David Yates talks HRH final scene, J.K. Rowling in new interview
Potter director David Yates recently spoke with Manila Bulletin about his experience making four of the HP movies, about Dan, Rupert and Emma's final scene together, J.K. Rowling, and his future plans. Here are some excerpts (he gives a bit of a spoiler about the end of Deathly Hallows Part 2):
You came into the series at sort of that middle point. When did you realize the magnitude of the fan base. And what did you think about it? It was probably a phase in the cycle around about this stage when you do your interviews and you meet the press and walk up the red carpet. Obviously, you notice the fact that it’s globally popular, but it’s just when the fans come from Mexico or Argentina and camp out all night, you realize what it means to them. And it’s a huge responsibility, actually. Also, there are massive expectations on every movie, and in a curious way, you do your very best with the film. And I’m very proud of this film.
On the last day with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, when they were on set together and filmed their final scene, what was that like? We shot the scene on the viaduct, outside Hogwarts, and it was really peaceful. It was a really sunny day. It was all backlit. And it’s a very tender scene where they sort of reflect on everything that’s happened, all the battles and everything, and they hold hands, and the camera falls away. It’s a really tender, lovely scene. I said to them, ‘Look, guys, this is the last scene we’re all going to do with you three together in front of the camera. So, it’s not just the last scene of these three characters in the movie, this is your last scene in this series of films. That’s what today is about.’ And it infused it with a kind of emotion which was really moving actually.
Did you ever talk to Jo Rowling about adapting these books and the choices you made, particularly in terms of its contemporary feel? We never had a big conversation about that because it was very present in the book. She read the script and she was totally cool about the way we’d adapted it. She was always just very enthusiastic about the whole first script, generally. But she’s been really helpful and we had a good chat about a couple of scenes in Part 2. I asked her, ‘What were you thinking when you wrote these scenes?’ And she was really helpful.
Jo was a producer on this film, so how was that? How was her expanded role on it? You know, it hasn’t really changed from the other movies, honestly. She’s just always our biggest supporter. And always very graceful and kind and I think, because she’s been there throughout, it was time her name was up there. She wants to be up there with us; it’s a real privilege.
Do you have another movie brewing after all this? I’ve got so many scripts coming in, I can’t tell you. In fact, I told them to stop sending them. [Laughs] Because I haven’t read any of them. They’re just all piled up. But I’m so ambitious, I can’t tell you. It’s a strange thing about Harry Potter because I don’t feel any sense of ownership, in a way. I don’t feel territorial about it. I feel it’s a bit of a national treasure that I’m curating. For everything I can enter, I try and do my very best. And I’m very proud of the work I’ve done. But post-Potter, my career sort of starts again really. And I won’t feel like I’ve made four of the biggest films in the world. I’ll feel like, ‘Well, that’s it. I’ve done Potter now.’ And I’ll have all these beautiful scripts and I can begin in a way. That’s my plan. And I’m going to do big things and tiny little things. And they won’t have wizards in them.
No wizards? No wizards. You can read the whole interview
here. Thanks to Snitchseeker for the tip.
Dec
29
Courtesy of hypable.com, on December 26, 2011 an updated version of the ’50 Greatest Harry Potter Moments’ aired in the UK . This version includes scenes from Deathly Hallows-Part 1 and Deathly Hallows-Part 2 and is commentated by Robbie Coltrane, who plays Hagrid in the Potter series.
The original version aired in July and did not have any scenes from DH considering the release of Part 2 this July. The full list can be seen below.
Get the whole story »
Dec
28
The facebook page for WB’s Harry Potter Studio Tour has released this picture of the Great Hall set as it was for the filming of the Yule Ball in Goblet of Fire. They also revealed some of the techniques that went into giving it that cold, wintry feel.
“Here are some of the tricks the film-makers used: the Studio lights have blue lighting gel on them to create a chilling effect; the Great Hall walls were covered in a special silver treatment; the flambos were painted gold; silver curtains hang from the walls, and if you look really closely, the flambos have been changed to a reflective material and there is “ice” inside them (made from clear-cast resin). Get ready to step into the Great Hall in 2012!”
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Dec
28
In a recent interview with HitFix, Severus Snape actor Alan Rickman gave some clarification to the myth that author JK Rowling told about him the fate of his mysterious character before anyone else knew. From the article:
Before I could even finish my question about this anecdote Rickman jumped in to clarify.
“Not true. I don’t know who thinks that is true, but it’s not true,” Rickman says. “She gave me one tiny, little, left of field piece of information that helped me think that he was more complicated and that the story was not going to be as straight down the line as everybody thought. If you remember when I did the first film she’d only written three or four books, so nobody knew where it was really going except her. And its was important for her that I know something, but she only gave me a tiny piece of information which helped me think it was a more ambiguous route.”
So, in many ways, Rickman’s portrayal through the series is even more impressive as he had just one nugget to use as he shaped Snape over the years.
Rickman adds, “What I knew was he was a human being and not an automaton and I knew there was some sense of protection for Harry or I worked that out. It was enough to know, I didn’t know he was a double agent.”
You can read even more great stuff from Rickman in that article at this link.
