A follow up today regarding the rumor on a possible two part film of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.Empire magazine is reporting WB told them “no decision has been made about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” Also, Empire states Steven Kloves will be back as screenwriter for the final Harry Potter movie, as they say he “hasn’t starting writing the script yet, since the WGA strike prevents him from doing so.” One final note: We are still trying to obtain more on the director rumor for “Deathly Hallows”, and we will update with more on this when we can. Thanks adrian, katy, and d!
Wow, I am just amazed at how polarized the fandom is regarding Kloves coming back to write the screenplay for DH. As for whether Kloves will “sabotage” the Ron/Hermione relationship in DH, let’s wait for HBP to come out before we can start judging him again. From what the actors and Yates have said, it seems that Kloves is giving Ron his due in HBP in terms of how much he plays into the story—remember the Quidditch, Lavender, the poisoned mead, etc.?
I, for one, didn’t mind Kloves writing the first four films—he did a fine job with condensing the novels into workable screenplays (not that they were flawless or anything), but they did need a bit of work. I was happy with Goldenberg coming on to write OOTP and I was pleased that he had a better grasp of maintaining the story’s integrity and overall plot. I was a bit miffed at some of the story elements getting short shrift in the film (including Ron’s involvement), but I think that was due to them being cut for time constraints (and not the fault of the screenwriter, because Yates did say his rough cut of OOTP was close to 3 hours long). And J.K. Rowling was happy with Goldenberg coming on to the fifth film, because she was very supportive in what his decisions were in writing the screenplay and what to leave in. (Michael Goldenberg and Steve Kloves are both WGA members, so even if the WB wanted Goldenberg instead of Kloves they’d still have to wait for the strike to end.)
And I think the strike won’t directly affect the production of DH. The film is scheduled for a 2010 release (and filming would have to start early next year), so the strike would have to end close to the end of this year in order for it to have an effect on the production. I think the strike will end by spring or summer of this year, so the DH movie production shouldn’t be affected.
Oh and macka—Howard Shore composed the scores for the LOTR trilogy, John Williams had nothing to do with it.
@gabbie: Interesting that you think that. I actually loved Nicholas Hooper and I’m soooooooooo excited that he’s going to be composing the 6th film too. The OOTP soundtrack is the only one I’ve ever bought because I just loved it so much. John Williams is credited for coming up with the main themes like Hedwig’s Theme and whatever the Harry Potter theme is. But I just really liked Hooper’s spin on it. I wouldn’t mind if he did movie 7, but I think it would also be kind of cool for John Williams to do it since he’s the one who created all the main themes. Patrick Doyle was pretty cool too. But I don’t understand what you mean by Kloves doing a fantastic job with OOTP because he wasn’t even involved in making that movie. I think Micheal goldenberg might have consulted Kloves a couple of times but other than that Kloves didn’t have anything to do with movie 5. That was all Goldenberg, Yates, Craig, Heyman, Barron, and the actors and crew.
@hagiz: There’s a little thing called creating excitement and that’s what Goldenberg did with that flying scene. I love that scene it looks awesome on screen and the music and the scenery is the icing on the cake. the cinematography is also amazing in that scene.
Obviously, Kreachers role was just an introduction because they did originally cut him out in the first place, they just had to put him back in because JKR told them he would be important.
i thought the Cho Chang being the snitch was a good idea because it gave Harry a reason to end their relationship, but he still felt guilty in the end because he found out Umbridge had given her veritaserum.
i thought that ministry battle was awesome, one of the best action sequences i’ve seen in any movie not just HP.
i personally think they’re just going tobe cutting dobby out of the movie altogether. i mean i think they can work around him in movie 7 and maybe get Kreacher to rescue them instead, but not kill him.
MattyJM: What you said. You’re quite right to point out that the characters develop at a different pace and get different amounts of airtime along the way, even though all the stories are centred on Harry. Amazing that it has to be spelled out, but there you go. For those who keep boasting about how much they hate the films, please try to stop yourself sinking to ever-nastier depths, ever more slanderous, ever further from the facts.
And while we’re on that, recently JK Rowling said something quite impressive. On PotterCast she took the trouble to prick that bloated balloon of online hate about Michael Gambon. And she did this even while knowing, no doubt, how disappointed some of the hardcore online fringe would be to hear it. The fact is, Gambon is a class act; he was long before the films and he will be long after. So glad that the films have someone who isn’t always mechanically playing along with the hype. Dumbledore’s no saint and Gambon brought that out long before Rowling made it official.
And for the record: last year JK said OotP was “the best”, after having said previously that she had a soft spot for PoA; and at the same time she usually says that she’s happy with all of them. Personally I hope the best is yet to come, and if it does it certainly won’t be achieved by catering to the hateful fan cultists.
Okay, I’m not going to come down on Kloves just yet, but he ABSOLUTELY MUST KEEP EVERY BIT OF RON IN THE MOVIE!!!! I mean, Ron is such an amazing character, and he has a big role in Deathly Hallows. He must have Ron destroy the locket, he must shout angrily in the basement of Malfoy Manner for Hermione, and he must inturrupt Ginny and Harry mid snog. Sigh, I really think they should just make a ten hour movie and have the script be directly from the book. No cuts, no added “artsy” scenes coughalfonsocuaroncough, and plot points should all be kept in, no matter how small they are. And come on, I would sit through a ten hour movie. How bout you guys?
We need to mass-protest this lunatics appointment….he is so anti-Ron that it should be investigated. The character of Ron showed tremendous range while Koves was in exhile. The worst part is that Heyman lets him do as he pleases. Defend him all u want, the man uses a template and has no room in any of his four lobes to show any degree of creativity. Might as well bring Columbus back as well. What a farce, and what a sell-out!
hagiz: don’t say that! Dobby must be kept in!!!! Dobby must! Doby must! He was the only death I truely cried over. I will protest outside of WB if the scene is cut.
I used to get really angry about had badly written the characters were in the films. Now I’m just kind of resigned to it. The films are a dumbing down of the books. In order to sell the movies as big action filled spectacles – a.k.a the kind of films that make $$$ – then characterisation was one of the first things to go. So they decided to make Ron makie weird faces and act scared all the time because that is what movie sidekicks do for laughs. And Hermione becomes a blonde smirking heroine because in the movies there has to be a female heroine for the tweens to look up to and for the old men to perve over. It is all about the money and complex characterisations of sidekicks like Ron and Herm (and Neville as well – his big scene of glory in DH will be one of the first things to go most likely) just don’t pull in the largest movie audience. Which – unfortunately for the rest of us who enjoy more intelligent films – happens to be the young male movie goer at the moment. Can you imagine that audience caring about the horcrux scene in DH? Me either. They’ll just get confused that the goofy sidekick is getting such an important scene. So no doubt Hermione will get that scene instead.
It’s all about the $$$ unfortunately.
Also I dont get how anyone could get canon and movie Ron and Hermione messed up? They don’t look or act anything alike. They are very easy to tell apart.
I am going to say something that is very unpopular since everyone loves to blame the directors and writers for everything: Ron and Hermione’s crap characterisation is just as much the fault of the actors as it of the aforementioned directors and writers.
Multiple interviews have proven time and time again that Emma “OMG girl power!” Watson and Rupert “Ron’s a wimp and I hope he dies” Grint that neither actor has much of a handle of the canon characterisations of their characters. Maybe Ron and Hermione wouldn’t be so dumbed down in the movies if the actors themselves understood them better?
Of course Watson and Grint aren’t entirely to blame, but we have to admit that they have played their part.
Well what do you expect, number 1, its a movie and of course all the potter lovers will be disapointed by the lack of detail (because so am I) its frustrating that directors and screen writers cant get it right for us. If you havent figured it out BOOKS ARE ALWAYS BETTER THAN MOVIES so why the high expectations? Anyway whatever happens in half-blood prince wont matter when DH comes out, which they will have to get right, they know that. relax. Im sure since there gonna want to make more money of the last one, it will be a 2 parter…personally i believe that they will end the first part with ron comming back and destroying the horcrux.
I should add that I really don’t want Guillermo del Toro. He is a further example of someone who wants to make the films dark for the sake of being dark.
I desperately want Cuaron back. PoA is still my favourite film to date. PoA had an overall darker tone (which suited it) but still had beautiful emotional moments that I rarely felt in OOTP. Plus it was the best film CGI-wise, in my opinion. Dumbledore still staring at the air after the case around the Goblet has melted away enters my mind at this point. Plus clunky old Grawp and the Centaurs which were kept in shadow since they were badly animated.
I also want John Williams back to score. PoA had my favourite score as well. Window to the Past is still the most gorgeous piece of music in the series to date IMHO and Double Trouble was a genius addition.
If we can’t have John Williams back, then Patrick Doyle would be my next choice, there were still some moving moments in that score. I didn’t like Nicholas Hooper’s score, it didn’t move me at all, although the mixing could have been partially to blame, it totally lacked depth or orchestral flair IMHO.
@ Deanna: Hermione is definitely GIRL POWER! I think Emma probably knows alot more about Hermione than all the readers. She has been playing her for 7 years and she’s also close with JKR. And I mean seriously how could you have read the books and not think Hermione is kick ass. I mean she: discovered what was in the chamber of secrets, she punched Draco, came up with the idea to create Dumbledore’s Army, made Harry give an interview to Rita Skeeter which led lots of people to believe him, she fought with harry at the ministry, she taught Ron a valuable lesson in book 6, she came up with a cover story while she was being tortured by bellatrix, she accio the horcrux book so that they could know what they were, she was pretty much awesome in every scene in book 7. but you get my point. now if i could only think of some good stuff about Ron…nothing is coming to me at all.
Wow, I am just amazed at how polarized the fandom is regarding Kloves coming back to write the screenplay for DH. As for whether Kloves will “sabotage” the Ron/Hermione relationship in DH, let’s wait for HBP to come out before we can start judging him again. From what the actors and Yates have said, it seems that Kloves is giving Ron his due in HBP in terms of how much he plays into the story—remember the Quidditch, Lavender, the poisoned mead, etc.?
I, for one, didn’t mind Kloves writing the first four films—he did a fine job with condensing the novels into workable screenplays (not that they were flawless or anything), but they did need a bit of work. I was happy with Goldenberg coming on to write OOTP and I was pleased that he had a better grasp of maintaining the story’s integrity and overall plot. I was a bit miffed at some of the story elements getting short shrift in the film (including Ron’s involvement), but I think that was due to them being cut for time constraints (and not the fault of the screenwriter, because Yates did say his rough cut of OOTP was close to 3 hours long). And J.K. Rowling was happy with Goldenberg coming on to the fifth film, because she was very supportive in what his decisions were in writing the screenplay and what to leave in. (Michael Goldenberg and Steve Kloves are both WGA members, so even if the WB wanted Goldenberg instead of Kloves they’d still have to wait for the strike to end.)
And I think the strike won’t directly affect the production of DH. The film is scheduled for a 2010 release (and filming would have to start early next year), so the strike would have to end close to the end of this year in order for it to have an effect on the production. I think the strike will end by spring or summer of this year, so the DH movie production shouldn’t be affected.
Oh and macka—Howard Shore composed the scores for the LOTR trilogy, John Williams had nothing to do with it.