‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’

One year after the incredible events of ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, the Kings and Queens of narnia find the themselves back in that faraway wondrous realm, only to discover that more than 1300 years have passed in Narnian time, During their absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has become extinct, Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz, who rules the land without mercy.

The four Pevensie children will soon meet an intriguing new character: Narnia’s Prince Caspian, who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne.

With the help of the kindly dwarf; a courageous talking mouse named Reepicheep; a badger named Trufflehunter and a Black Dwarf, Nikabarik; the Narnians, led by the mighty knights Peter and Caspian, embark on a remarkable journey to find Asian, rescue Narnia from Miraz’s tyrannical hold and restore magic and glory to the land.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published novel in C.S. Lewis’ children’s fantasy series. The Chronicles of Narnia.

It is the second in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, following The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). The four Pevensie children return to Narnia to aid Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) in his struggle for the throne against his corrupt uncle King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto).

The film was released on May 16, 2008 in the United States, and will be released on June 5, 2008 in Australia and June 27, 2008 in the United Kingdom.

Work on the script began before The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was

 released, so filming could begin before the actors grew too old for their parts.

Director Andrew Adamson wanted to make the film more spectacular than the first, and created an action sequence not in the novel to up the ante.

The Narnians were designed to look wilder as they have been hiding from persecution, to stress the darker tone of the sequel.

The filmmakers also took a Spanish influence for the antagonistic race of the Telmarines.

Filming began in February 2007 in New Zealand, but unlike the previous film, the majority of shooting took place in Central Europe, because of the larger sets available in those countries.

The movie will begin screening at Liberty cinema from June 19.

Vesak short film festival

The Sri Lanka National Film Corporation (NFC) in association with the Asian Aloka Foundation has organised a short film competition on a Buddhist theme concurrently with this year’s Vesak festival. NFC Advisor T.M. Sanghadasa said the competition is open to people of all ages. 23/16 mm creations in black and white or colour done in any language medium should be submitted in DVD form.

Creations should be of a duration of six to twelve minutes of the title. A candidate can submit one or more creations.

An affidavit should be submitted to prove the identity of the creation and its the candidates own creation.

Closing date for entries is August 16. Entries should be handed over to the NFC Cinema Cultural Bureau on or before this date.

The decision of the panel of judges will be final. Valuable prizes will be awarded to the winners. The first prize, trophy and Rs. 50,000 cash, second prize, trophy and Rs. 30,000 and third prize, trophy and Rs. 20,000.

There will also be seven consolation prizes of Rs. 10,000 each.

The awards festival will be held in October this year on a grand scale.

Action packed ‘The Incredible Hulk’ coming soon

“The Incredible Hulk” kicks off an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most popular superheroes of all time. In this new beginning, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) desperately hunts for a cure to the gamma radiation that poisoned his cells and unleashes the unbridled force of rage within him: The Hulk.

Living in the shadows, cut off from a life he knew and the woman he loves, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), Banner struggles to avoid the obsessive pursuit of his nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt), and the military machinery that seeks to capture him and brutally exploit his power.

As all three grapple with the secrets that led to The Hulk’s creation, they are confronted with a monstrous new adversary known as

The Abomination (Tim Roth), whose destructive strength exceeds even The Hulk’s own. And on June 13, 2008, one scientist must make an agonising final choice: accept a peaceful life as Bruce Banner or find heroism in the creature he holds inside.

The movie is directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Zak Penn. The cast includes Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Christina Cabot, Lou Ferrigno, Martin Starr, Ty Burrell.

The movie will unspool at Majestic cinema from June 20.

Course on Cinematography

The National Film Corporation has extended the closing date of applications for their six-month course on Cinematography till June 16.

The course will provide a basic theoretical knowledge on cinematography. Lectures will be conducted in Sinhala medium. Applications can be obtained from the Manager, Cultural Bureau, NFC, 303, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7.

The classes commence in July. Enquiries if any, may be addressed to Tel. 011-2585721.