Daniel Radcliffe recently completed his year long run in Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. A video of his on stage speech after the final performance has made its way online:
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Review: The Seekers Guide to Harry Potter
 | Reality Films has produced a new DVD entitled The Seekers Guide to Harry Potter, and UK distributor Wienerworld kindly sent us some free copies to review and give away to you visitors as competition prizes. Here is the official synopsis of the film: The Seekers Guide to Harry Potter takes you on a journey and exploration into the underlying themes of J.K Rowling’s fantastically successful Harry Potter series. Drawing from her unique background and personal experiences, the author provides original insights into the mysticism, magic and symbolism within the world of Harry Potter. Dr. Geo Trevarthen is an academic who has painstakingly researched the Harry Potter craze. She goes far beyond the normal criteria and steps into a world of real magic and its shamanic past. In doing so she reveals the origins of many of the elements found within the novels and films. |
HPSupporters Review
A Seeker's Guide to Harry Potter is an interesting exploration of the underlying symbolism, themes and messages in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.
A small scale, intimate production, it is shot in the appropriate location of Edinburgh (where JK penned much of the series) and is presented to us by Dr Geo Trevarthen who comes from a background of Shamanism. The film, therefore, may not sit comfortably with everybody. Its author's ideas and beliefs as well as the style, imagery and music used throughout strongly convey this spritual Celtic discipline.
Nevertheless, there were some fascinating elements examined in depth by this avid reader of our favourite story. She probes some real world magical and alchemic history and how they inspired JK's writing. For example I learnt about the ancient origins of characters' names, the symbolic nature and history of the golden snitch, the influences behind the four school houses, and the layers of meaning beneath these.
Dr Trevarthen also makes intriguing parallels between different parts of the novels and gives her thoughts on how some of Rowling's messages can connect with our own real world lives. One of the interesting issues she raised is that of love, a key feature in Harry's life, and something that she says is hugely important in the early stages of real-life childhood, bringing her in line with today's psychological and socialogical theories. Further themes she explores include the moral neutrality of magic, following true will over whim, and Death and the triangle of the three Hallows.
With future re-reads of the HP books I'm sure I shall now view many components of the canon in much more depth than I previously have. The film reinforces for me what a triumph of storytelling J.K. Rowling has created and the incredible expanse of meaning behind her stories.
For those Harry Potter fans with spiritual inclinations like those of this film's author and want to look at the novels from that perspective, or for those merely with an interest in getting beneath the surface of the books, this is a film you'll very much appreciate. For me, the DVD shall fit nicely in my collection of all things Harry Potter.
If you like the sound of this DVD then tomorrow evening on Twitter we will be giving away a copy to a lucky follower. Unfortunately, for postal reasons, the competition will only be open to people from the UK.
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Videos: Dan Radcliffe gives speech at his final ‘How to Succeed’ show, Darren Criss makes debut
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06
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Deathly Hallows Part 2 longlisted for 11 BAFTA awards, including Alan Rickman for supporting actor
BAFTA (the British Academy of Film and Television Arts) has released it’s preliminary longlists for all its 2012 award categories. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has made the cut in 11 different categories! The categories are:
- Outstanding British Film
- Editing
- Adapted Screenplay
- Production Design
- Cinematography
- Make Up & Hair
- Costume Design
- Sound
- Special Visual Effects
- Original Music
- Supporting Actor – Alan Rickman
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06
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Dan Radcliffe opens up about life and love
With Dan Radcliffe just having finished his stint on How to Success in Business and his new film, the psychological thriller The Woman in Black due in February, PARADE Magazine sat down with him to discuss life and love. Below are some excerpts from the article with the 22-year-old.
Are you a romantic? “Yes. I don’t know where my romanticism came from. My mom and dad would read to me a lot. Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, tales of chivalry and knights, things like that. Those are the stories I loved growing up. I still see something very romantic in the world that perhaps isn’t there. I suppose I want it to be the place of knights and that kind of stuff.”
Are you in love with your girlfriend Rosie Coker? (Radcliffe met Coker, a production assistant, on the set of the last Potter film.) “Yes, absolutely. When Rosie’s here, every day seems better… I’m not an easy person to love. There are a lot of times when I’m a very good boyfriend, but there are times when I’m useless. I mean, I’m a mess around the house. I talk nonstop. I become obsessed with things. This year it’s fantasy football, which means Rosie has to listen to me talking 24 hours a day about this team. ‘Should I take this player out, do you think, darling?’ And she listens to it, and she loves me for my oddness, my awkwardness, all of those things that I hate about myself. She finds them cute. I guess that’s love.”
Last year you gave up alcohol. Why? “My inner life was being drowned. I’ve worked with Richard Harris, Gary Oldman, all those actors who went crazy when they were young, and I always wanted that. The idea of that kind of life and chaos was always so appealing to me. Unfortunately, the way I do it, there was no romance to it! [laughs] There is nothing glorious or triumphant about it-it was pathetic, boring, and unhappy.”
