Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts

'Troll' remake underway with Harry Potter, Jr

0 comments Posted by Baserolo at 7:51 PM

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) - Another "Harry Potter" movie is in the works but no, it's not a Warner Bros. picture and it's not the Hogwarts guy -- though it is a Harry Potter who uses magic powers to fight evil and save the world.

It's a remake of the 1986 cult hit "Troll," that featured Harry Potter, Jr. and Harry Potter, Sr. as lead characters.

The remake will include the original characters, the filmmakers' legal consultant, Thomas Girardi, has confirmed to TheWrap.

John Carl Buechler, who directed the original, will direct again, as well as produce.

The original, which made $5.4 million at the box office -- 11 years before J.K. Rowling published her first novel about that other Harry Potter -- starred Noah Hathaway, fresh off "Never Ending Story," as a character named Harry Potter Jr. Michael Moriarty played his dad.

"We've got the producer," Girardi said of the remake. And though he wouldn't name them, he said, "We've got two big-time actor guys -- one woman, one guy. Everyone has signed on the dotted line."

As for the Potter characters: "They certainly do have the right to make their own picture," Girardi told TheWrap. "And their own picture was 'Troll' and Harry Potter, Jr."
Warner Bros., which owns the rights to Rowling's Potter, had no immediate comment.

"Troll" was about, as you'd expect, an evil troll, who uses an emerald ring to take possession of little Wendy Potter. Her brother -- yes, Harry -- recognizes that something is amiss.
The troll, often in the form of Wendy, roams from apartment to apartment, transforming people. Harry must save the world.

Oddly, the mostly forgotten movie also featured Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sonny Bono, June Lockhart and Gary Sandy.
So why did they wait so long to capitalize on the Potter name?

The movie's owner had a family situation which kept him occupied, Girardi said, adding that his legal analysis has showed the film -- and the "Harry Potter, Jr." name -- are fair game.

The producer of "Troll," Albert Band, died in 2002. The writer, Ed Naha, went on to write 1989's "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."

 

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"Harry Potter" magic with record $92.1 million

0 comments Posted by Baserolo at 9:24 AM

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The eighth and final "Harry Potter" movie sold $92.1 million worth tickets in the United States and Canada on its first day in theaters to set a single-day box-office record, according to studio estimates released on Saturday.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2" shattered the single-day record set in 2009 when "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" earned $72.7 million in theaters, said Paul Dergarabedian, head of tracking firm Hollywood.com Box Office.

"To even be close to $100 million for a single day is unprecedented," Dergarabedian said.
Hollywood watchers are attributing the high interest in the film from Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros unit to strong critics' reviews and the fact this is both the final film in the "Harry Potter" series and the only one released in 3D.

"This will be the first 'Potter' movie to earn over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office," Dergarabedian said.

"Harry Potter," which is already the highest grossing film franchise ever with over $6.4 billion in global ticket sales, is based on the novels of author J.K. Rowling and it revolves around the adventures of a young wizard, his friends and their battle against evil.

The record-setting $92.1 million in the United States and Canada was earned at more than 4,300 theaters, including the midnight screenings that extended into the early morning hours of Friday and by themselves earned a record-setting $43.5 million.

Outside the United States and Canada, the film earned an estimated $75 million in 59 countries, Warner Bros officials said.

The movie brought in a record-setting 9.3 million pounds ($14.8 million) in the United Kingdom on Friday, the studio said.

 

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Farewell Harry Potter | HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

0 comments Posted by Baserolo at 7:35 PM

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

Xbox 360, PS3 £49.99

The final Harry Potter game continues in the same cover-shooter gameplay style that we saw in Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

It’s basically Gears Of War with wands instead of lancer guns and Harry Potter and Hermione Granger instead of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago.

You get a set piece-laden tour of JK Rowling’s magical world. Along the way, you’ll escape the underground caverns of Gringott’s wizarding bank after facing off against a dragon, battle Death Eaters through the quaint snowy streets of Hogsmeade, and come face to face with the evil Lord Voldemort in the final dramatic duel.

Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is not a particularly difficult game, which is unsurprising considering the young audience it’s aimed at.

It is usually a case of matching the right spell against the right dark wizard defences, and more skilled gamers will comfortably fly through it.

This final instalment is a polished if repetitive affair that’s bolstered by the keen mining of the reference material. Being able to play as minor Hogwarts stars such as Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan – as well as Harry and his better-known friends – will certainly raise a smile from the legions of loyal Potterites.
It’s just a shame that more time isn’t given to exploring the wondrous surroundings rather than concentrating just on blasting every one of the hundreds of masked wand-wielders that stand before you.

While it visually captures the essence of the Potter world and isn’t lacking in action, Part 2 doesn’t quite qualify as being truly magical.


 

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Fans dress in cloaks, hats to theatres for Potter farewell

0 comments Posted by Baserolo at 7:27 PM

New Delhi: The final adieu to `Harry Potter` has turned out to be as expected - special! Fanatical fans are queuing up for the last movie of the multi-billion dollar franchise, and literally living up the spirit of wizardry by sporting black cloaks, witch hats, and magic wands.

A group of seven college girls were spotted with black hats and a wand each at a multiplex here while a group of boys, oblivious to the sweltering heat and humidity, wore black cloaks to the hall to celebrate the magic of "Harry Potter" as the last of the lot released Friday.

"We have been waiting for this so long. It is an emotional moment for us to come and see the final movie. It is unbelievable that there will no Potter to look forward to after this. But we wanted to do something special our way, and give Harry Potter a special farewell that it so rightly deserves," said 21-year-old Samridhi Mathur, who attracted a lot of attention with her pointy hat.

The fans sat on the edge of their seats during action sequences, and boy wizard Harry`s victory called for cheers galore.

"We love you Harry!" viewers cheered and hooted in the hall. Emotions or celebrations - whatever it was - the craze for it was alive and kicking.

The Harry Potter phenomenon, which came straight out of struggling single mother J.K. Rowling`s imagination, cast its first magical spell on Indian fans in 2001. A decade later, that magic has increased manifold.

Disappointment had set in among fans as the advance bookings did not open until Thursday evening due to a reported rift between multiplex owners and the film`s distributors over revenue-sharing. But the script ran as per schedule thereafter.

Multiplex owners admit that all shows for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2", which has set a new box office record in the US by amassing $43.5 million from midnight screenings alone, are currently houseful.

"All the shows are full. The response is phenomenal. People of all age groups - young, middle-aged and old are coming to watch the film and enjoying it," Punit Sahay of Spice Cinemas told reporters.

According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, Friday`s early estimates for the movie in India is Rs.4.75 crore - including all four versions - English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

The movie has opened in a 2D and a 3D format, but if Munish Sharma of Satyam Cineplexes is to be believed, Indian viewers are lapping up the 3D version. However, any official figures are yet to be received.

The last movie of the over $6 billion franchise ends as tradition - with the victory of good over evil as Harry Potter, with his friends, manages to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes and the evil Lord Voldemort`s ashes fly up in the air.

The movie just doesn`t end at that - it "pleasantly" surprises by fast forwarding 20 years ahead and showing Harry, his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley married, with children, says Prachi Khanna, a 25-year-old Potter enthusiast, without hitting on the spoiler alert button.

"Of course, the books end on a happy note, with Harry married to Ginny, and Hermione and Ron settled together with kids. But I didn`t expect that they would show it in the film.

"It was a little weird to see these young, 20-something actors in an avatar of being 40, but the inclusion of that track was a pleasant surprise. It was nice that they ended it the way the book ends - completing the franchise in every sense," said Khanna.

 

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