The Inevitable HogPro Eclipse Movie Post

July 1, 2010 by 4 Comments

Many folks here have seen the Eclipse film by now (along with the rest of the nation!), and perhaps even stood in ridiculous lines. Others of us are waiting for things to calm down a bit a before we brave the Cineplex (that’s me). In any case, we wanted a spot here at HogwartsProfessor for folks to post their thoughts on the film as an adaptation of the text (read: not to gush over the physiques of actors 🙂 ) after they’ve seen it.

Because the Twilight books are narrated by a single character, while a film can and almost always does show several perspectives, and because Meyer made the Bree Tanner manuscript available to the film makers and actors, the relationship between the text and screen may be particularly interesting.

  • For the serious readers here who have seen the film, what changes from the text do you find most or least effective?
  • For those not yet clutching your ticket stubs, what are you anticipating or dreading?
Filed Under: Twilight

But wait, There’s More! Voyage of the Dawn Treader Trailer

June 30, 2010 by 9 Comments

In all our fuss and dither over the big Eclipse premiere today and the tempting new Deathly Hallows  trailer, we mustn’t forget another upcoming treat. The official Voyage of the Dawn Treader trailer is available now. I’m delighted to see the scene with the picture, but no sneak peeks of Eustace as a dragon, perhaps to avoid the inevitable HP comparisons.  I’m really curious to see if the last few pages of the book, some of the most powerful in the Chronicles, will make it to the screen. And what is with the Hollywood trailer makers and the giant letter title thing at the end?

Filed Under: C. S. Lewis

The Trailer Madness Begins!

June 28, 2010 by 10 Comments

Check out the brand new Deathly Hallows teaser trailer above! After the MTV tease was yanked, maybe this one will stick around until the next, more tempting morsel.

Thoughts? Criticism? Shrieks of horror or delight? What do you think of seeing bits from both halves, including the big finale? The dragon is white — hurrah! Personally, I’ll be scouring the stores to get a smart suit like Hermione appears to be sporting this time around. You?

Filed Under: Deathly Hallows Discussion Points, Hog Pro Notes

Weird and Wonderful Time at Waldenbooks

June 22, 2010 by 2 Comments

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of doing a signing for Twilight and History at the nearby Waldenbooks. Fortunately, it was not an experience like Parnell Hall describes in his absolutely hilarious song  and video about how depressing it is to have a book signing that no one attends. Every author has had these, I imagine (I certainly have). My husband still dines out on the story of the signing at  Barnes and Noble when he was elated to find four people waiting for him to get there, and they were the only ones who showed up the whole time!  We had a steady crowd, including one dear thing who looked at the book, looked at me, then said, in motherly tones, “Well, I’ve never read your books, but my daughter and her friends are just crazy about them.” She seemed rather startled when I assured her I was not actually Stephenie Meyer. (That was the weird part) [Read more…]

Filed Under: Elizabeth Baird Hardy, Potter Fandom, Twilight

Beneath the Surface: Continued Conversation on Bree Tanner

June 17, 2010 by 19 Comments

Well, our so-called surface level thread on the new Bree Tanner novella quickly went far beneath the surface, not a surprising development for our readers here! To make sure some of the great conversation, which went quickly into deep waters of the novella as an allegory or defense of Meyer’s faith, didn’t get lost in the pile of comments, we’re pulling them up here to continue the excellent discussion . Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on the deeper aspects of the text, with other posts along those lines to come soon!

   James on June 15, 2010 at 3:40 am

There are many insights into the vampire world, to be sure, as Stephenie promised. I realized that the Nomad vampires are actually homeless. Don’t know why I didn’t realize that before. Other than the Volturi and Cullens, all appear to be wanderers. Bummer.

I hope to talk on this with John and Steve Walker in another upcoming podcast, but I also noticed the great deal of hellish imagery associated with Riley’s coven/congregation. This led me to see that Riley is a misleading priest figure, lying to his congregants to keep them under his control, spreading superstition and lies so that they won’t realize they have the potential to live as beings of light (with love again as a potential path to glory/divinization).

So the questions arise, “Does the Creator know the truth? Is the Creator… wrong? Does the Creator assent to her priest/spokesman’s controlling lies and abuse?” And, of course, in any case, “what can/should be done about it?” How can you exercise your “free agency”/autonomy when you realize how ignorant and misled your religion truly is? I think with “Bree Tanner,” Meyer posits a remarkable allegory about what (not) to do when you realize your faith — or other beliefs — are untrue, in contrast with Bella’s finding a true path following the prophetic and godlike Carlisle. Remarkable.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Elizabeth Baird Hardy, Twilight