MTV has posted a new interview with production designer Stuart Craig where he talks about filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. He discussed the challenges of filming the Sword of Gryffindor scene.
Another one of the production’s major challenges — and accomplishments — was shooting the sequence in which Harry retrieves the Sword of Gryffindor at the bottom of a frozen lake. “There was a really demanding, complicated special-effects requirement there to do the ice,” Craig said. “I think that all works remarkably quite well, actually. Harry breaking the ice, diving in and then subsequently strangled by the Horcrux around his neck and is struggling and can’t get up quickly because of the ice above him. It’s good stuff.”Which begs the question: How did Craig and his team pull off that scene, and what do they use to make the ice look so real? “As always, well, as nearly always, there’s more than one solution. The camera on top, looking from the outside down on it. It’s big, thick sheets of Plexiglass with frosty texture on top of that,” he revealed. “When we’re underneath, it’s actually an area of wax which floats on top of the water. And wax makes very effective ice. They’re tried and tested movie techniques; there are a lot. You could write a book one day, a guidebook, to the very movie techniques — frost on window panes with some Epsom salts and brown nails.”
Harry Melling, who played Dudley Dursley in the Potter films, guest starred on this past weeks episode of Merlin which is entitled “The Sorcerer’s Shadow” playing Gilli. For those of you who are in the UK you can watch the episode here. And as for those of use in the US we will have to wait for Series 3 to air in the US (which will be in early 2011 according to TV Guide), unless you watch it in an illegal manner…which I do not condone.
Also in an interview he mentioned how he had to wear a fat suit for the final Potter film.
The 21-year-old Merlin star plays Harry’s cousin in the Harry Potter films, but had to have the extra weight added after he shed the pounds over the years. “It was quite funny because I had a big fatsuit on in this film and face prosthetics – I do look a bit different because Dudley was a very piggish character and about three years ago I lost quite a considerable amount of weight,” he said.
“It was bizarre, you feel really big and my mobility was affected. However, it is amazing to feel light but within someone that should feel really heavy, so that was a fascinating contrast. It was interesting in terms of the physicality and thinking about how he would hold himself.”
His weight loss also ensures that he is rarely recognised on the streets. “No I don’t, which is really beyond amazing! It means that I can lead a normal life without the baggage of people running after me and shouting things at me,” he revealed. “It was an active decision to try and change that and hopefully I can continue to do that throughout my career and be as mercurial and changeable as possible.”
Premiere.fr have posted a new interview with Clemence Poesy, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps and Mark Williams where they all discuss what it has been like being a part of the series and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. Mark Williams talks about what it was like seeing the younger actors grow up. Unfortunately, Clemence speaks in French so I have no idea what she says, if anyone can translate please send it in! They also talk about the Twilight vs. Harry Potter “battle”.
Tom Felton recently told Hero Complex that he would have one day of reshoots for the epilogue that will be at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II. At the NYC premiere he joked to us that he wasn’t going to reshoot but the non-professional actors would be reshooting.
“I got the call today,” Felton said Tuesday. “I have to go back for one more day of reshoots. So I’m going back in a couple weeks to do, literally, one more day. I knew that Dan, Rupert and Emma were called in and I was enjoying that, I was joking that, ‘Oh, I got it on the first take so I don’t need any of that, going back to do it again.’ And here I am eating my own words and going back to redo it. They just want to get a couple of extra camera shots. I don’t think anything was done wrong, they just want to cover it more. It could literally be a case of panning the shot five degrees to the left or whatever just to make sure the CGI shot work. So I’m going to go and serve my duty.”
Reelz Channel has emailed over their next segment from their Potter special that Tom Felton hosted. In this segment Tom and Jason Isaacs talk about the Malfoys in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.
AfterBuzzTV emailed earlier today to let me know about a live podcast they will be having today. I was asked to be a special guest to talk about the film, but sadly I’m not able to. The podcast will start at 7:10pm (Pacific Standard Time), last 2 and a half hours and you can listen at this link. You will also be able to call into the show by calling 347 855 8269.
AFTERBUZZ TV – the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Edition, is a movie “after show.” AfterBuzz TV host Paul Ashton breaks down the second to last film. There to help Paul will be co-hosts Phil Svitek, Jenna Lyng, and Kush Moody. They take calls from other fans and special guests in the process.
