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Some Harry Potter Questions

703 Views 14 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Steve S, Apr 17, 2003

Ollie W. Holmes

Discussion Starter · Apr 13, 2003

Here are some questions for those who have read the JK Rowling books, or who have inside information on current and future movies.

1. Hogwarts wizard school is multi-ethnic, right? It seems to include all members of the British empire, such as whites, africans, and near-easterners. Then where are the Chinese? Doesn't Hong Kong count? (Is Rowling unaware of the wizards in Chinese films? That they not only do magic, but kung fu too?) How about the former American colonies and Canada? Will a Southerner ever be admitted to the school? How about an eskimo, a French speaking American indian, a gay boy or girl, etc.

2. Ron Weasly's parents seem to own what looks like an American-inspired car. Couldn't they find a cheap British car? Or is the inference that British cars do not work reliably?

3. In what episode is Harry going to really kiss Hermione? Do they ever get engaged? Is she secretly his sister, separated at birth? Will there be a Harry Potter, Jr.?

4. Will Draco Malfoy ever make a play on Hermione? Yes, he is a pure blood, and she is of mixed blood, but stranger things have happened. Without romantic rivalry, the sequels will keep rehashing the good/evil theme and will become boring.

5. Gilderoy Lockhart seems to be a parody of some popular writer. Who?

6. Who agrees with the casting of Michael Gambon as Dumbledore in the next sequel? He seems to have a dark side (Cook, Thief, Wife & Her Lover) that may scare away the kids.

7. Dobby looks too much like Gollum. Whom do you like better?

8. The state of the art in bird cgi is terrible/ pathetic. If Hitchcock could get real birds to attack their prey, why can't the producers of Harry Potter?

9. These broom-riding sequences are becoming repetitive. Sort of reminds me of the race in Star Wars Ep. 1. May I suggest some ways to improve this now de rigeur scene inclusion? Have Harry take some lessons from Vin Diesel of xXx. A new move: Ride the broom like a surf board. Do a 360 in the vertical plane. Get two brooms and ride one with each foot. Do a hand stand on a broom. If one of these ideas is choreographed in the next film, I'll sue for copyright infringement. However, I am willing to accept a secret cash payoff.

If you have no answers, make up one. If you have more questions, attach them to this thread.

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richardg

· #2 · Apr 13, 2003

Skipped a few, but

1. Harry gets an Asian friend, Cho Chang, in Prisoner of Azkaban

3. No kiss for Hermione from Harry, he has his eye on someone else.

4. Doesn't seem possible given the events of book 4. Wait til you see Hagrid's romance.

5. Gilderoy Lockhart should have been played by Hugh Grant.

8. Agreed

Books turn less and less whimsical as they go along.

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gtrogue

· #3 · Apr 14, 2003

1. My wife read the books and I seem to remember her telling me that there are other schools besides Hogwarts.

2. The Weasly's car is a European Ford model. People do drive American brand cars outside the US.

3. No kissing. At least thats what my wife tells me.

4. Not likely.

6. Seems like as good a choice as any.

7. I don't think Gollum and Dobby look at all alike.

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BigguyZ

· #4 · Apr 14, 2003

Well- I think the idea that the car choice is an inferrence on the quality of European cars is a little silly. But I do wonder why the casting change for Dumbledore in the 3rd movie?

I don't think that Dobby looks like Gollum at all either.

Oh- and you're looking for a Harry Potter jr??? Even in the LAST movie, wouldn't they be a little young??

The CGI bird does look like crap.

And I thought Brennaugh's job as Lockhart was great- but I don't think it's a parody of any particular author..... It's merely a characterization of all "bigger than life" types...

I haven't read a single HP book, so I guess you should take my input with a grain of salt....

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Salmoneous

· #5 · Apr 14, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by BigguyZ
But I do wonder why the casting change for Dumbledore in the 3rd movie?

The studios blame it on Richard Harris dying last October. Personally, I think that's a cop out, and there's a bigger scander here somewhere.

FredProgGH

· #6 · Apr 14, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Salmoneous
The studios blame it on Richard Harris dying last October. Personally, I think that's a cop out, and there's a bigger scander here somewhere.

Indeed, he was only 72 years old. Anyway, a little thing like a dead actor would never stop George Lucas, and I don't see why it would stop a fine director like Chris Columbus. And now he's gone from the franchise as well.... makes you think, doesn't it?

lonwolf615

· #7 · Apr 14, 2003

Its an industry wide problem-watched the remake of Charade and still can't figure why they didn't use Cary Grant or Audrey Hepburn.They would have been perfect.No Walter Mathau either.

BigguyZ

· #8 · Apr 14, 2003

OK OK- excuse me, I didn't know he was dead. Someone made the comment while watching HP:COS that they hope he didn't die, which gave me the impression he's still alive. Make one mistake......

FredProgGH

· #9 · Apr 15, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by BigguyZ
OK OK- excuse me, I didn't know he was dead. Someone made the comment while watching HP:COS that they hope he didn't die, which gave me the impression he's still alive. Make one mistake......

OK, this once... (you know we're just having fun)

wirwin

· #10 · Apr 15, 2003

2. I haven't read the book but the car looks like a Ford Anglia, which was a British-built heap of junk from the sixties or thereabouts. Obviously the magic was strong in that one, as a real Anglia would never have survived Ron's gearchanging technique.

Thik

· #11 · Apr 16, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by richardg
Skipped a few, but

1. Harry gets an Oriental friend, Cho Chang, in Prisoner of Azkaban

"Oriental"? Please refrain from using this term as it is derogatory to Asians.

richardg

· #12 · Apr 16, 2003

I apologize if I offended you or anyone else- I will not use the term again - however did you notice you have just lumped a whole group of people together? I am Asian and the term never offended me. Growing up in the early 60's, being blamed for World War II, getting beat up on the way to school and getting called a lot of worse names as a kid was much more derogatory

Chris Moreau

· #13 · Apr 16, 2003

First of all, I do apologize to the administrators for keeping this thread off topic for just one more post, but I had to come to Richard's defense.

As something of a bit of an amateur linguist, as well as being someone who speaks several languages, I've always been extrememly sensitive to words and their meanings -- literal, intended, implied, and hidden. But, in all my years (far too many!) as a white, American male, I've never known ANYONE who described someone as Oriental, and meant it in a derogatory manner. Sadly, there are many words they could use, but that's not normally one of them. I do, personally, say asians because it's the term that's a bit more au courant. However, Thik, please don't assume that any offense was intended when you hear a native English speaker use the term Oriental. Although it's now rather "out of fashion, " it was the accepted word that most of us grew up with.

Now, let's get back to Harry Potter!

PretzelB

· #14 · Apr 16, 2003

Great, a chance for me to show off what a geek I am.

1. I think this was addressed by the statement that other schools exists, with students from different regions.

2. I think I saw a special that the car used in the movie was the same model as a car that the author used as a teenager with her friends.

3. Harry has his eye on someone else. I think Hermione and Ron have eyes for each other. I thought they did a great job of showing that in the movie where they just kind of awkwarding looking at each after Harry and Hermonie hugged, as if to say "well, we could hug but ummmm".

4. Don't think Draco will make the romance play. My guess is there is some kind of replay of what happened between Harry's father and Snape in the works.

5. No clue.

6. I think the actor who played Gandalf is the best candidate for Dumbledore. The biggest mistake I think they made in casting was not putting John Cleese (sp?) as Hagrid. Hagrid is supposed to be wildly emotional and over the top. I always pictured a wacky Monty Python skit when I read about Hagrid.

7. Dobby is really funny in the books. Hope to see more of him.

8. I didn't think much about this. I guess the other effects were good enough for me to overlook.

9. Harry did ride it surfboard style in the first movie where he captured the snitch in his mouth. I think the scenes were much better in the second movie than the first where he just sat there and made faces while his team was losing.

I just hope someone else picks up the director role for the next movies. My guess is that they will need all new actors though. I think the kids are probably growing too quickly to continue. It was bad enough listening to the poor actor who played Ron have his voice crack - notice how his voice is deep in the first scene then it goes back up higher for most of the movie?

What really worries me is the next few books. The last book was very dark and sad and I think it's going to get worse.

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Steve S

· #15 · Apr 17, 2003

The car is a Ford Anglia. Ford has built and sold cars very successfully in Britain since long before WWII. They were and are specifically designed and built for the British market.

The Anglia was built in the very late 50s to mid 60s. The styling looks familiar to Americans because of the backward slanting rear window which was "borrowed" from the '57 or so Mercury Turnpike cruiser. The taillights are also reminiscent of the mid-50s US Ford models.

Despite thier generally mediocre quality in the past British Fords have almost always been among the top sellers in that country due to aggressive marketing especially to the huge Company/fleet car market over there.

It was quite common in the late 50s and early 60's for Ford and GM of Europe to use styling cues borrowed from the huge US models on tiny cars designed and built for the UK/European market.

The situation is now almost reversed, as the Ford Focus now sold in the US was designed and built in Europe for a year or two before it's introduction here. It's the best selling car in Europe, apparently not suffering the multitude of recalls of the US models.

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