Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince Review

I watched this movie last night... well I was very excited to see this movie after the interesting trailers, but the movie was a big disappointment, atleast it will be for those who have read the book. No idea why J.K. Rowling could have approved this script.
Unlike the the book the movie failed to hold one's interest. There are several reasons, for instance the movie is focusing more on teenage love of Harry-Ginny and Hermione-Ron rather than crucial details which are missing from the movie and people who have not read the book were completely lost. Simultaneously, it was completely frustrating to people that had read the book (who then had to explain to the others what was happening, why, and what was missing from the film).

Let's look at some missing details, which are completely ignored in sixth part which have some importance in the next series

• Firstly the movie don't start the way it is in the book and too dark and eerie. It start with the replacement of Prime Minister Fudge, with Rufus Scrimgeour and they discuss the collapsing of the London bridge mishap with the Prime Minister of Muggles, which is just mention in the book and not shown, maybe because to give a clear view to the people who haven't read the book about what the Death Eaters were upto against the Muggle world.
• The kidnapping of Ollivander. This event does not happen in the books until after Harry escapes from Voldemort in book seven and Voldemort is trying to figure out what happened between their wands.
• Destruction of the Burrow. This scene is a complete fabrication, and undermines several things in the book. First of all, Bellatrix and Greyback would not be together, as Bellatrix considers him unworthy of being in her presence.
• There is no mention of Marvolo Gaunt, Voldemort's uncle Morfin nor his mother Mereope and his Muggle father Tom Riddle which play a crucial part in the following series.
• No mention of how Dumbledore got the ring which is a Horocrux. Dumbledore and Harry discuss this issue in depth, looking at the types of objects Riddle has stolen before, along with Dumbledore's guess about Nagini being a horcrux. The ring is left essentially unexplained (and even appears to be undamaged) in the movie. The stone in the movie's ring is also inexplicably a faceted gemstone without visible carvings, instead of a flat rock with the sign of the deathly hallows carved onto it.
• Harry inherits 12 Grimmauld Place and Kreacher. This scene is cut entirely, and Kreacher is not mentioned. Kreacher and Dobby are supposed to tail Malfoy to find out where he is going when Harry can't locate him on the Marauder's Map.
• Vanishing Cabinet. Harry has no idea in the book what Malfoy is actually up to until after the fact. He did not see what object Malfoy was looking at, did not tell Mr. Weasley about it, and does not have it put together until Malfoy explains it at the top of the tower. The movie made it very obvious that Malfoy's mission for the year was to kill Dumbledore, while the book tried to keep Malfoy's mission hidden from everyone but Dumbledore.
• No funeral and white tomb? This movie does show the funeral and tomb scene. Dumbledore's tomb is important in book seven.

Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince breaks midnight ticket sales record

"Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince" conjured up $22.2 million in midnight ticket sales at 3,003 locations (while “Revenge of the Fallen” made $16 million) according to Warner Bros., putting the popular boy-wizard movie on track for a record-breaking debut today and through the weekend.
The sixth "Potter" film, which cost more than $400 million to make, market and release worldwide, shattered the $18.5-million-record midnight earnings of last year's Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight," also produced and distributed by Warner Bros.

Evening shows aren't selling quite as well, meaning "Harry Potter" may just miss out on surpassing "Transformers."
According to two people who have followed box office returns all day, ticket sales for night time shows on the east coast are a bit slower than matinees. As a result, both predicted that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" will gross $57 million or $58 million for the day. It now has only a small chance, they said, of breaking the $62 million "Revenge of the Fallen" record.

Source[Los Angeles Times]

Check out this blonde!

It's our very own Mr. Potter! A wig-wearing Daniel Radcliffe – whose Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hits theaters Wednesday (July 15th) - takes a walk on the blonde side as he plays dress-up during his visit Thursday to MTV's It's On with Alexa Chung in New York City.

People reported that the cast of Harry Potter was in the Big Apple Thursday night for the premiere of the latest installment in J.K. Rowling's popular anthology, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
The crew is currently said to be filming for seventh part Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows in New York City.

Emma Watson buys $3 million house, moves in with her bf Jay Barrymore

Emma Watson,19, after her recent wardrobe malfunction where she flashed her underwear and much hyped career plans about attending college in U.S, is in news again!
This time Harry Potter star, Hermione Granger have moved in with her "posh banker" boyfriend, Jay Barrymore, into her $3 million North London townhouse, according to the British media.

The source added: “Despite the fame, she’s really got her head screwed on. After consulting with several property experts, as well as her family and friends, she’s decided to invest in her own place.

It is the first sign yet that the couple are ready to go public with their romance, 16 months after initially getting together.

She is currently in New York filming the seventh and final Harry Potter movie. Worth an estimated £10.5million from the phenomenally successful HP franchise, she is the first of the gang to buy her own pad.

Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows plans revealed

We know that it is very early to talk about seventh part of Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows, as the sixth part, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is yet to be released, but in a press conference, director David Yates and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson offered up some tidbits about where they're headed with the last two films.

Even though most of you have already read Deathly Hallows, you must be having keen interest about the part where Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny as adults, seeing their own children off on the Hogwarts Express.

"We will be delivering that at the end of Part 7, Part 2," Yates promised. "Were looking at various options of how we do it."

While Yates said they probably won't be using "Benjamin Button" technology, producer David Heyman promised that Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe would be playing their older selves, not some stand-in adult actors. "We may use some of the [Benjamin Button] techniques," Heyman said, maybe as a hedge in case David Fincher comes a calling. "We're still in the exploratory stage."

Well there's another thing in which Harry Potter fan's are looking forward to-- Ron and Hermione's big kiss?
Grint and Watson admitted sheepishly that they filmed the scene a few weeks ago, and did everything they could to get it over with as quickly as possible.
Grint confesses. "It's quite a strange thing to think about doing, We both felt the pressure. It was like kissing my own sister"

To read more click here

Emma Watson wadrobe malfunction

Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince World Premiere was in Leicester Square, London, on Tuesday, July 7. This premiere was series of misevents. As all stars soaking wet as it was raining heavily in London. Even with their big umbrellas couldn't help them to keep their wardrobes from getting wet.

The most bizarre moment was when the wind blew Emma Watson;s light sheer fabric gown asunder exposing her underwear!

Daniel Radcliffe was wearing an odd suit and Rupert Grint was looking lil bit drowsy as still recovering from swine-flu. Helena Bonham Carter walked the red carpet in character as Bellatrix LeStrange and J.K. Rowling looked smashing in a low-cut electric blue gown.

Photo[Rickey.org]

Emma Watson - Cover girl for the August issue of Elle UK.

Harry Potter star Emma Watson is the cover girl for the August issue of Elle UK. The Little Diva is all set to rock out her stylish looks. Well though she been given punk look for the magzine cover, but she says she avoids being too stylish and generic. She insists her clean-cut reputation is inaccurate and isn’t your “classic” public schoolgirl — and she hates it when people judge her.

“I’m not your classic public schoolgirl because I’ve been brought up in Watford,” she dished.

“And I’ve met and worked with people from a million different backgrounds… You can’t please everyone. And that’s something that I’m learning.”

Watson can next be seen in Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, which hits cinemas next month.




Source[Showbiz Spy]

Official Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince Trailer

Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince is set to release in November 2008, but the date is not conformed yet.
As Harry begins his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he discovers an old book marked mysteriously "This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.

So dark, immense.... I can't wait to watch the movie!!!

If you want to watch the HD version of this trailer click here

JK Rowling's -'Relapsing Addict'

JK Rowling has joked she felt like a "relapsing addict" after writing a new Harry Potter prequel for a charity auction according to entertainmentwise.

The author has said to have completed her new story that runs only 800 pages and is expected to be raised up to £1 million for the English PEN and Dyslexia Action charities when it goes under the hammer on 10 June.

“Although I did feel a bit like a relapsing addict as I sat down to write, the words poured from my pen with frightening ease," she admits on her website.

A behind the scenes look at Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!

An invite behind the scenes to the filming of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; here’s what they had to say:

I arrived at Leavesden Studios just outside London where it looks like an old airport hangar from the outside (which it actually used to be!). When I went inside, the first person I got to talk to was none other than DANIEL RADCLIFFE! He looked so cute, smiling as he walked in to talk to me, wearing a grey v-neck sweater over a white collared shirt and a tie with the Gryffindor colors.

I knew right away that Dan was in character. He was so cute, laughing and semi-blushing when I asked him about all the CRUSHING that goes on in this movie. If you’ve read the book, you know what I’m talking about. But if you haven’t, don’t fret, I’ve got ALL THE SECRETS about the movie in upcoming issues of BOP and Tiger Beat magazines. I’ll tell you this much right now - Dan LOVES how romantic this sixth movie in the series is! “A kissing scene was filmed on our third day of shooting,” Dan tells me. He also gave me what REALLY GOES ON behind the scenes of the Harry Potter movies, like what the cast does for fun (I found out Emma Watson beat all the boys at table tennis), and what other characters the actors would want to play (Rupert Grint told me it’d be fun to be a bad guy like Draco Malfoy).

There are HUNDREDS of SECRETS that only I can deliver to you straight from the set visit today. I saw all the sets from the previous movies - including the Great Hall and the Gryffindor Boys’ Dormitory - as well as brand new sets built just for this movie, including Ron’s bedroom (part of the super cool and unique Weasley house set) to what the Inferi creatures are gonna look like (wait till you see the cave scenes with Harry and Dumbledore)!

I’ve also got mega interviews with Daniel, Rupert, Emma, Bonnie Wright (who plays Ginny Weasley), and newcomer Jessie Cave (the lucky gal who plays Lavender Brown, Ron’s sort of girlfriend in this movie).

Before I go (I have to keep some more secrets for now), here’s a little trivia. While the movie’s being filmed, it’s called “Champion,” to keep it under wraps until the release date.

Very, very cool - I’m sure we’ll see more of these reports as we go along!