What a difference a couple of weeks can make! Two weeks ago, Reel News reported on the end of a long-running evangelical boycott of the Walt Disney Company.

Now, a Christian marketing group is looking for volunteers to work without pay to promote December's feature film of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Disney's biggest holiday-season release. (Thanks to Christianity Today Movies reviewer Peter T. Chattaway for the alert in his blog.)

The Ground Force Network (GFN), a service partner of Strategic Marketing Solutions, is an organization of volunteers who "want to use their faith to make a difference in their communities and collectively on a larger scale" through "guerilla" marketing for faith-related projects. (Other projects include the "Die Saved" campaign and The Maker's Diet campaign.)

GFN is currently inviting Christians to become "Narnia Generals," people who will "take a very active role" in stoking the fires of enthusiasm for director Andrew Adamson's adaptation of C. S. Lewis's fantasy classic. The e-mail appeal for volunteers promises that the film "will be nothing short of a masterpiece"—an interesting claim, considering the film is still in production. Beginning July 11, the Network will strive, in association with Disney, Walden Media, and Motive Entertainment, to train individuals for a grassroots marketing campaign, promising "incredible opportunities to be on the 'inside track'." Benefits will reportedly include "exclusive movie materials," possible cash prizes, "intern credit" that "looks GREAT on a résumé," and more.

Star Trek has "Trekkies." What do you call fans of Aslan? The GFN Web site explaining the campaign refers to willing fans of C. S. Lewis's beloved story as "Narniacs." Whether or not C. S. Lewis enthusiasts will embrace that term remains to be seen.

In other movie news:

Film festival benefits International Justice Mission (www.upc.org)
Four-film event to support IJM endeavors in Rwanda, June 16–18.

In interview, Act One's Barbara Nicolosi denies conspiracy (Church of the Masses)
New York Times reporter asks: "What is it about Christians that makes you so scary?"

Here's to you, Mrs. Bancroft (Los Angeles Times)
Star of The Graduate and The Miracle Worker dead at 73.

Sisterhood released in U.S. theatres and on DVD in China simultaneously (IMDB.com)
Duel-release effort made to thwart piracy, which is rampant in China.

Pink Panther postponed (ComingSoon.net)
What? You mean, it might have been a bad idea in the first place?

The Simpsons are coming to the big screen (E! Online)
D'oh!

A sequel to Sixteen Candles? (Yahoo! News)
Molly Ringwald hopes so.

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