First rumored in mid-January and expected to be confirmed tomorrow is the news that the 7th and final book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be split into two movies, an extremely smart move from Warner Bros. which should see them make another $1 billion on top of the $1 billion they would have made from a single feature.
The plan is to release the sixth book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on November 21st 2008 before releasing the final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I in November 2010 and then nearly half a year later Part II in May 2011.
Confirmation has also come that David Yates will return to helm both films (something else we had heard previously) and screenwriter Steve Kloves is also back, making him the writer for seven of the eight Potter movies in total.
Producer David Heymen in his article to the Los Angeles Times claims he got the full blessing from J.K. Rowling who seemed positive for the move, presumably because her novel by the shear running time of the films, should be shot in full because they can’t afford to leave anything out.
Heymen also left us with this quote..
“The question will be, where do you break it? And how do you make them one but two separate and distinct stories? Do you break it with a moment of suspense or one of resolution? These are the interesting challenges. But each book has presented its challenges.”
Finally WB are starting to use their heads.
It solves the problem of finding one of their tentpole releases for 2011 (which they would have to begin sorting out soon) and is a guaranteed paycheck. It also allows them to film as much of Rowling’s last Potter novel completely so they can’t be accused of leaving anything out and of course they want it to be an epic wrap up to their long-ass tale.
I realise I’m not the best person to talk to about this because I’m no Potter fan but after seeing what happened to my beloved Spider-Man and X-Men franchises when the third film in both their respective series totally packed too much storytelling and legendary comic book lore into them, I really do have to support this move… especially if your a fan of the kind of work Peter Jackson made with his extended versions of LOTR.
I’m curious to hear what you Potter fans think about this. I know you weren’t too happy when this news first leaked two months ago, has anything changed? Do you think this is an artistic or financial move from WB and do you agree that it could exist as both?
source – coming soon
5 Comments
Awful idea. There’s plenty you can cut from the book, even more so than with previous books. If the others can fit into one film, this one certainly can. The book needs streamlining and editing, and by making it into two films, the movies will be just as clunky and unecessarily long-winded as the book is.
But money-wise, smart move. I was hoping for someone a bit more interesting than David Yates. The guy’s decent, but not that unique.
It’s not a terribly bad move as long as……they render it almost identical as the book. Interested on how the DVD will be released, prolly like grindhouse.
It’s not confirmed that david yates is going to direct the last film as of yet, but people are leaning that way. I really hope he doesn’t, but i need to see how the next film will do, to make that judgement. ‘Order’ was good but horribly shallow compared to the previous films in the series.
Also, splitting it into two movies is a great idea. I hate all this negative complaining “OOHH MY GODD…ITS 1 DUMB BOOK…ONE MOVIE..YA DA YA DA” I think that’s great because it’s a big book! (Yes, it could be squeezed into one movie) it’ll just turn out better in two movies, pacing will hopefully be smoother and more things can unfold.
Now financially, it’s going to be BIG. Two movies within two years, based on the final book. Do you have any idea how much money that’s going to make? Either way I’m pleased with this decision and eager to see what happens next.
CHA-CHING!!!!!!
If it pleases the die-hard Potter-Heads and gives them a chance to do full cinematic justice to what are some very good books (the films, I feel, are very frustrating as adaptations) then a split is sensible/. My major query is this: will they be called Deathly Hallows: Volume 1 and Volume 2 respectively or something else? Will they release them in a special integrated full-length singular DVD feature? Will they be showing the whole-shabang in one sitting with an intermission in an all-night bonanza at Potter Conventions in the future?
More criticallty, will the Harry Potter theme park be any good? It’s a given that all of these things are going to bring in gargantuan amounts of cash…