Insight Scoop | The Ignatius Press Blog

Will "Prince Caspian" be better than "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"?

I'm referring to the films, just to be clear. Of course, the answer won't be known until the "Prince Caspian" film is released next weekend. I, for one, was not entirely taken with the first movie. I didn't think it was horrible by any means, but it left me a bit cold, flat, detached. Anyhow, Christianity Today has an interview with director Andrew Adamson, and he talks about the expectations and pressure of making the film:

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was one of the top 30 movies of all time internationally. What kind of pressure does that put on you?

No additional weight that wasn't already there with this property. The beloved nature of the book—and how much import I place on staying true to it—has already put a load on me, and I feel it. Certainly following up a successful film, you feel like you have to live up to expectations. But to some degree, I went through that with Shrek, where the first one was a bit under the radar, and the second one, you had a lot more people watching you, and you didn't want to disappoint them.

With The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, so many fans of the book already had high expectations. And that's something you're very conscious of when making a film—and it's hard. There's always an adaptation process. Things do change from book to screen, and you ask, "Did I make the right changes?" The other thing I do is refer to my memory—I zero in on the things I remember from reading the book as a child. Those are the things it's important to be true to. <snip>

Do you tire of all of the nitpicking questions from the diehard fans, including me?

It's a mixed blessing. You get positive things, and you get the negative too. But it's inevitable, and you can't tackle something like this without accepting that it's going to happen—and you're not going to make everyone happy. Even if I stayed true to the book word for word, I don't believe I could make a movie that would make every fan happy. I talked to [Lord of the Rings director] Peter Jackson about this, and asked, "How true did you stay to the books?" And he said, "I'm getting credit for staying true to the books, but I changed a lot." He said you can change stuff, as long as it's good.

Christian readers are among the most devoted Narnia fans, and Lewis is revered in evangelical circles. Do you feel any sort of responsibility to the Christian audience?

I feel my responsibility to C. S. Lewis's fans is just being true to the books, and letting people take from it what they will. What you take from it depends on your belief, and how much interpretation you place upon it. I think by staying true to the book, I'm staying true to what any fan gets from the book.

Read the entire interview.

And now, a plug for our sponsor:


C. S. Lewis | Ignatius Press Books, DVDs, Videos, and Tapes:

• 6 By C.S. Lewis (The Great Divorce, A Grief Observed, Mere Christianity, Miracles, The Problem of Pain, and The Screwtape Letters)
• C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church | by Joseph Pearce
• Remembering C.S. Lewis: Recollections of Those Who Knew Him
• Narnia and Beyond: A Guide to the Fiction of C.S. Lewis | Thomas Howard
• C.S. Lewis for the Third Millenium | by Peter Kreeft
• C.S. Lewis' Case for the Christian Faith | by Richard Purtill
• Lord of the Elves and Eldils: Fantasy and Philosophy in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien | by Richard Purtill
• C.S. Lewis: The Man Who Created Narnia | by Michael Coren
• The Complete Chronicles of Narnia | by C.S. Lewis (single, hardcover volume)
• The Chronicles of Narnia Set | by C.S. Lewis (7-volume set, softcover in case)
• Chronicles of Narnia Set (3 tapes)
• The Life of C.S. Lewis: Through Joy and Beyond (DVD)
• Shadowlands (BBC edition; DVD)
• The Magic Never Ends (DVD)
• Literary Giants, Literary Catholics | by Joseph Pearce
• Literary Converts | by Joseph Pearce

Go here to access several Ignatius Insight articles about C. S. Lewis and various Inklings.

"Bella" now available from Ignatius Press

The well-received, award-winning movie can be ordered online from Ignatius Press. Or place your order toll-free at 1-800-651-1531.

And if you missed it last summer, here is Steven Greydanus's article, "Bella," about the making of the movie, written for the August/September 2007 edition Catholic World Report.                

The "Smackdown of the Week" is courtesy of...

... Martin Cothran of "Vere Loqui," who penned a devastating and hilarious fisking of John Derbyshire's "review" of the controversial movie, Expelled:

I have always admired G. K. Chesterton's dictum that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing badly, but I never appreciated the full scope of its application until reading John Derbyshire's recent review of Ben Stein's "Expelled" at National Review Online.

"What on earth has happened to Ben Stein?" asks Derbyshire. "He and I go a long way back." Are the two close? Are they old pals who have been through a lot together? "No," he says, "I've never met the guy." But wait. How can this be? How can Derbyshire have forged this bond of friendship with Stein without actually knowing him?

"Though I've never met him," he explains, "I know people who know him, and they all speak well of him."

Got it.

In fact, Derbyshire displays an amazing ability, far beyond that of the rest of us, to engage with people and things even though he has had no direct contact with them. Take "Expelled" for example. "So what's going on here with this stupid "Expelled" movie?" he asks--a question which could have been answered by the simple expedient of actually watching it. A man with Derbyshire's special talent, however, is not hampered by such constraints:

No, I haven't seen the dang thing. I've been reading about it steadily for weeks now though, both pro ... and con, and I can't believe it would yield up many surprises on an actual viewing.

That's right: Derbyshire reviews "Expelled" without actually having seen it! This is a man who has friends he has never met, and who can review movies he has never seen. It is perhaps fortuitous that Bill Buckley, the founder of National Review, recently passed from among us: this is a talent I am not sure he would have fully appreciated.

Read the entire post.

And for the record, I've not yet seen the movie, so I can't say much, if anything, about it. However, prior to the movie's release I did interview associate producer Mark Mathis. Go here to read that interview.

A private screening of "Prince Caspian" will take place in San Francisco...

...on May 17th, courtesy of the makers of the film and the C. S. Lewis Society of California. It will include a special presentation by Dr. Michael Ward, Chaplain of Peterhouse, University of Cambridge, and author of the widely acclaimed book, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis (Oxford University Press, 2008).

For all of the details about time, place, reservations, and more, visit the C. S. Lewis Society of California website.

• Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Not Quite a Movie Review | James Como (December 2005)
• C. S. Lewis and the Inklings | Ignatius Insight articles, interviews, and book excerpts

James Carroll's "documentary" indulges in one-sided, pseudo-scholarly sloppiness

A big surprise? Hardly. Steven D. Greydanus has written a detailed, thoughtful review of Carroll's film Constantine's Sword, which is based on the book of the same name (also by Carroll), which in turn relied heavily on "John Cornwell’s now–substantially discredited Hitler’s Pope, another anti-Catholic exposé–cum–critique of Church policy." Read the entire review on DecentFilms.com.

Those who chirped, "TDVC was just a novel," need to contact...

...director Bruce Burgess and have a chat with him. After all, he seems quite convinced that Dan Brown and Co. have it right. The British movie-maker and conspiracy theorist has directed and co-produced a "documentary" called Bloodline that purports to finally (yes, finally, at last, at last!) set the record straight about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, their alleged marriage, their alleged children, and the three-armed aliens who commute by telepathy and the internet between Area 51 and the Secret Vatican Archives (or something like that. Hey, don't laugh. It's possible.) From a notice of a special screening:

“A discovery that can prove to be one of the most explosive and controversial of the century.” – Elizabeth Snead, Los Angeles Times

BLOODLINE investigates the popular belief that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, who fled to southern France with their child.

Filmmaker Bruce Burgess and team make connections between the Knights Templar, the legend of Mary Magdalene, hidden clues found at the famed church at Rennes-le-Chateau and make some stunning discoveries: a buried chest with artifacts that date to first century Jerusalem and a tomb with a mummified corpse draped in a shroud bearing a distinctive red cross.

Have they been the first to find the evidence?

Uh, I doubt it. Unless (gulp) Dan Brown was a consultant on the film. Be sure to watch the trailer and be completely blown away by how calm Burgess remains as he is running for his life from mysterious operatives, angry aliens, and the ghost of the Ark of the Covenant (if that super witty remark makes no sense, see this list of films made by Burgess.)

ID vs. "Big Science"—On The Big Screen

ID vs. "Big Science"—On The Big Screen | An Interview with Mark Mathis, Associate Producer of Expelled | Carl E. Olson | April 10, 2008

The film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, starring author, actor, and activist Ben Stein, is set to hit theaters on Friday, April 18th.  The documentary presents arguments for intelligent design (ID), questions aspects of Darwinian evolution, and tells the stories of some scientists and professors who have either lost their jobs or been pressured to cease their public support of intelligent design. Some critics of the film describe the film as "creationist propaganda" and say it both ignores and attacks "good science." Meanwhile, the makers of Expelled say that the film is about "the freedom to legitimately challenge 'Big Science's' orthodoxy...without persecution."

Carl E. Olson, editor of Ignatius Insight, recently spoke to Mark Mathis, associate producer of Expelled and founder of Mathis Media, about the film and the furor surrounding it.

Ignatius Insight: It is probably an understatement to say there has been a lot of controversy over Expelled. I know a recent screening in the Bay area was cancelled due to security concerns. Did you expect the kind of attention it has been getting—and the amount of attention?

Mark Mathis: You don't know when you go into these things. You have certain ideas about what could happen. But we certainly expected there would be some push back from the scientific establishment, which is exactly what we've gotten. I don't know that I expected the level of hostility and rebuke that we've gotten. It's been more intense than I personally expected. I just figured these people would have more civility about them. But when you challenge the core belief system of people, they get pretty unhappy.

Ignatius Insight: There have been accusations that the producers of Expelled were misleading and even deceptive in how they obtained interviews from Dawkins and other scientists. How do you respond to those allegations?

Read the entire interview...

Benedict reflects on the "certainty and joy of Christ's resurrection"

From the Vatican Information Service:

CHRIST GIVES US THE CERTAINTY OF OUR OWN RESURRECTION

VATICAN CITY, 26 MAR 2008 (VIS) - Today in St. Peter's Square, more than 30,000 people participated in the weekly general audience. The Pope, who arrived at the Vatican by helicopter from his Castelgandolfo residence, dedicated his catechesis to the period of Easter.

  "The entire liturgy of the Easter period proclaims the certainty and joy of Christ's resurrection", he said. This is "the central truth of Christian faith in all its doctrinal richness and its inexhaustible vitality".

  Christ's Easter, he went on, "is also our Easter because in the risen Christ we are given the certainty of our final resurrection. ... The death of the Lord shows the immense love with which He loved us, even to the point of sacrificing Himself for us. But only His resurrection is 'certain proof' ... that what He says is true".

  "It is important to reiterate this fundamental truth of our faith", explained the Holy Father, "the historical truth of which is amply documented, even if today as in the past there is no lack of people who put it in doubt or even deny it. The weakening of faith in the resurrection of Jesus leads to the weakening of the testimony of believers. ... Whereas adhesion to Christ, dead and risen, changes lives and illuminates the entire life of individuals and peoples".

  "The liturgy invites us - and especially in this octave of Easter - to encounter the Risen One personally and to recognise His life-giving action in the events of history and in our daily lives".

  As with the disciples of Emmaus who figure in today's Gospel, "the Lord is walking with us and he explains the Scripture to us. He brings us to understand this mystery in which everything speaks of Him. This should make our hearts burn so that our eyes may also be opened. The Lord is with us, He shows us the true path".

  The disciples of Emmaus recognised Christ "as He broke the bread. ... We too", the Holy Father concluded, "can meet and know Jesus Christ in the celebration of the Eucharist, ... on the double altar of the announced Word and the consecrated Bread and Wine. Each Sunday the community relives the Lord's Easter and draws from the Saviour its witness of love and fraternal service".

The Resurrection of Christ, of course, has been scrutinized and criticized in every which way, with skeptics claiming, among other things, that it is a lie, a hoax, a cover-up, or even a mass hallucination. There is a wealth of apologetic and scholarly works carefully and thoroughly refuting those claims. But for an accessible, engaging introduction and overview, I recommend the recently-released DVD, Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead?, produced by Ignatius Press and Ignatius Productions. It covers a lot of territory, it does so in a way that everyone can understand and appreciate, and it features some very fine Catholic and Evangelical Scripture scholars, including Dr. Ed Sri, Dr. Tim Grey, Dr. Craig Evans, Dr. Craig Blomberg, and Dr. Ben Witherington III, among others. Here is a clip from the opening of the DVD:

                        

Watch other clips here and here.

Taken to the woodshed

• John McCain, by Peggy Noonan ("Get serious!" she says)
• Faithfulness and fidelity, by The New York Times (hey, you can trust The Grey Lady!)
• Senator Obama, by Shelby Steele ("What could he have been thinking? Of course he wasn't thinking.")
• Brain-dead liberalism, by David Mamet (in The Village Voice of all places.)
• Rowan Williams, by the editors of The New Criterion ("And why should an archbishop of the Church of England reserve all his doubts for religious matters?")
• Black liberation theology, by Rod Dreher ("This is racist idolatry.")
• Black liberation theology (again!), by Spengler (It is "ethnocentric heresy".)
• Franky Schaeffer, by Christopher Blosser (he "dishonors his father [yet again] for Obama)
• Franky Schaeffer, this time by Os Guinness (this trip to the shed is devastating)
• Heterosexuality, by Michael Stipe of R.E.M. (First he loses his religion...)
• Bad NBA teams and players, by Basketbawful (A slam dunk!)
• Vantage Point, by the critics (bummer, I was hoping it was worth seeing.)

By the way, if you ever want to build a woodshed, this page will get you started.

Successful "Cinema Vita Film Festival" will be back again in early 2009

Michael Vick of Catholic San Francisco writes about the first Cinema Vita Film Festival, and reports that the festival will be held again next spring:

Drawing independent films from as far away as North Dakota, Texas and Illinois, the festival featured both budding talent and a provocative feature film.

"Every single report I have gotten back - from e - mails, written responses and our evaluation forms - has been positive. Every single one," said Vicki Evans, coordinator of the Respect Life Ministry for the Archdiocese.

"One thing people did suggest," she said, "is that we expand the categories and invite films longer than three to five minutes, perhaps 10 to 20 minutes." She said organizers agree they want to repeat the festival in 2009, tentatively targeting a May date.

Evans said they have also received an inquiry from persons in Florida who are interested in producing a "Cinema Vita East," to echo the local festival.

<snip>

In the high school category, winner Nathaniel Sharpe used a documentary technique in his film, "Wrinkles in Time," to delve into the life of his ailing grandmother, Louise Carlson.

Carlson suffers from both macular degeneration and Parkinson's Disease. In spite of these setbacks, she remains as active. She paints, she goes to church and she interacts with family as much as possible.

"I don't have a lot of control over my body in certain things," Carlson said in the film. "I've had to deal with that, and cope with it, and thank the Lord for it."

Throughout the film, Sharpe juxtaposes his grandmother's uncontrolled movement with the seemingly uncontrollable movement of her great grandson, baby Louis Carlson. Sharpe traveled from Bathgate, N.D. to be a part of the festival's panel discussion. He said he has been making films for several years, but has never shown one in public before. Even this film, he said, was experimental.

The final two films of the night, "The Poet," and "Mad World," shared similar themes but had radically different outcomes. In the first, a young American soldier dies in Iraq and leaves his baby boy in the care of his sisters. At first, they seem reluctant to take on such a difficult task, but later come to realize they are honoring their brother's sacrifice by raising his son.

The filmmaker, who won in the college category, was Eric Hinojosa of Universal City, Texas. The film was semi - autobiographical; Hinojosa's brother died in Iraq.

"Mad World" stood in sharp contrast, and showed the consequences of treating life like a throwaway commodity. The film features two young people dealing with the aftermath of premarital sex. The young girl is pregnant and the young man wants nothing to do with the child.

What the young man does next makes this story different than millions of similar stories. Instead of simply leaving his girlfriend to fend for herself, he slips crushed abortifascient Ru486 into her coffee. She loses the baby and her boyfriend loses his freedom.

The film is based on the story of Daniel Riase, who just a year ago was charged with planting a crushed pill in his girlfriend Shari Best's drink, causing her to miscarry. Riase is in a Virginia jail awaiting trial on felony charges.

"As a young, self-taught filmmaker it was a great honor for me to participate in the first ever Cinema Vita film festival," Nathaniel Sharpe wrote via e-mail after the festival." Having my film chosen as the
winner for the high school division was exciting enough, but being able to attend the actual event in San Francisco was a huge bonus.  To me, what the people behind Cinema Vita are doing is incredibly important, they are providing both a platform and an incentive for my fellow aspiring filmmakers who, believing deeply in the sanctity of the human person, are looking for a way to help build up a culture of life."

Eric Hinojosa expressed similar thoughts. "I liked participating in the Cinema Vita film festival because it was different than other festivals I had applied to," he remarked, " I think films that raise important questions in our society are greatly needed, and the Cinema Vita festival is a refreshing response to that need.  The application process was easy, and I felt like I was making art that really mattered.  So on all accounts I am very happy to have participated, and I hope that next year many more filmmakers take part in this great event."

"To be chosen as a winner for Cinema Vita was not a only an honor, but it was extremely encouraging," said Brooke Burns, the 23-year-old who filmed "Mad World". "There are so many secular film festivals that exist today, it is exciting and to be part of a film festival that is out there to make a positive difference in our culture! It is such a gift to be appreciated for hard work and perseverance. I know God's hands were such a part of this moment."

The winning films, as well as two honorable mention selections, can be viewed on the Cinema Vita website.