|
 |
|
|
|
|
Harry Potter Movie 6:
Half-Blood Prince Information
Release Date: November 21, 2008
Director: David Yates
Screenwriter: Steve Kloves
Returning Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint (more...)
As Order of the Phoenix was released earlier this summer, we are gradually finding out more and more about the making of the sixth film in the critically acclaimed Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The film will be directed by David Yates, who also helmed Order of the Phoenix, and the script will be written by Steve Kloves. Kloves wrote the scripts for the first four movies, opted not to do the fifth, but is back for the sixth. This announcement was made at the Goblet of Fire press junket in October 2005, which Veritaserum webmaster Matthew Vines attended.
Producer David Heyman said, "[Steve Kloves] is a brilliant adapter, in the sense that he is able to retain the voice of the author that he's adapting....He is a fantastic writer, who manages to bring a... who has a keen sense of character, and really understands the voice of the actors. He has written four. He also can write with great emotion, and at the same time, also great humor.
"He is not doing the fifth because he is writing another script for me called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, which I hope he will direct. However, he read the sixth book and couldn't stay away, so he's going to come back and write the sixth."
At this, Mike Newell (the Goblet of Fire director), who had just heard this for the first time, responded enthusiastically, saying, "Oh, great! Oh, that is good." As we were at the junket, we have a recording of the Half-Blood Prince announcement, which can be heard here (2 MB).
On August 7, 2006 (only three months after the Order of the Phoenix release date was confirmed), Warner Bros. announced that Half-Blood Prince will be released on Friday, November 21, 2008. This marks the fourth film in the Harry Potter series that will be released just before Thanksgiving. Starting with Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004, the movies have been on 18 month-long schedules (10 to 11 months of shooting, the rest spent on post-production), which is why HBP will hit theatres in the fall.
Production on Half-Blood Prince began in February 2007. At that time, artistic director Stuart Craig was designing the set for the scene in which a beloved character dies atop the astronomy tower. "It has to be impressive and beautiful and poignant," he said at the time.
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint announced in March 2007 that they would return as Harry, Hermione, and Ron (respectively) for both Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows.
In May 2007, David Yates announced he would return to direct Half-Blood Prince. He said, "I am doing 'Half-Blood Prince,' and I'm doing it because I love the [Potter] world, I love the characters. I think I have more business with this world and these characters. I've made a kind of tonal shift with the fifth film, which I want to continue and develop into the sixth film. And I can see the fifth story evolving into the sixth story in a really interesting way. So I'm on a journey with this material and this world, and I'm keen to complete it."
JK Rowling will take part in some of the creative process, according to Yates. He said that she "is actually going to come and join us for a few days and talk through the script. I'm really looking forward to having her around; she's grown up enough to say that the film is a separate entity to the book so she always leaves the director to get on with his job. Having said that, she has great ideas and insights."
In July 2007, open casting calls were held in London for the roles of Lavender Brown and Tom Riddle. Seven thousand girls showed up to audition for the part of Lavender; the number of boys at the Tom call was never announced. "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." Take a look around for that witch of great renown.
Later in July, Veritaserum spoke with producer David Heyman and director David Yates about the adaptive process for Half-Blood Prince. When we asked Yates about the many memories about Voldemort's past in the book, he said, "We're making a decision right now to compress those a wee bit, but we've still got some really cool ones. We've got, you know, the wonderful thing is seeing Riddle as a child, which is really scary, and I've found a really interesting kid to play Riddle. I can't tell you who it is yet -- it's early days." Producer David Heyman later expanded on Yates's comments, saying, "There will be memories, but not as many as there are in the book." When I asked which ones they're cutting, he said, "I can't say that yet because it's still a work in progress. We haven't locked up the script yet."
Filming will begin September 2007.
Back to Movie 6
|
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
