Douglas Greschem - Narnia and C.S. Lewis - Liveblogging
I am attending a little preview of
Narnia and hearing Douglas Greschem speak - I'll try some
liveblogging
They start by showing an extended preview I
hadn't seen before - simply stunning. This movie is getting more and more
exciting. I've completely abandoned any previous attempts to keep my
anticipation under control and now I'm fully anxiously awaiting the
release.
Introduction of Douglas Gresham - stepson of C.S. Lewis and producer of the Chronicles of Narnia movie. Also, the author of Jack's Life - a biography of C.S. Lewis.
Moderator: What stood out the most to you about Lewis' life as you began to write the book?
Gresham: Many people had written books about Lewis the scholar, Lewis the theologian, Lewis the writer, etc., but no one wrote a book about Jack the man. One thing people lose sight of Lewis' humor. no one else wrote a book that Mr. Gresham wanted to read.
Gresham: A faithful husband is not a man who believes his wife exists, these are people who live out their duty to their wives every hour of everyday. Faithful Christians are those who live out their duty to Christ, every hour of every day. Jack was the best man Gresham ever knew at doing just that. He didn't simply believe Christianity, he lived it.
Gresham told a story I had heard before about Lewis - Jack was walking down the street one day when a man came up and asked him for some spare change. Jack reached into his pocket and gave the man a chunk of change. Later, one of his friends chided him, saying "That was a foolish thing to do. He's just going to spend it on drink." Lewis thought for a second and replied, "But thats what I was planning on spending it on."
Moderator: What do you think Lewis brought out in those around him?
Gresham: Difficult to define. He attracted great minds. There is a misnomer in America that if you disagree with someone you can't be friends with them. It's compeletely pointless to have a bunch of people around who agree with you - you won't learn anything. Lewis attracted men who were really great minds, and he didn't mind if they completely disagreed with them, because great minds refine one another through debate.
Moderator: What did your mother bring out in Jack?
Gresham: My mother raised him to another level of imagination and intelligence and wit. She was actually an equal ming of Lewis. She had a photographic memory, and she was the only one really who could catch Jack up if he misquoted something.
Gresham reads us the forward from his book, Jack's Life. It explains his motivation behind writing the book, and why he decided to write it even though there were so many different books out there about Lewis.
"Jack was harder on himself than anyone I knew" (interesting point. Lewis' great humility, I think, was one of the keys to his character and his amazing skill as a writer. I actually got to ask Mr. Gresham about this - see below ed.))
Gresham: The really nervous point in the making of the movie, wasn't this project. It was the old studio that had the rights before. Some of the scripts they sent him he literally threw at the wall - they simply weren't interested in being faithful to the book. When they approached him on this project, he told them "I'm only interested in making the movie if you are interested in making a faithful adaptation." Gresham speaks VERY highly of Andrew Adamson - saying things like he was coordinating all of the people on the set from day one like the conductor of a fine orchestra. People were generally thrilled to be a apart of the project. The more he saw, the more comfortable he was with the project.
Moderator: Casting can make or break a movie, what do you think about the casting of this movie?
Gresham: It's especially true of this movie. The casting director auditioned about 4,000 children... to find 4. There was a long process of picking these actors, and these children are very talented actors. They've even developed a sort of sibling relationship - they look out for each other, they care about each other.
Moderator: Obviously there were changes from the books, and no real purist can ever be happy with the movie - it is necessarily and adaptation. How do you feel about how its been adapted?
Gresham: There are changes, of course. When Lewis says "and now let's return to Edmund", we can't simply walk on screen and say that. The battle scene itself takes about 2 lines in the books, and of course we can't do that. So there are changes, but they should enhance the story, not distract from it. He's very happy with the movie, and he made it clear that he would be happy with nothing less than a movie that stayed faithful to the books, while adapting them to the screen. This movie has been his dream since he was a boy.
From the floor: What's one thing that branded you, that was really effective in bringing the truth of Christianity to your life?
Gresham: You can grow up with a man who truly lives his Christianity, and not believe that something is up with them. You can't "polish the pew with your backside and live like a devil all week" To live your faith is the one thing that will teach your children the value of Christianity. Listen to what Jesus says - go out there and "git-r-done".
I got to ask a question about Lewis being hard on himself! My question: You said that Jack was harder on himself than anyone you knew. Do you think that this humility was the key to his character and something that made him the man he was?
Gresham: Lewis was constantly setting his standards high, and then moving the bar up higher. So in that sense, that is what Gresham meant by being hard on himself. If he were in this room, for instance, he would be chastising himself for being unchaste in his thoughts (no one laughed, but I got it - we're at Biola, a college campus filled with college women who, while being more modest than most college women, are not exactly trying to not be noticed). you never really know how strong you are until you get in the ring with Lennox Lewis and see how you've done. In the same way, you never really know how you will face temptation unless you face it, and see how you've done. If you fail, you find what went wrong. If you succeed, you set the bar higher and go back at it. Jack was a man always conscious of his own sin, and at the same time, always aware of his salvation from it in Christ.
From the floor: Do you foresee any of Lewis' other fictional works being made into a movie?
Gresham: If you've got the right script and you've got the money, come and see me and let's see what we can do. "I'd love to make Till we have faces. I'd also love to see all of the Chronicles made. I will not accept what I consider to be a substandard project. I simply won't do it."
From the floor a question on A Grief Observed, and Lewis' ability to ask the hard questions.
Gresham: A Grief Observed was not intended to be a published work, but it was simply a journal that Lewis used to get his thoughts out. He shared something I didn't know - that A Grief Observed was published under a pen name. Apparently, Jack's friend's didn't know this, and ended up reading it, loving it, and sending it to Jack to help him through his grief. We must always keep in mind the eternal truth that no matter how bad it hurts, there is a perfect and wise reason behind it. The real danger is that we are tempted to blame God for what the devil has done.
Gresham: The effects in the movies are simply reality of something that can't be real. (This strikes me a lot like what Lewis himself said about Narnia and his insistence that they were not allegory - they were true, given the false presupposition that there was another world God had created called "Narnia" - ed). They grew up talking about Narnia as though it were real, and thats how they approached the film. I don't want people to walk out of the movie and say 'wow, what great special effects.' I want them to walk out and say 'where did they get all those fawns and centaurs?'
They are going to wrap it up now, and show the trailer one more time. Doug will be in the bookstore signing copies of his book at 1:15pm today.
Closing thoughts: I didn't have an internet connection at Biola, so I'm forced to post this later in a sort of semi-liveblogging. I was really impressed with Mr. Gresham. He is very well spoken, has a profound love and admiration of his stepfather, and a sharp, quick wit (which he says was one of Lewis' most forgotten talents. In seeing how funny and charming his stepson is, I'm sure Lewis was quite a fun guy to be around).
I'm also fully in the crazy, anxiously awaiting Narnia camp. The trailer they showed today is long and had pieces of Aslan and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver talking and it doesn't look cheesy. They even had what I assume to be Fenris Ulf (a fearsome wolf and the White Witch's captain of secret policel) and he looks COOL, and mean. But one of the biggest things is they have "Aslan is on the move" in the actual lines - perhaps they have kept some of the best lines from the books (PLEASE leave in the conversation about a deeper magic still, please). I also heard from Matt Anderson that I'll be on the list for Grace Hill Media, and hopefully able to see the movie in a pre-release - if so, you know where it'll be blogged. This is starting to get exciting.
Introduction of Douglas Gresham - stepson of C.S. Lewis and producer of the Chronicles of Narnia movie. Also, the author of Jack's Life - a biography of C.S. Lewis.
Moderator: What stood out the most to you about Lewis' life as you began to write the book?
Gresham: Many people had written books about Lewis the scholar, Lewis the theologian, Lewis the writer, etc., but no one wrote a book about Jack the man. One thing people lose sight of Lewis' humor. no one else wrote a book that Mr. Gresham wanted to read.
Gresham: A faithful husband is not a man who believes his wife exists, these are people who live out their duty to their wives every hour of everyday. Faithful Christians are those who live out their duty to Christ, every hour of every day. Jack was the best man Gresham ever knew at doing just that. He didn't simply believe Christianity, he lived it.
Gresham told a story I had heard before about Lewis - Jack was walking down the street one day when a man came up and asked him for some spare change. Jack reached into his pocket and gave the man a chunk of change. Later, one of his friends chided him, saying "That was a foolish thing to do. He's just going to spend it on drink." Lewis thought for a second and replied, "But thats what I was planning on spending it on."
Moderator: What do you think Lewis brought out in those around him?
Gresham: Difficult to define. He attracted great minds. There is a misnomer in America that if you disagree with someone you can't be friends with them. It's compeletely pointless to have a bunch of people around who agree with you - you won't learn anything. Lewis attracted men who were really great minds, and he didn't mind if they completely disagreed with them, because great minds refine one another through debate.
Moderator: What did your mother bring out in Jack?
Gresham: My mother raised him to another level of imagination and intelligence and wit. She was actually an equal ming of Lewis. She had a photographic memory, and she was the only one really who could catch Jack up if he misquoted something.
Gresham reads us the forward from his book, Jack's Life. It explains his motivation behind writing the book, and why he decided to write it even though there were so many different books out there about Lewis.
"Jack was harder on himself than anyone I knew" (interesting point. Lewis' great humility, I think, was one of the keys to his character and his amazing skill as a writer. I actually got to ask Mr. Gresham about this - see below ed.))
Gresham: The really nervous point in the making of the movie, wasn't this project. It was the old studio that had the rights before. Some of the scripts they sent him he literally threw at the wall - they simply weren't interested in being faithful to the book. When they approached him on this project, he told them "I'm only interested in making the movie if you are interested in making a faithful adaptation." Gresham speaks VERY highly of Andrew Adamson - saying things like he was coordinating all of the people on the set from day one like the conductor of a fine orchestra. People were generally thrilled to be a apart of the project. The more he saw, the more comfortable he was with the project.
Moderator: Casting can make or break a movie, what do you think about the casting of this movie?
Gresham: It's especially true of this movie. The casting director auditioned about 4,000 children... to find 4. There was a long process of picking these actors, and these children are very talented actors. They've even developed a sort of sibling relationship - they look out for each other, they care about each other.
Moderator: Obviously there were changes from the books, and no real purist can ever be happy with the movie - it is necessarily and adaptation. How do you feel about how its been adapted?
Gresham: There are changes, of course. When Lewis says "and now let's return to Edmund", we can't simply walk on screen and say that. The battle scene itself takes about 2 lines in the books, and of course we can't do that. So there are changes, but they should enhance the story, not distract from it. He's very happy with the movie, and he made it clear that he would be happy with nothing less than a movie that stayed faithful to the books, while adapting them to the screen. This movie has been his dream since he was a boy.
From the floor: What's one thing that branded you, that was really effective in bringing the truth of Christianity to your life?
Gresham: You can grow up with a man who truly lives his Christianity, and not believe that something is up with them. You can't "polish the pew with your backside and live like a devil all week" To live your faith is the one thing that will teach your children the value of Christianity. Listen to what Jesus says - go out there and "git-r-done".
I got to ask a question about Lewis being hard on himself! My question: You said that Jack was harder on himself than anyone you knew. Do you think that this humility was the key to his character and something that made him the man he was?
Gresham: Lewis was constantly setting his standards high, and then moving the bar up higher. So in that sense, that is what Gresham meant by being hard on himself. If he were in this room, for instance, he would be chastising himself for being unchaste in his thoughts (no one laughed, but I got it - we're at Biola, a college campus filled with college women who, while being more modest than most college women, are not exactly trying to not be noticed). you never really know how strong you are until you get in the ring with Lennox Lewis and see how you've done. In the same way, you never really know how you will face temptation unless you face it, and see how you've done. If you fail, you find what went wrong. If you succeed, you set the bar higher and go back at it. Jack was a man always conscious of his own sin, and at the same time, always aware of his salvation from it in Christ.
From the floor: Do you foresee any of Lewis' other fictional works being made into a movie?
Gresham: If you've got the right script and you've got the money, come and see me and let's see what we can do. "I'd love to make Till we have faces. I'd also love to see all of the Chronicles made. I will not accept what I consider to be a substandard project. I simply won't do it."
From the floor a question on A Grief Observed, and Lewis' ability to ask the hard questions.
Gresham: A Grief Observed was not intended to be a published work, but it was simply a journal that Lewis used to get his thoughts out. He shared something I didn't know - that A Grief Observed was published under a pen name. Apparently, Jack's friend's didn't know this, and ended up reading it, loving it, and sending it to Jack to help him through his grief. We must always keep in mind the eternal truth that no matter how bad it hurts, there is a perfect and wise reason behind it. The real danger is that we are tempted to blame God for what the devil has done.
Gresham: The effects in the movies are simply reality of something that can't be real. (This strikes me a lot like what Lewis himself said about Narnia and his insistence that they were not allegory - they were true, given the false presupposition that there was another world God had created called "Narnia" - ed). They grew up talking about Narnia as though it were real, and thats how they approached the film. I don't want people to walk out of the movie and say 'wow, what great special effects.' I want them to walk out and say 'where did they get all those fawns and centaurs?'
They are going to wrap it up now, and show the trailer one more time. Doug will be in the bookstore signing copies of his book at 1:15pm today.
Closing thoughts: I didn't have an internet connection at Biola, so I'm forced to post this later in a sort of semi-liveblogging. I was really impressed with Mr. Gresham. He is very well spoken, has a profound love and admiration of his stepfather, and a sharp, quick wit (which he says was one of Lewis' most forgotten talents. In seeing how funny and charming his stepson is, I'm sure Lewis was quite a fun guy to be around).
I'm also fully in the crazy, anxiously awaiting Narnia camp. The trailer they showed today is long and had pieces of Aslan and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver talking and it doesn't look cheesy. They even had what I assume to be Fenris Ulf (a fearsome wolf and the White Witch's captain of secret policel) and he looks COOL, and mean. But one of the biggest things is they have "Aslan is on the move" in the actual lines - perhaps they have kept some of the best lines from the books (PLEASE leave in the conversation about a deeper magic still, please). I also heard from Matt Anderson that I'll be on the list for Grace Hill Media, and hopefully able to see the movie in a pre-release - if so, you know where it'll be blogged. This is starting to get exciting.
Posted: Fri - November 11, 2005 at 11:03 AM | | | | | | |
Quick Links
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Categories
Archives
XML/RSS Feed
Highlighted posts
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Nov 11, 2005 03:18 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Nov 11, 2005 03:18 PM
Search
The Tip Jar
Counter provided by
Brought to you by
