Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

[BreakABone]

Well now my list of anticipated movies drops to one.

BURBANK, Calif. - Warner Bros. Pictures on Thursday announced that it has moved back the release date of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" to summer 2009.
The sixth installment of the blockbuster Harry Potter franchise will now open July 17. It was originally scheduled to open Nov. 21.
"Like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers' strike. We agreed the best strategy was to move 'Half-Blood Prince' to July," said Alan Horn, president and chief operating officer.
"The release date change does not alter the production schedule for this or future Harry Potter films. The studio's release plans for the two-part 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' will not be affected by this change," said Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.

[Vampyr]

Yeah, saw this a bit ago on TV. Very sad.

But we have Twilight to watch in December! Vampires!

[jeepnut]

I much prefer fall releases for HP movies to summer releases. They seem to fit better in the fall. This is a shame.

[Bube]

Damn, that's almost a year from now! How can you come to this decision 3 months before the release of the movie?

I agree with jeepnut, being dark and atmospheric, it's more suited to being released in the fall instead of the "hey, let's go to a comedy movie!"-summer.

[manasecret]

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin

All the movies have been terrible. But, they are catering to the audience that nets the most money, which isn't the college-aged crowd that likes their movies as close to the book as possible. It's all about the mola.

That's an over-generalization. I'm of the college-age crowd, so is Vampyr, and I don't care at all if they change the plot around.

Well, I guess I can't say I don't care at all. But I've read all the books, and by the time the movie version of the book comes out, it's been two years since I read the book. By then I've forgotten all the details, so as long as the movie follows generally the story of the book in broad strokes, I don't care about the details of the scenes. I'm one that never took Harry Potter that seriously, just read them for fun because they were always interesting detective novels. Trying to figure out who did what before it was revealed, only to find out all of the clues were right there for you to figure it out, that's what I loved. But keeping true to the details of each scene from the book? Meh.

LOTR, on the other hand, I take a little more seriously. But even with that, changing some scenes doesn't bother me. What bothers me is when they change some of the meaning of the book, or what I interpreted as the meaning of the book.

[Vampyr]

Originally Posted by manasecret

That's an over-generalization. I'm of the college-age crowd, so is Vampyr, and I don't care at all if they change the plot around.

Well, I guess I can't say I don't care at all. But I've read all the books, and by the time the movie version of the book comes out, it's been two years since I read the book. By then I've forgotten all the details, so as long as the movie follows generally the story of the book in broad strokes, I don't care about the details of the scenes. I'm one that never took Harry Potter that seriously, just read them for fun because they were always interesting detective novels. Trying to figure out who did what before it was revealed, only to find out all of the clues were right there for you to figure it out, that's what I loved. But keeping true to the details of each scene from the book? Meh.

LOTR, on the other hand, I take a little more seriously. But even with that, changing some scenes doesn't bother me. What bothers me is when they change some of the meaning of the book, or what I interpreted as the meaning of the book.

Exactly. What makes a book good isn't what makes a movie good. They aren't making "Harry Potter the movie the book", they're making a movie based on the book. They want to be true to the novel, but they also have a separate responsibility to make the best movie they can.

[Perfect Stu]

Originally Posted by Seth

I couldn't bother myself with the 7th book, not after that 6th travesty.

I didn't enjoy the 6th much either...but you owe it to yourself to read the 7th. It's arguably the best in the series.

[Bube]

The biggest problem with the HP movies is that they're too disconnected. You see something happen, then, with a very sharp transition, you see something else happen. It's like a dozen short movies strung together.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Perfect Stu

I didn't enjoy the 6th much either...but you owe it to yourself to read the 7th. It's arguably the best in the series.

Same way actually.

I read the 7th book twice in one week. It kind of drags in the middle (the camping sections) but other than that good stuff.

[uber_paddler]

Originally Posted by BreakABone

Same way actually.

I read the 7th book twice in one week. It kind of drags in the middle (the camping sections) but other than that good stuff.

Yup, that was easily the worst part. It all just seemed so unnecessary.

[thatmariolover]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

Exactly. What makes a book good isn't what makes a movie good. They aren't making "Harry Potter the movie the book", they're making a movie based on the book. They want to be true to the novel, but they also have a separate responsibility to make the best movie they can.

I could respect that excuse if it was the case for Harry Potter. But usually it's not. They change things unnecessarily, like which character says what line for absolutely no reason. That bothers me.

And while I also understand that certain things need to get cut, I personally feel that whoever's deciding what gets cut is doing a bang up job on scene priorities.

[jeepnut]

Originally Posted by thatmariolover

I could respect that excuse if it was the case for Harry Potter. But usually it's not. They change things unnecessarily, like which character says what line for absolutely no reason. That bothers me.

And while I also understand that certain things need to get cut, I personally feel that whoever's deciding what gets cut is doing a bang up job on scene priorities.

Agreed. Like in the 5th movie where the death eaters are chasing them through the prophecy room and they start disappearing and reappearing in clouds of smoke. WTF? The only reason to do that is to introduce a pointless special effect.

[Teuthida]

http://wbads-18.vo.llnwd.net/e1/wbmo...mpion_D_Lg.mov

Looking good. Shame we could have been watching it this month.