This morning we have a fun piece of news from Warner Bros.! Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick and Griphook), James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) and Jessie Cave (Lavender Brown) will be making a special appearance, where they will be meeting with fans and giving autographs, at Harrods in London on December 1st starting at 5.30pm at The Harry Potter Shop at Harrods. The full press release may be read here.
Due to the limited time available, access to the queue to meet the stars of the films will be strictly limited to 300. Wristbands will be issued from 10am at The Harry Potter Shop at Harrods on the day of the event on a first-come, first-served basis with a queue starting at Door 3 of the store.
Hmv will be opening up to 150 of its stores around the country especially early at 7.00am on day of release – Friday, 2nd December, so that fans, including those travelling to work or school, are able to purchase their copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 2at the earliest opportunity.
Jessie Cave, best known for playing Ron’s 6th year girlfriend Lavender Brown, has opened up an online store to go along with her popular website, Pindippy. The store sells various tops, stickers and bags designed by Jessie herself [they are often seen in her self made videos]! According to the press release we were sent;
Jessie said: “I feel strongly that T-shirts are generally unflattering on girls and so decided to sell ‘off-shoots’ of T-shirts in the form of long vests, long sleeved and cropped oversized. Hopefully the designs will make people look twice and I would like to make sure that girls feel confident with ‘Ways to Wear’ to maximise their T-shirt appreciation and satisfaction. Pindippy is about being proud to be a bit different, and I really want the store to embody this. ”
All of the clothing worn in the videos on PinDippy are Jessie’s own, and she was encouraged to open a shop of her own after fans showed enthusiasm and requested to get hold of similar items.
On the launch, Jessie said: “People have been so lovely about my clothes and the styling for the videos, but when I am asked where I get the clothes from it is usually vintage or something I have made. I like the way clothes can change my mood for the day. I thought it would be nice if people who have been very kind about my dress sense could wear the same, something I made.”
Also, since I haven’t mentioned this yet, Jessie will be starring in Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell’s version of Great Expectations along with Potter co-stars Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix), Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort) and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid)! The movie will be released in 2012.
I a new interview Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II director David Yates discusses the film and Ala Rickman. He also talks about the theme park and how he couldn’t attend the grand opening this past Spring because he was finishing Deathly Hallows 2.
We hadn’t the chance to speak at the theatrical release of the film, but I must ask what your inspiration was behind the pre-credits sequence which recaps Voldemort stealing the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s grave, then centers on haunting images of Professor Snape in the turrets overlooking Hogwarts. There’s no dialog, only some sound effects and music. It’s a stunning and heartbreaking way to begin a film.
DY: I wanted to start with Snape because he’s so integral to the story and we discover so much about him in the movie. And Alan Rickman is so amazing as an actor, and what I love about him and the way he works is he thinks rather than shows. I know we usually open the movies with big bangs and bridges falling down and all sorts of stuff, but to open on an actor’s face, quite close was so compelling. And it’s actually quite an enigmatic expression; he’s not giving away too much, but it completely pulls you in. And then visually, just this notion of this shape, this black shape, and you’ve seen these Dementors just floating there in the ether and he’s almost like another Dementor. Visually, that felt quite strong, and also we needed to remind the audience of where we left the last movie. It was just a nice, neat reminder of our characters are in trouble, this is the guy who’s got the Elder Wand, it’s going to be scary. So, all those things just rolled together in the first few minutes.
How did you get such completely different feel from each of the films based on this one book
DY: It was always my intention. I wanted the first one to feel like a European road movie. It’s very slow, very gentle, very intimate. Someone said to me the other day, “I can’t believe you got away with that. It felt like an art house movie, and it was like a blockbuster film. Didn’t Warner’s give you a hard time? Didn’t they watch the first film and say, ‘What are you doing? This is Harry Potter, for God’s sake!’?” Ironically, Warner’s was so supportive, they absolutely loved that approach, and I wanted the second one to be more of an operatic spectacle and that was always the intention. I didn’t want them to feel very similar.
Warner Bros. has released a second ‘For Your Consideration’ video that shows various reviews of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II. They are hoping that the film, and its actors are nominated for Academy Awards. It can be viewed below, thanks to SS! The first video may be seen in this post.
I, like many others I’m sure, hope Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II pulls a Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and gets nominated for a ton of awards and wins them all! I still remember watching the Oscars that year and screaming every time it won, hopefully history repeats itself with Potter! It definitely deserves the recognition.
Many of you follow James and Oliver Phelps on Twitter so you have most likely seen them mention Harry Moseley and the charity his mother started in his honor, Help Harry Help Others. Harry was an eleven year old boy that recently lost his fight against brain cancer. He was an inspiration for James & Oliver, and they always wear one of his bracelets. His charity, which raises money by selling bracelets, benefits Cancer Research UK’s brain cancer research.
Weasley Twins Community, the first James & Oliver Phelps Italian Community/Forum, is doing a Christmas Project for the twins. They are asking fans to to buy a Help Harry Help Others bracelet (by a minimum personal donation of £2), take a picture or short video of themselves wearing it and send the picture/video to their e-mail (weasleytwinscommunity@hotmail.com). They will then make a video using all the photos and videos from fans and send it to James and Oliver.
Thanks to Matthew-Lewis.com we have video footage of Matthew switching on the Christmas Lights in Ilkley. There is also an interview included in the video where Matthew discusses his upcoming projects.
In other Christmas news, David Bradley (Hogwarts Caretaker, Argus Filch) will be attending two Christmas events that benefit charities.
The Stratford-based actor will open the Save the Children event at the town hall on Saturday November 26 at 10am, to which admission is free. Ann Bailey, secretary of the charity’s Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth branch, said: “We are again delighted by the demand for space at the fair. “The event is almost twice the size of last year’s. We are indebted to David Bradley for fitting us in to his very busy film schedule and look forward to welcoming him to Leamington.”
Mr Bradley will also be opening a Victorian-style Christmas event in Kineton next Friday. Kineton will come under a Victorian spell for the evening, when there will be mulled wine and mince pies, hot chestnuts, traditional live music from Silver Bough, carol singing, a host of stalls selling Christmas gifts and many other attractions. The opening will take place at the war memorial at 6pm and the event will run until 8pm.
