Source: Yahoo!

Readers, writers and book-lovers of all ages will come together Saturday, April 26th and Sunday, April 27th to participate in the highly anticipated 13th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the UCLA campus.

“The Los Angeles Times is proud to host one of the largest and most engaging literary festivals in the country. Now in its 13th year, The Festival of Books continues to expand and attracts a wonderful and diverse population of book-lovers while helping to promote literacy and the value of the written word,” said Publisher David D. Hiller.Over 140,000 attendees are expected this year, as the Festival brings together a hip, eclectic and family friendly line-up of talent, story-tellers, celebrities, musical performances and literary giants (full list at http://latimesfestivalofbooks.com). For the first time, the Festival of Books will offer “The Comix Strip,” an entirely new comic book, graphic novel and Manga-devoted event area, offering attendees access to the genres’ exhibitors, retailers and newest issues. Mike Mignola, creator of the Hellboy comic series, and other comics luminaries are slated to participate in special panels, programming and autograph sessions.

For children, families and the young at heart, the Target Children’s Stage will feature an array of entertainment and book readings by Julie Andrews; Aly and AJ; Henry Winkler; Cheech Marin; Marlee Matlin and Doug Cooney; Dylan and Cole Sprouse; Ben Barnes, “Prince Caspian” from the upcoming “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” movie; musical groups The Doodlebops(TM) and Playhouse Disney’s “Johnny and the Sprites,” and many more. Other Festival highlights include the prestigious 28th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prize awards ceremony April 25th and five additional outdoor stages featuring a variety of live entertainment throughout the weekend.

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Ben arrived in Tokyo Japan today to promote Prince Caspian. See the pictures in the gallery.

Hopefully we’ll get pictures from the press conference as well.

 Source: Yahoo!

Today HarperCollins Children’s Books announces the launch of its “Read It Before You See It” global digital campaign for C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. The massive web presence focuses attention on the seven books in the series as a lead in to the Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media release of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ film on May 16, 2008.HarperCollins and online agency Special Ops Media (www.specialopsmedia.com) are taking Narnia to where the readers live-online, working together to create a viral campaign that takes a 50-year-old classic brand to Web 2.0.

Extensive promotions on Facebook and MySpace, a custom Prince Caspian widget and “Enter to Win” consumer contests are among the Web 2.0 initiatives that will reach new and existing fans of Narnia in surprising interactive ways, presenting an enhanced look at the beloved world that is Narnia.

“Our comprehensive, highly-targeted “Read It Before You See It” online campaign allows us to leverage all our Narnia assets to create interactive, viral platforms. These will expand our audience by further engaging it and increasing its user-experience with the franchise, to grow readership in advance of the film,” said Diane Naughton, Vice President of Marketing, HarperCollins Children’s Books.

    The Narnia "Read It Before You See It" campaign includes:

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 Source: Yahoo!

Today HarperCollins Children’s Books announces the launch of its “Read It Before You See It” global digital campaign for C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. The massive web presence focuses attention on the seven books in the series as a lead in to the Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media release of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ film on May 16, 2008.HarperCollins and online agency Special Ops Media (www.specialopsmedia.com) are taking Narnia to where the readers live-online, working together to create a viral campaign that takes a 50-year-old classic brand to Web 2.0.

Extensive promotions on Facebook and MySpace, a custom Prince Caspian widget and “Enter to Win” consumer contests are among the Web 2.0 initiatives that will reach new and existing fans of Narnia in surprising interactive ways, presenting an enhanced look at the beloved world that is Narnia.

“Our comprehensive, highly-targeted “Read It Before You See It” online campaign allows us to leverage all our Narnia assets to create interactive, viral platforms. These will expand our audience by further engaging it and increasing its user-experience with the franchise, to grow readership in advance of the film,” said Diane Naughton, Vice President of Marketing, HarperCollins Children’s Books.

    The Narnia "Read It Before You See It" campaign includes:

 (more...)
		

Pal Zileri launches an intimate and rare international photographic exhibition starring British leading men Rhys Ifans, Jonny Lee Miller and the new Prince Caspian, Ben Barnes.

Italian men’s fashion label Pal Zileri is launching a global photographic exhibition featuring intimate and rare portraits of some of Britain’s most exciting acting and movie industry talent.

The exhibition features special and unique portraits of Rhys Ifans, partner of Sienna Miller and co-star alongside Hugh Grant in the British comedy classic “Notting Hill”, Tom Chambers the rising star of BBC’s Holby City, also 007 and Punisher Warzone movie star Colin Salmon.

It features portraits taken in LA of Trainspotting’s Jonny Lee Miller, ex-husband of Angelina Jolie and exclusive pictures of new British leading man Steve Hart, who sold 10,000,000 records in Europe, with his band World’s Apart, before being picked up by Hollywood and who recently split from Welsh opera diva Katherine Jenkins.

The exhibition also key notes British Hollywood über agent Nick Reed, whom the Sunday Times voted the 8th most powerful Brit in Hollywood and features the new Johnny Depp, Ben Barnes. Barnes is starring as Prince Caspian in the much anticipated sequel to Narnia, out in cinemas in May and is currently shooting Easy Virtue in London opposite Jessica Biel.

This international online exhibition of British photographer Howard Webster’s work will give Pal Zileri its due credit, showing the meeting point in design flexibility and day-to-day demands which stars, actors, singers, business entrepreneurs and overall lovers of good style, all share…good quality and cachet.

Source: NarniaWeb

There will be a new Prince Caspian trailer during the Super Bowl. You can watch it on Narnia.com (To view the video, click the Super Bowl link at the bottom of the page and then once the video loads, click the “Watch the Super Bowl Spot” link.) or watch it below.

Source: USATODAY

The first film inspired by C.S. Lewis’ seven-part Chronicles of Narnia had much to offer beyond The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. There was the faun (James McAvoy’s sweet Mr. Tumnus), the talking beavers and Santa, too.

But with a quartet of mostly unseasoned child actors as the Pevensie kids, the 2005 release was severely lacking in an elixir that fuels many fantasy epics: sex appeal.

But that was then. This is wow. Ben Barnes, 26, the British newcomer who plays the title role in Prince Caspian, has visitors to the film’s Internet Movie Database message board virtually drooling.

The graduate of London’s Kingston University can’t believe he’s playing the main character from one of his favorite childhood tales.

“It still hasn’t sunk in,” he says. “It’s been a whirlwind.”

One minute, Barnes was doing an audition tape in London. The next, he was in L.A., charming director Andrew Adamson. A couple of weeks later, he stood on Narnia’s set in New Zealand.

(more…)

Source: USATODAY

The first film inspired by C.S. Lewis’ seven-part Chronicles of Narnia had much to offer beyond The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. There was the faun (James McAvoy’s sweet Mr. Tumnus), the talking beavers and Santa, too.

But with a quartet of mostly unseasoned child actors as the Pevensie kids, the 2005 release was severely lacking in an elixir that fuels many fantasy epics: sex appeal.

But that was then. This is wow. Ben Barnes, 26, the British newcomer who plays the title role in Prince Caspian, has visitors to the film’s Internet Movie Database message board virtually drooling.

The graduate of London’s Kingston University can’t believe he’s playing the main character from one of his favorite childhood tales.

“It still hasn’t sunk in,” he says. “It’s been a whirlwind.”

One minute, Barnes was doing an audition tape in London. The next, he was in L.A., charming director Andrew Adamson. A couple of weeks later, he stood on Narnia’s set in New Zealand.

(more…)