I can’t help but wish he were coming back as screenwriter for DH.

I personally prefered Goldenberg’s HP script to Kloves’ works. Shame he won’t get another crack at the HP franchise.

He’s still working on ‘Where the Wild Things Are’? I thought that was in post production?

he did a wonderful job for such a long book, it turned out really nice. we got the overall picture without any of the important really fun stuff being gone. Yes alot of the little subplots were missing but the book is a whopping 875 or so and very rich with content. Well done Michael, thanks!

Overall, I liked Order of the Phoenix well enough. My main cmplaint is that the scene with Snape/James et al was cut so short. Why was this Snapes worst memory? Not because James taunted him, but because he insulted Lily and that broke their tie. SHE WAS NOT EVEN IN THIS SCENE. And in Harry’s story, she is at it’s crux. She is the tie that binds Snape and Harry…even reluctantly. Also, I was appalled that the final audience between Dumbledore and Harry was cut. That chapter explains a lot and answers a lot of questions and also underscores the role that Harry must assume. I only hope that in Half Blood Prince, this conference between Protoge and Mentor will unfold. I always knew they would concentrate on the conflict with Umbridge/Fudge and Harry/Dumbledore. I just wish they would not leave out the little things…like Tom Riddle, they are ignoring the House Elves, Goblins, and other creatures that have power in this particular universe. [Sigh] Of couse I know it would be impossible to cram these books into a mere 2-3 hours on screen. I also feel that the writers and directors have all done the best to keep true to the story. Each book is an epic in its own way…I just encourage everyone to read the books lbecause that way they will get the whole story and the whole adventure and not miss a thing.

I almost cannot express how deeply unhappy I am that Goldberg hadn’t been the script writer for all the HP movies. I’ve heard people fuss about HP:OotP not having one scene or another but they are totally missing all the little touches he kept in the movie that under less skilled hands would have not even been touched upon (e.g., by Kloves). Take for example when Harry, at Grimald Place walks up the stairs and sees Kreature pulling over a box, stepping onto it and polishing a brass plate with a tatty rag. Listen to that bit! Not only does Kreature speak to Mrs Black behind the curtain but you can hear Mrs Black fussing! I think loads of people missed that because it takes only seconds worth of the movie’s time. But I believe it is there for those of us who read the book and so desperately wanted that bit in the movie. Goldberg put loads of little treats in the movie if you just look for them. Goldberg is a skilled and exempliary script writer and I want him back for HP:DH! PLEASE COME BACK GOLDBERG!

The only thing that I dislike about HP:OoTP movie is the part where Umbrige is able to break into the room of requirement, its just not possible. That scene in the movie just didn’t make any sense to me. I mean any one who has read the books, knows that you can’t break into the room of requirement. Other than that it was an okay movie, not my favorite, but not the worse.

There seems to be only one photo ever of Michael Goldenberg. Have we ever seen something other than the one in that article? =)

Interesting article. I agree with many here who think his script was a better adaptation than Kloves’. However, as much as I loved OOP, it seems he didn’t “hear” that Lily was the reason why Snape’s Worst Memory was what it was—seems he thinks it’s a lot more about the flawed James bit. Interesting.

People complain about all sorts of scenes left out of OOTP, but for me, this was one that – finally – got the emotions right. Between Goldenberg’s script and Daniel Radcliffe’s performance – which I don’t see commented on enough – I was blown away by this film . . . I felt an emotional connection I have never felt with the other films.

Yes, I was extremely disappointed that Snape’s Worst Memory was truncated. But the very fact that Lily was cast seems to indicate that Goldenberg actually wrote a much longer scene featuring her. It’s not the screenwriter’s fault if a particular scene or portion of a scene winds up on the cutting-room floor. I am hopeful that we will seen the “extended cut” of this memory, perhaps in “the Prince’s Tale” section of DH, the movie.

Thank you, Michael Goldenberg . . .

Remember guys, Lily was cast which means Goldenberg wrote her into the script. You therefore cannot blame him for that scene being rediculously short.

Also, James turning out to be a prat IS the most important part of that scene in the context of the fifth book. Snape being in love with Lily isn’t important until the seventh book/movie which is I imagine when we will finally see that part of Snape’s Worst Memory.

Let’s be fair to Goldenebrg here – the script for OotP is likely to have been written in 2006, or maybe even late 2005, long before Deathly Hallows was released, and it was only in that book that the importance of the Snape/Lily link was revealed, or her importance in that memory. Taking OotP on its own, which Goldenberg will have been doing, James’s behaviour is by far the most important part of that scene, the part that’s really relevant to the plot and Harry’s emotional journey at that point. For my part, I do think that the Lily angle WAS a key part of that scene and ought to have been included, but the filmmakers weren’t to know that at the time; Jo could have tipped them off about not cutting it out, like she did with Kreacher, but for whatever reason she obviously chose not to, so I don’t think anyone’s to blame for that. We know the full story, anyway…

Damn you, Amy S, you got there first. :P

Like people who said before, I’m disappointed that Goldenberg isn’t going to be any HP movie. I thought he did a fantastic job with Order of Phoenix.

And to all those who are complaining about Lily being missing from the movie and how that part was crucial…. Have you forgotten that the movie was released BEFORE the final book? How could possibly Goldenberg have known that that was Snape’s worst memory because that scene was the cause of the end of friendship between Lily and Snape? I”m pretty certain most of us didn’t know that, now did we? And it’s not a “mistake” that cannot be fixed. As seen in DH, Harry sees that scene again in Pensive. So in DH, they can easily extend that scene and add Lily in. In fact, isn’t that what they are doing? Wasn’t that why they didn’t include the extended scene as deleted scene in the DVD? (I’m not 100% sure of this, please do correct me if I’m wrong). So please bringing up Snape’s Worst Memory being a problem in the movie. You can’t blame Goldenberg for not knowing. Besides, Goldenberg did write the scene in, and it was filmed, it was just not included in the movie after the editing.

Just my two cents :)

Oops… Amy S and Muddtallica beat me there. My post is pretty much a repeat, I apologize.

Amazing that he thought SWM “crystallized” everything, yet it was chopped out of the movie, and changed beyond recognition. Also, Harry never really thinks about it again. He should be applauded for recognizing that it was an important moment, and the point at which many, many readers discovered that Snape was at the heart of the story. And cutting out Lily was a terrible thing to do because it removes the most important foreshadowing for the next two movies – it’s sad.

I don’t blame Mr. Goldenberg – he wrote the scene, and the pictures we had were awesome. The director and editors who decided that Umbridge was more important are the ones to blame. Umbridge is just a cardboard villain who means nothing, and while she was amusing, she is not the heart of the story. So – blah.