Last night I was one of the fan sites invited to cover the Grand Opening of Harry Potter: The Exhibit and the release of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 DVD. We were able to stand on the red carpet and take photos of the actors in attendence. Sadly my photos didn’t come out too great, but there are some pretty great gems. So head over to the gallery to check out all 120+ images! There are also some better quality photos at the end courtesy of zimbio.
The stars in attendance were Evanna Lynch, Natalia Tena, David Thewlis, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Freddie Stroma, Bonnie Wright, Clemence Poesy, Domhnall Gleeson, Warwick Davis, Helen McCrory, Mark Williams, Michael Gambon and Robbie Coltrane! David Barron and David Heyman were also at the event. You can pre-order Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on DVD or BluRay, to be released on April 11th in the UK and April 15th in the USA, at the following links:
Today the Apple store in SoHo had a cast Q&A session with members of the Harry Potter cast. David Barron, David Heyman, Michael Gambon, Warwick Davis, Robbie Coltrane, Helen McCrory, David Thewlis, Natalia Tena, Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, Freddie Stroma and the Phelps twins were in attendance. I was at the event on behalf of the website but no flash photography or recording of the event were permitted so to hear all of the answers you will have to wait for Apple to release the vide, which should be later tonight. I did try to take some photos but they didn’t come out. Here is a small preview though.
The cast were asked what their favorite scene was, whether they filmed it or they just enjoyed it. Their answers are as follows (is is not exact wording, I was feverishly writing so I would remember what they said)
Michael Gambon – his scenes in the Great Hall making speeches David Heyman – Less actiony scenes such as Harry flying Buckbeak, Harry and Hermione dancing in DH, and when the Gryffindor boys ate the animal candies David Barron – the “no post on Sundays” scene from SS Robbie Coltrane – Norbert hatching and subsequently catching his beard on fire Warwick Davis – the Tale of the Three Brothers animation as well as his stage dive in GoF Helen McCrory – Harry confronting Voldemort in Part 2 David Thewlis – Aunt Marge being blown up and turning into a werewolf Natalia Tena – the Tale of the Three Brothers animation and flying on broomsticks Bonnie Wright – filming in the Chamber of Secrets because it was a turning point for Ginny and the Epilogue Oliver Phelps – Giving Harry the Mauraders Map and the twins fight in GoF James Phelps – the joke shop scenes in HBP Evanna Lynch – the Weasley wedding because it showed that wizards are normal, the people dancing in the background specifically Freddie Stroma – Quidditch scenes; they just threw balls at him and he had to hit them away which made for some interesting moments; smashing a light, hitting a fan, and hitting a person
I will post the link to the video when it is available for download
Magical-Menagerie was in the press pit at the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I London premiere on Thursday November 11th and we now have half of our footage from the event! My correspondent Maura and I had a bit of trouble with the file sending so we only have the first half for now! So watch the video below and check back soon for part 2 of the footage!
Stay tuned for footage from the New York premiere next week!
Helen McCrory has done a new interview with Rotten Tomatoes and in it she states that Deathly Hallows Part 2 is being read through today as well as talking about the films.
McCrory told us she was due for a table read of the script for the second part of the film today. “You don’t know what to expect until you get there,” she said. “Something written down on paper could be completely different on the screen. On Monday we’re just going to sit down with various people around a table.”
For McCrory, this change in tone is evident on set, where many of the cast and crew are getting ready to say goodbye to decade-long era. “We finish in April and it does feel different on set actually,” she explained. “Some people have been doing it for 10, 11 years. It’s part of their lives. So although I’ve just joined them at the end, a lot of people have a huge emotional commitment to it. There are children that have grown up with the people on the set, like the directors and the costume designers backstage. It’s a very big occasion for those people.”
The Scotsman has a new interview with Helen McCrory!
“In this film it’s about protecting her son. The fact that you have children probably makes a bit of a difference, but not enormously, because you do spend a lot of time as an actor trying to imagine what the other person’s feeling, anyway. As a woman you’ve played mothers before, and you don’t have to be a mother to understand what feeling protective is all about.”