Posted on 07/21/2007 5:18:11 PM PDT by JenB
I really should read more Roald Dahl. The only book I actually read was “The B.F.G.” (Big Friendly Giant), which my daughter was assigned in third grade. She read more on her own. But considering that I loved the film versions of Matilda, James and the Giant Peach and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (not to mention “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”), I probably should read the originals.
Here’s a link to an interview with Daniel Radcliffe and his opinion of DH. It’s pretty good.
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20044270_20044274_20048635,00.html
You might find this article interesting. :)
http://news.sawf.org/Entertainment/40373.aspx
this would be a good book, I hope she does it!
I saw Taming of the Shrew at an outdoor theater in England when I was on a business trip 14 years ago. I LOVED IT!
I actually did not like the movie for James and the Giant Peach. The book, of course, is better. The Johnny Depp Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is closer to the original book as far as the factory tour. But, it took a lot of liberties, also. This is why I would be nasty if my book ever became a movie. I hate it when directors muck up a good story with their “vision” of how things should be.
So do I, sometimes, but movies are a different medium from books or stage productions, and sometimes things that work in one format just plain don't work in another. A prime example of that occurs in Little Shop of Horrors. In the stage show, Audrey and Semour get eaten by the plant, but then--despite having been eaten, they are still "all right" at the curtain call. Movies don't have curtain calls like stage productions do. The ending which was humorous on stage turned out devastating on film. Frank Oz, the director, had insisted, against the producer's advice, on keeping the original ending. After having seen how test audiences reacted, he realized the original ending just didn't work in the movie, and had to remount to create a happy ending.
Oh wow, I bet it was even better in England! It is so very funny, that and Much Ado About Nothing are two of my favorite plays that he wrote. :)
Things I liked best: the DA training, and Harry's occlumency lessons (Alan Rickman is fantastic!) Nice touches: Ginny giving Cho Chang a dirty look as Cho is talking to Harry; Sirius calling Harry "James" by mistake during the fight at the Ministry. What I didn't like: Harry's talk with Dumbledore at the end was too short, and left too much out; and, in general, too much was left out. The nice little touches needed the extra scenes for a casual viewer to understand their significance, IMHO.
It all went by very quickly! One fun thing we experienced is that there was apparently at least one young lady watching who hadn't read the book, because she kept exclaiming at various points, such as when Harry received his expulsion letter, and again when Harry was cleared at the Ministry hearing. :-)
After seeing more of Mrs. Weasley in this one, and seeing Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix, I can't wait to see their fight in the DH film! ;-)
Meow! The casting overall has been a delight.
And then there's the SF classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still". It branches off from its source material about a millisecond after Klaatu gets shot.
The way I see it is that Tonks and Lupin were fighting for something worth dying for, while the Malfoys realized that what they were fighting for was not worth dying for - therefore they decided to save their own.
As Dobby used to be their house elf, he could certainly go in and out of the house. I'm sure they never expected him to dare return to it! Why bother with a spell?
That is good! Thanks for posting it.
I saw OotP with three of my kids yesterday, and my reactions were very similar to yours. I liked the actors for the newly-introduced characters, especially Luna Lovegood. She was perfectly goofy, and yet charming. And I thought having Kingsley Shacklebolt as a posh Kenyan was cute, although not exactly as I’d imagined him; I was thinking more Bahamian, in the very latest three-piece suit. (My son said leather coat, and shades ...)
Helena Bonham Carter was perfect as Bellatrix. I hope the movie of Half-Blood Prince will give her more screen time.
I agree that WAY too much was left out ... but what was in there, was quite well done. The in-your-face direction was a bit of a nuisance to me: I kept thinking, “Pull back, and let them breathe!” And I thought the fight at the end sacrificed character for special effects.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20035573/
Click on the link, it tells more about the story line and the parts some of us were confused by. At the end there are other links to her interview that are good to, such as why Tonks and Lupin die, etc. A friend e-mailed this to me, so I thought everyone might find this interesting.
Good find! Thank you!
My husband mentioned that interview. She went with the Holyhead Harpies, I guess :-).
Very “aspiring” girl, with all those older brothers; I guess it fits. My oldest daughter has five younger brothers (and sundry sisters), so it’s kind of the opposite.
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