Archive for the ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ Category
‘Incredible Hulk’ Casts Green Glow Over American Box Office
LOS ANGELES: The latest Hollywood incarnation of “The Incredible Hulk” outmuscled its rivals at the North American box office this weekend to earn 55.4 million dollars, industry figures showed on Monday.
“The Incredible Hulk”, starring Edward Norton as scientist Bruce Banner who turns into a ferocious green giant when enraged, knocked animated children’s film “Kung Fu Panda” off the top spot on its debut weekend.
The film comes just five years after another big-screen version of the Marvel Comics character, Ang Lee’s 2003 film “The Hulk”, failed to launch a money-spinning franchise after receiving mixed reviews.
“Kung Fu Panda”, which charts the adventures of a kindly panda forced to become a martial-arts master to save his jungle from leopard villains, slipped to second with 33.6 million dollars, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.
In third place was “The Happening”, the latest offering from acclaimed mystery-horror director M. Night Shyamalan, which grossed 30.5 million on its debut weekend.
Adam Sandler comedy “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” in which a former Israeli spy finds a new life as a New York hairstylist earned 16.4 million to earn fourth spot.
In fifth spot was “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. Harrison Ford’s fourth appearance as the whip-cracking archaeologist took 14.7 million dollars on its fourth week of release, for a total now of 276.5 million.
The big-screen version of television hit “Sex and the City” came next with weekend takings of 9.8 million dollars, followed by “Iron Man” on 5.6 million.
In eighth spot was fright flick “The Strangers”, drawing four million, ahead of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” on 3.1 million and “What Happens in Vegas” on 1.7 million.
Rounding out the weekend’s top 12 movies at US and Canadian cinemas were “Baby Mama” (442,000 dollars) and “The Visitor” (421,000 dollars).
- AFP/so
Channel News Asia
Much Ado About Narnia
NEW YORK: It was an unseasonably warm night in New York City, and I found myself wandering the length of Times Square, under the ominous gaze of a giant P Diddy looming from a billboard above, pondering the existence of God - in film with talking animals.
Honestly, I could have sworn I’d spotted him several times that evening on screen - in the form of a great big lion who spoke in a wise Irish lilt, in a massive wave of fury, and even as little tinkly floaty things in a little girl’s dream.
I had just caught an advance screening of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - the second film adaptation of CS Lewis’ series of adventures featuring the Pevensie siblings, and a rush of questions were swirling around in my head. Why was I seeing divine apparitions on celluloid? Was it some sort of sign? Why did the bad guys in the film sound Italian? Does God not like spaghetti? Will a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese send me straight to hell? Why are mid-western American tourists so fat? And why is that strange man in a trench coat following me? Is he … Italian?
Suddenly, between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, I had an epiphany. Perhaps I was seeing God in Prince Caspian because there was so much hullabaloo about there being no God in The Golden Compass.
Maybe all that press about the faith-based marketing employed by the first Narnia flick (2005’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), the petitioning against the film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s Godless Compass, and subsequent failure of the movie in the US had impeded my ability to watch a Disney family film without imagining some sort of non-secular agenda.
Little did I know, as I bought a hotdog from a street vendor who looked just like Armin Mueller-Stahl in Eastern Promises, that the possible religious allegory was just one in a lengthy list of many allegations being lobbed at poor, misunderstood Prince Caspian, which includes one of its teen actors being accused of supporting eugenics and its titular star being involved in a torrid affair with Colin Firth.
Okay, it’s not as salacious as I’ve made it out to be. Broadway just brings out the drama queen in me.
Channel News Asia
Wajah Ben Terpampang Satu Dunia
LOS ANGELES, 18 MEI 2008: Meskipun bukan berasal dari Amerika Syarikat (AS), tetapi pelakon utama filem The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Ben Barnes, 27, boleh berbangga apabila wajahnya terpampang di banyak papan iklan dan badan bas seluruh negara itu.
Berasal dari United Kingdom (UK) aktor kacak berbangsa British ini nampaknya ’sukar bernafas’ apabila melihat sediri lambakan poster yang menayangkan wajahnya sempena tayangan filem francais berbajet besar itu di seluruh dunia, bermula 15 Mei lalu.
Dia yang memegang watak utama, Prince Caspian dari kerajaan Telmarine, begitu terpegun apabila melihat poster gergasi yang diletakkan di atas bangunan setinggi 10 tingkat ketika menghadiri tayangan perdana filem itu di New York, baru-baru ini.
“Saya berada di Los Angeles minggu lalu dan saya melihat betapa banyaknya poster yang besar di Sunset Boulevard. Saya hampir ’sukar bernafas’. Mana tidaknya apabila sepasang mata sendiri memandang ke arah diri saya,” katanya dalam akhbar Daily News.
Sebagaimana wataknya yang enggan mengambil takhta pemerintahan, pelajar pementasan drama dari Kingston University itu berkata, agak kekok baginya untuk melihat wajah sendiri di dalam filem.
Katanya, “Saya tidak suka melihat wajah saya sendiri. Saya juga gagal memahami karektor saya sendiri. Apa yang saya lihat, diri saya membebel sepanjang tayangan filem itu,” katanya.
Diadaptasi dari novel tulisan C.S Lewis (1951), episod Narnia: Prince Caspian arahan Andrew Adamson, sekali lagi menggunakan latar belakang kot London yang sedang berhadapan dengan Perang Dunia ke-2.
Walaupun baru setahun 4 kanak-kanak berani meninggalkan Kerajaan Narnia, mereka bagaimanapun kembali semula yang menjadikan usia kerajaan itu 1,300 tahun.
Bercakap ketika sesi temuramah bersama wartawan San Francisco Chronicle, Ben berkata, dia tidak menyangka akan memegang watak Prince Caspian, apatah lagi dia adalah peminat nombor satu novel Narnia sejak usianya 8 tahun lagi.
Bercerita mengenai pengalamannya berlakon menerusi filem berkenaan, pelakon kacak itu begitu takjub dengan set penggambaran Prince Caspian di New Zealand yang seluas padang bola sepak!
“Saya berjalan ke set istana dan saya nampak sebuah pemandangan seluas padang bola sepak pada bahagian luar. Bila saya berjalan masuk, Andrew (pengarah) datang kepada saya dan berkata, kamu tahu, ini akan menjadi lebih besar apabila selesai proses CGI nanti. Ketika itu saya berasa begitu bangga,” katanya.
Klik di sini untuk menonton temubual bersama Ben Barnes
Klik di sini untuk menonton temubual bersama pelakon dan tulang belakang Prince Caspian
Murai