While Warner Bros. find themselves at the end of some fandom backlash after the recent schedule move, leading star Daniel Radcliffe has answered the call for more information pertaining to the final three films, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 & 2. The actor attended a Q&A session from the New York Times called "TimesTalk" and the good folks at Snitch Seeker passed along the highlights.
-Dan said that of the Half-Blood Prince move from November 2008 to July 2009, he was told about it 24 hours before the rest of the world, and begs everyone not to blame him for the move.
- About Half-Blood Prince Dan says that the parts with Dumbledore and Voldemort are the darkest, while the scenes with Ron are the funniest yet; he also mentions that Jessie Cave (Lavender Brown) was really great to work with.
- Dan talked about a particular incident on the Half-Blood Prince set, where Rupert had his first kiss with Jessie, and Dan was in the background of the scene laughing and trying to get Rupert to break out from character and laugh as well.
- Dan addressed how Emma Watson was hesitant about signing up for the final films, and her reason for doing so was not because she did not want to, but because of her education and the need to evaluate what her options were, especially since the last Harry Potter films would require another three years of their lives. Emma chose not to rush into the decision, but her reason was not because she did not want to.
- When asked about the incident where Gary Oldman made Dan cry on the Order of the Phoenix set, he mentions that Gary shook him and shouted at him so fiercely that after he let go, Dan said he was nearly about to fall into a fetal position because of how distraught he had become. He said that Gary's a lovely director, and gave him advice as to how to react to someone dying, saying that he should throw his head back and scream, which he had done at the end of Order of the Phoenix when Sirius died in the Department of Mysteries.
- He said that Harry Potter was what got him into reading (saying that after finishing the first two books he took his time because he got lazy), but that after the movies he got back into the swing of reading. He was asked if he would do some kind of classroom-like discussion with students, though he admits he never thought about it.
- Dan's role models: Gary Oldman (who worked very hard); Stephen Fry (who he credits for making Britain brilliant; and a very talented all-around person); his parents; his best friend Will; and several cricket players.
- Dan addressed how Emma Watson was hesitant about signing up for the final films, and her reason for doing so was not because she did not want to, but because of her education and the need to evaluate what her options were, especially since the last Harry Potter films would require another three years of their lives. Emma chose not to rush into the decision, but her reason was not because she did not want to.
Yeah, she wouldn't want to make a misstep at this point in her life and end up hungry on the streets.
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"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Jean Fink, a 51-year-old Los Angeles artist who also works as an administrative assistant, was so distraught after a night of fitful sleep that she dashed off a scathing message to the man who'd betrayed her. "I can't breath amymore [sic] because you just ripped out my heart," she wrote in an Aug. 15 email.
Her tormentor: Alan Horn, president of Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. On Aug. 14, Mr. Horn announced the unusual decision to delay releasing the newest installment of the Harry Potter film series, initially set for release in November, for another eight months. "What he was doing was screwing up the world," fumes Ms. Fink. "I wasn't p- like I was going to go kill the guy, but I was angry. And I'm not done yet."
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The studio says it even received death threats. "I hope you choke on your own saliva," snarled one fan in an email.
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But die-hard fans, sometimes called "Potterheads," weren't appeased. Kerry McGee, a 24-year-old office administrator from Townsville, Australia, says Mr. Horn's attempt to create a positive spin on the delay "put fuel on the fire." In response to Mr. Horn's apology she sent 30 angry letters to Warner Bros. in bright red envelopes -- an allusion to "howlers," a magical kind of hate mail in the Potter world that screams loudly at the recipient and explodes violently if left unopened.
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Many fans felt Warner Bros.'s stated reason for the delay -- that the film would make a bigger splash in the middle of summer -- was a crass admission that the studio cares only about bigger box-office returns. "YOU just slapped the face of EVERY Harry Potter Fan and told us you don't care what we want -- you only want our money!" stormed Natalie DeGennaro, a 50-year-old electronic-design engineer who lives in Hillsborough, N.C., in an email she sent to Time Warner Chief Executive Jeffrey Bewkes, Warner Bros. Chairman Barry Meyer and other executives.
"You are blasted, greedy, money-driven executive b-," wrote Lauryn Adams, a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
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The fans, however, are still angry. Many are still signing petitions planning protests and uploading angry videos to YouTube. Ms. Fink, the artist and administrative assistant, recently stood outside Warner Bros.'s Burbank lot with a large sign. "Dear Mr. Horn," she scrawled in red marker. "You will forever be known as 'The man who changed Harry Potter's release date.' Are you happy now?"
Keep in mind though that the same level of excitement and fanatics surround the HP movies that hasn't been seen since before Lucas ruined the Star Wars franchise.
And personally, I'm fine with it if they delayed because they needed to repair a movie that a director fucked up. Hopefully they'll actually spend the money shooting and reshooting to get it done.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
I've seen Scientologists act in saner & calmer manners.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
WSJ reported a couple of weeks ago that it was delayed because the studio had little else to fill next summer's schedule, and figured summer would provide more $ than winter.
Hearing that it doesn't follow the book all that closely. There have been a few things in the trailer and I have no idea what they are.
Don't think that it is a bad thing though since the movies would be forever if they followed the book step by step and the Half Blood Prince was the worst of all the books. Still enjoyed it but it didn't seem to have as much going on.
Saw it, enjoyed it. I come from a point of view as having read the books.
IIRC, most of the book was a minor mystery about the identity of The Half Blood Prince, and the rest was, essentially, getting us ready for book 7. That's pretty much what we got in the movie.
Besides a couple minor, needless omissions that they will now have to replace in book 7 with some other setup, this may be the best movie yet. I have to let it soak in awhile. I do think, however, this has the best cinematography. There were several shots that I was appreciating as very well done as I was seeing them. Don't remember much of that in the previous films.
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"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Kind of bummed after seeing this. As stated above this was my least favorite book so I didn't go in thinking this would be my favorite movie but again disappointed. The best part of the book for me was the looking back at Tom Riddles life and there was almost none of that. I thought it was pretty funny in parts though and Slugghorn was cool.
Half Blood Spoilers
What was the point of the attack on the Wesleys house? I don't remember that in the book and it didn't seem to go anywhere. Was it just to add an action scene? If so I didn't think it was all that exciting or fun.
Plus why do they always have to end the film on a happy we can over come anything with friends note? The book ends with Harry dumping Ginny and leaving the school to find the rest of the Horecruxs(or however it was spelled) and Goblet of Fire ends with everyone splitting up to try and recruit people for the good army but the films just end with this were still friends and will help you Harry scene. Are they trying to make the non book readers who are watching happy? They can't be making it friendlier for kids because I would assume that almost every kid in the movie has read the books. For a series that has people dying, people killing their parents and friends, blowing up bridges, and self mutatation so you can mix your body parts into a stew that includes that bones of your dead father that you murdered so you can rise from the almost dead after trying to kill a baby, it just seems like an unnecessary change.
