[JimmyJoe]

More new calender pics

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/20...calendar-scans

Love the Burrow one and the Tom Riddle one where you can see the cave.

Also the Lavender one is really nice, very good looking girl is Jessie!

[priggy]

Originally Posted by JimmyJoe

More new calender pics

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/20...calendar-scans

Love the Burrow one and the Tom Riddle one where you can see the cave.

Also the Lavender one is really nice, very good looking girl is Jessie!

they look good!

[humbug83]

Great pics

[humbug83]

OOTP has been nominated for a Peoples Choice Award. Click here to vote http://www.peopleschoiceaward.org/

[priggy]

Tom Felton will be playing in Soccer Aid on Sunday at 6!

[priggy]

New interview with Dan Radcliffe - which is here - http://men.style.com/details/blogs/t...liff.html#more

[priggy]

Where is everybody?

[JimmyJoe]

No offence priggy but what on earth do you want us to talk about?

People are back to school/working etc etc and the movie is still 10 months off so don't be surprised if its dead for another while.

Only so many times we can all say hey to eachother.

[priggy]

there are new interviews and script extracts that you posted, which we could talk about.
I know there are so many times we can say hey but we can still have wizard duels. I know the movie is still 10 months off but we can still talk about it - what we want to see, what we don't want to see etc.

[Samhallows]

Well priggy you will be glad to hear that any more big brother discussions are over...

One final thought from me then if allowed...
Sara or Rex should have won though, rather Rachel than Mikey though.
Davina on the other hand needs to get fired

[amidala]

Here is a new photo from 'Half-Blood Prince'. Harry, Tonks and Lupin as well as Ginny and her father are in battling form.

[humbug83]

Cool! Thanks amidala.

[Lily_2008]

Originally Posted by Samhallows

Well priggy you will be glad to hear that any more big brother discussions are over...

One final thought from me then if allowed...
Sara or Rex should have won though, rather Rachel than Mikey though.
Davina on the other hand needs to get fired

I agree with you! I so wanted Sara or Rex to win.

[humbug83]

Do you think the Apparition lessons will be in the film?

[priggy]

Originally Posted by humbug83

Do you think the Apparition lessons will be in the film?

I have a feeling not but then they can't really not show them or at least one of them - mainly due to it being very important for travel in book 7. But they could just have a line in the films.

[JimmyJoe]

Major Spoilers Coming Up - Test Screenings Have Been Held In Chicago

[JimmyJoe]

Ignore this post if you don't want Major Spoilers!

Seriously, move on

Today I got to see the test screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It took place in Chicago at the AMC River East. It was a secret screening, no one in the audience was supposed to know before hand what they were seeing. I was one of only a small handful who already knew what we would be seeing, but I was sworn to secrecy. It was truly the hardest secret I ever had to keep.

It was not entirely complete, however aside from a few blue screens in the background, and one or two special effects missing, it was barely noticeable.

I am a huge fan of Ginny and Harry so I will start with them. There is a lot more Ginny than ever before. She nearly equaled Ron for screen time. We first see her at the Burrow when Harry arrives outside and the first thing he sees is her reading through the window. Harry Just stands there for a moment, gazing up at her. Although she is dating Dean Thomas she never looks happy with him, except when she is snogging him at The Three Broomsticks. She was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. But the only game we saw was from the Felix Felicis chapter when Ron believes Harry has slipped him the potion. During Christmas at the Burrow, Ginny and Harry wind up on the stairs alone and start to lean into each other to kiss, when the attack on the Burrow interrupts them.

The Burrow does not burn down, but it is surrounded by a ring of fire conjured by Bellatrix. Harry, seeing Bellatrix, runs after her, and Ginny runs after him, right into Greyback. But Harry comes to the rescue and the two of them stand in a very high growing cornfield fending off attacks from the deatheaters. Lupin and Tonks come to the rescue, but that is I believe the last we see of them. There is no Tonks and Lupin relationship and although Tonks’ hair is brown there is no notice taken or any explanation given.

Tom Felton did a fantastic job in this film. Draco character remains true to the book, he even stamps on Harry’s nose. But, sadly, we never get the pleasure of seeing Crabb and Goyle disguised as girls. In fact, they are hardly in this movie. The Sectumsempra scene was really good, even without moaning Myrtle. As Harry and Draco throw spells at each other poor Nigel sits frozen on one of the toilets. Snape runs in shortly and McGonagall is in the doorway after Harry cast the spell (Draco never yells Crucio) and he does do a cure his wounds with a spell that sounds almost like song. But he does not use legilimency on Harry, who runs straight out of the bathroom to McGonagall. In the next scene Hermione and Ginny band together and tell Harry to hide the potions book so not even Harry can find it. Ginny takes Harry to the room of Requirement, and makes him close his eyes while she hides the book. Then she kisses him briefly. By the time he opens his eyes she has vanished.

There was definitely tension between Ron and Hermione. In the very beginning at the Burrow, Ron cleans off a bit of toothpaste from Hermione’s cheek. Later in Slughorn’s class she describes what she smells in the love potion and trails off with “spearmint toothpaste…” Lavender is quite nauseating and although she never gives Ron a necklace she does something equally as vomit worthy, steaming up a window on the Hogwarts Express with her breath and drawing a heart with “R + L” inside it. His relationship ends when he is unconscious and moaning Hermione’s name after being poisoned. He remains confused about why it ended but very relieved.

The kid who played young Tom Riddle was Brilliant. His voice and demeanor raised the hairs on the back of my neck. There is no mention of the Gaunts, but the scene in Slughorn’s office is there. Dumbledore however is truly surprised to learn that Riddle made 7 Horcruxes. It is in that scene that he realizes the ring is a Horcrux. He realizes what it was because when harry handles it briefly he moved his head like Voldemort.

We do get to hear Hagrid and Slughorn singing about Odo the Hero, and Harry is funny and a few lines where true to the book while under the influence of Felix Felicis. There is no Professor Trelawney, or the Dursleys. No Kreacher (no mention of inheriting Grimmauld Place whatsoever) or Dobby, or Bill and Fleur. There are no scenes with the Minister of Magic, and I don’t believe they even mentioned Fudge was sacked (though I may have missed it).

Oh and most sadly of all, no description from Luna about the dangers of the Rotfang Conspiracy. Nor does she commentate the Quidditch match. Luna’s role was very small, but she does have the lion hat and she is the one to find Harry on the train under the invisibility cloak with the help of her Spectrespecs.

Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes was awesome!!! I only wish it were a real store. Unfortunately no U-No-Poo sign, but it was still a sight to see.

The scene with Harry and Snape at the end was the least finished of the movie; the background was mostly screens and lights and occasionally a sound persons head. It was very close to the book, though I thought Snape could have been stronger and angrier, when Harry called him a coward. His some of his last words to Harry are “You may have your mother’s eyes but you are as dim as your father!”

As a huge fan of the books I have found myself getting more and more disappointed by all the changes in the movies and especially in Michael Gambon’s portrayal of Dumbledore who is my favorite character. That being said I was really pleasantly surprised by this movie. Many of the changes were actually entertaining and Gambon has improved enough to be tolerable. It was so much better than Order of the Phoenix. Overall I really enjoyed this movie and can not wait to see it again.

[JimmyJoe]

I'll do tags around these extra spoilers-

spoiler:

---

No funeral for Dumbledore, although as much as I hate cuts it was not very necessary.

There is no Tonks and Lupin. They are both in it but barely. Tonks has maybe 2 lines. Lupin never talks about Greyback. No explanation is given to Tonks having brown hair.

No Dursleys at all. No Privet Drive. No inheriting Grimmauld place or Kreacher as there is no Kreacher or Dobby.

---

Any more and I'll post

[JimmyJoe]

More I didn't expect all this today!

spoiler:

---

The movie opens with a scene from OOTP, of Dumbledore and Harry at the ministry on the night Sirius dies, standing in front of a barrage of flash bulbs. Then it cuts to an interior shot of an ultra modern office building overlooking the Millenium Bridge. There are dementors flying through the air and then the bridge starts to wave violently and then collapses with lots of people on it.



In the next scene we see Harry reading about the bridge in the Daily Prophet at a tube-side coffee shop in Little Whinging. He flirts with the waitress and asks her what time she gets off work. But he is distracted by a passing train. When the train finally clears out, we see Dumbledore standing importantly on the platform. Harry joins him and immediately he is whisked away (side-along apparition) to Slughorn’s house.

---

[JimmyJoe]

spoiler:

---

No the Movie ends with the trio plus Ginny on top of the Astronomy tower talking and Harry saying he is going alone to find the Horcruxes. Hermione says something like, yeah right, you think your going alone? We are coming too. (major paraphrasing there) Then Ginny not saying a word sadly just walks away and leaves. She actually does not speak during the entire scene. Nor is she spoken to. She just listens looking sadder and increasingly heartbroken.

---

This bit might read a bit strange as I cant find the questions the person has answered but you will get the basics!

spoiler:

---

Bellatrix runs on the table right after Dumbledore is killed. She is so excited, no euphoric and that is one of her ways of celebrating I suppose.

Harry and Ginny are hugging in greeting. Harry arrives unexpectedly at the Burrow. No one there knows he is going to come and stay. THey are all completely suprised. Although they scene is completely unfaithful to the book it is rather funny. Harry's trunk and Headwig suddenly appear and, oh it is a highly visual scene, can't explain it without it losing its humor.

I Personally think it is deplorable that the writers and directors of the HP movies thought it was necessary to change so much of the last few books when I believe part of the brillance of Rowling is how easy it is to form a clear picture in your head of the scenes she writes. I have always thought the movies, especially the last two did a terrible job mainly because of Gambon and also because of the diluted belief that people would not find a movie true to the book entertaining enough.

That said I was terrified that this movie would ruin the story, we all knew already how much was going to be invented. But this is the first time I think that their invented scenes actually worked (for the most part). I actually enjoyed watching it, I was honestly expecting to cringe throughout the movie like I have in the past.

So would I have prefered them to have been true to the book? Absolutely
But the previous movies have already ruined that possiblity. To much was changed and left out for them to start being faithful to the story now.
So that all things considered this was much better than I would have thought possible.

---

[JimmyJoe]

What they said abput the setting is right, It is by far the most beautiful view of Hogwarts I have ever seen and completely different than previous movies. The views of the moutains are new and most of the outside lanscape has been made far more majestic and beautiful. Though some of it was blue screened. Enough was left the same for continuity sake but many of the scenes we are used to in the movies now look far closer to what I imagined while reading than the way they have in the past few movies. I think the Sectum Sempra scene was in Moaning Myrtles bathroom, but it was almost unrecognizable. In a good way. Whoever was in charge of the lighting for this film did a beyond superb job. It was not prepared for the beauty of this movie.

spoiler:

---

If memory serves be I don't think Hermione is at the Burrow during the attack. It was during Christmas and she was upset with Ron about Lavender during that time. Ron was not the focus of the attack on the Burrow Harry and Ginny were.

The first kiss of Lavender and Ron was witnessed by both Harry and Hermione. Harry watches with a stupid boyish grin and Hermione faces slowely turns from a smile to looking utterly heartbroken. She quietly turns away to leave, and just as she leaves Harry turns and notices. She is far less angry than she is just heartbroken. She does send the birds she conjures at Ron but she is not so much furious as she is crushed and hurt.

She does say to Harry later on in the movie when Lavender calls Ron "Won Won,"
"Excuse me while I vomit"

---

[JimmyJoe]

spoiler:

---

> Could you please describe how the Poisoning scene happened in the movie with Ron? Starting from the spiked love potioned chocolates to when he collapses from the poisoned meade.

The scene opens with Ron staring lovingly at the moon from the boys' dormitory window (lol). Harry comes into the room and Ron tells Harry that he's in love. Harry sits on his bed and Ron climbs on right next to him (more lol) and the dialogue follows about the same from the book if I remember correctly. Harry says, "I thought you were getting tired of her" or something and Ron gets offended, Harry gets confused, thinks they're talking about Lavender but Ron says he's talking about Romilda Vane and asks to be introduced. Harry asks if Ron's eaten something, Harry sees the empty wrappers and box and puts two and two together and gets him to Slughorn's office. Harry asks Slughorn for the antidote, Slughorn lets them in, and he concocts the potion. At one point Ron comes from behind Slughorn and hugs him and so Harry sets him down on the couch (scene is shot with Harry and Slughorn infront, couch behind). Slughorn wonders why Harry couldn't just perform the potion himself but Harry says it's particularly strong and Slughorn agrees. Ron is acting goofy in the back, at one point he sits on the back seating of the couch and falls off! After they get Ron right, Slughorn pulls out a flasks, pours glasses, and they toast to their health. Ron of course slurps his down before the others and he immediately collapses. He starts going a bit gray, convulsing, foaming at the mouth a bit; Harry freaks out, tells Ron to breathe, yells at Slughorn to do something, Slughorn is too stunned to move so Harry hurries through his potion supplies, pulls out a bezoar (sp?) and pops it into his mouth. I forget the transitioning but we find Harry, Slughorn, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron at the infirmary wing.

This was such a good scene by the way, Ron was a laugh!


> How did people react to Ron in particular?

Definitely laughing at Ron. He was hilarious under the love potion, very sensitive, very touchy to those close next to him! It was a well-done scene I thought.

>Can you describe the hospital scene when he breaks up with Lavender?

Ron is lying unconscious on a bed with Ginny to the left and Hermione to the right. Harry and Slughorn are standing at the foot of the bed and Pomfrey enters to tend to him. McGonagall, Snape, and Dumbledore enters, inquires what happened. Slughorn said it was the meade which was gift and "actually it was a gift for you." Lavender bursts in, cries about her Won-Won, sees Hermione, is indignant and angrily wonders why she's there. Hermione retorts back and says she should be asking the same thing. Ron begins to startle and Lavender rushes to his side, holds his hand, and exclaim that he knows it's because she's there. Ron begins to mumble and eventually says, "Her-Mion-Ne." Lavender looks angry/hurt and runs out of the room and Hermione looks triumphant. Dumbledore comments something along the likes of, "Ah, the pangs of being a teenager in love." McGonagall gives a look, I think Snape rolls his eyes, lol. They start out of the infirmary wing and Harry is the last to leave, he looks back and Hermione is holding Ron's hand (still unconscious) and leaning over his bed. She looks up at Harry and says, "Oh, shut up."

I forget how this went in the book, but the next day Ron has no idea how he broke up with Lavender (although he's pleased) while she's giving him the stink eye at breakfast across the great hall, aha.

---

[JimmyJoe]

spoiler:

---

There is no battle in hogwarts like in the books. Bellatix and the others run through Hogwarts triumphantly and Hagrids house is set on fire. But no one but Harry takes any action and that is only on Snape as far as I can remember. Snape blocks all of Harry's curses.

For those asking about the bloodyness of the Sectum Sempra scene, it was not very bloody but many of the wounds on draco did not appear to be gushing. Before you all get upset, I think the extra blood is probably just a special effect not yet added. The scene implied much more blood than was seen. I am pretty sure this will be added in later.

There is really no implication that Ginny and Harry are dating, much to my dismay. It seemed much more that their feeling were both made very clear but no further action was taken. No implied stolen hours in secluded corners in the Hogwarts grounds.

---

Thats all I can see right now but anything else I'll stick it up

[JimmyJoe]

Oh hang on final thing! One more full report from a lucky person who got to see it!
!!!!!!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!!!!

Ok. so i really don't wanna dissapoint anyone who would rather not know much about the movie before they see it themselves.. so if you're that person ...PLEASE don't read any further....!!

Also, im not much good at reviews, so bear with me...



The movie started by taking off right from where the other one ended and transitioning right into the theme of the 6th book where the death eaters are running amok there's chaos everywhere...

Dumbledore takes Harry along to slughorn's and at this point i thought i was getting a little wary considering slughorn wasn't at all like i imagined him to be... there's an illustration of slughorn in the book and that's more or less what i thought he would look like, whereas in the movie, he's much taller and a little thinner, and less indlugent and opulent looking..so i was a lil dissapointed by that, but trust me, as the movie goes on, that doesnt matter a bit because he fits in very well with the whole package...

The Weasley's house, Hogwarts, and the Hogwarts express have quite a different feel and look to them!
Get ready to see some noticeable changes in the sets, art production and general look of the movie..they have been tweaked a bit, but in a very, very good way!! you will NOT be dissapointed..

It was very refreshing and the cinematography and color scheme worked so well..it really drew you in...reminiscent of how Azkaban plunged into such a different theme, compared to the first two movies..

The settings were eerily beautiful..it was so other-worldly.... man, i wish i was living in it!!!
Also , i must say... the background music was just amazing, very beautiful...i think the best so far!!!
I absolutely loved the way all of Ron & Hermione's romantic interludes and squirmishes were handled...they got some of the biggest laughs out of the audience... and talking abt laughs, this movie is definitely the funniest one so far..there were lots of humorous moments, and lots of inside jokes for those who have read the books!!! much much funnier than the Order of the Phoenix...

Some of the parts that i feel were rushed over were Dumbledore's first meeting with the young Voldemort and the half blood prince's potions book...those sequences were far too short and should have been given more precedence but as this movie was an unfinished product, they may change up a bit here and there!!


SPOILER!!!
DON't read any further if you haven't read the book!!

My favourite scene:
Dumbledore's death was just.....ahhhh...i'm speechless,i felt exactly how i felt when i read it the first time.....felt horribly sad!!! so obviously, they did a good job with it... the entire Dumbledore - Draco interaction was very touching..! and btw,you really feel for Draco as the movie progresses!

my only gripe, was the part where Harry's going after Snape when he's running off with draco and the death eaters..i think that could have been a lot better!
I don't what it was...maybe its that Harry didnt seem to be angry enough ...there was something that bugged me...but like i said, they'll probably change some things around

as for the actors,

Everyone did a fabulous job, i thought Daniel Radcliffe really came into his own here. Maybe it was that this is what Harry has grown up to be, or maybe it was that this is what Daniel has decided on for Harry to be..but Harry was exactly what we know him to be in the book - intense, honorable, sincere , determined, sarcastic and caring
Rupert and Emma were great - very funny.
Luna Lovegood was so mmuch better in this than the 'Order'..she got quite a few laughs as well..
Hagrid appeared in only a couple scenes as did Professor McGonagall
Alan Rickman...what can i say? did absolute justice, as always..!


And finally, the director - David Yates is to be given full credit for making such a beautiful movie and taking the risk of fine tuning some beloved familiar sights and do such a fabulous job of it!!! All the sequences in the book have been weaved in an ingenious way to create a seamless work of art...

Like i said, i didnt think much of the "Order of the Phoenix' and was very dissapointed as it was one of my top books of the series but he's made up for it and HOW with the half blood prince... just bloody brilliant! thank you thank you thank you Mr. Yates!!!!


yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, im so happy the movie was so great!!!

[priggy]

i didn't like David Yates because of OOTP but i've just seen state of play which is fab!

Thanks Jimmy for them. Eric from Mugglenet is said to have seen it as well and he'll have a report up soon as well.