In The News
Dan, Rupert, and Emma Talk "Half-Blood Prince" and Beyond in New Interviews
HBP FilmCanada’s Edmonton Sun Newspaper has two new interviews online where they sit down with Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), along with “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” director David Yates and its producer David Heyman, to discuss many different topics related to the sixth film. These interviews focus on the casts’ thoughts and experiences on the sixth Harry Potter film, which is currently in production, and their expectations of the seventh film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” set for release in 2010. Having grown up in these roles, Dan, Rupert, and Emma speak on this in the first of the interviews, which go into detail about acting, their passion for it, and their future prospects. Director David Yates begins this article simply by saying the casting of the young trio is “a remarkable thing.”
Harry Potter film producer David Heyman gives much of the credit to Chris Columbus, who chose and directed the young actors in the first two films “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” He says:
“Chris Columbus deserves huge credit in casting who he cast… They were obviously not the only choices he had. These were the choices he made and I am forever grateful to him for that.”
Speaking to the subject of making the “Harry Potter” films with a sense of professionalism and dedication, even at a young age, Dan Radcliffe is quoted as saying:
“I don’t think the franchise, in a way, needs any justification because it is such a leviathan of a thing anyway. Things don’t get that big without merit.
“But, I suppose, it (extra work on the DVDs) is almost to prove to people that we are, in fact, taking this very seriously. More seriously than people would probably assume. I took it very seriously when I was 11 and (growing up in the Harry Potter role) I’ve taken it more and more seriously.
“So, to me, it’s just about letting people know that I’m incredibly serious and passionate about this – this series of films – and how much they mean to me. If you’ve been involved in something for more than seven years now, you want to be able to talk about it articulately and explain why you love it, explain why you loved being involved in it so much.”
The Harry Potter films are not the only things on the young actor’s minds, as Emma Watson also relates in this article, working on future projects will determine whether this is the true career path for her. She says of this decision:
“I did a film for the BBC, called Ballet Shoes, in the summer. Having an experience outside of Harry Potter really helped me. I think it convinced me that this is where I am meant to be and this is what I’m meant to be doing: That I do want to be an actress.
“But I think I needed to have an experience outside of Harry Potter because, in a way, I was really plucked out of obscurity and given this role. I mean, I really wanted it but it never felt like a decision that I made. It just happened to me. I felt that I won the lottery. So I’ve always kind of slightly questioned it.”
Dan, Rupert, and Emma also spend more time talking of the “Half-Blood Prince” film in the second interview, where Dan comments on the ‘tonal shift from the brooding atmosphere of The Order of the Phoenix’ by noting his his personal preference for the “morbid” undertones verses the lighter aspects of the story. He explains this by saying:
“I think the script’s great and I think it’s going to be a really great film. But I’m just one of those people that, in what I’m doing, I always lean toward the dark side and I really enjoy doing the dark stuff.
“I know Emma and Rupert really, really like the lighter stories and all that. And Rupert particularly is really going to have a field day on this, because he’s got fantastic comic timing and he’ll be able to use all of that to great effect on this film with his relationship with Lavender Brown.
“(But) I’m actually going to miss doing all the morbid stuff, I think.”
Dan describes his eagerness for the seventh film by calling it “the one last hurrah, that film. That’s going to be great. I really am very, very excited about the whole thing. It’s going to be epic, I hope.” While Rupert Grint speaks to the new production by noting, like each of the films, its “own sort of atmosphere,” and goes on to say:
“It’s got sort of a dark undertone to it because Voldemort is back and that is quite a scary time for them. But there are some really cool bits in it. Ron gets a girlfriend in it, so that’s going to be quite cool.”
Continuing on this subject of romance in the film, producer David Heyman is also quoted as saying of the balancing of these emotions:
“It’s much more comedy and the awkwardness of romance. And the romance goes beyond Harry into Hermione and Ron and other characters. I also think it’s about characters growing apart as well as realizing the importance of one another.”
The article concludes to describe a certain ‘awkward reference’ to the wand of Albus Dumbledore in an original draft of the “Half-Blood Prince” script, which had to be revised in light of the publication of author J. K. Rowling’s seventh novel “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” this past July. Heyman says of this revision: “For obvious reasons (if you’ve read the seventh book) it had to be changed.”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” will be released in theaters November 2008.
Many thanks to redcakesfan and all who mailed!
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I don’t really know how I feel about all this talk about HBP as a “love comedy”. For me HBP is quite a dark book and not at all a comedy!
Well said, redbeard. I agree with you completely. People are too quick to get upset, I think. I’m really excited for HBP. It has a simply fantastic, heart-stopping climax. The cave scene with the inferi and Dumbledore drinking that wretched potion was extremely chilling and things only gathered momentum from there. Won’t it be something to watch Harry and Dumbledore return to see the dark mark hovering over Hogwarts? Those scenes were thrilling! I enjoyed the lighter aspects too – like quidditch, Harry/Ginny, etc. Harry needs to have those sweet memories to tide him over through the chaos that is DH. HBP wasn’t bogged down by any one tone. It was the combination of light-hearted and dark moments that made it great. If the movie can capture that we shouldn’t have a problem.
I don’t want to hear about all that romantic comedy stuff again. Can’t they talk about any other stuff in the interviews: like Quidditch I wouldn’t mind if they talked a bit about that or anything ELSE: Slughorn, Dumbledore, important things!
And Dan said the script is not as dark as he prefers. :( It’s not all fluffy i hope <3>
Have they cast who would play Vol.’s mother and grandfather and uncle yet? even Vol.’s father?
why is everyone so upset about some of the lighter aspects of hbp? jo herself is responsible for all the lavender-hermoine moments, is she not? i think in an interview a few years ago she mentioned that she couldn’t wait for rupert’s reaction to the lavender episode. so it seems she was anticipating that it would be included. this is a very diversified book, there are more elements to hbp than only death and destruction. of course the saddest part of this story is the death of dumbledore, a lighter moment or two is not going to take anything away from this. it makes one wonder if some people are fearful that they might not appear to be “cool” if the movie is not “dark enough”. they so want to distance themselves from a child’s book. the general consensus is that hp has not been a child’s book since poa. lighten up a little.
i agree with bogus. Its not like yates and heyman just read the books and said okay lets make this a light romantic comedy! Noo they sat down with Jo herself and disscussed it. Shes the one who wrote the books not you guys. This is how she wants the films and you know what if you guys are already having doubts dont watch and quit talking negativly about a film you have yet to see.
Emma isnt exactly saying Hermione is the centre of the world its just how Hermione feels and how most teenage girls feel. I remember back when i was 16-17 i felt like i owned everyone and i solved everyones problems when i really i didnt. Anyways sounds like this will be a great film and they could really use the humor and acwardess.Not at all worried about the HBP film. Like the other HP books, HBP is about Harry’s journey toward his ultimate confrontation with Voldemort. The Ron-Hermione-Lavender thing is just a subplot. It has its funny moments, but it is still a subplot. HBP is NOT a romantic comedy and I don’t see Yates making it into one.
I also like hearing what Emma Watson has to say about the books. She seems to love them and her comments are often insightful. Not putting down Dan or Rupert, but Emma sounds truly excited when she talks about the books.
Oh dear. No Coulson as Tom Riddle, Madonna’s daughter playing Fenrir Greyback and now…>sob< a light-hearted HBP? I loved the dark tone of the last film. I’m glad to see more Ron (or “Won Won”), but I just hope they get the important scenes (the cave/inferi, the pensieve memories, death of Dumbledore) right…
Yeah, I think HBP will be sort of wicked, yeah and I think Ron will really be in his element which is sort of cool :) Seriously though, why do I get the feeling that Chris Columbus chose 3 actors who are nearly exactly the same as the characters they play? eg Emma has Hermione’s brain, Radcliffe has Harry’s sincerity, and Grint, well, has the same lack of passion for school/education as Ron but has a heart of gold.
I third redbeard’s comments; I just finished re-reading the whole series, very slowly, and what I realized is that there are many elements to HBP that I didn’t see before. Sure the romance and comedy are on the surface, but the darker issues are brewing, if you will. I think they will make it the dramatic lead up to DH that it is intended to be. I couldn’t have said it better than redbeard: “I would actually like to take my hogwarts-mates and smell the flowers for one more time, before the serious action starts in Deathly hallows.” Well said! The interviews with Dan, Emma and Rupert were great, especially Dan hehe :)
Some HP fans may not like HP to be a romantic/comedy but a lot more people who are not HP fas will certainly love it.
The movie Tittanic was not a big hit only because of the tragedy storyline but moreso the “unreal” love story that was squeezed in there that only made the tragedy more human and easily relatable. The regedy was still the focus but the tragic love story twist is a proven formula that always worked.
And people may be complaining too early because in the end, editing will take over and then you find that its the subplot that gets heavily cut, and the darker tones end up being 90% of the film.
I really hope their exagerating about all the light heartedness. If not, I sense another Goblet of Fire coming on (although probably it won’t be as rushed, which is good). I want Micheal Goldenburg back!
@Madeleine: What are you talking about? Coulson was born in 1978. He’s just about 30 years old, um… him playing a teenager really wouldn’t work out to well. We already know there is going to be the cave scene and talks about the “army of the dead” most likely referring to the inferi. Stop moaning about not being able to comprehend what’s being announced. The book was not just about the death of Dumbledore. It’s a good thing you have no say in the making of the film, as your idea of what made the sixth book so great is so far off what it should be.
Emma, you are delusioned. Hermione doesn’t let Harry realize he needs his friends, it’s Dumbledore, Ginny, Neville, and Luna that does this. So stop trying to make Hermione the kind of person you want to be.
I like Dan’s point of view. And poor Rupert… he needs better charisma, or he’s going to be shunted to the side.
I can’t even dignify the comment about “romantic comedy”. This is going to be another Mean Girls with a few magic wands, isn’t it?
The comment at the end about Dumbledore and his wand were interesting – did anyone else interpret that in the original draft of the screenplay Kloves had DD’s wand break?
And I wouldn’t worry too much about the light-hearted parts of the HBP movie. We know that they are taking into account a lot of detail while filming the orphanage scene, there’s another Voldemort scene with Tom Riddle between orphanage age and Finnes age, Dumbledore is still going to die, and they’re going to do the cave scene. But I agree with other who said that HBP is lighter than the 5th and 7th books – there’s a lot of romantic teen angst and school drama.
I’m looking forward to a more “romantic comedy” feel in HBP. I loved how they did that with GoF, and it would be great pacing to do it again. Deathly Hallows is plenty dark for the whole series; triumphant and exciting, yes, but also dark. It’ll be nice to have more light-hearted moments before the end.
I think you have some good points, Bogus. There’s always been a real push for Potter fans to make others take us seriously. “These are most certainly not children’s books!” we scream. “Look! They’re so DARK! And…so DARK! And in fact, they’re also very very DARK!” It’s become a litany, a mantra. Really folks, it’s okay for a story to be funny and warm and romantic. :)
Hmmm, I don’t like the tone of this interview, as pleased as I am to read it. I think they’re probably filming all the light stuff now, and possibly that’s why the people are so agitated- though it looks like they’ve started filming “the cave” scenes if you pause in that sneak peek video at a certain point with DD.
I do have a feeling with Kloves back the Ron/Lavendar/Hermione triangle will take a big leap forward in front of Harry/Ginny, which I think is a bit silly. Though there are rumors that Harry and Ginny might work together to solve the whole Snape/Draco thing and that might balance off with the lighter business.
HBP is the lightest of Books 4 through 7. If you think about it, it’s the only book where Harry seems quite infinitely happy for long periods of time (because he’s in love and because he is a little naive). When I was reading it, it felt like it had been written really differently. It is a bit more teenage-inclined I think. BECAUSE as JKR has said, Book Six is like a part one and Book Seven is like a part two of a very long story! Thinking of it that way, it all fits. The happiness takes a decline to the end of the book and leads into Book 7. I have a feeling that Movie 7 will have to be a seriously compressed version of the book.
My brother pointed out that much of HBP has to do with purely Harry’s thoughts. There’s practically no action until “Sectumsempra” and BOOM the book is just one thing after another. So, I’m not taking their comments on it being a romantic comedy too seriously until I see the commercials. I think they’ll do well with it. Yates and the main actors have read all of the books.
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I do well agree with ‘Sunshine Daisy’: “Quiet, before the storm”! I thought that the interviews were great, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for HBP and DH! It will, most certainly, be a wild ride…..