Second 'Narnia' movie script in the works

By ALAN PERROTT


Work has reportedly begun on a script for a second movie in the C.S. Lewis Narnia series.

Mark Zoradi, president of Buena Vista International, Disney's foreign distributor, told film website Screen Daily that it was an ideal time to begin work on the next screenplay.

If The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was successful, he said, Disney might decide to film the next two at the same time.

"In my nearly 25 years at Disney, I've never seen the company so energised so early about a film."

The new script may be Prince Caspian, Lewis' second Narnia novel, although there is debate over the best order in which to read the series.

New Zealander Andrew Adamson, director of the Shrek movies, began filming for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the old Hobsonville airbase on Monday.

The Disney-Walden production reportedly boasts a budget of between $150 million and $230 million, making the project the biggest earner to hit Auckland since the America's Cup.

Filming continues in Auckland until October, then moves to the South Island and the Czech Republic before the movie's scheduled release at the end of next year.