Episode #86: Half Blood Prince Trailer Podcast
Hopefully by now, you’ve seen the trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. We sat down immediately after watching to record out thoughts. What do you think of the trailer? Does the voice of the woman in the orphanage belong to J.K. Rowling?
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Tags: dumbledore, Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter, snape, trailer, voldemort
July 29th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
The trailer looked good. I was just so annoyed by the phrase “the most dangerous dark wizard of all time”! Well, I don’t think Voldemort was necessarily the worst ever. The worst of the “current” times – sure!.. Dark wizards apparently come and go regularly, and before Voldemort there was this Grindelwald figure, although a later book kind of makes Grindelwald seem less… And Voldemort certainly went further than anyone in certain aspects of dark magic, but I find it hard to believe that there were none to rival him in all the wizarding history, in some other aspect of dark magic, perhaps.
Before, I’m not sure in the books or the movie or both, only Hagrid referred to Voldemort in the superlatives (that he was the darkest, etc.), and we know how sound his judgement is
And now to hear it from Dumbledore! Especially referring to Tom Riddle before he went to school – I would think Dumbledore would know the difference… He gave Tom the chance of attending Hogwarts, gave him the benefit of doubt. Never trusting him, but also never revealing to other teachers what he learned of Tom Riddle in the orphanage. Tom Riddle before he changed the name, etc. was not the dark wizard. He still had an opportunity not to go down that path. I kind of felt pity for him, and I always thought that part of Dumbledore’s reason for showing Harry these memories was that; to show how Tom Riddle became who he became, what led to it… Ultimately, his choices, of course, but also the other circumstances of his life.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I LOVED the trailer, but I do agree if you dont know any better you would think it was a movie about some scary little kid (Tom Riddle), which plays well sort of. I am just sooo happy to have the trailer, it feels like it took forever!!!
July 29th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I thought it sounded like JKR as well! Then end of the trailer gave me a chill – it reminded me of “The Sixth Sense.” It looks good!
July 30th, 2008 at 3:34 am
I think the money quote is “I’m like you Tom, …I’m different.” “PROVE IT”
which serves to underscore the theme of Trust.
I don’t think it’s JKR
Coincedentally I also have a “friend” who does that thing with the animal crackers…
July 30th, 2008 at 4:22 am
Nice episode! It is kinda like the older ones except smoother like good single malt scotch.
Someday soon I am gonna have to address this moral ambiguity thing. To me a proper example of what Greg is defining the term as would be how when actors or rock stars are using drugs to enhance their creativity. Some even become dependant on this to the extreme until it kills them. Then for some reason are remembered in almost a legendary status. Examples would be Jim Morrson, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Hendrix and more lately Heath Ledger. Sadly there are plenty more I could mention.
Now when a sports Hero or olympic athlete take performance enhancing drugs they are regarded as cheaters! Discredited and Medals and honors stricken from the records. Some are even sent to prison.
So you can see the contrast between the two can be a type of moral ambiguity where the same behavior can have different results and expectations when viewed by the morality of modern society making both ambigous.
Try as I might I cannot make this connection in any of the HP series in spite of the fact that I eat my animal crackers feet first just to hear them scream!
Good show my daughter came running upstairs watch the trailer with me a few times. Good to see the excitement returning to the show!
Now if you will excuse me I have an elephant to torture.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
The trailer was great, the only bad part was how Gambon delivered his lines! Does anyone else think that the person standing in the field is Greyback? If so, Who does he attack? I think they should have shown the potions book, at least for a split second.
I, also, admit that I encourage the decapitation of animal crackers…
July 30th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Hey guys… I haven’t listened to the podcast but I took a look at the trailer and I really enjoyed it. I think I like the approach they are taking to the mood and the cinematography – I am hoping they may take an Alfonso Cuaron-like shift on the story- in any case, I thought the trailer was cut really well and looks like they are telling a more mature story. Good stuff indeed.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Excellent trailer and podcast!!! I agree with Penny it is, well, maybe not more dark, but perhaps more intense than the book. I see HBP as the most lighthearted of the remaining three books (whatever their specific term is), and the trailer is different than that over all feeling, but very, very compelling. Oddly enought I thought Gambon was good in this scene. MTV movies has an excellent frame by frame to compliment Greg and Penny’s Mystery Science theatre, and they do mention that the other person is Greyback, Adam. You can find it at http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1591779/story.jhtml
Aaron, I love your definition of moral ambiguity, it really puts it into perspective.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I haven’t listened to the podcast but I did watch the trailer, i will say one thing, Snape!! Where is he? considering he is the Half Blood Prince it might have been nice to see a scene with him in the trailer.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
To respond to Constance, in Half Blood Prince the lines the “Did you know…” line between Harry and Dumbledore was pretty much the same as it was in the book. Plus, I don’t remember when, but Hermione made some comment that Grindelwald would have been the greatest dark wizard had it not been for Voldemort and she read that I believe in the “Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts?” So I think Rowling used superlatives with other characters also in order to convey Voldemort’s place in wizarding history, but I could just be reading it differently than you.
Great podcast, Greg and Penny. I have to reorder my thoughts on the themes for the more recent books to see if I can provide some insight (Although probably won’t be profound).
July 30th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Constance, I’m rereading prisoner of Azkaban and I stumbled upon this:
(“What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?” said Black, with a terrible fury in his face.) page 375
Of course Sirius said this in a very stressful situation so it could have easily been a hyperbole, but it is another example of how superlatives were used to express this idea.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:32 am
When you wish apon a star….. Makes no difference who you are….. SSSHH!!!!!! I am in deep meditation……….
I am consulting the powers in the wizading realm to try an understand this moral ambiguity.
The snakes seek me out….
They whisper things to me……
Gregalson apparrently is trained in the high art of Miyogido prognosticating!
There is no defense!
I think it was a fine trailer but wished it was about 2.5 hours longer.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:22 am
Great podcast guys! I looked everywhere online and did not find anything about the womans voice in the start of the trailer being JKR. It sounded like it to me but I could not find anything about it. Would she really even do that though?
July 31st, 2008 at 5:24 am
oh and one more thing, I think everyone has done the same thing with animal crackers or chicken finger animals…or at least I sure have, I mean my friend has
July 31st, 2008 at 7:11 am
In regards to the woman’s voice, I do think it sounds like Jo, though I assume as of now there’s no way to know for sure. I can tell you that this part was the chapter Jo read at “An Evening With Harry, Carrie and Garp” all that while ago, and to the best of my memory it somewhat matches her interpretation of Mrs. Cole. (I did take some covert sound clips/videos from her reading, but unfortunately I loaded them onto my currently deceased PC, and have not recovered them.)
July 31st, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Hey HP progs!
I have been listening to your podcast since the third episode and loved it instantly! I have listened to other people’s podcasts to see if they compare, and like I suspected, none did. You are now the only podcast I listen to. I enjoy your podcast because it is funny (Greg) and also provides me with all the latest info on Harry potter. I also enjoy the fact that you explain and predict what has or will happen in the books, which helps me figure the books out better than what I had thought. I can’t wait ’til the sixth movie comes out, and thanks to you I knew the release date and the story of the splitting of the seventh movie before any of my friends. I absolutly love your podcast (and awesomely cooool theme song!!!) and hope you continue to prognosticate even after the other Harry Potter podcasts end!
I know you like to get suggestions for episodes, so here’s my two cents. You rarely talk about Fred and George. Is there more to them? Can you go indepth about your thoughts on an Anamagus? Is it personality, is it choice, or more how the person looks that determines the shape they change into?
You guys totally rock!
-Jessica
Age 13 ohio
P.S. If it were up to me I would give you 10+ stars out of 5.
July 31st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Hey, good episode!
One thing I noticed about the trailer was that in the first lines, Dumbledore says that this is the most important memory he has collected, and what follows is the memory of Dumbledore meeting Tom Riddle for the first time.
I believe ( because I cannot confirm in my books… I finally got my little sister to read HP in exchange for me reading Twilight, but now she’s taken my books to summer camp with her!) that this is one of the first memories Dumbledore shows Harry, perhaps during their first lesson. However, the memory that Dumbledore refers to as the most important he’s collected is the altered memory that he got from Slughorn (if i remember correctly).
I wonder if the two lines/scenes were spliced together for the sake of setting up the trailer in a certain way, or if movie Dumbledore actually presents this memory as the most important.
I’m not suggesting that one is more or less desirable, just an interesting change.
I found young Tom Riddle to be really convincing! It’s too bad that he’s only depicted in this one movie. I’d say he’s the best young actor that this franchise has seen (including the trio in their earliest movies, and yes, even Nigel).
Kira
PS- My only beef with moral ambiguity is that it’s waaaay too easy, and much too applicable to the whole series (or a “meta-theme” as you call it).
August 1st, 2008 at 12:03 am
Dear Penny and Greg,
I absolutely loved the trailer! I just sat next to my computer watching the clock, waiting for it to come onto AOL at 9 pm. I have some thoughts and comments to your podcast, which i also loved!
You were talking about how different the reactions were between Harry and Tom when they both found out that they were “different”. Harry was overjoyed and excited to learn that he could get out of his abusive household and into a world that he loved. Tom needed to be shown Dumbledore’s power before he even believed him. Look at the expression on his face when he sees that bureau on fire. You can see the hunger for power in his eyes. And I can also see the relationship between Tom and Anakin Skywalker now. That was really clever! And what I also thought was funny was that in the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie, when Harry goes back 50 years ago into the diary, Dumbledore’s hair is fully grown out, and is also auburn. I just thought of that actually. And it is grey when he goes to meet Tom for the first time a few years earlier. But I did like the fact that they made his hair shorter. I don’t know why. I just thought it worked.
The woman who plays Mrs. Cole, the woman from the Orphanage, is named Amelda Brown, according to imdb.com. I will keep a look out for any info about JKR’s voice possibly being in the trailer for you guys though. I think that would be really cool!
As for the scene with Harry running through the field and with Ginny standing in the swampish-area, I think you guys are right about that being the additional scene added to the movie of the attack on The Burrow. There is also footage on youtube.com showing an “almost kiss” between Harry and Ginny, that David Yates commented on saying something like, “They are just about to kiss, and then the Death Eaters show up and start creating chaos” or something like that. So I think this “almost kiss” scene must be the prequel to all of the running and standing in swamps in bathrobes. Also when Harry is running through the field, we see an odd-looking creature turn its head. If this is the attack on The Burrow, then is this creature Fenir Greyback the werewolf?
And about the train at the beginning, (I was actually thinking about this earlier today) I think it is important in every movie to have some footage on the Hogwarts Express. As Greg said, it’s the leaving of one world to enter another world. I feel like if we didn’t see the characters travelling to Hogwarts, then we wouldn’t feel like Hogwarts is really any different from the real world, if that makes sense.
Anyways, I’ve rambled on for way too long now, and thank you guys again for letting me know about the trailer being available on Tuesday. If I go see the Mummy 3, I’ll let you guys know if it is worth actually seeing the trailer on the big screen.
Happy 43rd Birthday to J.K. Rowling and Happy 28th Birthday to Harry Potter today!!!!
Love,
~Annie
August 1st, 2008 at 2:58 am
Something else that I just thought of. Emma Watson did not appear in this trailer, but Bonnie Wright did. Thoughts?
Love,
~Annie
August 1st, 2008 at 7:18 am
[...] Prince Trailer released - We’ve been having a great discussion here, and HP Progs podcasted on [...]
August 1st, 2008 at 11:11 am
I too eagerly awaited to watch this trailer and I must say….GORGEOUS!!!! It has really gotten me pumped up to watch this movie. I am loking most forward to seeing how the teens develope these relationships H&G, R&H. I am soooo STOKED!!! Nov.21st can’t come fast enough!!! Btw, Penny I have not read LotR either, so you aren’t the only one!!! Love the podcast!!!
August 1st, 2008 at 11:39 am
Annie said, “Something else that I just thought of. Emma Watson did not appear in this trailer, but Bonnie Wright did. Thoughts?”
it won’t be Hermione that Harry ends up snogging during the film.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:52 am
revgeorge…that is too funny
…you are right though Harry won’t snog Hermione!!!
August 1st, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Hey I just wanted to say thank you guys for keeping the show going even after the last book has come out! I really enjoy lisetning to you and your thoughts on Harry Potter! I thought that the trailer was and amazing and that it should be dark since its the 6th book. Tom looks amazing in the trailer Its perfect! I just can’t wait for the movie!! I watched the trailer like 20 times!!
August 1st, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Haha true revgeorge. I just thought it strange that Emma didn’t appear in the trailer at all.
August 2nd, 2008 at 5:10 am
If Emma Watson does not appear in the full trailer whenever that is released (when is that?) I will be very very surprised!
And thanks for the fun podcast!
August 2nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Michal – that is a very interesting point about Rowling reading that chapter. However after reexaminig the book it seems that that quote does not appear in it verbatim.
Regarding your other point that “they focused on the wrong dialogue for Riddle, though. The snake thing is really of minimal importance– the warning signs, obviously, were his aptitudes for causing pain”
Here is something else interesting that I noticed – in the book Tom says “I can make bad things happen to people who ANNOY me” while in the trailer it is “to people who ARE MEAN to me”
I think they are definately aiming to portray young Tom Riddle as a much much more innocent figure – perhaps (and maybe I shouldn’t be admitting this) to play up the moral ambiguity element and make it more pronounced.
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:31 pm
SeaJay – the full theatrical trailer is supposedly not going to be released until November 11th. Hopefully we will see another teaser trailer before then!!
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Shimon – maybe they added the speaking to snakes thing because that is a definite trait of Salazar Slytherin that Dumbledore was able to recognize and make a connection to.
August 3rd, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Shimon- It’s not in the book, but it did sound similar to her general approach to Mrs. Cole. (I also love reading that chapter aloud, and I was literally thrilled to pieces that my own version was not altogether dissimilar to Jo’s; that’s why I have a more specific memory of this aspect.)
I also noticed the addition of “people who are mean to me,” and I really am kind of surprised that they substituted it. Even just visually, I don’t think you see a kid like Riddle and come at him from a perspective of “He’s totally evil.” In fact, I think you need to counter the aspects that might lead one to be LESS “morally ambiguous” about him, on the positive side (the depressing childhood, the good looks, the fact that he’s a smooth-faced little boy…) with the more telling signs of his malevolence, and I thought that Jo was very deft at managing our reactions of pity and fear. So I hope they don’t sacrifice what is genuine malice for the sake of “moral ambiguity.”
(Specifically, it’s a very important fact (I think) that Riddle was a bully at the orphanage. Substituting this with the idea that he was instead picked on, and probably acting in self defense seems like the wrong way to go, to me, at least. All this based on the few lines we’ve seen, obviously. The complete scene could give off a completely different impression.)
Annie- that’s a good point, I just hesitate to think that Dumbledore would express such alarm at this revelation. We know from Dumbledore himself that the possession of Parseltounge in itself is pretty much meaningless. More significant, I think, would be signs that Riddle enjoyed dominating and inflicting pain on others.
August 4th, 2008 at 6:58 am
I actually liked that little twist. They seem to be trying to emphasize the similarities between Harry and Tom.
Instead of having him be a bully we are led to believe that maybe he was taunted or ridiculed for being different like Harry.
That is also in my opinion the reason they emphasize the snakes talking to him – which was also on of Harry’s first experiences as a confused youngster.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they are emphasizing the theme of free will (which btw Greg – does not at all conflict with having to go back to the past to understand the future – that does not have to mean that the future is predetermined, rather, it could mean that in order to understand Voldy of the present we must understand the path he took and the choices he made along the way).
August 5th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Great commentary on the trailer, but I just have one problem. I love you guys, but for the love of Pete, can Greg please stop eating on the podcast??? His lip smacking directly into my earbuds makes me want to throw my ipod across the room. I don’t want to break my ipod or stop listening to your entertaining podcast, so I am begging. Please eat ahead of time. Sorry, I had to get that off my chest.
August 5th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
This may not be the right place to put this comment but ill put it here anyway, for the theme of book 7 have you thought about offence vs. defence? Im not sure if its big enough to be called a theme but I would argue that its a running
thread throughout the books and in book 7 it is brought to light as seen in Harry’s conflict between hallows and horcruxes. I dont know if you could call it a theme but thats what I see. To be honest all I seen when looking for a theme in book 7 was the wrapping up of the major themes which are not specific to any of the books in particular (eg. power of love and friendship) but thats just me.
Keep up the good work!!
P.S I think you were right about ambiguous being the theme to book 6… even if no one agrees with me
August 6th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Amy: I hear ya. For Pete’s sake, I’ll curtail my mastication during the show.
August 9th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I think the fact that the trailer is heavy on the Tom Riddle story is a prelude to the fact that the movie makers decided to truncate the rest of the story in book six. I expect the Tom Riddle back story to be a device to fill in some blanks that they missed in the first five movies and the edited much of the rest of the story. They have to cut somewhere no matter how much we may want to see it all. I do like the suspense and mystery they are able to create in the mood of the trailer.