Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

With the release of the highly anticipated "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" — the sequel to the 2005 blockbuster "Narnia" film — set for May 6, producer Mark Johnson is pushing to get the third in the series of fantasy films in production by November.

He is, in fact, thinking ahead to "Narnia" 4 and 5 and 6 and 7, pointing out, "All the stories are different. It's true they all take place in Narnia, but the stories and the settings aren't the same. The last was set in the frozen winter and went into the spring. The new one takes place in the forest."

The sequel to the original "Narnia" shot from February to September of '07 in locations from New Zealand to Prague, at a cost that might nudge the $200 million mark. "I can tell you that it's larger physically than the first film," he says with reference to "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which brought in close to $300 million in this country alone. And as far as reports that "Narnia" the first cost $180 million, he responds, "You wouldn't be wrong if you used that figure, though Disney doesn't want me to talk money."

MEANWHILE: The cast and crew of AMC's lauded-but-loopy "Breaking Bad" series is awaiting word as to when — and if — the show will resume production. Says Mark Johnson, executive producer on the program that features Vince Gilligan as creator-director and "Malcolm in the Middle" dad Bryan Cranston as a dying science teacher who tries to raise money with a drug lab: "We were supposed to shoot eight episodes but only ended up with six plus the pilot because of the writers' strike."

"Bad," described in one of the Hollywood trades as "one of the bright spots in this train wreck of a 2008 television season," was originally made for FX, and after a turndown by that entity, it ended up at AMC, where, says Johnson, it's "received great support and a very positive reaction." But no word yet as to its future.

NOT SO EASY: Don't expect Charles Dutton to return anytime soon to location shooting in New Orleans, where he directed "Racing for Time," the Lifetime original movie debuting tomorrow (Feb. 16).

The Emmy-winning actor/director maintains that he found it difficult to get an ethnically diverse crew and says, "It's a good-ol'-boy town still, and they work things down there with a good-ol'-boy philosophy, so getting black people on your crew is like pulling teeth.

My analogy about directing is that it's like washing a battle ship with a Q-tip. When I direct, I have ethnically diverse crews, so to go there having to demand a representative number of African American people on the picture adds to the already mammoth task you have to endure."

Despite whatever hiring headaches he might have had, Dutton, who also stars in the movie, is pleased with the tale, based on a true story of a male prison guard who organizes a multiracial female track team within the Texas Correctional Youth Authority and turns the young inmates' lives around. "Lifetime was looking for something a little more edgy, raw and a little more young, so this is a perfect fit for them," he says.

Dutton snatched his femme lead in "Racing for Time," YaYa DaCosta, directly from the big-screen "Honeydripper." "She was so terrific as Danny Glover's daughter that I told her when I make my next movie I'm going to hire her," says Dutton, who plays Glover's sidekick in the tale of an Alabama juke joint trying to keep its doors open in 1960.

BYE, BYE, BYE: The Backstreet Boys may be reuniting, and rumors may abound about a possible get-together ahead for the New Kids on the Block — but don't bother entertaining the idea of an 'N Sync reunion. J.C. Chasez of the hit boy band says fans can say "bye, bye, bye" to any such hopes — at least "at this point in time. I think everybody's really excited about their own projects. Joey (Fatone) is doing a great job hosting these television shows. Obviously Justin (Timberlake) loves what he does and he's super successful at it, and rightfully so."

He continues, "When we were doing it, we said, 'We want to be as big as we can be. We want to put on the biggest shows. We want to sell the most records,' and we did, and we're proud of that fact, but now there are other things that we want to do. I'm excited about the things that I'm working on. I think that everybody in the group feels that way. If that changes at one point and we all decide to do something, then so be it."

Besides focusing on his music career, Chasez is busy being a judge on "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew," which has the country's top hip-hop crews battling it out each week. "I'm so excited to be bringing music and dancing back to MTV. It's music television, but it has been submerged with so many of those reality shows, which is a sign of the times, and it's good for what it is, but I was really happy to see MTV take the initiative to put a show together of such high production value that encompasses music and talent."

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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