'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' press conference

Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy and the rest of 'The Chronicles of Narnia' cast and crew discuss the film.

Nov 18 2005

Time Out spent a little time in Narnia this week, attending an early screening of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' at Pinewood Studios before catching up with the cast and crew at a press conference at Clevedon House.

Unfortunately, we can't review the film until early next month (although we will say that fans of the book won't be disappointed). However, we can tell you what those involved had to say about the project.

Director Andrew Adamson disclosed that Clevedon House was the perfect venue for the press conference as that was where they handed CS Lewis's stepson their treatment for the script when first trying to get the project off the ground.

He said that he read all seven books in the series when he was a child, and the fact that Lewis left so much to the imagination in his writing was both a blessing and a curse. 'Everyone had their own expectations' he explained, 'And the challenge was meeting and exceeding those expectations.'

Howard Berger, the man behind the movie's marvellous creature make-up, declared that bringing Aslan the lion to the screen was a huge challenge. 'He originally looked like a dinosaur he was so big' he explained. 'We were worried that he was going to step on one of the kids! But once we scaled him down he looked great and the kids became really attached to him.'

James McAvoy, who portrays the hugely popular Mr Tumnus in the film, admitted 'It was a pleasure and a privilege to play such a popular character.'

He revealed that walking the Tumnus walk was something of a trial, having to march around on tiptoes with his knees bent and even sauntering on set in a pair of high heels while trying to stride with a goat-like gait.

Tilda Swinton, who gives a nightmare-inducing performance as Jadis, the White Witch, said that rather than shouting and screaming at the children, she decided to give a more subtle representation of evil, maintaining a cold, frosty veneer as the villain of the piece. She added that she enjoyed playing Jadis, saying 'It was fun, and it's going to go on being fun I hope.'

Dawn French, who lends her dulcet tones to the hilarious Mrs Beaver in the film, said that Jennifer Saunders advised her to take the part after an enjoyable experience spent voicing 'Shrek 2'.

However, French admitted that much of the appeal was the opportunity to act opposite old pal Ray Winstone (who plays Mr Beaver) but unfortunately the pair of them ended up doing all their voice work separately.

Finally, producer Mark Johnson discussed the journey from book to screen, and admitted that audiences had a narrow escape from a sacrilegious Americanisation of the piece. Apparently, when he first came to the project, the story was set in modern day California, with the film's Turkish Delight replaced by cheeseburgers!

Mercifully, Johnson made sure that the film stayed true to the source material, and says that it was a joy bringing the characters to life.

He added that both he and Adamson would love to make a sequel if the first of the chronicles is a success: 'I'd be quite happy to make all seven. 'Prince Caspian' would probably be next as it has all four of the children so they won’t be too old. But we’ll just take it step by step.'

'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' is released on December 8.

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