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Friday, November 20
While fans won't get a new Harry Potter movie in theaters this season — last year's schedule bump changed that rhythm — they do get a new DVD. On December 8, The Half-Blood Prince releases.
Unsurprisingly, the sixth installment in the Potter series had some book-to-movie plot changes, a necessity when adapting such rich books. That said, there were a few changes that surprised us and left us wondering how they would affect the final two movies.
We surveyed top Harry Potter fansites to see what movie changes they believed was most significant for the Deathly Hallows, as well as how they thought/hoped David Yates would deal with those changes. Find out what they told us.
Posted 11/20/2009 by reelz
Related: Daniel Radcliffe | Emma Watson | Rupert Grint | David Yates | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
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Sunday, July 19
| Title | Weekend | Total | Analysis |
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | $79.5M | $159.6M | 6th in Potter franchise had great weekend by any standard other than Transformers 2, which grossed $109M in its first weekend after Wednesday opening. |
| Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | $17.7M | $152.0M | No match for Potter but stays strong in 3rd week of release. |
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | $13.8M | $363.9M | Robot sequel continues to roll up impressive numbers, and may make push for super-exclusive $400M club. |
| Bruno | $8.4M | $49.6M | Huge 73% dropoff puts Bruno in bomb zone. |
| The Hangover | $8.3M | $235.9M | Raunchy dude flick continues amazing run; still in Top 5 in 7th week of release. The sequel already has a release date. |
Bomb of the Week: Bruno fell out of fashion with moviegoers about as fast as his velcro suit did at Agatha Ruiz De La Prada's show in Milan, barely eking out a win over The Hangover. Sasha Baron Cohen is clearly brilliant but this one struck a false note.
Posted 7/19/2009 by reelz
Related: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
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Friday, July 17
Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes isn't due in theaters until December 25, but fans are already excited about the movie. Count Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's Daniel Radcliffe among them. He told Entertainment Weekly that Holmes is the movie he's "most looking forward to seeing" this year.
Apparently Radcliffe is a "huge fan" of the British Sherlock Holmes TV show starring Jeremy Brett. He says Brett's Holmes is a great example of playing "an over-the-top character without ever being over-the-top himself." We hope Radcliffe knows that Robert Downey Jr. is Holmes this time around.
It's easy to be swept up into Radcliffe's enthusiasm after watching the latest trailer for Sherlock Holmes. Even a fickle New York audience applauded it. Check it out below:
Posted 7/17/2009 by Ryan
Related: Daniel Radcliffe | Guy Ritchie | Jeremy Brett | Robert Downey Jr. | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Sherlock Holmes
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Thursday, July 16
Who better to offer movie reviews than fans? That's the goal behind our long-running First Fans segment. And it's now part of our new Saturday Morning @ ReelzChannel show.
For this weekend, we're looking for a junior high Harry Potter fan who'd like to offer commentary, via Skype, on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. If that's you, please email us at info@ReelzChannel.com. Don't worry, we can talk you through the technology.
Posted 7/16/2009 by reelz
Related: Saturday Morning @ ReelzChannel | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
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Poor Daniel Radcliffe. The Harry Potter mega-franchise debuted his latest film this week to record-breaking numbers, but everyone keeps asking him questions about his one-time co-star — and current Twilight sensation — "sex symbol" Robert Pattinson.
In an interview with MTV, Radcliffe had to steer questions about Pattinson and Twilight back to himself and Harry Potter.
It's really interesting for me, as somebody who is a central feature of a pretty huge franchise. It's interesting to watch — because I haven't seen Twilight — and to suddenly be able to just watch another franchise go massive is really interesting.
I have no concept of what Potter looks like to the rest of the world because I'm so involved in it. So to watch Twilight kind of explode globally had been fascinating.
Even Radcliffe's co-star, Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger in the Potter series, has found herself having to answer questions about Pattinson. She told MTV:
I'm not surprised he's been successful. I'm surprised that it's got this insane. I think he's a great actor.
Next Showing: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is in theaters now!
Posted 7/16/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Daniel Radcliffe | Emma Watson | Robert Pattinson | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | The Twilight Saga: New Moon
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With Eclipse — the third movie in the Twilight saga — set to start shooting next month, it's probably about time for Summit Entertainment to start making casting decisions. Rumors abound that Harry Potter's Tom Felton (aka Draco Malfoy) is set to play Victoria's lackey Riley in the flick. In Summit's June casting call, they were looking for Riley to be a "handsome, blond, clean-cut college boy." If he trades the black turtleneck and jacket for an Abercrombie & Fitch tee, Felton could be a dead-ringer for the part.
Posted 7/16/2009 by reelz
Related: Tom Felton | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
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Harry Potter has never exactly been a favorite at the Vatican. At least not until now.
In 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope, warned that the Harry Potter novels contained "subtle seductions" that could lead young people astray. Others at the Vatican were even more dramatic, directly linking the boy wizard to the devil. And the official Vatican newspaper had earlier condemned Harry Potter as the "wrong model of of hero."
But a review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in that very same paper now calls it "the best of the series," praising the movie for striking the "correct balance" in its depiction of teen romance, and for its clear contrast of good and evil.
What exactly motivated this change of heart? It's a mystery.
Posted 7/16/2009 by Bill
Related: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
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Wednesday, July 15
According to Variety, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince set an all-time record for its midnight opening, which took in an estimated $22.2 million. The movie screened a combined 3,003 times in theaters across the country, which means each screening took in almost $7,400.
This figure puts the sixth Potter movie well ahead of The Dark Knight and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, which earned $18 million and $17 million, respectively with their midnight debuts. It also eclipses the $16 million made by last month's midnight screenings of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
In addition, ABC News10 in Sacramento is reporting that Half-Blood Prince has overtaken The Dark Knight as the #2 entry on Fandango's list of Top 10 all-time advance ticket sellers. That puts it ahead of movies like Twilight, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and Spiderman 3. It now trails only Revenge of the Sith.
For some fun accounts of last night's midnight mayhem, check out this article in The New York Daily News and this one from The San Diego News Network.
Also worth a look is this video from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which involves mock protesters marching against the presence of muggles:
Posted 7/15/2009 by Rich Z
Related: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith | The Dark Knight | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
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You would think that an actor's preparation for a work of adapted fiction would involve intense study of the source material. But in a recent interview with The Los Angeles Times, veteran actor Michael Gambon — star of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which opened today — said that this is not the case with his prep for any of the Potter movies.
Gambon, who portrays Professor Dumbledore, said that he and co-stars Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes — professors Snape and Lord Voldemort, respectively — have refrained from reading a single word from any of J. K. Rowling's famed series.
You'd get upset about all the scenes it's missing from the book, wouldn't you? No point in reading the books because you're playing with [screenwriter] Steve Kloves' words.
The article also discussed Gambon's take on Dumbledore, which is decidedly different from that of Richard Harris, who played the role in the first two movies before his death in 2002. Many fans were put off by Gambon's gruff and edgy portrayal, which better illustrates the character's mischievious nature at the expense of losing much of his grandfatherly nature. Gambon reflected upon his interpretation:
He's got to be a bit scary. All headmasters should be a bit scary, shouldn't they? A top wizard like him would be intimidating. And ultimately, he's protecting Harry. Essentially, I play myself. A little Irish, a little scary. That's what I'm like in real life.
Posted 7/15/2009 by Rich Z
Related: Alan Rickman | Michael Gambon | Ralph Fiennes | Steve Kloves | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
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Sunday, July 12
Apparently, actor Daniel Radcliffe has something of an inferiority complex. At least, that is, when it comes to his former Harry Potter co-star and current Twilight sensation Robert Pattinson. While at the New York City premiere of his latest film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Radcliffe spoke highly of Pattinson at his own expense:
Rob Pattinson is a sex symbol. Rob Pattinson is a genuine sexy guy. He's got the height.
If you like short and nerdy, then I'm a sex symbol.
Life imitating art? After all, Pattinson's character in the Harry Potter movies, Cedric Diggory, was Harry's dashing rival for the affections of Cho Chang.
When asked about his own love life, Radcliffe said:
As a romantic leading man, I try to keep my personal life as far removed from the film as possible.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince also stars Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore.
Next Showing: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince debuts July 15
Posted 7/12/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Daniel Radcliffe | Robert Pattinson | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Twilight