Sirius Black's News

Deathly Hallows split!

plinker@yahoo.com — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:54:00 GMT

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-potter13mar13,0,7162166.story

By Geoff Boucher, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
1:11 PM PDT, March 12, 2008
WATFORD, England -- It's official: Eight will be the magic number for the "Harry Potter" film franchise.

After months of rumors, Warner Bros. and the producers of the massively successful movies will announce Thursday that they plan to split "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," J.K. Rowling's seventh and final "Potter" novel, into two blockbuster films -- one to be released in November 2010 and the second in May 2011.

The films will be titled, simply, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II," according to producer David Heyman. Director David Yates, who returned for his second tour of Potter duty with "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and is quite popular with the cast, will direct both "Deathly Hallows" films, which will be filmed concurrently. Screenwriter Steve Kloves also returns and, by completion of the franchise, will have written seven of the eight films.

One devoted "Potter" reader that is especially happy to hear the news is Daniel Radcliffe, the 18-year-old actor who plays the title character in the wizardry epic.

Some cynics will see the move as simply doubling the box-office payday, but Radcliffe told The Times that the split is purely in service of the story.

"I think it's the only way you can do it without cutting out a huge portion of the book," Radcliffe said recently during a break on the set of "Half-Blood Prince," the sixth "Potter" film, which is due in theaters on Nov. 21. "There have been compartmentalized subplots in the other books that have made them easier to cut -- although those cuts were still to the horror of some fans -- but the seventh book doesn't really have any subplots. It's one driving, pounding story from the word go."

Producer David Heyman said the decision was made with some anxiety and only after considerable deliberations. The producer joked that "while my wife and Warner Brothers were pleased" to hear that the Potter movie magic will continue into the next decade, he himself fretted that the cynical observers would see the decision as a purely mercenary move.

"I swear to you it was born out of purely creative reasons," Heyman said during an interview in a converted airplane factory outside London that has been home base to all of the "Potter" productions. "Unlike every other book, you cannot remove elements of this book. You can remove scenes of Ron playing quidditch from the fifth book, and you can remove Hermione and S.P.E.W. [Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare] and those subplots . . . but with the seventh, that can't be done."

Heyman said he approached Rowling with some trepidation about the strategy but found that she signed off on its logic rather quickly. "I went to Jo and she was cool with it," Heyman said, "and that was quite a relief."

Rowling has also been a more frequent visitor to the sixth movie's set than with previous installments. One big reason is that she is no longer busy trying to finish the "next" Potter book; she walked away from her signature character in July 2007, when the climactic "Deathly Hallows" hit stores, and continued the history-making ways of the series by selling 11 million copies during its first 24 hours on shelves.

The filming of "Half-Blood Prince" began in September, and Radcliffe said "it's been brilliant." He added: "It's also, I think, the funniest of the films so far."

The "Potter" films have pulled in a staggering $4.5 billion at the box office worldwide. Heyman said now that the "Potter" team knows they can split "Deathly Hollows" in half, the next challenge is figuring out the division.

As Heyman put it: "The question will be, where do you break it? And how do you make them one but two separate and distinct stories? Do you break it with a moment of suspense or one of resolution? These are the interesting challenges. But each book has presented its challenges."

Warner Bros. Chairman Alan Horn and Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, are expected to discuss the new plans for "Potter" on Thursday during a presentation at ShoWest, the convention of movie exhibitors in Las Vegas.

‘Phoenix’ interviews

tinferno@gmail.com — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 07:54:00 GMT

Several press conferences were held in London for Order of the Phoenix over this past weekend, with another one taking place just this morning. Now videos are starting to pour in - click here to view one from GMTV (with Dan), one from Sunrise (with a variety of cast), and one from Sky News (too with a variety of cast).

J K Rowling named “Entertainer of the Year”

tinferno@gmail.com — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 07:53:00 GMT

Entertainment Weekly has named J.K. Rowling their “Entertainer of the Year” for 2007 (cover here).The magazine says the reason they selected the Harry Potter author as their top entertainer was “because she did something very, very hard, and she did it very, very well, thus pleasing hundreds of millions of children and adults very, very much. In an era of videogame consoles, online multiplayer ”environments,” and tinier-is-better mobisodes, minisodes, and webisodes, she got people to tote around her big, fat old-fashioned printed-on-paper books as if they were the hottest new entertainment devices on the planet.”

Updates at JK Rowling.com and more

tinferno@gmail.com — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 07:52:00 GMT

JKRowling.com has recently been updated with several new features, including a special time turner on the Room of Requirement page. This enables visitors to view previous times in which the door on the site has been open.

Also, the Wizard of the Month section has been restructured so previous months and their respective wizards can be viewed.

You can also find out about the lawsuit that Jo and Warner Bros. has filed against the HP Lexicon and how that is progressing as well.

Potter is no.1

tinferno@gmail.com — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 08:29:00 GMT

Warner Brothers has announced this evening that the Harry Potter series is the largest-grossing film franchise to date globally, surpassing Star Wars and and James Bond. Totaling $4.47 billion in ticket sales (with two films left to go, WB points out), several high-ups at Warner Brothers are quoted in the press release:
In making the announcement, Alan Horn [President & Chief Operating Officer] said, “It would be an understatement to say we are proud of the success of the Harry Potter films. We also want to congratulate all of the extraordinary actors, filmmakers and artists who have shared this remarkable cinematic journey with us.”

J.K.Rowling provides details after Deathly Hallows

tinferno@gmail.com — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:07:23 GMT

Spoiler alert: This story reveals some key plot points in the final Harry Potter book. So if you've haven't finished the book, J.K. Rowling asks that you not read this story. If you found the epilogue of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” rather vague, then J.K. Rowling achieved her goal.

The author was shooting for “nebulous,” something “poetic.” She wanted the readers to feel as if they were looking at Platform 9� through the mist, unable to make out exactly who was there and who was not.

“I do, of course, have that information for you, should you require it,” she told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira rather coyly in her first interview since fans got their hands on the final book.
Ummm � yes, please!

Final Harry Potter book breaks all the records

tinferno@gmail.com — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 05:30:23 GMT

After weeks of hype ahead of the global release of J K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Saturday morning, retailers were clearly happy with weekend sales but were coy today about the details.

The Warehouse spokeswoman Cynthia Church said the chain sold 20 per cent more copies of the final instalment than of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Deathly Hallows averaged more than 300,000 copies in sales per hour globally - more than 5,000 a minute. It generated more than £125m ($250 million) of revenue, more than triple the opening weekend take for the latest Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which came out 10th July.

Door on JKRowling.com opens once more

tinferno@gmail.com — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:25:23 GMT

This time, though, there is no hidden way of getting inside the Room of Requirement on JK Rowling's official website. Instead, simply clicking on the door and then clicking a note laying on Jo's desk reveals a letter of acknowledgements from the Harry Potter author. She also includes a note to fans:

Within hours you will know what happens to Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest in their final adventure. All the secrets I have been carrying around for so long will be yours, too, and those who guessed correctly will be vindicated, and those who guessed wrongly will not, I hope, be too disappointed! As for me, I feel a heady mixture of excitement, nerves and relief. 'Deathly Hallows' remains my favourite of the series, even after several re-reads; I cannot wait to share it with the readers who have stuck with me through six previous books.

Rowling: Harry Potter 'the experience of a lifetime'

tinferno@gmail.com — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:24:23 GMT

In a new interview, JK Rowling expresses her feelings on the final Potter book. She describes the writing of the final words as similar to "a bereavement." She also addresses the criticisms she has faced by putting death in this last book. Even though some critics think that it may be too intense for children in this book, she makes no apologies for exposing it.

"I think children are very scared of this stuff even if they haven’t experienced it, and I think the way to meet that is head-on. I absolutely believe, as a writer and as a parent, that the solution is not to pretend things don’t happen but to examine them in a loving, safe way."

She also says that she "has no plans" for the future, but that she just wants to "fall in love with an idea again, and go with that."

Leaks and legal action mark final days before Potter release

tinferno@gmail.com — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 09:03:23 GMT

Leaks. Lawsuits. Profiteering. What a way to treat such a fine young man like Harry Potter.

Despite pleas for silence from author J.K. Rowling and some leading Potter fan sites, publishing's secret of all secrets, whether the wizard lives or dies, is in danger of becoming plain gossip as publication approaches for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

"As launch night looms, let's all, please, ignore the misinformation popping up on the web and in the press on the plot of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'" Rowling wrote in a message posted Wednesday on her Web site, http://www.jkrowling.com/.

"I'd like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot for all those who are looking forward to reading the book at the same time on publication day. In a very short time you will know EVERYTHING!"