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Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby icarus » Dec 29, 2019 5:23 pm

Last week I watched the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher books, which was shot predominantly in Hungary.

Then this week I watched the Netflix adaptation of William Shakespeare's King Henry V (simply titled 'The King') which was also shot in Hungary - I'm pretty sure they filmed it on the exact same studio backlot as the village set looked identical to the one in The Witcher.

I am currently tempted to start watching the BBC / Netflix adaptation of The Last Kingdom, which you guessed it, was filmed predominantly in Hungary.

All of which is a long way to say that if I were a betting man I'd put my money on Narnia shooting at least in part in Hungary.
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby Cleander » Dec 29, 2019 6:29 pm

Hmmm, there may be something in that. Perhaps a Netflix had a multiyear deal of some kind with somebody in Hungary...
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby coracle » Dec 29, 2019 7:41 pm

I'd like to think they will vary the scenery!! Narnia needs to look different from other fantasy locations.
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby jewel » Dec 29, 2019 8:50 pm

SilverSea wrote:I bet the Dawn Treader episodes will be filmed on some studio water tank like how the 2010 movie was supposed to be done.

I'd prefer if the series was filmed on location instead of a studio. Studio sets tend to look extremely soundstage-y in the final product. Granted that kind of aesthetic worked for the Series of Unfortunate Events TV series since it had a stylized fakeness to it, but Narnia has to look real.


Agreed! Film Studios have given in too much to making movies in studios rather than actual locations.
I read the question to this topic again, and as I thought about it, I thought Middle Europe would be good because of all the mountains. Maybe Austria? ''The hills are alive because of the sound of music!'' Oh wait, that's not Narnia! Haha! There are plenty of good locations for the Silver Chair.
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby coracle » Dec 30, 2019 12:47 am

Not just The Silver Chair, jewel, but the entire Narnia series.
(Netflix is not beginning with the next film we were previously awaiting, but we assume it will begin with The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, or The Magician's Nephew).
“Not all of us can choose what we give up. The things we love are taken or are never ours at all. If we’re lucky, life is defined not by what we let go, but what we let in: friendship and kind words, frailty and hope.”

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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby Glenwit » Dec 31, 2019 2:15 am

DAE think that Mapperton House in Dorset would make an absolutely stunning Kirk Mansion?

It is a lot like the house I've always seen in my mind's eye when reading the books.
It also bears an uncanny resemblance to Pauline Baynes' illustration of the house on page 55 of LWW (which I never noticed until like a year or two ago) and would also bring a level of authenticity regarding the location of the house in the book (I believe it was implied in MN to be in Dorset).
Plus the grounds would make for some really cool outdoor scenes/shots.
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby Impending Doom » Dec 31, 2019 1:00 pm

Do let's stay away from New Zealand. It's synonymous with Middle Earth. Its grandeur, in my opinion, just doesn't fit Narnia's aesthetic (in most instances). I'd like to trade in the soaring mountains, giant forests, and vast plains for a more cozy version of Narnia.

Narnia is quintessentially British. The more time I spend there, the more it reflects the Narnia I read in the books. It's inescapably Narnian.

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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby coracle » Dec 31, 2019 8:15 pm

Although I would love to work on Narnia films or TV, and I live in New Zealand, I agree with you. The natural landscape is generally not as cosily British as Narnia needs.
I'd love to see some of Ireland used, especially the areas Lewis grew up in. It's a beautiful country.
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby mm1991 » Jan 02, 2020 3:28 am

Norway and Finland would be very interesting locations to film, very beautiful.
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby Reepicheep775 » Jan 02, 2020 10:19 am

Impending Doom wrote:Do let's stay away from New Zealand. It's synonymous with Middle Earth. Its grandeur, in my opinion, just doesn't fit Narnia's aesthetic (in most instances). I'd like to trade in the soaring mountains, giant forests, and vast plains for a more cozy version of Narnia.

Narnia is quintessentially British. The more time I spend there, the more it reflects the Narnia I read in the books. It's inescapably Narnian.

C.S. Lewis wrote:I have seen landscapes, notably in the Mourne Mountains and southwards which under a particular light made me feel that at any moment a giant might raise his head over the next ridge. I yearn to see County Down in the snow, one almost expects to see a march of dwarfs dashing past. How I long to break into a world where such things were true.


Bring Narnia back to its home in the UK!

It would be really cool if they filmed in the magic-looking locations Lewis knew from his childhood. I don't think you could get any more authentically Narnian than that. The more I think about it, the more I think Ireland should be where they film the new series - at least the portions that take place in Narnia.

I've also been thinking about how to film the portions of the story that take place in England. I think it would be best to minimize the use of nature shots while in England and instead show the more industrial, urban side of it. Or maybe have every nature shot have some kind of ugly man-made structures that go along with it. If you show a forest, show loggers. If you show the sea, show shipyards. etc. Make it look like there's nothing that humans haven't "defiled" (to use the language of PC).

It would create a contrast when the kids go to Narnia. The Walden movies did this a little bit, but it mostly focused on the war, the kids being powerless, and grey camera filters contrasting with the bright colours of Narnia.
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby coracle » Jan 02, 2020 12:03 pm

And the wartime English scenes weren't even shot in UK.
“Not all of us can choose what we give up. The things we love are taken or are never ours at all. If we’re lucky, life is defined not by what we let go, but what we let in: friendship and kind words, frailty and hope.”

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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby Impending Doom » Jan 03, 2020 12:09 pm

Glenwit wrote:DAE think that Mapperton House in Dorset would make an absolutely stunning Kirk Mansion? Plus the grounds would make for some really cool outdoor scenes/shots.

I just had the chance to look into the Mapperton House today... What a beautiful location! The gardens would make an excellent set. I wonder if they'd allow an entire crew to film there. Though, it would only be exterior scenes being filmed so it wouldn't cause a large disturbance to the House.

Reepicheep775 wrote:I've also been thinking about how to film the portions of the story that take place in England. I think it would be best to minimize the use of nature shots while in England and instead show the more industrial, urban side of it. Or maybe have every nature shot have some kind of ugly man-made structures that go along with it. If you show a forest, show loggers. If you show the sea, show shipyards. etc. Make it look like there's nothing that humans haven't "defiled" (to use the language of PC).

It would create a contrast when the kids go to Narnia. The Walden movies did this a little bit, but it mostly focused on the war, the kids being powerless, and grey camera filters contrasting with the bright colours of Narnia.


Love that idea! It's actually very Narnian, thematically.
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby coracle » Jan 03, 2020 1:01 pm

It's a bit unfair to England though. PC and VDT did the wartime city scenes well, only missing showing people's lawns converted to grow vegetables.
But the countryside remained beautiful and unspoiled. It wasn't Isengard. ;)
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby icarus » Jan 03, 2020 5:28 pm

Cleander wrote:Hmmm, there may be something in that. Perhaps a Netflix had a multiyear deal of some kind with somebody in Hungary...


I don't know. It's hard to assess exactly what Netflix's business model is when it comes to original productions, and how much direct involvement they have in the day-to-day filming, however if you exclude the material they simply license from other producers and re-brand as Netflix "Originals", I do tend to notice the same filming locations re-appear again and again in their own-branded productions.

Some of it is perhaps inevitable, particularly with the various shows set in New York (Russian Doll, the Marvel shows, etc.) however even then there are some oddly specific city blocks and individual buildings they return to shoot in time and time again. Maybe its just a convenience thing, maybe its just a case that when you watch enough TV shows and movies in general you realise there are only a finite number of easily accessible filming locations for certain types of scenes.
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby Reepicheep775 » Jan 03, 2020 5:29 pm

coracle wrote:It's a bit unfair to England though. PC and VDT did the wartime city scenes well, only missing showing people's lawns converted to grow vegetables.
But the countryside remained beautiful and unspoiled. It wasn't Isengard. ;)

Oh, for sure! I've never been to England, but pictures I've seen of its countryside look beautiful. I just thought an exaggerated portrayal of our world would fit well thematically. It could be a bit like Lewis using satirical exaggeration of modern schools to portray Experiment House.
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Re: Ideal Filming Locations for Netflix

Postby aileth » Jan 08, 2020 11:38 am

Glenwit wrote:DAE think that Mapperton House in Dorset would make an absolutely stunning Kirk Mansion? ... and would also bring a level of authenticity regarding the location of the house in the book (I believe it was implied in MN to be in Dorset).
Plus the grounds would make for some really cool outdoor scenes/shots.

Wouldn't gripe too hard if they used this house :) Dorset definitely has some places that feel right (though I imagine that Ireland is even better for that)

The place where my brother and I stayed in Dorset had this long view south to the Purbeck Hills. Most days it was too rainy to see much, but occasionally we could see Corfe Castle, set between two hills, just like the Witch's castle. It was quite distant, and hazy, so it had a really fairy-tale look to it. There are these tall cliffs, down near Old Harry Rocks, that felt exactly as Lewis described the cliff of Aslan's country in Silver Chair. Not as tall, of course, but a couple hundred feet down to the ocean far below. The turf, the wind, the loneliness--quite the feeling. It also felt like a snippet out of Watership Down, with dozens of rabbits, and their warrens extending all the way to the cliff. Not sure what happens to them when the cliff collapses into the ocean.
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