Spotlight on Walden Media

Kudos to Walden Media on its lengthy profile in this week's Entertainment Weekly. Though not (yet) a household name, Walden is the company behind "The Chronicles of Narnia" movie, as well as "Holes," "Because of Winn-Dixie," and the upcoming "Hoot" and "Charlotte's Web." EW, the arbiter of all things hip in Hollywood, offers a detailed look at the phenomenal success of this young company--a success, as the magazine says, that is "fueled by its exclusive focus on Hollywood's least sexy genre: the family film."

Yes, the much-maligned, oft-mocked family flick is enjoying its moment in the sun. Founded by two old friends, Walden's strategy seems so simple that you (or at least I) would have assumed it'd been done by a million others before them: Ask children's librarians and teachers what books they'd recommend, and then make high-quality films from those books. Done and done.