LWW Movie-fwd (WAS: Question: What are your...)
Derek Janssen
Before panic on news about Paramount's upcoming "Lion, Witch & Wardrobe"
movie gets too out of hand, I took the trouble of asking C.S. Lewis stepson
and literary-estate consultant Douglas Gresham (mailto:d...@iol.ie) for
information I could forward. He has already posted on the subject to
news:alt.books.cslewis, so for those (like me) whose servers don't pick up
the group, mail follows (>comments are my own):
*********
The updating is still the intended policy (I have fought against it from the
first and continue to do so). The Cheeseburger is now gone, and the
Earthquake is a much better scenario than that which they started with.
>As one of the MereLewis list's few or only "delegates" on r.a.b.c., I've
>been singlehandedly trying to calm the flame wars and righteous-
>indignation posts about "those uncaring Hollywood executives trying to
>ruin our beloved favorites", and reassure that K/M IS listening to the
>Lewis estate's consultation and is working for a reasonably faithful
>version in spirit, but since I hadn't heard any news outside of the
>MereLewis list (which wasn't greatly specific), I confess I'm really
>going on blind faith.
Unfortunately, the above does not seem to be true. The first draft
screenplay was hideously bad from both a Narnia point of view and from a
simple screenplay analysis point of view. The second draft was very much
improved, and gave me hope that we were heading in the right direction.
Unfortunately the "fourth draft" which I received a couple of days ago (I
never saw the third) reverts to completely throwing away the whole of the
Christian Ethos upon which the book is based, and just about everything else
which Jack wrote, and replacing it with a cynical humanistic philosophy and
a succession of incongruous and gratuitous special effects. Aerobatics by
the WW's sledge, a giant water spirit (a la Abyss pseudopod) A flock of evil
ravens flying forth from the WW's wide open mouth and so on and so forth. I
am fighting, and I will continue to fight against this filth, but I feel
very much like David going up against Goliath. I keep praying, and reminding
myself that in the fight against Goliath, God won, and He will in this fight
too.
Remember that I have no control or approval rights in this case, only
consultation rights, all I can do is to keep telling them the truth and hope
and pray that some of it will sink in.
I will try to find and subscribe to <rec.arts.books.childrens> is that the
correct address? Then I can perhaps contribute a little more to the
discussion.
I would actually not be in the least displeased if every Narnia fan in the
world were to write to Kennedy Marshall and Paramount to express concern
that they stay faithful to the book, and not trash it.
If you pray, please pray for me as I am being tempted to despair, and pray
for the project too.
Blessings,
Doug.
***********
I don't believe Kennedy/Marshall has an e-mail address; however, if anyone
is interested in their snail-mail address, I would be happy to look it up.
--For Narnia and the North!
Derek Janssen
djan...@ulranet.com
Douglas Gresham
Hi everybody,
My name is Doug Gresham, and if you have any questions about
Narnia and other things to do with my stepfather Jack,
(C.S.Lewis) I will be glad to help where I can. I do receive a
lot of email, so it may take me a little while to answer letters,
I am involved in a couple of very busy jobs as a consultant, and
am in full-time Christian Ministry so bear with me and I will try
to get back to you as soon as I can.
Blessings to all,
Doug.