2 of 4

Many fans thought Lion/Witch was nice to look at, but that it was too much spectacle and missed some of the story's subtleties. Many also felt the film didn't capture the awe and majesty of Aslan—that he was far too "safe" of a lion?

Gresham: I haven't heard those criticisms. All of the people who talk to me about Aslan were awestruck by him in the movie. I don't know how I'd react to that criticism, because for me he's an immensely powerful figure in the movie—and I'm probably the severest critic in the world.

When the team first started looking ahead to Caspian, what was discussed?

Gresham: We were on a bit of a high after the success of Lion/Witch. So the big danger was that we might get the slightest bit complacent, and we had to make sure we didn't. We were all conscious of having raised the bar pretty high, and we knew we had to do better next time around. I'm glad to say that I think we've done that.

In the book, Caspian is a young teen, but Ben Barnes will be almost twenty-seven when this film comes out. Why wasn't a teenager cast for the role??

Gresham: We didn't think Caspian should be too young in this movie. Although Ben is older, he plays about 17 and does it very well. But we also need Caspian to be a bit older for the next movie because he becomes the master of The Dawn Treader, and to do that at the age of 17 or 18, with a crew of soldiers and sailors unto you, is not very believable. So I think he needs to be a bit older than he is in the book for the next movie. It was hard to find the very best Caspian, and we decided on Ben largely because of his amazing talent.

In the trailer, he looks so confident and in charge, and I think of a terrified kid running for his life from King Miraz. Does Ben capture that side of Caspian, too?

Gresham: There is a scene in which he flees for his life and he goes through some rather frightening experiences, but I'm not going to give too much away.

Caspian the handsome stud

I'm not asking for the details. I'm just saying that the trailer depicts this sexy, handsome stud who has it all together. And I think of Caspian, at least at first, as a scared kid, and I wonder if that's conveyed in the film?

Gresham: He does go through that kind of experience, yes. But he does grow emotionally, intellectually, and, to some extent, physically very quickly during the course of the story and the movie. But of course that's what this movie is all about, the change in Caspian's personality.

When NarniaFans interviewed you, they asked about the fate of Miraz's son in the film. You replied, "There's global warming, worldwide recession, dental cavities and facial blemishes and all sorts of things more meritorious of anxiety than the fate of Miraz's son." They asked you why another change was supposedly made from the book, and you replied, "Why not?" Your answers sounded a bit flippant to people who really love these books …

Gresham: They are a little bit flippant. People do take these things sometimes too seriously. This is, after all, when all is said and done, only a movie. But I know that when the fans see the scenes, they will understand immediately why we've done what we done, and they will also love it. So I'm not going to go into lengthy descriptions of why we made the decisions we made. I'm going to let the fans make up their own minds.

I understand. But I think the fear is …

Gresham: What do you do in a circumstance like that? All you can do is come up with something as amusing as you can, I suppose.

You said, "After all, it's only a movie." But if you said, "It's only a book," you would get a lot of hackles up because to a lot of people, including me, these are not "only books." I guess I'm trying to give you the opportunity to say, "Hey, I'm not really being as flippant as I might come across.?

Gresham: I think anyone who knows my history will know that I've spent the last almost thirty years dreaming, hoping, striving, working and fighting to get these movies made. To suggest for a second that I don't take it seriously would really be rather ludicrous. But when you're backed into a corner and someone asks you a question you don't want to answer for their own sake, I think the best way to approach it is to be as amusing as you can. Not to say, "Mind your own damn business," which would just be rude and insensitive. You must be aware of the fact that I probably take the Narnian books more seriously than any other human being in the world.

next page... |  2 of 4