8feature
wingspan • october 28, 2010
Diane Gromelski Asst. Entertainment Editor
A
band of wand-yielding, robeclad witches and wizards sit in a dark room, awaiting midnight. They have been anticipating this moment since they cracked open the first tale of the Harry Potter saga. They hold their breath, edging up on their seats. For some, the impending conclusion is a sorrowful experience; for others, it is an exciting adventure. Warner Brothers Studios will release the first of two parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final film in the Harry Potter series, on November 19th. The movie is based on the book of the same name by J.K. Rowling, released in 2007. In Deathly Hallows, Harry, Hermione and Ron drop out of Hogwarts and go in search of the four lost Horcruxes, Lord Voldemort’s source of immortality. The trio must destroy the Horcruxes to have any chance of defeating Voldemort. In their travels, they come across the story of the “Deathly Hallows,” three powerful objects supposedly created by Death. “I think HP is really about the battle between good and evil that we face every day,” English teacher Lisa Burrell said. “Sometimes we feel like we’re never going to overcome whatever our
From 1999: New York Times 1990: J.K. Rowling places the first three fully imagines Harry napkins to Potter and Hogwarts books on best seller list multibillion 2000: Goblet of 1994: J.K. Rowling writes dollar Fire sells 5 Harry Potter on sticky million copies notes and napkins phenomenon “I love Harry Potter because it’s so adventurous and different from anything else out there. The movies have been great, and I can’t wait to see the new one. I think a couple of my friends and I are going to dress up like the characters and go to the midnight showing. If I’m lucky, we’ll get to do it again when the second half comes out.” Mary Catherine Thompson, freshman
“I started reading the novels when I was in first or second grade. They were the first really big novels that I read, so I always think of them fondly. They really drew me into the plot with how J.K. Rowling writes. You get very attached to the characters, and it’s very exciting to read. But I don’t like the movies. They don’t even follow the plot of the books.” Ellie Gillon, sophomore
evil or our problem is, but Harry is an example of someone that has nothing, but yet can overcome. We can all identity with him because he’s a universal character.” David Heyman, producer of Deathly Hallows, said the movie needed to be split into two halves in order to accommodate the complexity of the storyline. However, he and screenwriter, Steve Cloves, had difficulty finding a place to divide the movie. “Deathly Hallows is so rich, the story so dense, and there is so much resolved that, after discussing it with J.K. Rowling, we came to the conclusion that two parts were needed to do it justice,” Heyman said in a public statement. “We’ve played around with a couple of places to split it and ultimately settled on a place that we think is very exciting, and I think quite bold, in that it is not necessarily where one might expect. You want to give a sense of completion, on one hand, but a sense that there’s more to come.” There have been mixed reactions to dividing the final book. However, Burrell said it is necessary to honor the story. “The last book is so critical to tie up so many loose ends, and Rowling wove the story very tightly, so you need more than just one movie. I don’t think it could go on for three hours, because that’s way too long to sit. It was great to make it into two parts. ”
2003: Books burned when a Michigan church opposes message of “evil”
1) Who teaches Tom Riddle about Horcruxes? a) Snape b) Slughorn c) Dumbledore d) Hagrid 2) Who is the Knight Bus conductor? a) Roger Towner b) Sam Mitchell c) Rubeus Hagrid d) Stan Shunpike 3) What musical group plays at the Yule Ball? a) Wands and Brooms b) The Wizards c) The Weird SIsters d) Bewitched 4) How many points is the Golden Snitch worth? a) 100 b) 150 c) 300 d) 500 5) Who is Harry’s first girlfriend? a) Cho Chang b) Hermione Granger c) Ginny Weasley d) Luna Lovegood Answers: 1) b; 2) d; 3) c; 4) b; 5) a
Students anticipate final movie in Harry Potter series
2008: Harry Potter sells more than 400 million copies
2007: Deathly Hollows becomes fastest selling book in the world
“I’ve read the entire series of Harry Potter books at least six times. I love the fact that there is so much hidden symbolism behind the literature. On the contrary, I think the movies are lame becuse the actors really suck. I’m mad that they are making the last movie into two parts because it’s just another way for them to make more money off of ‘Harry Potter.’” Rachel Farmer, junior
2011: Part 2 of Deathly Hallows will be released in June
2009: Total domestic gross for first six movies reaches $6 billion
“At first I never really was into the Harry Potter books, or any books for that matter. In sixth grade I fell in love with reading. The Harry Potter books played a part in that. The suspense and mystery of those seven books led me to the joys of reading. My favorite Harry Potter book is the fourth book because it’s amazing, just the way everything is described.” Vlad Siedlecki, junior