CS Lewis to be Honored

A Service to dedicate a memorial to CS Lewis will be held at Westminster Abby on November 22, marking the 50th anniversary of his death
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Narnia Book facts

• Written by Christian apologist CS Lewis

• Published in 1950

• Seven Books in the Series

• Sold more than 100 million copies in 47 languages

• A lion named Aslan is a Christ-like figure

• Rights Owned by HarperCollins

• First editions are selling on the web for as much as $20,000

• JRR Tolkien's response to Wardrobe: "It really won't do, you know"

• JK Rowling says she adored Lewis' stories and they influenced Harry Potter


• A music video on Saturday Night Live featured a hip hop song entitled Chronicles of Narnia (Lazy Sunday). You can see the video below.

CS Lewis on Twitter

C.S. Lewis has joined the social media revolution. HarperCollins has created the official Twitter account for the Christian apologist. It will feature quotes and news about his books. The account already has more than 7000 followers. This coming Wednesday (Nov 16) Douglas Gresham (Lewis’ stepson) will be hosting a live twitter event. You can find the Twitter feed here.

Getting to Know.. CS Lewis

Here are a few highlights from the life of CS Lewis:

Job: Oxford professor of medieval poetry
Church: Anglican
Nickname: Jack

Timeline
1898: Born Clive Staples Lewis in Belfast, Ireland
1919: Began Attending Oxford
1923: Graduated Oxford
1931: Converted from Atheism to Christianity
1939: Started writing Wardrobe
1948: Returned to writing Wardrobe
1947: On the cover of TIME magazine
1950: First Chronicles of Narnia book published
1956: Marries American Joy Gresham
1960: Joy dies from cancer
1963: Lewis dies on the same day President Kennedy is assassinated
1994: A movie about Lewis is released called Shadowlands
2001-2005: Mere Christianity sells about a million copies in the US
2005: Screwtape Letters sells twice as many copies (843,000) as in the year 2001
2005: Disney releases The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, grossing more than $740 million
2008: Disney releases a sequel called Prince Caspian

The CS Lewis Bible

A new version of the Bible is out that includes passages from CS Lewis. HarperCollins says there are quotes from Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and A Grief Observed. The translation is the New Revised Standard Version.

#1 on the Big Screen

The new Chronicles of Narnia movie took the top slot in box office charts. The third installment in the series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, sold about $24.5 million in its first weekend, enough for No. 1 but on the low end of expectations. Unless it picks up, the series based on the CS Lewis books could end here.

CS Lewis off-Broadway

Two different plays are running off-Broadway right now about CS Lewis. There is a stage adaptation of his Screwtape Letters while Freud's Last Session is based on a book by Armand Nicholi called The Question of God which contrasts the views of Freud and Lewis. The play turns into a lively debate about God, sex, and politics. Neither show is marketed to a specifically Christian audience.

Screwtape is a Hit

A stage version of CS Lewis’ Screwtape Letters is becoming a big hit in Chicago. It has already turned out to be the most financially successful show in the history of the Mercury Theatre. Nearly every show is sold out as church groups are coming in droves. There are reports Screwtape is taking in more than $50,000 a week. And it just started in September.

Next Chronicles Will Make The Big Screen

The Chronicles of Narnia film series will go on. Disney dropped the series last month, leaving it up to co-producer Walden Media to keep the series alive. Walden is owned by conservative Christian businessman Philip Anschutz and does not have the ability to pull off the large scale production on its own. But 20th Century Fox has decided to step in and take Disney's place.

The next installment in the series will be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It's expect to hit the big screen in 2010, just before Christmas.

The first film, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe raked in a cool $745 million worldwide. The second film, Prince Caspian, made a respectable $420 million. That was more than any other Disney film made last year, except for WallcE. That’s not counting the fact that the DVD was among the top ten sellers last year which put another $83 million in Disney’s pocket. But for some reason, that wasn’t enough money for the entertainment giant.

The C.S. Lewis Society of California is glad to see Disney go. According to the Washington Times, Disney didn’t do much to work with people in churches and schools who have a special interest in Lewis’ work. Also, Disney made a change from the books written by CS Lewis by having in the second film, the main characters appear to be in their 20’s and flirty instead of showing them in their early teens and innocent.

Narnia Tumbles

Ticket sales for the second Narnia film fell 58% over the Memorial Day Weekend to about $28.6 million. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian has taken in $96.7 overall. Industry watchers say the dip could be the result of the powerful opening of the new Indiana Jones movie. Caspian still held on to the number two spot.

Caspian is #1

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is the top movie at the box office this weekend. The film based on the books of CS Lewis took in about $56.6 million. But that’s not as strong as the first Chronicles of Narnia movie. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe earned $65.6 million during its first three days of availability. Movie analysts had forecast an opening within the $80 million range.

Soft Opening for Narnia Film

Prince Caspian didn’t bring in as much money in its first day on the big screen as the first film in The Narnia Chronicles series, The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe. Prince earned $18 million at the box office while Lion took in $23 million. It’s estimated that the sequel will wind up with just over $50 million by the end of the weekend. That would be more than a forth less than the first Narnia installment. The next film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is already in production and should be out in two years.

Journey to Narnia

If you’re inspired by the new film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian you might want to get a closer look at the live of CS Lewis on whose writings the movie is based. You could read his classic series of seven books on Narnia, of course. But you also could take a trip to his old stomping grounds. One option is Globus’ Christian England & The World of CS Lewis, a 10-day tour includes visits to Oxford’s Magdalen College, where Lewis was elected a fellow in 1925, and Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry, where he is buried.

Caspian Hits the Big Screen

It may be standing room only for today's opening of Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The film is likely to be one of the summer's top earners because of the success of the franchise's first film and relatively weak competition this weekend. Exhibitor Relations predicts the movie could top $750 million in worldwide ticket sales. Critics have been generally positive about the film, though some Christian writers say some spiritual aspects of the book have been cut out - including a lessor role for the lion Aslan who represents Christ.

The Billionaire Behind Prince Caspian

Philip Anschutz says he was tired of seeing violence, sex and vulgarity in movies, so the billionaire decided to do something about it. He created Walden Media and started producing films like Bridge to Terabithia and Hoot. His latest effort hits the big screen this Friday. Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a sequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Made for about $180 million, the 2005 release raked in $745 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Price Caspian is expecting similar results. Here are some other Anschutz facts:
· Worth - more than $7 billion
· Home - Denver
· Church Affiliation - Evangelical Presbyterian Church
· Finances - A billionaire, he found a billion-barrel pocket of oil on a Utah farm, founded Qwest, owns the Staples Center in Los Angeles, controls the nation's largest cinema chain, Regal, co-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and owns 5 Major League Soccer teams
· Accessibility - Hasn't sat for an interview with a reporter since 1974
· Politics - major contributor to Republican candidates
· Moviemaking - His Walden Media made the Ray Charles biography Ray and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe adapted from C.S. Lewis's books

CS Lewis Screening

The CS Lewis Society of California will get a private screening of the new film Prince Caspian Saturday, May 17 at San Francisco’s Metreon. The film based on CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series opens on the big screen the night before. The first Narnia film, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, took in $740 million. Sales of Lewis's Narnia series have topped 100 million copies. The event includes a presentation by Cambridge professor Michael Ward who wrote Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis.

Caspian Ready to Launch

The second of CS Lewis' fantasy books to be made into a film is about to hit the big screen. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a sequal to the hit film The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe which did more than $300 million in domestic box office sales. Caspian is due out on May 16th. In it, the four Pervensie children return to Narnia to aid the young Prince Caspian in his struggle for the throne against his corrupt uncle King Miraz. It was shot in New Zealand and Eastern Europe. Movie tie-in editions of the books will be published by HarperCollins on May 5.

Advice to Wormwood

A stage version of the CS Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters is playing at the Lansburgh Theatre in Washington. It’s the advice of a senior devil to a younger tempter. It’s a product of the New Jersey-based Fellowship for the Performing Arts, a group that comes up with theater from a Christian worldview. The Washington Post calls it “handsomely produced” and the show will run through May 18^th.

CS LEWIS MOVIE

The second movie based on the C.S. Lewis' seven-part book series The Chronicles of Narnia will premiere on May 16. Prince Caspian is a follow up to the Disney’s 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It grossed nearly $750 million worldwide, helped along by cultural nods like a Saturday Night Live mock hip-hop ode called Lazy Sunday or The Chronic-what?-cles of Narnia which became a viral sensation online. The new film is still a family-safe PG and being shot in New Zealand. The third installment, The Dawn Treader, is due in 2010.