Why Actors Don’t Read the Book [JAB]

January 26, 2008 by 31 Comments

Today, our good friends at the Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator lead us to a very sensible explanation of why some actors avoid reading the novel a screenplay is based upon–to avoid the “heartbreak of exclusion.”

In this interview in METRO.co.uk actor Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy to Potter fans) explains it as follows:

I stopped reading the books when the scenes I loved, usually involving me, stopped making it into the scripts. I’m waiting to read the script for the last one, then I’ll read the book. I don’t want to fall in love with particular sequences that don’t end up in the film. Obviously, they can’t include the whole story or the films would each be 20 hours long. I read the first four books all in one go, but haven’t read one since.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes

News Flash: Sybill Trelawney Consults at Davos![JAB]

January 25, 2008 by 5 Comments

Courtesy of our friends at hpana.com, we discover a possible reason for the recent World Economic Meltdown Sybill Trelawney has been consulting at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Actually, Sybill was masquerading as the actress Emma Thompson at the time, but HogPro’s know what happens when Madame Trelawney begins to supply guidance…’nuff said.

Under the headline: Laughter works magic for ‘Harry Potter’ star at Davos forum Hellomagazine.com reports:

When Emma Thompson borrowed from John Cleese’s Handbook Of Silly Walks to address a high-powered forum about pressing global issues, it worked a treat. The charismatic actress grabbed everyone’s attention at the annual meeting of the world’s most influential global players in Davos, Switzerland.

Check out the rest of the article here.

On a [slightly] more serious note, after she gets her degree (honorary) from Harvard, will J.K. Rowling be going to Davos next year? If so, what might she add to their discussions? Comments?

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes, Unlocking Harry Potter

Goblet of Fire: Whole Book O.W.L.[JAB]

January 24, 2008 by 1 Comment

Goblet of Fire: Whole Book O.W.L.

Mark True statements with a “T” and False statements with an “F” for Part 1. For Part 2, write your answers to any or all of the short answer questions in the com boxes below.

Part 1: True/False Questions

1._____ Goblet of Fire opens with the story of the mysterious murder of three Muggles in “the Riddle House” in Little Hangleton. The patrons in ‘The Hanged Man’, the local pub, believe there was dark magic involved.

2._____ Harry wakes up on Privet Drive when the scar on his forehead burns “beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a white-hot wire to his skin.” He goes to the mirror with a vivid recollection of his dream in his head.

3._____ Dudley Dursley’s school asked his parents to put him on a diet over summer vacation because “the school outfitters didn’t stock knickerbockers big enough for him anymore.” Grapefruit quarters for breakfast! Yummy.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Chapter Quiz

Goblet of Fire: The Parting of the Ways (ending) and The Beginning (Chapters 36 & 37)[JAB]

January 23, 2008 by 1 Comment

Nota Bene: The Assistant Professor realizes that he is several chapters behind in supplying answers. Unfortunately, while the Full Professor supplied all the questions, he didn’t supply corresponding answers. I have to work them out just like you do and have gotten more than a little behind. Promising to catch up, JAB.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Chapters 36-37

Mark True statements with a “T” and False statements with an “F.” Write your answers to the discussion points in the com boxes below.

1._____ Cornelius Fudge brings a dementor into the castle for his protection and his bodyguard kisses Crouch, Jr.’s soul out of his body! Minerva McGonagall has a proper fit because the Minister of Magic had not listened to her objections.

2._____ Dumbledore tells Fudge that the Dark Lord is back and that he has “been restored to his body.” Fudge refuses to believe it and he won’t consider the Headmaster’s advice about the Azkaban dementrs or sending envoys to the giants [Read more…]

Filed Under: Chapter Quiz

FYI: Amy H. Sturgis Interview–Read It! [JAB]

January 22, 2008 by 5 Comments

HogPro All-Pro Amy H. Sturgis, seen frequently in these pages under her blogline AHS, proves to be a delightful interviewee on Tim O’Shea’s blog. In the space of a relatively short and lively discussion, she carries us from 1813 and the world of Tecumseh to the uncharted future of C.S Lewis’ Science Fiction with a delightful interlude in the 1845 world of Emilie Flygare-Carlén and her The Magic Goblet, a book which Sturgis had to literally reconstruct from pieces. And yes, dear Rowling purists, there is a substantive central section dealing with subjects Hogwartish.

It is written compactly enough to satisfy those who want only the gist and want it right now, yet it is filled with a great variety of links to transport those who wish to dawdle more leisurely into a myriad of details about each of the various topics introduced.

I highly recommend it to all!…Aw shucks, stop reading my drivel and go read Amy’s fascinating interview!

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes, Unlocking Harry Potter