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UPDATE! 3/12/08: Producer David Heyman said last night that It will be officially announced soon that book 7 WILL BE TWO FILMS! Click here for more info!

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Reader Comments: (Page 13)

Yes, Peter, I'd love to see the epilogue filmed, too! The main story ends a bit abruptly without it.

Posted by Perdie from Arlington, MA on March 24, 2008 11:19 PM

I think making it into two movies is a mistake. The 5th movie was my favourite of all of them, mainly because it had an amazing momentum to it. Don't get me wrong, I love the other movies too, but I think "milking it for all it's worth" or whatever the director said is wrong. Although it be difficult to do ly Hallows justice in one movie, I think it can be done.

Posted by L from Canada on March 25, 2008 06:48 AM

Morning all,

Been thinking about this since the 2 part film was offically announced and i still stick by my first thought, to close film one just after leaving Bathilda's house with Harry's Pheonix wand snapped and Voldemort's flashback to the night he ed Lily and James.
But last night i grabbed my copy of DH and flipped to the back, without the epilogue DH is 600 pages long and if we split it in half, page 300 is in the is in the middle of the chapter 'The Silver Doe'.
Many people have said that this would be a great place to leave film one. We could cut it before or after that chapter. I prefer after, Ron's back and the locket has been destroyed.
But either way if were being technical 'The Silver Doe' is the halfway point of the book so, in turn, should be the halfway point of the film's.

Posted by Peter Plumb from Leicester, England on March 26, 2008 03:36 AM

this is a tough subject for me, because i always "milk" the books for all they're worth, i've read all of them many times. i believe that they could easily go either way with it, make a 4-5 hour movie (i would sit it through happily) or split into 2 movies. i think that the making of the fifth movie was a serious mistake, given the fact that it's the longest book, i think it should've been much longer of a movie, it just skimmed through many important parts of the story, and i would be greatly hurt if they did that with either of the next 2 (or 3) movies. now, back to the split subject, i think that it would be wisest to end the first movie after harry and hermione reunite with ron and find the sword of Griffondor, simply because i think that if you ended the first movie on a dull subject, less people would be as thrilled to see the second. and for the poor souls that can't find the time to read the books, it would be very exciting for it to end on that vital piece of the story, and it would leave them begging for more!

Posted by andrew from cedar city, utah on March 26, 2008 5:12 PM

I agree with Andrew, I think that they should end it on a cliff hanger, because as agonizing as it would be to wait another six months for the rest of the story, i would be first in line at the movie theater, with sleeping bag in hand (just kidding).

Posted by Camille from manchester MI on March 27, 2008 06:35 AM

I am looking forward to the Hollows done as 2 movies. There is way to much in the book to leave anything out. My Heart aches for all that has happened to Harry. I am happy that things do get better but I would like more info like what is his job? What does Ron do? what happens with Mr. and Mrs.
Weasley's? What happens with Luna and Neville? Ijust would like more.

Posted by Donna from La Crosse, WI on March 29, 2008 1:41 PM

The thing is that films can only ever be interpretations - and they are destined to fail in one way or another. We all have developed different pictures in our minds depending on which scenes moved us most - and if the film corresponds to these pictures and emotions we are happy- if they don't we are bitterly disappointed, and may even feel betrayed. Someone suggested J.K. Rowling should write the screenplay for DH. It sounds like a brilliant thing - let the author do the interpretation. But wouldn't we be even more disappointed then, if the pictures and emotions created by Rowling herself do not match ours? Wouldn't we feel betrayed by the author herself? What if Rowling's interpretations of her own work do not live up to our expectations? How huge would the disappointment be - and I think, Rowling is aware of this danger. So far, we could always blame it on the script writer ( an external person, who can easily be called ignorant...).

Posted by Siena from Leeds, UK on March 31, 2008 08:17 AM

Well, I find splitting the book to be a horrible idea. It appears that many, if not all, hardcore Potter fans would be ing to sit through a 3-4 hour movie, myself included. It worked for LOTR, and why should HP not be given the same care?
I'm not particularly worried about the costs, though I understand other people have problems with that. No, what I fear is that they won't be able to stick to schedule. Originally, the movies came out every year, but now it's become more of a two-year interval. I doubt their ability to release both movies before 2012. At that rate, Rupert Grint and Tom Felton be in their mid-twenties, and the others won't be far behind. I've never been a fan of having twentysomethings play teenagers, and I'm already finding Daniel Radcliffe's age to be bothersome.
On Dobby: I feel he must be included, but I fear the worst. After all, they managed to exclude Peeves for the entire series (and not seeing his salute to the twins just ed me inside). Poor Dobby has been relegated to such a background role that I can't see how they could suddenly bring him back.
On the epilogue: Frankly, I hated this. The book had such a fantastic ending, and then Jo had to go and add this "happily ever after" to spoil it all. She Disneyfied the book with this addition, and it s the bittersweet effect the book would have had otherwise. The only really satisfying part was seeing Draco de-villainified, and sadly, I can't imagine a filmed version of that coming close to Makani's beautiful rendering, which has permanently burned itself into my mind for that scene.
I'm only left to hope that these last few movies be an improvement. I have not been truly happy with any of past three films; they suffered from excessive cropping. It's a relief to see that the filmmakers have come to their senses about the length of film necessary to really convey the majesty of the books, even if it's not in the form I would have preferred.

Posted by RD from California on March 31, 2008 8:57 PM

Mind you, in my opinion nothing better could have happened to Rowling's books than being read aloud by Stephen Fry. The way he brings the characters to life with such a powerful voice, passionate, deeply moving and soooo funny: for me, Stephen Fry's reading is more than a story read aloud - you hear Hermione SPEAKING when he reads her, not someone reading what Hermione is saying - do you know what I mean?
When I watch the films, I'm constantly comparing - for example, is the film Dumbledore living up to the real Dumbledore in the books, etc. - when listening to Fry, I just close my eyes and let it all happen! It is sometimes hardly bearable as he reads for example the cave scene with such an intensity that it is hard not to get torn apart by Dumbledore's pain - or when Aberforth recounts his sister's destiny, I felt as if I was intruding on something that wasn't meant for my ears.

None of the films ever had such an effect on me and probably won't have in the future.

Posted by Siena from Leeds, UK on April 3, 2008 05:37 AM

One thing I hope is that they bring back as many of the original cast as possible for the final movies ~ the actors who played Oliver Wood, Angelina, and so forth. I really hated it when they cut Colin Creevey (who was in the books and so hilarious) and instead put in the character of Nigel. Nothing against the actor, it wasn't his fault, but I'd really like to have some continuity. And it wouldn't matter if they looked older, because most have left school and are older, of course.

Donna from LaCrosse, if you google Jo Rowling interviews, she gives a lot of information about what happens after book seven. Harry does become an auror, Hermione works for the Ministry in some legal capacity, Ron either is an auror too, or works with George at the joke shop (she said both in different interviews), Neville marries Hannah Abbot (who runs the Three Broomsticks), and Ginny plays professional quidditch before marrying Harry. Other stuff, too, which I can't remember off-hand.

Posted by Perdie from Arlington, MA on April 6, 2008 12:19 AM

Oh, one more thing ~ I hope they keep the wedding in, no matter what other cuts are made. It would be very easy to just have the eaters arrive immediately following everyone getting to The Burrow after the flight from the Dursley's house. However, for me it would be lovely to have a bit of happiness and family togetherness at the wedding before they all start off on the various journeys and battles against Voldemort. That's what they're fighting for, really ~ family, friends, and peace.

Posted by Perdie from Arlington, MA on April 6, 2008 12:25 AM

I dont know weather or not I should be excited. I am very happy just thinking about getting an extra Harry Potter movie! But then I think about the Pirates of the Caribbean split and I kinda hope that sort of thing doesn't happen to Harry Potter. You're right, where would you split it? How would you make them blend? And if they do it, they better hope for their sakes that they put every little detail in it, cause if they split it and leave things out, or put random stuff in, Oh I be so angry.

So really, what I'm trying to say is: I'm not opposed to the idea at all, only I hope that they do a good job with it.

Posted by Corinne from Littleton, Colorado on April 10, 2008 3:51 PM

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