Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince Thread (SPOILERS)

[PeterPanfan]

Young Tom Riddle looks like a rip of of Dameon from The Omen.

[Widdi]

I'm happy the first chapter has been cut though I find it disappointing that Scrimgeour was not included in the script. I was really looking forward to the "Dumbledore's man" scenes. I just hope they at least mention him so that he can appear in Deathly Hallows.

I'm more disappointed that Dobby has once again been left on the cutting room floor. It was his death that I was most emotional over in the books an now he's either going to just randomly appear to save Harry or his death will be replaced with Kreacher's. Either way it will not have the emotional punch in the movie that it did in the books. Plus that fistfight between Kreacher and Dobby would have been a great mood lightener for what will surely be a very dark movie.

[PeterPanfan]

Whilst I find Half-Blood Prince to be a dark movie, it's also the most humerous of the series, which will certaintly lighten the mood to an extent.

And has it been confirmed that Dobby will not appear in HBP?

[Widdi]

Whilst I find Half-Blood Prince to be a dark movie, it's also the most humerous of the series, which will certaintly lighten the mood to an extent.

And has it been confirmed that Dobby will not appear in HBP?

Yup. His roles in the story will probably be conducted by Neville just like they were in the last two movies (giving Harry the Gillyweed and showing him the room of requirement).

[Dottie]

Young Tom Riddle looks like a rip of of Dameon from The Omen.

That was my first thought, too!

I like that they cut the first chapter. I never really understood why it was in there anyway.
Like others I wanna have the Harry/Ginny thing exactly as it is in the book, since it was just so perfect and if they get together before Christmas or around Christmas it'd ruin the mood the Quidditch cup sets depending on how they incorporate it.
I really would have loved to see Tonks and Lupin after DD's death how she tries to covince him that it can work, since this was one of the most beautifully written parts in the 6th book.
Not happy about leaving Dobby out again, especially since the Dobby/Kreacher fight was priceless!
More Bellatrix is awesome since HBC is amazing in this role and it makes her big role in the 7th book more understandable.

[magicalwands]

The filmmakers discriminate against creatures. Thus we have no more Dobby in the films! If they don't include Dobby, I really don't buy their act to making Deathly Hallows two films is for "art reasons" because they can't even include something so small.

Harry Potter is good because it is MAGICAL.
Neville is NOT magical, he is human just like every other movie.
Dobby IS magical, we rarely find house elves in other movies.
Thus, Harry Potter is just your average film without Dobby.

[PeterPanfan]

Actually, Neville is a wizard, but anyway..

Are they really not putting Dobby in Deathly Hallows? I'll be PO'd if that's the case. There's no excuse for it.

[Mooky]

What?! When's it been confirmed Dobby's cut from HBP? Last I heard was that they produced a HBP toy line with Dobby action figures

If they don't include Dobby, I really don't buy their act to making Deathly Hallows two films is for "art reasons" because they can't even include something so small.

I've been against that DH split ever since I heard about it. It has nothing to do with "being true to the books". If that was the case then we would have seen every post-PoA film in two halves.

I even heard they plan on putting Dumbledore's funeral at the beginning of DH. So much for staying true to the books .

[SpringHeelJack]

Okay, let's be honest with ourselves. EVERY movie is an excuse to make money. No one is making a movie this big just to say "Well, let's make something honest to the book, and if we make a little dough..." Splitting "Deathly Hallows" into two films is an excuse to make MORE money, yes, but why is everyone suddenly "SAAAAAY, I think maybe the studio is just greedy!". Well, duh.

Anyhow, let's also wait until we hear more reputable rumors than from "cousin of guy on internet who heard something from best boy on the set" before we starts howling about things they've cut.

[PeterPanfan]

Mugglenet reported that the first scene of Half-Blood Prince will be Harry "hitting on" a waitress, to explore his sexuality and feelings.

What.the.eff?!?

[Disney's Divinity]

Though the trailer looks decent, I don't think this movie'll be that much better than the last two. Gambon's still out there and things I'd have liked to have seen live have been cut. I'm glad they've ridded us of some of the relationship building though. That seemed to be the book's only purpose (outside of Dumbledore’s office, at least): to make sure everyone ended up in their nice, predictably horrible couples. Actually, this is probably the book that I would guess works best as a movie, considering it was my least favorite to read.

[Widdi]

Though the trailer looks decent, I don't think this movie'll be that much better than the last two. Gambon's still out there and things I'd have liked to have seen live have been cut. I'm glad they've ridded us of some of the relationship building though. That seemed to be the book's only purpose: to make sure everyone ended up in their nice, predictably horrible couples. Actually, this is probably the book that I would guess works best as a movie, considering it was my least favorite to read.

Let me guess, you're a Harry/Hermione Shipper...

I don't get the hate of this book. It's my third favourite of the series. I just think by the time this and DH came out people had ideas about how the series should end and when those ideas didn't come to pass they got all pissy.

[Dottie]

I personally loved HBP, it is probably my favorite because of all the character stuff that is happening and its very, very strong ending. HBP answered many questions while also asking new ones and it made things clearer about what was probably going to happen to Harry. I feel that during writing HBP JKR really explored her characters and really delved into character development and emotions while DH was more action packed.

[Dottie]

And I just got a very interesting e-mail:

The Tales of Beedle the Bard are now available for pre-order on amazon.com!!!! How cool is that??!!
There's a standard edition with all stories etc. and a Collector's edition that will look like the one that amazon won at an auction with illustrations and comments by Dumbledore and more.
I am so getting the Colloector's Edition.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/r ... 1000179911

[Disneykid]

I love Half-Blood Prince, but to me it was a definite step down from some of the previous ones. My main problem with it was a lack of story hook. Too much of the book was about Harry and Dumbledore looking at Voldemort's pensieve scenes. The two other narratives (the Half-Blood Prince storyline and the "What's Draco up to?" arc) almost seemed like after-thoughts. It felt really obvious to me that this was a bridge book, something to tie up loose ends and pave the way for the grand finale of Deathly Hallows. I think everything up until Harry's Hogwarts arrival is great, and everything from Harry using the Felix Felicis onward is fantastic. It's just the middle that isn't quite memorable to me.

Oh, and as for Beetle the Bard, I debated whether or not I was going to splurge on the $100 collector's edition (they ARE only five short stories, after all). When I saw that quantities were limited to 100,000, that's when I decided to bite the bullet. With all of the Harry Potter fans out there, this thing's likely to get sold out in a few days, specially by people buying it with the intention of selling it even more expensively second-hand. I keep telling myself that I'll be getting that money back just a couple of weeks later for Christmas, and so far it's working in ebbing my guilt.

[PeterPanfan]

The only reason Half-Blood Prince is in my favorites is BECAUSE of the character development. I'm a big Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny fan, and I loved reading about their relationships.

Oh, and I'm DEFNITLY buying the book from Amazon!

[toonaspie]

With chapter one cut, do you think that the movie will open with chapter two: the scene at Spinner's End where Draco's mom and Bellatrix go to see Snape? That would be a great movie opener.

[Widdi]

With chapter one cut, do you think that the movie will open with chapter two: the scene at Spinner's End where Draco's mom and Bellatrix go to see Snape? That would be a great movie opener.

That would be the logical starting point, but some reports state the movie begins with Harry sitting at The Leaky Cauldron waiting for Dumbledore.

We should know more when reports from test screenings start to surface in September.

[Disney's Divinity]

Well, I don’t want to veer this topic too far off, but…

Let me guess, you're a Harry/Hermione Shipper...

I don't get the hate of this book. It's my third favourite of the series. I just think by the time this and DH came out people had ideas about how the series should end and when those ideas didn't come to pass they got all pissy.

No. It wasn’t until I went to TLC that I even knew this H/Hr cult existed. Ron and Hermione are actually my favorite couple in the series. I was referring moreso to Bill/Fleur, Harry/Ginny and Lupin/Tonks. None of them go together for me and seemed to simply be an effort to tie up every possible loose end. Ron and Hermione, while predictable, have been built up the entire series. They didn’t just come together in this one book. Harry and Ginny could’ve worked for me (considering the course of their relationship in OotP), but Harry’s whole “lion roaring” just kind of made it come off as some game of “who impregnates her first.”

As for the rest of the book, the writing just took a slight step down. Dumbledore’s confrontation with the Dursleys seemed to come right out of someone’s fan fiction. The HBP plot was dull and everything else was a bit frustrating--Harry’s obsession with Draco was particularly annoying, as well as the suddenly appeared out-of-nowhere Inferi. Slughorn was totally unlikable, though I suppose he was necessary to show the purpose of Slytherins in Rowling’s eyes. The parts centering around Riddle were definitely interesting and I enjoy the buildup for Scrimgeour and Narcissa’s characters. The rest is blah.

Don't get me wrong, I still plan to see this film on my birthday. I'm just saying that I don't expect an amazing experience. I'm looking forward to seeing the guy who's playing Slughorn (he was in Moulin Rouge, right?)--maybe it'll change my inner picture of the character a bit.

EDIT: Because I don't want my complaints to keep going, I'll just say that, on the subject of Inferi, I was referring to how they were never mentioned before this book and, as far as I know of, after it either. I don't remember them in DH.

[Dottie]

The Inferi didn't appear out of nowhere. They were mentioned earlier in the book and in the cave chapter it is described that Harry can see bodies int the water and Dumbledore warns him, so if one pays attention it isn't surprising that the Inferi appear.

And I am very much looking forward to seeing Jim Broadbent as Slughorn.