Dark Horizons Speaks to Narnia Director Andrew Adamson
11/22/05
Paul Fischer of Dark Horizons interviewed Narnia director Adam Adamson recently, with some rather good and insightful questions. Here's a choice excerpt:
Question: Was It Hard To Be True To The Book, Doing The Adaptation?
Adamson: Yes and no. I actually set out really not to make the book so much as my memory of the book because I realized in reading the book as an adult that it was kind of like the house that you grew up in, much smaller than I remembered. And I wanted to catch the more epic story that I remembered which I think was expanded by my experiences over 30 years, by the fact that I had read all seven books, and that the world had actually expanded C.S. Lewis in writing all seven books.
Question: How influential was Lewis' stepson and did you 2 see eye-to-eye on everything?
Adamson: Douglas Gresham was actually a huge cheerleader. He had wanted to make this movie for 15 years and wanted to find somebody who was gonna to make the book in a way that he felt C.S. Lewis had intended, and we shared that in common. So we always tended to agree on most things. He was a huge asset and at times when I was adapting, particularly in the writing process, when I could call him up and say, look does this take anything away from what Jack intended or does this addition change things too much? The only thing we really debated at any length was what I considered a sexist aspect of the book. It's when Father Christmas gives weapons to the kids, and says to the girls, I don't intend you to use them because weapons are ugly when women fight. I just came off doing two films which I think were empowering to girls -- the Princess Fiona character I think is an empowering character -- and I said to Doug, I understand that C.S. Lewis might have had these dated ideals, but at the same time there's no way I could put that in a film . . . He wasn't really expressing his own ideas so much as C.S. Lewis and the way I got around it, I think, is that I said -- he wrote this book before I met your mom. And if you look at his books actually after he met Joy, there are a lot more strong female characters. I think he had more exposure to strong female characters after that point. And Doug really was the one who came to the sort of compromise that worked, which is just Father Christmas saying -- I hope you don't have to use them because battles are ugly affairs. And that could apply to both girls and boys.
Question: Where does your passion for this material come from?
Adamson: I mean -- I grew up with the books when I was eight. I think in retrospect, trying to figure out why I liked them so much or why so many people have liked them over generations of readings, is the idea of the possibility of imaginary places existing. That's very evocative. The idea that you can just find the right door and step into a magic land I think is pretty universal for kids who exist so much in their imaginations. But I think it's good also that it's very empowering for children. These kids when they step into Narnia are not kids any more. They're kings and queens and given a lot of responsibility, and carry a lot of weight. But with that comes a sense of empowerment and to me that's sort of what the story is about. It's about a family, disenfranchised in World War two, that's taken to a world where they're not only empowered but they are the solution to the problems. And it's actually through coming together as a family that they overcome evil. So I think that's a really great story for kids.
Question: Why do you think it was important to respect the Second World War and set the film at that time?
Adamson: First of all, I don't think the estate would have allowed it to be adapted in a modern sort of different setting which I think that's one of the reasons they never managed to get it off the ground before. At the same time, in defence of what Paramount was doing, I don't think that it was the climate -- I don't think people knew or felt or the studios felt that you could take a piece of classic British literature and adapt it in a way that was faithful and have it be commercially viable. I think I'm lucky in the timing, in that Lord Of The Rings has been very successful, the Harry Potter series has been very successful, studios have seen you can take classic English literature or in some cases modern English literature, adapt it in a way that was true, adapt it in a way that was still British, it could be successful and with no stars.
Question: Was it difficult to cast precisely the way you wanted it?
Adamson: Finding the kids was tricky. I wanted very real kids . . . find a kid who was very like the character, so wasn't so much about acting as being themselves -- not to take anything away from the kids. I think I was very lucky to find a lot of kids who were very empathic -- Georgie was eight years old when she started this. She just operated from a very personal point. And she very much is like a Lucy to be. So that was the challenge and It was about an 18-month process to find the children.
Question: What about the religious element?
Adamson: I think the ideas of good, evil, forgiveness and sacrifice are very present in the book, and I think that's what makes it so universally appealing. I think the idea of forgiveness is a human condition regardless of your belief or religion . . . it's just something that -- it's an easy thing to say that the world would be a better place with a lot more forgiveness. I didn't think a lot about the religious aspect of the film. I know people have interpreted the book in many different ways over different years. I read it when I was eight years old before I even knew what the word "allegory" means. I don't know if C.S. Lewis really intended it to be allegorical, but he definitely wrote from a place of his own belief. And a lot of people get that from the book. I think because I set out to make a film of the book and I think I've stayed really true to the book, I think people can interpret the movie the same way. They can apply their personal belief and interpret the movie the same way they interpreted the book.
