The MTV Movie Awards will be televised on Sunday, June 3 at 9:00 p.m. EST/ 8:00 p.m. CST.
You can vote for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 7 different categories: Movie of the Year, Best Kiss (Ron and Hermione), Best Female Performance (Emma Watson), Best Male Performance (Daniel Radcliffe), Best Fight (Harry vs. Voldemort), Best Cast, and Best Hero. http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2012/movie-of-the-year/ You can vote for Harry Potter for “Best Hero” right here: http://ma-twittertracker.mtv.com/live/#vote Harry is in the lead for the Best Hero Award so far. Go vote!
In this episode, recorded live during the 2012 SQPN podcast marathon, the team of The Secrets of Harry Potter discussed the connection between the Black Family tree and astronomy. We also discussed the star-gazing centaur prophets both in Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia.
J.K. Rowling announced her new book for adults, The Casual Vacancy, will be released worldwide on 27 September 2012. Click here to read more about it.
Pottermore is now open. All of us are on Pottermore, and if you want to add us, please click here to know our Pottermore usernames. Also, please let us know what you think of your Pottermore experience!
For fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, check out the upcoming movie, The Lion Awakes. You can also follow them on Twitter: @thelionawakes
We’re being promoted on a Tumblr blog, Harry Potter Celebration. We were featured the first week in April. Find them on Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter.
Ari, Jim, Lyn, and I interviewed the “Hogwarts Professor” John Granger in this episode. We discussed Christian symbolism in Harry Potter, how John became a Harry Potter fan, the Christian culture war over Harry Potter, alchemical symbolism in the Harry Potter series, the ring structure of the Harry Potter series, alchemical symbolism in the works of C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Charles Dickens, and Shakespeare, the structure and symbolism of Harry Potter as compared to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the “eye” symbols in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the cyclical nature of the Harry Potter series compared to the cyclical nature of the Church Year, the four layers of literary meaning, and much more. (We also discuss Twilight and The Hunger Games.) This is one of my favorite episodes of The Secrets of Harry Potter. Don’t miss it!
In this episode, Jim, Bob, Lyn, Ari, and I discussed number symbolism in the Harry Potter universe. We compared the symbolism of the numbers 3, 7, and 12 in the Bible, Catholic Tradition, and in the Harry Potter series.
This is a controversial topic In Harry Potter scholarship. Listen to our debate/discussion and let us know what you think. Is Harry Potter a Christ Figure?
Please leave feedback on each episode that you listen to in the comments section of the SHP blog. (The links for each episode are in this blog post.) We may read your feedback on an upcoming episode of our show.
I just received some exciting news from fellow Secrets of Harry Potter podcast team member Maria (“Lyn”) Francisco! Quote:
We were nominated for Best Group Podcast in the Catholic New Media Awards! Encourage your friends to vote for us and other Catholic blogs and podcasts. And yes, Fr Roderick’s “The Break” and SQPN’s “Catholic Weekend” are also up for several awards as well.
Let’s get SQPN the recognition they deserve! Vote! 🙂
Please vote for our show by clicking the link and registering at the site, then cast your vote for The Secrets of Harry Potter. You can listen to our podcast at http://harrypotter.sqpn.com/. Our latest episode is Part 2 of “Harry Potter and the Bestiary of Christ.” Don’t miss it! 🙂
The latest episodes of “The Secrets of Harry Potter” podcast are #70 “Harry Potter and the Bestiary of Christ Part One” and #71 “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Movie Review.”
You may want to refer to this blog post about the symbolism of the Four Houses of Hogwarts when listening to Episode #70: https://phoenixweasley.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/harry-potter-and-the-bestiary-of-christ-part-one/. This podcast is a discussion of the symbolism of the lion, eagle, griffin, badger, serpent, and basilisk. This one is definitely one of my favorite episodes that we have recorded this year. 🙂
The movie review (Episode #71) has a spoiler-free overview followed by a spoiler-filled discussion of our likes, dislikes, and in-depth analysis of their favorite scenes, actors and actresses, and Alexandre Desplat’s music. It is a really long and very detailed episode.
I’ll be leaving shortly for a midnight screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, but before I go I wanted to post this.
One of my favorite tracks from the CD of Alexandre Desplat’s score for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is “Ron’s Speech.” You can listen to it here:
When the “Ron and Hermione in the Chamber of Secrets” scene was leaked on YouTube, I’ll admit I couldn’t resist watching it. I noticed that “Ron’s Speech” is the basis for the musical theme which accompanies their long-awaited kiss. Listen to it at this link, but only if you want to be spoiled.
You won’t hear the complete theme, but a shorter variation of it. The tempo and rhythm have been altered, but it is definitely based on “Ron’s Speech.” Desplat does what John Williams was famous for writing in his highly-acclaimed Star Wars scores. He is using a shorter variant of a complete theme as a leitmotif. (This German musical term refers to a recurring melody, chord progression, or chord which is associated with a particular person, place, or idea in an opera, or in this case, a film score. You will encounter this term if you study the music of the German Romantic period composer Richard Wagner, who was the undisputed master of the sublime use of leitmotifs in his music dramas.) I have listened to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 soundtrack CD, and I didn’t hear many other new examples of this theme, but I will be listening for it at the cinema tonight. There is one example of it on the CD that I’ll mention later in this blog post, which was so subtle that I missed it the first time I heard it. The music for the Ron and Hermione kissing scene wasn’t on the new DH2 CD, so I am wondering what other musical surprises are in store for us tonight. If you haven’t listened to the new soundtrack CD yet, I can honestly say I was very impressed with it. Desplat does use variations of John Williams’ “Hedwig’s Theme” most effectively throughout the score, as well as bringing back some of the more memorable themes he composed for DH1. Of the new melodies Desplat introduces, Lily’s Theme is one of the most haunting. Listen for it during Severus’ death scene (“Snape’s Demise” on the CD) and at other key moments in which Lily’s love plays an important role, such as during the “Resurrection Stone” scene. In this audio example, you will hear the theme introduced by a lone female vocalist, followed by a texturally fuller presentation of the theme by the string section. The female vocal rendition reminds me of plainchant, specifically the chants composed by the German saint and mystic, St. Hildegard von Bingen, a great female composer of the Medieval Period.
Listen for a pianissimo variant of “Hedwig’s Theme” and and a vocalization of “Lily’s Theme” during the track called “Snape’s Demise.”
This track is “Harry’s Sacrifice.” You will hear the “heroic” thematic material that Desplat introduced at the very beginning Deathly Hallows Part One and fragments of “Hedwig’s Theme,” which in my opinion ought to be renamed “Harry’s Theme” because that is how it has functioned throughout the entire film series. What stunned me the most about it is that during this track you hear a very subtle and sorrowful rendition of the Ron/Hermione love theme at the beginning and again, starting around 1:13. Pure genius!
Another one of my favorite tracks on the new CD is “Dragon Flight” in which you can hear a bold statement of “Hedwig’s Theme” made by the trumpet section, which is followed by a absolutely triumphal presentation of Lily’s Theme by the violins. This one gave me the chills! 🙂
I may have more to say about the score after I have seen the film. Now I’m off to the Midnight screening!
Here’s a sneak peek at what we have to look forward to on the DVD of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2:
Yates: “Yeah, there’s a version of Aberforth and Harry, a longer version of it
that we’ve got. There’s an extended scene on the beach with Ron disguised
before he gets to the bank and a lovely interchange between him and
(Hermione).”
Mr. Roeper, I applaud you! This is a wonderful review.
Some of the highlights of this review:
*Alan Rickman deserves a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.
*Watson and Grint are nearly flawless.
*The love stories are beautiful and touching.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a rousing, thrilling, funny, moving, and inspirational final stop in one of the great cinematic journeys of our time. I give it an A+”–Richard Roeper
Emma again. Listen to 1:48–“He still blushes” (when asked about the kiss). Watch Emma’s reaction to this remark. 😀 She insists that Rupert is really shy.
Alternate endings for the Malfoys and Epilogue re-shoot?! (How much of this will be on the DVD?) Also, Steve Kloves talks about Draco’s relationship with his mother.
Here’s a link to a blog where you can vote for the “Most Epic Couple”–is it Edward and Bella from Twilight or Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter? Go vote!
phoenixweasley
The Lord of the Hallows 