How NOT to do Jill meeting Aslan
Posted: Apr 13, 2017 3:13 pm
My favorite scene out of all seven Chronicles of when Jill is given a task by Aslan. Almost ever single line is breath-taking. Aslan behaves in such a fascinating way that left a powerful impression on me as a reader. I connected with Jill struggling to choose between trusting the scary lion or dying of thirst. And the four signs are the best teaser trailer ever (after reading that, I knew I HAD to finish the book to find out how they would look). This scene is the foundation of both the story and Jill's character.
It is easy to see where they could go wrong in the movie adaptation. In short, the same wrong way they went with Professor Kirke's "Three possibilities" scene in LWW. Basically, they made a short list of the minimum requirements, hit them quickly, and moved on. The result: The bullet points with zero impact.
I am concerned the SC film will use this scene only for exposition. I can imagine movie-Aslan quickly listing the signs and then sending Jill on her way.
They must not rush through this. The movie could live or die on this scene. If Aslan doesn't have an intimidating presence, the audience won't share Jill's sense of urgency. If the audience doesn't connect with Jill's struggle to trust Aslan, they won't care about her emotional journey for the rest of the movie. And if they aren't intrigued by the four signs, what reason will they even have to keep watching?
I was trying to find something similar that has already been done in film and thought about this brilliant scene from The Matrix. I love the disconcerting feeling that Morpheus seems to know so much, and the sense of "no turning back now" at the end.
It is easy to see where they could go wrong in the movie adaptation. In short, the same wrong way they went with Professor Kirke's "Three possibilities" scene in LWW. Basically, they made a short list of the minimum requirements, hit them quickly, and moved on. The result: The bullet points with zero impact.
I am concerned the SC film will use this scene only for exposition. I can imagine movie-Aslan quickly listing the signs and then sending Jill on her way.
They must not rush through this. The movie could live or die on this scene. If Aslan doesn't have an intimidating presence, the audience won't share Jill's sense of urgency. If the audience doesn't connect with Jill's struggle to trust Aslan, they won't care about her emotional journey for the rest of the movie. And if they aren't intrigued by the four signs, what reason will they even have to keep watching?
I was trying to find something similar that has already been done in film and thought about this brilliant scene from The Matrix. I love the disconcerting feeling that Morpheus seems to know so much, and the sense of "no turning back now" at the end.