MTV’s Harry Potter World Cup

Voting has begun in the MTV Movies Blog event, The Harry Potter World Cup. You can watch a video in which James and Oliver Phelps make their predictions and you can read more about the tournament here: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/06/17/harry-potter-world-cup-bracket/.

Here are some of the predictions from the blog post I just mentioned:

Privet Drive
Really, is there any chance that the Boy Who Lived doesn’t survive long enough to win his division? On the surface, Harry seems like a lock for the Final Four, but he does have some serious contenders to worry about, most notably Dobby, Professor McGonagall and — further down the line — Severus Snape. Smart money says that the Hogwarts hero and the Half-Blood Prince will be at each other’s throats when the Elite 8 comes around.

I completely agree with the prediction above, the question is, will the fandom support Snape or Harry in the Elite 8? It will be quite an intense match, but as much as I love Severus, I’ll bet my galleons on Harry in this one.

Godric’s Hollow
Again, it’s easy to say that Hermione Granger and Albus Dumbledore are locked and loaded for the final two positions in the Godric’s Hollow bracket. But don’t underestimate fan support for Remus Lupin (my personal favorite) or George Weasley (who’s sure to blow Umbridge out of the water once again). I know that more than a few of you are pulling for Hedwig and Fawkes, too, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see those two competitors take flight.

Another likely scenario, but I am not so sure about Hedwig. Hermione vs. Dumbledore would be another intense battle that I am anticipating. I’ll predict Hermione as the Godric’s Hollow champion in the Final Four.

Hogsmeade
Beyond some immeasurably cruel match-ups like Arthur Weasley versus his son Percy and Lily Potter against Horace Slughorn, it should go without saying that this division contains the biggest fear for “Potter” fans everywhere: Cedric Diggory, better known to many as “that dead dude Robert Pattinson played before he was Edward.” If the “Twilight” fans come out and support their champion, then Ron Weasley — and the rest of the bracket, for that matter — could very well fall under Cedric’s spell.

I think not. Cedric Diggory beating Ron Weasley?!? This isn’t Twilight, and Edward Cullen is not a contender. Even if he were, it’s Ron all the way on this one. Weasley is our King!

Diagon Alley
In my opinion, this is the most contentious corner of the entire Harry Potter World Cup. Draco Malfoy and You Know Who are the two players best positioned for success, but then you’ve got notable fan favorites like Sirius Black and his wicked murderer Bellatrix Lestrange who could absolutely go deep. Honestly, Diagon Alley is a bit of a toss-up, but if there’s one certainty, it’s this: Tom Riddle is going to destroy Moaning Myrtle. AGAIN!

The outcome for this division is the hardest one to predict. Personally, I’d like to see Molly Weasley or Sirius Black as a contender, but I think Lord Voldemort has the raw power to win this one.

There it is. My Final Four predictions are Harry, Hermione, Ron, and NYAAAAH!…  Voldemort. Will it be Harry vs. Voldemort in the final battle? If so, Harry would win, Voldemort would be destroyed, and the defeated Ron and Hermione could console each other by going off to snog. But what if the final showdown is between Hermione and Ron? I’ll predict Hermione would win, and Ron would say, “I let her win. It’s just good manners, isn’t it?” Ron vs. Harry? I’d remain loyal to Ron, but Harry might win that one. The same could be said for Harry vs. Hermione. Harry would probably win, but I’d vote for Hermione anyway. Well, what are you waiting for?

You can vote for your favorite Harry Potter characters here: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/ and view the tournament grid here: http://www.mtv.com/content/news/2011/harry_potter_world_cup.jhtml. Check the http://moviesblog.mtv.com/ site frequently for updates.

My picks for the first round of the Privet Drive division are Harry, Lucius Malfoy, Professor McGonagall, Neville, Dobby, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Professor Flitwick, and Severus Snape. In the Godric’s Hollow division, my selections are Hermione, Fawkes, Ginny, George, Seamus, Remus Lupin, Mr. Ollivander, and Albus Dumbledore. Voting is in progress now for the first round of the Godric’s Hollow division. Cast your votes now.

I’ll update this post as the http://moviesblog.mtv.com is updated.

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The Secrets of Harry Potter Podcast Team Discusses the Final Deathly Hallows Trailer

Listen to The Secrets of Harry Potter podcast episode 69, in which Ariadna Quijano, Lyn Francisco, and I discuss the final trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 frame-by-frame, and we speculate about the mysterious Pottermore website.  http://harrypotter.sqpn.com/2011/06/21/shp069-the-last-trailer-and-pottermore/.

Also, you can listen to our podcast team discussing the topic of fatherhood in Harry Potter in episode 68: http://harrypotter.sqpn.com/2011/06/19/shp068-fathers-in-the-harry-potter-series/. Jim Beeghley, Ariadna, Lyn, and I discussed Arthur Weasley, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Lucius Malfoy, Barty Crouch, Vernon Dursley, Sirius Black (Harry’s godfather), and more.

The next couple of episodes that we are recording will focus on my blog post series “Harry Potter and the Bestiary of Christ,”  adapted from my book, The Lord of the Hallows: Christian Symbolism and Themes in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter.

The book is available here: www.outskirtspress.com/thelordofthehallows and here: http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Hallows-Christian-Symbolism-Rowlings/dp/1432741128/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308671544&sr=8-1.

 

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New Harry Potter Video Released by WB, More Posters from DH2, and Podcast News

This is a lovely retrospective video of the making of the Harry Potter series with a preview of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two.

Watching Daniel, Rupert, and Emma grow up together on screen has been an amazing emotional journey for the cast, crew, and the fans. There will never be another film series like this one. What an incredible accomplishment!

Neville Longbottom

 

I am looking forward to seeing Neville standing up to Voldemort as well as Neville’s epic battle with Nagini.

Draco Malfoy. Are the Malfoys evil, mislead, or misunderstood? I wonder how the Draco's family will be portrayed in the final film.

I love all of the new posters. These are three more of my favorites.

If you listen to SQPN’s Secrets of Harry Potter podcast, our next episode will be a Father’s Day show. We are discussing the roles of Arthur Weasley, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Xenophilius Lovegood, and Lucius Malfoy as fathers or father-figures in the series. I was fascinated by this interview with J. K. Rowling, in which Arthur Weasley is discussed, and thought we could launch a great discussion from it.

From J. K. Rowling’s Interview with Merdith Vieira on Dateline MSNBC, posted at http://www.accio-quote.org/

VO: [clip of Arthur Weasley in 'Order of the Phoenix'] One character, Arthur Weasley, the father of Harry’s friend, Ron, seen here in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’, actually got a new lease on life.

JKR: When I sketched out the books, Mr. Weasley was due to die in Book 5.

MV: So what happened there?  Why did he get the reprieve?

JKR: Well, I swapped him for someone else, and I don’t want to say who, for the people who haven’t– read.  But I– I made a decision as I went into writing Phoenix that I was going to reprieve Mr. Weasley and I was going to kill someone else.  And if you finish the book, I– I expect you probably know and someone else who is a father. Because I– I wanted there to be an echo of– of Harry’s loss of parents.  And you probably know who I’m talking about if you’ve finished the book.  But– so there are two characters who are killed instead in Seven.  So Mr. Weasley did get attacked, as you know, in Five.  But he would have died if I’d have stuck to the original plan.  But he survived.  I had to keep him alive partly– partly because I couldn’t bear to kill him.

MV: But there were two that weren’t supposed to die that did end up dying.

JKR: Yeah, yeah. I swapped them for Mr. Weasley.  But they didn’t then die until Seven.

MV: So as an author, then, there were certain characters you couldn’t bear to part with?

JKR: If there’s one character I couldn’t bear to part with, it’s Arthur Weasley.  And I think part of the reason for that is there were very few good fathers in the books.  In fact, you could make a very good case for Arthur Weasley being the only good father in the whole series.

VO: [clip from 'Order of the Phoenix'] Jo was especially reluctant to lose Mr. Weasley because Harry had already lost so many father figures: his godfather Sirius Black and Hogwarts school headmaster Dumbledore.  They were victims in the struggle against evil arch villain Voldemort, who killed Harry’s parents when he was just a baby.

So what do you think? Is Arthur Weasley the only good father in the series? Comments are welcome!

 

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New Deathly Hallows Part One Pictures and a Deathly Hallows 2 Set Photo

The Trio in the "Will of Albus Dumbledore" scene.

Notice that Hermione has The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Ron has the Deluminator, and Harry has the Golden Snitch.

Harry and Ginny at the Burrow on the day of Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Is this the scene when Ron sees Hermione in her dress before the wedding? "Always the tone of surprise."

The Trio at the Muggle diner in London.

Dementor attack at the Ministry of Magic.

Hermione with and injured Ron in the tent.

Harry and Hermione

 

Harry and Hermione in the woods.

Bellatrix and Hermione at Malfoy Manor

Lucius and Draco at Malfoy Manor

Ron is worried about Hermione.

Ron and Hermione on the beach near Shell Cottage

On the set of Deathly Hallows 2: Ron, Hermione, and Neville (with the Sword of Gryffindor!) Is that one of the twins with Percy that I see?

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Deathly Hallows “Characters” Featurette and New Interviews with the Cast, Director, and Producers

This was posted by masterofmystery at Snitch Seeker today:

Comcast has released a nearly-five-minute long behind-the-scenes look at the new and old characters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. Prominently in the feature are new scenes and interviews with Bill Weasley (Domhnall Gleeson), Xenophilius Lovegood (Rhys Ifans), Rufus Scrimgeour (Bill Nigh), Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs), Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge), Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), and Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson). Many new scenes from the Burrow and wedding, Malfoy Manor, the Lovegoods’ home, and the Ministry of Magic are shown throughout, as well.

Hooray for Bill/Fleur! Julie Walters is right: Bill Weasley is just too cute. Does anyone know where I can get a better quality version of this video?

Here’s Daniel Radcliffe’s new interview. The questions that he is answering are listed at the beginning of the video.

I loved that Dan identified Harry, Ron, and Hermione as selfless heroes: “What’s at stake is more important then their individual lives.” All three are willing to sacrifice themselves to stop Voldemort and make the world a better place.

Rupert’s interview is next.

Here’s Emma Watson.

Here is director David Yates’s interview. He mentions Harry’s “crisis of faith” in Dumbledore, which I have discussed on this blog before. He also talks about Ron and Hermione’s relationship and how we really want to see them get together.

Producer David Heyman’s interview is next. He alludes to Ron and Hermione’s crisis of faith in Harry.

Here is producer David Barron’s interview.

Ralph Fiennes, on Voldemort.

Helena Bonham Carter, on Bellatrix.

Rhys Ifans portrays Luna’s dad, Xenophilius Lovegood. “When he’s pleased, he says fabby. When he’s happy, he jumps up and down. And when he’s ecstatic, he skips.” lol! Luna apparently takes after her dad.

Next, Jason Isaacs talks about Lucius Malfoy.

Bill Nighy on Rufus Scrimgeour and the objects bequeathed to the Trio in Dumbledore’s will.

Hem, hem. Imelda Staunton on Dolores Umbridge.

Tom Felton on Draco Malfoy. I liked his analysis of the character.

Thanks to Snitch Seeker for posting all of these videos on YouTube. I saw this on Tumblr today and thought it was really cute:

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