmarines' castle by the Narnians, for example.

[Charlie Brigden 2]

Also: kids. Kids in movies like this do not generally do well above the teenage bracket, which is where LOTR scored bigtime.

[Koray Savas 1191]

Prince Caspian is just terrible.

[Jay 9923]

Why?

[Koray Savas 1191]

The acting and dialogue were cringe-worthy, and it was just overall really boring. I recall nothing happening for like the first 40 minutes.

[paleo 13]

Well, I thought it wasn't that bad. I liked that it was less of a kiddie movie, and it's visually appealing.

[Faleel J.M. 1503]

The acting and dialogue were cringe-worthy, and it was just overall really boring. I recall nothing happening for like the first 40 minutes.

thats because you got to the theater "room" 40 minutes early! LOL

[John Crichton 4]

Also: kids. Kids in movies like this do not generally do well above the teenage bracket, which is where LOTR scored bigtime.

Exactly. To most people child leads + talking animals = kids movie.

[Red 71]

Unless there's a serious upgrade in quality with the next film I don't hold much hope for the franchise continuing and eventually concluding. The fact that there were doubts about whether a fourth film would be made says a lot, considering these are adaptations of a classic fantasy book series, a la Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.

[Matt C 228]

Strange it didn't do better; guess they never forgave them the second movie and thus didn't give Dawn Treader a chance.

Technically, Dawn Treader did narrowly outgross Prince Caspian internationally. And while it's domestic gross is less than the first two, it had pretty good legs throughout the holiday season. (Originally, its $24M opening weekend gross spelled disaster and it wasn't expected to cross $100M domestically.)

[paleo 13]

Strange it didn't do better; guess they never forgave them the second movie and thus didn't give Dawn Treader a chance.

Technically, Dawn Treader did narrowly outgross Prince Caspian internationally. And while it's domestic gross is less than the first two, it had pretty good legs throughout the holiday season. (Originally, its $24M opening weekend gross spelled disaster and it wasn't expected to cross $100M domestically.)

Sure, I just meant that it didn't come close to the first movie in success even though they really tried to make it more like it again.