Harry Potter star Emma Watson has confessed that she never had feelings for Danielle Radcliffe or Rupert Grint, instead she had a crush on Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy in the wizard films.
“I have to confess, I had a bit of a crush on Tom Felton in the earlier films, but never on Daniel [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Harry Potter’
Emma Watson had crush on Harry Potter co-star Tom Felton
July 14th, 2009 |
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Emma Watson, Marilyn Manson ‘to team-up for Cinderella musical’
July 14th, 2009 |
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Harry Potter star Emma Watson is reportedly teaming up with rocker Marilyn Manson for a musical.
The 19-year-old has been offered a part in a Goth-inspired reworking of glass slipper fairytale ‘Cinderella’, the Sun reports.
The actress could possibly play the princess in the yet untitled film planned by the rockstar.
Until now, Watson has not [...]
Emma Watson says Pattinson is just a ‘good friend’
July 13th, 2009 |
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She might have worked with Hollywood heartthrob Robert Pattinson, but Harry Potter star Emma Watson denies any sparks ever flew within them.
While attending the Ziegfeld Theatre premiere of ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Princeâ€, Watson admitted that she and Pattinson are “good friendsâ€.
“He’s just a good friend!†the New York Daily News quoted Watson as [...]
Zorianna Kit: Movie Review: I Love You Beth Cooper
July 11th, 2009 |
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He may love you, Beth Cooper, but the audience likely won’t. Marred by bad acting, an unoriginal premise and characters that are no more interesting…
Harry Potter: the verdicts
July 9th, 2009 |
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Despite its status as a sure-fire hit, the latest instalment has garnered lukewarm reviews in the UK and is dividing opinion among die-hard fans
It’s already looking like it may rival Transformers for the title of biggest film of the year at the UK box office. But what do the critics so far think of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth instalment of JK Rowling’s tales of witchcraft and wizardry? Well, they’re not exactly bowled over, but few seem willing to condemn David Yates’s second effort in the director’s chair out of hand.
Most seem of the opinion that Half-Blood Prince is a perfectly entertaining if somewhat workmanlike addition to the canon; that Yates is capable of some transcendent action sequences, and while the actors playing Harry and his pals are still not quite there – one wonders now if they ever will be – the supporting cast is still made up of the finest British thesps available. Helena Bonham Carter, as the insane Bellatrix Lestrange, and newcomer Jim Broadbent as the slimy Professor Horace Slughorn are singled out for praise.
The consensus seems to be that these films are never going to be remarkable standalone cinematic experiences – fans of Alfonso Cuarón’s startling The Prisoner of Azkaban might disagree – but that the Potter phenomenon is so unstoppable that they remain enjoyable experiences nonetheless.
“The latest instalment is more of the same tried and tested formula to be sure, but it’s a formula that produces pure gold as far as the fans are concerned,” Wendy Ide writes in the Times. “The Potter movie experience is bigger than the sum of the individual talents that contribute to its making. David Yates, the director, orchestrates the picture with dizzying energy and confidence, but the might of the Potter phenomenon dwarfs his individual artistic contribution.”
The Telegraph’s Sarah Crompton writes: “Voldemort never actually appears, and there are surprisingly few action sequences – adapter Steve Kloves, back in his chair after a one-film absence, has taken the surprising decision to junk the one big battle in the book. But those there are – a chase in the corn between Harry and the Death Eaters, the scene in a forbidding cave where Harry and Dumbledore seek to unravel Voldemort’s secrets – crackle with a chilling sense of threat.”
“Director David Yates knows how to play all the cards,” writes our own Andrew Pulver. “Although a touch ungainly, his film is solidly constructed, with lots of fine effects. If, as Potter approaches his final confrontation with Voldemort, the wizardly battles begin to resemble Lord of the Rings, it’s hardly a handicap; this is tried and tested cinematic language, and does all it needs.”
Perhaps the most damning review comes from Ella Thorold, 15, who the Independent have drafted in to offer a teenage perspective.
“The scriptwriters bungled several key set pieces, including the funeral scene,” she writes. “Although they almost make up for it with a magical passage where students and teachers raise their wands in tribute. Tears poured down many faces in the cinema at that moment.”
She added: “The Half-Blood Prince is frightening, funny, romantic and entertaining but as the end credits rolled, I still felt disappointed. I had waited all year to see my second-favourite Potter book brought to life. If I wasn’t a die-hard fan, I’m sure I would have loved it. My gripe is that the film was simply too different from the book – the writers inserted pointless scenes and took out others crucial to the narrative. It just could have been better.”
Meanwhile, over on Twitter, Ella’s peers can hardly contain their excitement. “Gosh! i cant wait for Harry Potter! after 1.5 year. emma watson looks so pretty! so relief rupert is kicking swine flu’s ass!” wrote francescaarchie.
“Harry potter filled summer holidays coming up with @ashleighontrol we are SUCH GEEKS xD” wrote Laurabeth6, while DriadeNunes said: “@tommcfly Oh, I want so much watch Harry Potter too, but here in Brazil still 7 days :(“
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Harry Potter: the verdicts
July 9th, 2009 |
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Despite its status as a sure-fire hit, the latest instalment has garnered lukewarm reviews in the UK and is dividing opinion among die-hard fans
It’s already looking like it may rival Transformers for the title of biggest film of the year at the UK box office. But what do the critics so far think of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth instalment of JK Rowling’s tales of witchcraft and wizardry? Well, they’re not exactly bowled over, but few seem willing to condemn David Yates’s second effort in the director’s chair out of hand.
Most seem of the opinion that Half-Blood Prince is a perfectly entertaining if somewhat workmanlike addition to the canon; that Yates is capable of some transcendent action sequences, and while the actors playing Harry and his pals are still not quite there – one wonders now if they ever will be – the supporting cast is still made up of the finest British thesps available. Helena Bonham Carter, as the insane Bellatrix Lestrange, and newcomer Jim Broadbent as the slimy Professor Horace Slughorn are singled out for praise.
The consensus seems to be that these films are never going to be remarkable standalone cinematic experiences – fans of Alfonso Cuarón’s startling The Prisoner of Azkaban might disagree – but that the Potter phenomenon is so unstoppable that they remain enjoyable experiences nonetheless.
“The latest instalment is more of the same tried and tested formula to be sure, but it’s a formula that produces pure gold as far as the fans are concerned,” Wendy Ide writes in the Times. “The Potter movie experience is bigger than the sum of the individual talents that contribute to its making. David Yates, the director, orchestrates the picture with dizzying energy and confidence, but the might of the Potter phenomenon dwarfs his individual artistic contribution.”
The Telegraph’s Sarah Crompton writes: “Voldemort never actually appears, and there are surprisingly few action sequences – adapter Steve Kloves, back in his chair after a one-film absence, has taken the surprising decision to junk the one big battle in the book. But those there are – a chase in the corn between Harry and the Death Eaters, the scene in a forbidding cave where Harry and Dumbledore seek to unravel Voldemort’s secrets – crackle with a chilling sense of threat.”
“Director David Yates knows how to play all the cards,” writes our own Andrew Pulver. “Although a touch ungainly, his film is solidly constructed, with lots of fine effects. If, as Potter approaches his final confrontation with Voldemort, the wizardly battles begin to resemble Lord of the Rings, it’s hardly a handicap; this is tried and tested cinematic language, and does all it needs.”
Perhaps the most damning review comes from Ella Thorold, 15, who the Independent have drafted in to offer a teenage perspective.
“The scriptwriters bungled several key set pieces, including the funeral scene,” she writes. “Although they almost make up for it with a magical passage where students and teachers raise their wands in tribute. Tears poured down many faces in the cinema at that moment.”
She added: “The Half-Blood Prince is frightening, funny, romantic and entertaining but as the end credits rolled, I still felt disappointed. I had waited all year to see my second-favourite Potter book brought to life. If I wasn’t a die-hard fan, I’m sure I would have loved it. My gripe is that the film was simply too different from the book – the writers inserted pointless scenes and took out others crucial to the narrative. It just could have been better.”
Meanwhile, over on Twitter, Ella’s peers can hardly contain their excitement. “Gosh! i cant wait for Harry Potter! after 1.5 year. emma watson looks so pretty! so relief rupert is kicking swine flu’s ass!” wrote francescaarchie.
“Harry potter filled summer holidays coming up with @ashleighontrol we are SUCH GEEKS xD” wrote Laurabeth6, while DriadeNunes said: “@tommcfly Oh, I want so much watch Harry Potter too, but here in Brazil still 7 days :(“
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Potter already casting box-office spell
July 8th, 2009 |
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Advance sales mean the sixth instalment in the boy wizard franchise is already on course to overtake Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as the biggest film of the year
Advance ticket sales for the new Harry Potter film are outpacing those of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in both the UK and the US, suggesting it could be on course to become the biggest film of the year at the global box office.
Michael Bay’s action blockbuster about warring races of alien robots currently tops the 2009 box office chart. It passed $300m (£186m) in the US today, becoming the first film of the year to do so, and has taken more than £20m in the UK, so far.
Odeon and UCI cinema group, which is the largest in the UK, said it had sold in excess of 76,000 advanced tickets for the sixth Harry Potter film, equating to more than £500,000 in box office takings. So far, the Transformers sequel has taken £8.35m
Vue cinemas, which owns 66 sites, with a total of 641 screens in the UK and Ireland, said The Half-Blood Prince was well ahead of the previous Potter movie, Order of the Phoenix, at a similar point in the sales cycle, although it refused to comment on whether the film was ahead of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
On those sort of figures, The Half-Blood Prince could well break into the all-time UK top 10, although it will have a long way to go before it topples the No 1 film, last year’s Mamma Mia!, which racked up a staggering £69.17m. The Abba musical benefited from huge numbers of repeat viewings, as did the second-placed film, Titanic, which is just behind on £69.03m. The highest-placed Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is third, with £66.10m, while Order of the Phoenix lies in 13th spot with £49.43m.
In the US, The Half-Blood Prince is currently accounting for 65% of online ticket sales, according to retailer Fandango. The film, which sees teenage wizard Harry discover a mysterious schoolbook whose previous owner’s annotations help him excel in his potions class, opens on both sides of the Atlantic on 15 July. The sixth big-screen adaptation of JK Rowling’s tales is also ahead of the Order of the Phoenix in the US.
In total, the Harry Potter movies have taken more than $2.77bn at the global box office. In terms of film franchises, only Eon Productions’ James Bond has made more money – £3bn – but from 22 films.
The UK’s top 20 box office hits, 1989-2008
1. Mamma Mia! (2008), £69.2m
2. Titanic (1998), £69m
3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), £66.1m
4. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), £63m
5. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), £61.1m
6. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), £57.6m
7. Casino Royale (2006), £55.5m
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), 54.8m
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), £52.5m
10. The Full Monty (1997), £52.3m
11. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), £51.1m
12. Quantum of Solace (2008), £51.1m
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), £49.43m
14. The Dark Knight (2008), £48.8m
15. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), £48.6m
16. Shrek 2 (2004), £48.1m
17. Jurassic Park (1993), £47.9m
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), £46.1m
19. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), £44.4m
20. Toy Story 2 (2000), £44.3m
Source: Nielsen EDI, RSU analysis
Note: Figures have not been inflation adjusted
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Harry Potter stars then and now
July 8th, 2009 |
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Potter cast plan tribute to killed actor
July 7th, 2009 |
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The cast and crew of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will wear white ribbons on their wrists to the movie’s premiere tonight in memory of murdered colleague Rob Knox
The cast and crew of the new Harry Potter film will wear white ribbons on their wrists at the movie’s world premiere in Leicester Square tonight in tribute to a murdered colleague.
Rob Knox, 18, who played Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was stabbed in Sidcup, south-east London, last May while defending his younger brother from an attack. Karl Bishop, 21, who had a previous conviction for a knife attack on two men, received four life sentences at the Old Bailey in March.
Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Potter for the sixth time in the new film, said Knox’s death had affected all the cast.
He said: “I won’t pretend I knew him incredibly well, or was his best friend on set, but I knew him and liked him, and what happened to him was obviously tragic and awful.”
Co-star Bonnie Wright, who plays Potter’s love interest Ginny Weasley, said the tribute is intended to show solidarity with all victims of knife crime. “It’s going to be quite a traumatic experience for his family, who’ve been very supportive of him,” she said.
Director David Yates, who also directed the previous film in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, said Knox’s death was a “waste”.
“You are surrounded by young people all day long who bring a great commitment to what they do, and Rob was no different,” he said. “He came in and wanted to do brilliant work, he put his heart and soul into it, and you just think ‘what a terrible waste’.”
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens in UK and US cinemas on 15 July and centres on the teen wizard’s discovery of an old textbook, belonging to a mysterious “half-blood prince”, which helps him to the top of his potions class.
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
July 4th, 2009 |
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Like James Bond, the Harry Potter movies just keep chugging along, immune to the outside cinematic world, ensconced in their universe of quidditch and muggles, inferi and death eaters. They have perfectly fitted their source material from day one: each arriving regularly with a thud on the doormat every year or so since 2001, achieving a near-institutional status that has eluded the Narnia adaptations.
There had been mutterings, however, over this sixth in the Potter series, pushed back from its original planned release date last Christmas. Monkeying with the schedule tends to alert the paying public that all is not well. The Half-Blood Prince is adapted from JK Rowling’s penultimate novel, but so desperate are the producers not to compromise their revenue stream that the final book, the Deathly Hallows, will be divided into two parts.
Nevertheless, there’s little here to suggest there has been any let-up in the Potter machine. The eponymous schoolboy – still in owlish spectacles as he hits 17 or so – is up against skeletal blond Draco Malfoy, on some kind of vile mission from evil genius Voldemort. Hogwarts’ main asset against him is Professor Horace Slughorn (played by Jim Broadbent in that cod-Dickensian style that is practically compulsory for the Potter cast). Slughorn’s brain contains key memories of Voldemort’s schooldays and Harry must extract them.
There’s lots of blushing, stammering and smooching. Will Harry lock lips with Ginny? Is Ron smart enough to see that Hermione … well, it’s not Skins. Hands are kept above the waist at all times.
Putatively winsome all this may be, but what it actually does is throw the series’ biggest weakness into sharp relief: film-making can (and does) control pretty much everything – except how the cute juvenile leads grow up. Still, director David Yates knows how to play all the cards. Although a touch ungainly, his film is solidly constructed, with lots of fine effects. If, as Potter approaches his final confrontation with Voldemort, the wizardly battles begin to resemble Lord of the Rings, it’s hardly a handicap; this is tried and tested cinematic language, and does all it needs.
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Who’s hyped for Harry Potter 6?
July 3rd, 2009 |
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As the sixth instalment of the teen wizard’s adventures gears up for a global rollout on 15 July, let’s see who could end up the winners and, erm, winners
Holy Hogwarts! After a handful of highly publicised setbacks and real-life tragedy, the world is finally about to see its favourite gang of teen magicians charge up their wands and return to school in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. As the press screenings kick off today ahead of a global public launch on 15 July, now would seem as good a time as any to take stock of what we know about this sixth serving of magical mayhem and gaze into our crystal ball.
Questions abound. By all accounts director David Yates and lead producer David Heyman have maintained a happy atmosphere on Project Potter despite the murder of cast member Rob Knox (Marcus Belby) outside a nightclub in 2008 and the studio’s ultimately unsuccessful intellectual property infringement lawsuit against the Punjabi producers of Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors. But will moviegoing muggles forgive Warner Brothers for making Harry and chums vanish from last autumn’s releasing schedule and postponing the release until now? And does that poorly-received Chicago test screening last spring spell trouble for Harry’s box-office prospects?
How will audiences respond?
They’ll turn up. In droves. All but the most churlish fans will forgive the studio for delaying the release until the more profitable summer season, but you can bet there’ll be a collective cry of “Expelliarmus!” if the subject matter isn’t handled properly. The main gripe from the Chicago test audience was that the storyline was a bit soppy. Yates has happily confessed to this episode’s strong romcom tone. Let’s face it: gazillions of young fans are already going weak at the knees over those upcoming clinches between Harry and Ginny Weasley and Ron and Lavender Brown. Word is there will be other changes (SPOILER ALERT), including an attack on the Weasley household that wasn’t in the book.
Is this Yates chap up to the task?
Hello? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was a mesmerising, monochromatic mashup between the forces of good and evil that became the second highest grossing movie in the series on $938m (£571.4m). Not bad for what’s only your second feature film. Yates has talent to burn, as they say in talent-burning circles, and earned his stripes on the TV series State of Play and Sex Traffic. Considering Half-Blood Prince is arguably the best book in the series, he’s got plenty of great source material to play with. Warner clearly loves the Briton and signed him to do the rest of the series – the studio wouldn’t entrust the Potter franchise to just any old hack.
So will Half-Blood Prince make loads of dosh?
Oh come on, is this in any doubt? Warner moved the movie to July 2009 because it didn’t have a potential blockbuster scheduled for the summer. It does now. Collectively, the previous five Harry Potter movies have sold roughly $4.5bn (£2.7bn) in tickets around the world, rising to about $7.2bn (£4.4bn) when you add in DVD sales, according to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times. The average Harry Potter movie has sold $896m (£546m) in tickets worldwide and this one could be the biggest of the lot. At any rate this will be one of the biggest movies of 2009, if not the biggest.
What about the competition?
Read my lips. There will be no competition. Up has come down. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will have done most of its damage by 15 July. Brüno should be entering its second weekend on a roll, but do you really think the Austrian provocateur has a chance of getting on top of Harry? Don’t think so. There’ll be a few counter-programming movies knocking around in the weeks after Harry Potter comes out – in other words alternative genres for those who care little for the antics of lovelorn teenage conjurors – but nothing on the Hagrid-like scale of Half-Blood Prince.
Can Warner keep the franchise going forever?
You mean something like Harry Potter and the Convenient Prequel? The studio should be so lucky. As almost the entire population on the planet knows, there are only seven books in the series. The studio pulled a fast one when it announced it was splitting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final instalment, into two parts. Something to do with doing justice to the complexity of the story, I think the execs said. Cue uproarious laughter. Oh, that was a good one. The first part will come out on 19 November 2010, and the final episode is scheduled to be in a cinema near you on 15 July 2011.
I bet a certain other wizard will be relieved when it’s all over?
Ah yes, Gandalf. You can’t blame him for feeling a fair amount of staff envy. One minute you’re the main magic man and next you’re tugging irritably on your pipe as Dumbledore steals your thunder to become the most beloved senior conjuror in all the known worlds. What’s that you say? There can be only one? Hang on a minute, surely there’s room for two great wizards? Dumbledore will be around for a few more years and Gandalf will get at least one more outing in Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Hobbit projects. There. See? Peaceful coexistence.
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Harry’s back, but who are the others?
July 1st, 2009 |
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