The gala premiere of Narnia

Published on Friday, December 16th, 2005

I have never believed that my web development skills would put me on the red carpet, but it came true Wednesday night. I had the immense pleasure of being invited to the gala premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe here in Stockholm.

The reason I was invited is that I’ve become friends with a guy working for the client I’m currently doing some consulting for, and he got invited to it, and in turn invited me. So, a little far-fetched, but then my line of work actually did get me on the red carpet (or, actually, it was white due to the ice theme). A lot of Swedish celebrities were there, and little me. :-)

When I got there, there was a long line of people outside the movie theater Rigoletto. After queuing for a while, we got to the door and got to go through a tunnel of some sorts, totally white and inside of it fake snow fell down on us. Lots of cameras, journalists, interviews; tables filled with wine, just for your pleasure. However, my impression was what some (most?) famous people were rather there to be seen and/or to see a movie for free and get something to drink.

The movie itself was ok. I really liked the first hour or so of it, building up the ambience. But after that, it kind of felt like they rushed through the movie, just crossing things off the list. Some of the digital effects were really spectacular, but one was, for no understandable reason, pretty shabby. So, all in all, definitely worth seeing but not as good as it could’ve been.

Wonder which my next gala premiere will be? :-)

Posted in Fun | 6 comments

6 comments

  • Jules
    December 16th, 2005 at 15:40

    We took our sons (10 and 12 yrs) on Saturday (had to pay, bummer) and we all really enjoyed it. My wife and sons had read the book, I hadn’t although I’ve known about it for a long time. I read it afterwards and was pleased that the movie followed the book very well and that any deviations I noticed were improved in the movie over the book.

    The rushing as you called it, late in the story, would seem to exist in the book as well. The climax for me was the battle but in fact, there is very little battle in the book, just the part when Aslan arrives.

    In some ways, I find the story reminds me of LOTR which may not be very far from the truth because J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis were friends. However, LWW is more likely geared to a younger audience thereby affecting the length of the story, the amount of detail and the amount of violence/battle scenes. C.S. Lewis also has a strong Christian message in it which is likely responsible for its gentler tone.

    I recently heard that a movie of Prince Caspian, another story in the Narnia Chronicles featuring the same children (I haven’t yet read this story) is already underway.

  • Robert Nyman - author
    December 16th, 2005 at 16:52

    Jules,

    Thanks for sharing!

    I haven’t read the books either, but I’m really considering it. Being a big fan of Tolkien’s work, and also knowing about his and C.S. Lewis’ friendship, what could possibly go wrong? :-)

    Personally, I’m not that into the battles, so the less battles and more other story, the better I’ll find it. With Lord of the Rings, I prefer the first book. More story and background, more other worlds, and less fighting. Basically, I’m just more of an adventure guy than a battles guy.

    And not really a big surprise that there will be more Narnia books turned into movies. :-)

  • Jonathan
    December 16th, 2005 at 17:50

    Read the books. Now. :)

    Seriously, Narnia is a great series. I think you’ll like it.

  • Sumeet
    December 16th, 2005 at 21:52

    If you do plan to read the books, take a few moments to consider the order in which you’ll read them. It really will change the way you come to appreciate them.

    You may know that there are seven books in total, and that the first book chronologically isn’t The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It’s The Magician’s Nephew. However, most would agree that it’s best not to read The Magician’s Nephew first. Everything got all crazy-like because Lewis wrote them out of order and they weren’t even published in the order he wrote them.

    I’ll gather up some boldness and offer my personal advice: Read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first. Read The Last Battle last. Anything in between is your call - it’s more fun that way :-)

  • Robert Nyman hits the Narnia Premier in Sweden on The uber geeks
    December 19th, 2005 at 5:34

    [...] Narnia Premier in Sweden By Colin D. Devroe with no reader comments Robert Nyman talks about his time at the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the [...]

  • Robert Nyman - author
    December 19th, 2005 at 9:35

    Jonathan,

    Yes, I think I’m obliged to now!

    Sumeet,

    Thanks for the tip, I will really consider it! :-)
    I had no idea about the different order.

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