‘Potter’ flick’s made to ‘order’: Harry and co. all grown up
By Stephen Schaefer
When the hotly anticipated movie version of “Harry Potter and the
Order of the Phoenix” opens in the U.S. next month, Potter fans’ first
reaction may be “my, how they’ve grown!”
Warner Bros. gave the press here a first look at the film yesterday. One
of its biggest surprises was flashbacks of baby-faced Harry (Daniel
Radcliffe) and pals Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) when
they first went off to wizarding school in the 2001 film “Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
Of course, the world knows Harry’s not a kid anymore: Radcliffe, who
turns 18 on July 23, recently made his West End stage debut in the Peter
Shaffer drama “Equus” (complete with nude scenes!). Watson is 17 and
Grint is already 18.
The $150 million adaptation of the fifth book in J.K. Rowling’s
blockbuster series is directed by David Yates, a TV director who’s new
to the Potter series, but has already been tapped to helm next year’s
installment, “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.”
As legions of passionate Potter-heads know, “Order of the Phoenix” puts
Harry (Radcliffe) and pals Hermione Granger (Watson) and Ron Weasley
(Grint) up against their toughest challenge yet: convincing the
wizarding world that the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has
returned.
Yates’ 138-minute film version features state-of-the-art digital
effects, a dense but friendly giant, and the return of the centaurs in
the Forbidden Forest.
Like its predecessors, this adaptation is faithful to the book, as Harry
and his classmates are drawn deeper into the battle between good and
evil that divides the wizard world.
Harry’s worst nemesis yet is new Defense Against the Dark Arts
instructor Dolores Umbrage, played with vinegary passive-aggressive
finesse by Oscar-nominee Imelda Staunton (“Vera Drake”). Dressed in
bright pink, Umbrage cheerfully resorts to physically torturing her
students whenever it suits her nefarious purposes.
The film also features Harry’s first screen kiss with Cho Chang (Katie
Leung). Asked how it was, he replies: “Wet - she was sort of crying.”
“Phoenix” opens in the U.S. on July 11, just 10 days before Rowling
publishes the seventh - and final - book in the series, “Harry Potter
and the Deathly Hallows.” As with the recent finale of HBO’s hit series
“The Sopranos,” bookmakers are offering odds on whether Harry will die
in a final encounter with Voldemort.
April 25, 2007 (from ITV News)
Sneak Potter preview released
The unbearable wait for the new Harry Potter film is almost over for
fans who can now get a sneak preview of the movie.
And those who have seen the extended trailer of Harry Potter and the
Order of the Phoenix think the fifth film in the franchise will live up
to its audience's weighty expectations.
The film sees Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, in his fifth year at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He spends his term battling the Ministry of Magic who refuse to believe
that the evil Lord Voldemort, played by Ralph Fiennes, has been restored
to life.
Radcliffe will pick up a reported £7.2 million for his role in the
latest film, making him Britain's wealthiest teenager.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released worldwide in July.
November 15, 2006 (from ETonline.com)
New 'Harry Potter' Poster Revealed
The first poster for 'The Order of the Phoenix' is out!
Warner Bros. has released the first poster for the new Harry Potter
movie, 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,' and it's bound to
send a chill up muggles' spines. The glossy one-sheet features a
sinister Lord Voldemort enshrouded in black under the words, "You Will
Lose Everything."
The fifth movie, based on the best-selling book series, is currently
shooting in England and finds the heroic young wizard dealing with
puberty and struggling against Dolores Umbridge, a scheming new Defense
Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry.
The movie once again reunites Harry (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) with his big-screen
classmates, EMMA WATSON, now 16, and RUPERT GRINT, 18. It also
introduces 15-year-old newcomer EVANNA LYNCH as the eccentric Luna "Looney"
Lovegood. In the series' most dire fight sequence, Harry and his pals
form a guerilla army to fight off the evil Voldemort (RALPH FIENNES) and
his gang of Deatheaters.
Moviegoers will get a chance to see the teaser trailer for the film in
theaters this weekend with showings of the animated polar adventure, 'Happy
Feet.' 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' opens next summer on
July 13, 2007.
Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts is a dark one. Raging with hormones, the 15-year-old wizard returns to the School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry to confront slanderous gossip, a cruel new professor, and a Ravenclaw girl on whom he has a crush.
Ominous events lead to the family home of Sirius Black, where Harry learns about the mysterious Order of the Phoenix. Amid
disturbing dreams, unraveling a dire prophecy, and studying for the Ordinary Wizarding Levels exams, Harry and his friends
struggle into young adulthood.
Features
Cast & Crew
Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe
Ron Weasley: Rupert Grint
Hermione Granger: Emma Watson
Lord Voldemort: Ralph Fiennes
Lucius Malfoy: Jason Isaacs
Bellatrix Lestrange: Helen McCrory
Dolores Umbridge: Imelda Staunton
Nymphadora Tonks: Natalia Tena
Cho Chang: Katie Leung
Luna Lovegood: Evanna Lynch
Directed by David Yates
Writing Credits: Michael Goldenberg (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)