I was upset with Prisoner of Azkaban because Lupin and Harry discussed the Marauder’s Map and its uses without ever explaining how Lupin knew how to use the map – or at least addressing who were Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail.
I was told that the director and producers had made a conscious decision to deal with this in this movie. Did they?
Look out, Obi-Wan!. Qui-gonn has turned to the Dark Side!
Now that I’ve read the books, I can understand why fans were upset at that being cut out. It would have only taken a few seconds and a few lines of dialogue. It was approved by Rowling, so they must have something up their sleeves for future movies, however…
It’s not this one because no, the map is never shown or mentioned in GOF.
How did you get to see a test screening?
My husband and I went to see Howl’s Moving Castle and someone was giving out passes in the lobby. The pass didn’t say what movie it was, just that it was a family film to be released later in the year. There were two screenings, one at, I think, 3pm and one at 6pm. I was told that I could only go to the earlier screening if I had a youngster to bring, preferably between the ages of 9-12. I didn’t, so I took the pass for the later screening.
I had to call and RSVP and gave them my phone number. They called a couple of days later and told me that the screening had been moved from River East 21 (where I got the pass) to Pipers Alley. I got to the screening early and there were already a lot of people in line.
I tried to guess what movie it would be. My bet was for Chicken Little. I was hoping it might be Narnia, but thought it would be too early for that, since there are so many special effects to be done. Harry Potter never even crossed my mind. The security was intense. They thoroughly looked through bags and backpacks, made people check their cell phones, and then wanded everybody before letting them into the theater. There were several big scary-looking guys wearing black whose job it was to look intimidating. They also had infrared scanners up front looking to see if anyone was taping.
Finally a fella went to the front and welcomed everybody. He said we were among the first in the world to get a look at Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The crowd went wild. He warned us that the special effects weren’t done, and that anything that didn’t look finished would be finished by release date. He said that the music was a temporary score, and that an original score was being written for the film. He warned that “a certain character near the end” (who was, of course. Voldemort) would only have colored dots on his face, and to expect him to look very different when the movie was released. He told us to enjoy ourselves and the lights went down.
The opening logo was there, but there were no ending credits. The movie got a great applause at the end, so everybody seemed to enjoy it. I know I did. About 30 people were separated into a focus group. Oh I really wanted to be part of it, but I was asked to move (I was sitting up front where they put the focus group people) and then everyone else was hustled out of the theater. We were given surveys to fill out, asking how we liked the film (loved it), if we would recommend it to others (yes), what other Harry Potter movies had we seen (all 3), if we’d read the books (no), what were our favorite scenes and what scenes didn’t we like. I didn’t fill in those last bits. I liked it, and in movies I like, I want to let it percolate for a while, think about it. I couldn’t even remember any scenes from it at that point. It was just all so…WOW. So, yeah, I would have been useless in the focus group, but I’ve always wanted to be part of one just for the hell of it. And if you’re going to be part of a focus group, it’s nice to be part of one for a movie you liked.
There’s a woman answering questions in The Leaky Cauldron thread (she just joined) and she was there and was part of the focus group. It was interesting to read her take on it. The man running the group said he had nothing to do with the filmmaking process, so people could be as honest as they wanted and it wouldn’t hurt his feelings. They didn’t tell the people that the director and producers and others invovlved in the movie were sitting right behind the focus group, listening closely to every word. Everyone in the focus group liked the movie. It was urged that the film be made a little longer (something I agree with), to not “lighten” it up any more (it should be dark, it’s no longer a sweet and pleasant kiddie book/movie), and to add some bits to make things clearer for non-book readers. All the suggestions sounded like good ones, and can only make an already good movie better. I heard today that the movie will definitely be rated PG-13, so that’s a good indication they’re doing the right thing.
Since I’ve been answering questions, I’m sure I’ll never be allowed to attend another one (they have my phone number) but I’m glad I got to go to this one. It got me to read all the books. I take it they like Chicago for their test screenings. I found out later that they did the same thing with Prisoner of Azkaban.
Cheers Equipoise! I’ll check out the other threads when I get a mo. Am v. psyched now after the thrills n spills of HP6.
The only real problem I have with that shot of Moody is that he looks a bit too chubby. I hope he comes across scary enough.
The Darth Voldemort was funny, though.
It’s already been pointed out that the picture was a fake. The second of the two pictures was presented ages ago on Mugglenet as an original pic – something the creator was presenting as their own work. No one (then at least) was trying to pass it off as an original pic.
Here’s Ralph Fiennes doing his Voldemort impression on Regis and Kathie Lee, but out of makeup and costume
As for movie pics, if anyone’s interested, Mugglenet’s complete 7-page supply of movie still shots begins here.
I once found a really good pic of the four contestants ready to dive for the Second Task, but Mugglenet appears to have taken it down.
By the way, anyone who saw the screenshot of the Riddle tombstone probably noticed the mistake – Voldemort’s father is listed as having the middle name “Marvolo”, which was his maternal grandfather’s name. Warner Brothers is now going to go back and change the mistake digitally.
Equipoise, I’m curious about a couple of things:
BTW, I’m kind of intrigued that they billed it as “a family picture”, because it’s not a picture I could take my whole family to. My daughter gets the heebie-jeebies pretty easily.
Great, now there’s just a big, fat, gaping plot hole smack in the middle of POA. Nice.
:wally
Nope, they were only concerned with recording, not talking about the film. I can see why though. Just about all the people who were there, and who have posted in various places such as AICN and the various Harry Potter sites, liked the film a lot. Good buzz, man. Well-deserved too.
I think anyone could have walked out before the film started. The guy did give proper warning that the special effects were unfinished. I was in front though, 4th row, so maybe some people did walk out and I didn’t see them.
My take is that it’s called a family film because lots of families are into Harry Potter as a cross-generational experience. Family films are under no obligation to be perfectly sweet and light and utterly non-scary, thank goodness. Do you take issue with all movies that bill themselves as family films just because your daughter gets the heebie-jeebies if there are scary parts? Is The Wizard of Oz not a family film? In any case, what Goblet of Fire most definitely is not, is a children’s film. That’s why the PG-13 rating is there, so you can judge if you want her to see it.
Just out of curiousity, what other “family films” do you frown at because of your daughter’s reaction, and what would you bill Harry Potter as, if not a family film? That’s a serious question, what term would you use?
