Interview with Ben Barnes about VDT

Ben Barnes talks Voyage of the Dawn Treader

May 14th, 2009 by Paul Martin | Source: ComingSoon.net

ComingSoon.net has a fantastic interview with Ben Barnes about his role in Easy Virtue. Be sure to read the whole thing there. In the interview, though, the questions turn to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where Ben reveals… nothing about the movie! However, he is very excited to finally film the movie, which was supposed to start shooting twice in the last two years. We concur with that excitement.

CS: Of course, you’re going to go shoot “Dawn Treader” very soon. Have you read a script or started training or anything for it yet? Obviously, it was pushed back six or seven months.
Barnes: Twice. It was supposed to go the January before last, that was the original plan.

CS: You’ve known for a long time that you were going to do the movie eventually.
Barnes: But yeah, I know nothing about it. I know as much as anyone who has read the “Dawn Treader” book. Literally, that’s how much I know.

CS: Is there anything in the book you’re excited about doing?
Barnes: Yeah, there’s a lot of it! Obviously, I’m hoping Ramandu’s daughter is hot… there’s the beginning where he dives in and saves Lucy, there’s all the cool stuff with the golden pawn. I think the Lucy stuff, and the monopods where she goes to the Professor’s room and sees her past, that’ll be cool. The sea serpent and the mermaids and mermen will be cool.

CS: A lot of that stuff is visual FX though.
Barnes: It’s all very fantastical though, and I think just to be a part of that will be exciting. Make it a bit younger again and more fantasy world like the first one, more kind of discovery.

CS: Have you met with Michael Apted again since the first time?
Barnes: I met him on the set of “Prince Caspian” and I met him once after that.

CS: So they’ve just been off doing their own thing preparing.
Barnes: Yeah, I assume they’ve been working hard on it. I just don’t really know. I don’t have any information for you, I’m afraid, because I’m in the dark myself. I WISH I was one of those people who knew everything and were still like, “I’m afraid I can’t tell you.” I wish I was that guy.

CS: Well, I’m assuming that it’s basically the book.
Barnes: Yeah, but I’m still very intrigued and anxious about what stuff they’re going to leave… because “Dawn Treader” is such an episodic book. Read a chapter and that’s a kid’s book, and it doesn’t link together as a story. Apart from the fact they’re on this voyage, but you need motivation in a film, so the way they sew it together is going to be the interesting thing.

CS: Do you have your sea legs together to be able to do a lot of stuff on water? Or are you just going to have to…
Barnes: (shaking head) Wing it. I swim a lot. I swim most days. So no, I like that.

Read the full interview at ComingSoon.net, the site that doesn’t sleep

"VDT" to be financed by Fox

January 28, 2009 11:46PM
Fox Picks Up Next Narnia Film
One month after Disney bailed out of the franchise, Fox agrees to co-finance 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader'
Mark Moring

When Disney announced on Christmas Eve that it would no longer fund the Chronicles of Narnia movies, some wondered if the franchise was dead as Walden Media was left holding a very expensive ball--essentially all dressed up with no place to go (and not enough money to spend). Various stories have circulated about exactly why Disney bailed--everything from economic reasons to disagreements with Walden founder/funder Phil Anschutz--but the big question still remained: Would any major studio pick up the ball? Because Walden didn't have the money to move forward without any help.

That question was answered Wednesday when several publications--Variety, the LA Times, and the Hollywood Reporter--all ran stories saying that 20th Century Fox will pick up the tab to co-finance the third Narnia film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Variety reports that Fox and Walden "are still working out budget and script issues, but the hope is to shoot the film at the end of summer for a holiday 2010 release through the Fox Walden label." (Fox and Walden have partnered on most of Walden's other releases; only the Narnia films--The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian--were released through Disney.)

The Variety article also notes that while Caspian didn't earn nearly as much money as LWW, Caspian is also "considered the least commercially appealing of the seven C.S. Lewis Narnia novels" but nonetheless "ranked No. 10 in global box office performance last year. Dawn Treader is considered to be a more family film-friendly book, and the goal is to get back to the magical aspects present in the first Narnia pic but mostly absent from Prince Caspian."

'Narnia' to be found in Mexico

3rd film relocates production from New Zealand

By MARC GRASER

The third installment of Disney and Walden Media's "Chronicles of Narnia" franchise is sailing from New Zealand to Mexico.

Production of the first two pics -- "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian" -- was largely based in New Zealand because of government tax incentives. Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, which created most of the films' effects and props, also are based in that country.

But producers of the new pic, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader," to be directed by Michael Apted, needed several large soundstages plus a massive water tank. Title of the film refers to the ship that serves as a major set piece.

Because of that, production will move to Rosarito, Mexico, and set up shop at Baja Studios, where "Titanic," "Deep Blue Sea" and "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" were shot.

Basing the pic mainly in one location also will cut costs, sources close to the production said.

Location shots in Australia will still be filmed as planned.

Production originally was slated to start in October, but will now likely begin in January.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" shot mostly in New Zealand, while "Prince Caspian" also lensed in Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Soundstages were used in Prague.

Lack of studio space has long plagued New Zealand's film council, and officials have attempted to raise public and private funds to build more.

Country will take a financial hit because of "Narnia's" move. First pic ponied up $134 million, while "Prince Caspian" shelled out $52 million there, government officials have said.

Despite disappointment with the B.O. performance of "Prince Caspian," Disney and Walden are not attributing the move to Mexico to that film's haul.

Pic has earned $138 million domestically and another $178 million overseas so far, giving it a cume of $316 million. "The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe" earned $745 million worldwide.

"VDT" not to film in Czech Republic

Dawn Treader Not Filming at Barrandov Studios

NarniaWeb has learned from the German Narnia Fan Site, narnia-chroniken.de, that 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' will not be filmed at Barrandov Studios as originally planned. Filmmakers cite the higher taxes in the Czech Republic as the primary reason that the filming is moving to another (as of yet unannounced) location. Other locations such as Malta, Hungary, and New Zealand offer lower tax rates, luring more and more filmmakers to these locations. Barrandov Studios, located in Prague, is where the waterfall scene for 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' was filmed and where much of the studio work on 'Prince Caspian' was done. Barrandov-Studio spokesperson Vladimír Cuba expressed disappointment on Monday in the Czech media over the decision to film 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' elsewhere, and there are hopes that this may spur the Czech government to offer better tax incentives to foreign filmmakers.

Filming for 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' was originally set to begin in Malta in January, but due to the children's busy schedules, filming will not begin until Summer of 2008. There are also rumors that New Zealand and Australia will be used as filming locations instead.

Thanks to WardrobeWarrior for the head's up!

This story was originally published at Mediabiz.de

David Arnold to score "VDT"

From M16.co.uk: David will also be scoring the third Narnia film, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" for Disney/Walden and directed by Michael Apted , with whom David has scored three films ("The World is Not Enough", "Enough" and "Amazing Grace").

David Arnold has been nominated for many awards and has won a Grammy Award for his work on "Independence Day" and, more recently, a BMI Film Music Award for his work on "Casino Royale."

You can visit his website here.

VDT's release date delayed to 2010

According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the release date for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has just been pushed back to May 7, 2010. Whether this is the result of the impending strike next year or not, we don't know yet (read more about the strike here). Also, this date has not yet been confirmed by Disney or Walden. As soon as we get more official news on this development, we will let you know.

UPDATE: ComingSoon.net is also reporting that the Dawn Treader release date has been changed to May 7, 2010.

UPDATE 2: We have received a confirmation e-mail from Disney.

UPDATE 3: Disney has sent us their official statement: In consideration of the challenging schedules for our young actors, Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media have chosen to delay the start of production for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" until summer 2008. The new release date for this highly anticipated third entry in the "Narnia" series will now be May 7, 2010.

Locations for "VDT" Named

In a new blog entry, KNB EFX guru Howard Berger mentions that work on Prince Caspian is now complete and he will be taking a short break before beginning work on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Filming on Dawn Treader will begin in late January. First up in the locations this time will be the island nation of Malta, as expected, followed by Prague and Iceland. Previous reports suggested that filming in Antarctica might be on the cards, but it now seems that Iceland will be used instead.

"VDT" to start filming in January

Apted on voyage with third 'Narnia'
By Carolyn Giardina and Borys Kit

June 20, 2007

Michael Apted has signed on to direct Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

This is the third installment in the series that includes the 2005 film "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," and the upcoming 2008 release of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian." "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" will begin filming in January and it is set for a May 1, 2009, release date.

Among the cast members who will reprise their "Narnia" roles are Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes.

Mark Johnson returns once again as producer. Andrew Adamson, who directed the first two films in the series, will continue his involvement by also serving as a producer on the project.

"We're thrilled that (Apted) will be directing 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' and feel that he brings his own unique sensibilities, filmmaking experience, and vision to the project," said Oren Aviv, president of production for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. "This latest 'Narnia' adventure will take people to an entirely different side of Narnia that no one has ever seen before, and is filled with lots of action, adventure, magic and wonder. We think moviegoers are going to be thrilled with this all-new installment."


Walden Media CEO Cary Granat added, "Michael Apted's extraordinary body of work has prepared him to tackle this enormously exciting adventure. We just had a wonderful experience working with him on 'Amazing Grace,' and we are confident that Michael will deliver a terrific film."

Apted's credits include "The World Is Not Enough," "Gorky Park," "Gorillas in the Mist" and "Coal Miner's Daughter," as well as his most recent film "Amazing Grace" (for Walden Media's sister company Bristol Bay Prods.) and the first three episodes of the HBO dramatic series "Rome."

He is represented by CAA and Alan Hergott, as well as Anthony Jones of Peters Fraser & Dunlop in London.

Dawn Treader's Release date: May 1, 2009

Movie Updates: 'Narnia' Production and 'Watchmen' Casting
By Melissa Wilson
Published 06/9/2007
Movies Rating: Unrated

Narnia Films to Go One After the Other Every Year
Disney will be doubling up on the Narnia films to get them out, and Gerard Butler may not be out of "Watchmen." According to IGN, Disney has already set a release date for "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" -- May 1, 2009 -- which is just under a year after the May 19, 2008 release of Prince Caspian. To achieve this, The Mouse is keeping the casts the same but having different production teams working on each. If it works, expect to see "The Silver Chair" come May 2010.(Buy your tickets early and save!)

"VDT" gets change in crew

New Crew for Dawn Treader

We already know that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will have a new director, Michael Apted, and according to IMDB there are some more Narnia crew changes in store. Jan Roelfs will be taking over as production designer from Roger Ford (who has worked on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as well as Prince Caspian). Roelfs has previously designed the look of such films as Orlando, Gattaca, Little Women, and Alexander, as well as receiving two Academy Award nominations.And Emmy-nominated Nina Gold will be handling the casting. She has recently cast such films as Amazing Grace and The Illusionist, as well as the television series Rome (some episodes of which Apted directed). As we have previously reported, casting calls for Dawn Treader have already begun.

New Director for "VDT"

Director Chosen for Third Narnia Film
Posted By: Goon / Source
Related News : Family Movie News , Fantasy Films

According to AICN, Director Michael Apted has been chosen to direct the third Narnia film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The first film did amazing well and was directed by Andrew Adamson who is currently directing the sequel Prince Caspian which will bow in theaters on May 18, 2008. Word is that Apted is a huge fan of the series and was only eight years old when the books were published. So he would have been the target age for them growing up.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader follows Lucy and Edmund, with their dreadful cousin Eustace. Together they get magically pulled into a painting of a ship at sea. That ship is the Dawn Treader, and on board is Caspian, King of Narnia. He and his companions, including Reepicheep, the valiant warrior mouse, are searching for seven lost lords of Narnia, and their voyage will take them to the edge of the world. Their adventures include being captured by slave traders, a much-too-close encounter with a dragon, and visits to many enchanted islands, including the place where dreams come true.

Current speculation is that the fourth film will be based on the book The Silver Chair. We will keep you up to date on casting and everything else as it is announced.

"VDT" begins pre-production

Dawn Treader Begins
Third Narnia gets new director.
by Paul Davidson

April 10, 2007 - The accelerated production schedule for The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader appears to be going ahead as planned. As we reported earlier, Walden Media and Disney are hoping to release Narnia films roughly one year apart from each other. Given the complexity of these big-budget, effects-laden films, that means overlapping production schedules. Dawn Treader is expected to begin filming soon after the Prince Caspian shoot ends, utilizing a separate crew and director.

Sources have supplied additional confirmation of this to the NarniaWeb.com website, stating that a new director has already been chosen for the third film, and that pre-production work is underway. Exactly who has been selected to helm the picture remains secret for now, but it's been known for some time that Andrew Adamson would probably step down as director after Prince Caspian was completed.

While production on Caspian wraps up the New Zealand portion of its schedule and heads to the Czech Republic and Slovenia, Walden Media's location scouts are already on the prowl seeking out prime locales for the Dawn Treader's fantastic voyage. That story takes place largely at sea and on various tropical islands, and regions that have been suggested as potential shooting locations include the Australian coast, the Bahamas, and Malta.

New Director for "VDT?"

Burger To Helm Dawn Treader?

Moviehole.net reported a rumor that Neil Burger (The Illusionist) may have been approached to direct the next installment in the Chronicles of Narnia series, Dawn Treader.

Andrew Adamson, director of the first two installments, has reportedly decided to sit out the next one.

The third Narnia film would be based on the third book written by C.S Lewis, which takes place between the events described in Prince Caspian and The Silver Chair. In it, Lucy and Edmund, accompanied by their peevish cousin Eustace, sail to the land of Narnia, where Eustace is temporarily transformed into a green dragon because of his selfish behavior and skepticism.

Queensland looking to attract "VDT" filming

Giant tank to bring film to Qld: govt
21st February 2007, 15:34 WST

The Queensland government hopes a giant outdoor water tank on the Gold Coast will attract a series of Hollywood blockbusters to the state.

Arts Minister Rod Welford said the $2.1 million tank at Warner Roadshow Studios, currently being used to film the Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey film, Fool's Gold, would be a trump card for drawing other big-money blockbusters.

Mr Welford said the tank, which can house boats and marine life, allowed for large-scale under and above water filming and was the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere, and one of only a few worldwide.

The tank is 40 metres by 30 metres and varies in depth from two to five metres.

The government contributed $500,000 to the tank, which is also funded by Fool's Gold production and Warner Roadshow Studios.

"The government's Pacific Film and Television Commission and Warner Roadshow Studios are currently in negotiations with a number of major studios requiring water tank facilities for their next major films," Mr Welford said.

He said projects that could be drawn to the state included the $100 million production Voyage of the Dawn Treader - the fourth in the Narnia Chronicles series.

Major productions to have used similar tanks include Titanic and Pirates of the Caribbean.

AAP

Walden Media's Bob Beltz gives a little info about "VDT" with Infuze

Bob Beltz has a lot to say. As the Associate Producer of the upcoming movie Amazing Grace as well as the editor of Real Christianity, Beltz talks to us about the life of William Wilberforce and the issue of slavery in the modern world today and what we can do about it. As a part of Walden Media, he also gives the latest scoop on the Narnia series, including which movies have been greenlit, the problem with Edmund and the timeline of releases.

And you've already greenlit the next one?

Yes. The next book after that will be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and we're going to try and film the next two in a way that it won't have to be two and a half years between them. We'll be able to bring them out sequentially a year apart.

Is Adamson attached to that project?

I think whoever actually directs the project will be under Andrew as sort of an overseer on the thing.

So you will begin shooting Dawn Treader right after Caspian wraps?

Yeah, the way I understand it is that it takes six months to do the live photography on Caspian and then a full year of post-production with all of the effects and computer generated things that have to get done. In theory, what we'll do is as soon as they are done filming Caspian and into post-production, then we'll have a new crew to do the filming part of Dawn Treader. Then when that one goes into post-production, we're hoping to go into The Silver Chair, which would be the next book into production.

A 2009 Release for "VDT?"

According to NarniaWeb, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader (VDT)" is scheduled to release in 2009, less than a year after "Prince Caspian (PC)" releases. Mark Johnson and Andrew Adamson are tentatively scheduled to produce and to direct again, respectively.