We recently caught up with John West, editor of the new book and director of the new film, to talk about Lewis, science, and scientism. Formerly a professor at Seattle Pacific University, Dr. West is currently a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute in Seattle.
Lewis: “For the Bible, whether in the Authorized or in any other version, I foresee only two possibilities; either to return as a sacred book or follow the classics, if not quite into oblivion yet into the ghost-life of the museum and the specialist’s study.”
Today happens to be one month after Walter Hooper’s eightieth birthday, so it is appropriate that I chose this day to publish a review of the book which was produced in honor of him.
The movie ultimately does a great job of capturing the overall spirit of the book, but the studio looked too hard to find a villain when the villain was in the hearts of the characters. Not an easy concept to capture on film, perhaps, but the movie might have reached beyond good and become great if they had.
What fans need to come to terms with is not what is important to you as an individual, but to the franchise as a whole. Would you rather see The Silver Chair made next and flop—virtually assuring the death of the series—or The Magician’s Nephew—which has a much more reasonable chance for success?
Though the book and movie don’t share many similarities, the movie expands on the important message that all children should learn, especially in a culture that markets exterior beauty and distorts the priorities of young women such as Lucy’s.
In order for a studio to green-light a project, many factors need to come together. Securing funding is only one piece of the puzzle. It is rather like being pre-approved for a mortgage.
There is probably no one better qualified than Mark Joseph to write a book about how The Chronicles of Narnia finally got made into a Hollywood movie. Joseph worked in development and marketing during the years The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was being created, so he has intimate knowledge of what went down.
Carl McComan’s The Lion, the Mouse and the Dawn Treader: Spiritual Lessons from C. S. Lewis’s Narnia is definitely profitable for anyone looking to find deeper meaning in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
If anyone was looking for songs for a “Dawntreader Music” CD, I would like to recommend “What a Trip” by Paul Poulton from his album, Affected.
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