Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince discussion... - Page 3  

Naomi Watts is warmer than I would have gone for Narcissa, but considering her role is basically grieving mother, it will work. I'm glad they're keeping "Spinner's End" in because its a wonderfully daring device; it essentially tells you the ending of the book and dares you not to believe it.

You can have Harry get Slughorn's memory a different way. They'll probably change it anyway- removing Aragog's death would seem an obvious cut.

I love Harry faking using the potion on Ron since it demonstrates some leadership skills but that's another likely cut too.

Bill Weasley is hardly essential, but one thing he would preserve is the structure of the work. Even with the dark events at the end, HBP is essentially a comedy of manners. All comedies must end with a wedding, the symbolic stand-in for a wedding, or the promise of a wedding.

I'm guessing if he is in it's because of the wedding. I've got a feeling that it will play a big part in Book 7 so *somebody* has to get married. Maybe they could shoehorn it with Remus and Tonks though.

How do werewolves age? Townsend's a lot younger than Thewliss so they can't really have the angle that Greyback created Lupin.

also it's a throwaway explanation why none of Harry's coterie dies while fighting the Death eaters.

Here's how I think it'll go down.
Open on Spinner's End. You get that delicious scene, fivish minutes

Transition away through the daily prophets dealing with the aftermath of the ministry, ending the transistion set on the last line of Dumbledore's letter saying he'll collect Harry. Exit the prophets on Dumbledore knocking on the door.

Brief two-three minute scene where Dumbledore smacks down the Dursleys and explains why Harry has to return (possible to cut this and go straight to)

Dumbledore and Harry collecting Horace Slughorn (another scene possible to cut, but it's structurally nice to open the film with them traveling together, Dumbledore also instructs Harry to always have his cloak and tells him he'll be getting extra lessons.

Dumbledore and Harry arrive to the Burrow, Cut to the greeting scene the next morning, great oppurtunity to plant Ginny here (sitting right on Harry's bed as in the book), introduce Phlem again and the wedding and have a nice oppurtunity to foreshadow the two couples together while discussing the wedding.

Cut to Diagon Alley, Harry exits a shop and sees Draco dashing off down Knockturn, he follows and overhears Draco.

Cut to Hogwarts Express, Harry trying to convince Hermione and Ron to little effect. He's called away to the Slug Club but doesn't stay because he slips out to follow Malfoy. We hear one or two incriminating lines that suggest Malfoy really is a deatheater but they are vague and boastful. Harry gets caught by Malfoy, then rescued by Ginny, Tonks or Snape, good oppurtunity to use a Snape scene here, but it's a nice story beat to hand to Ginny being clever enough to back up Harry. That way you could introduce Harry's gratefulness transforming into jealousy in the next scene (Feast?) when Ginny greets Dean or pulls away from Harry's group to be with him.

I'd cut into the first Potions or DADA class here and use the students surprise for the professor switch. DADA would emphasize nonverbal spells, but better would be the Potions class which gives Harry the intro to the Half Blood Prince and get ahold of Felix cut from this to Quidditch tryouts where they discuss the HBP and have Ginny's reaction. Ron and Ginny both make the team (I don't really envision this as much of a scene) And we see Harry liking her even more following all this. That's probably all the quidditch we'll need to actually see in the movie, the rest can be referred to in passing.

Harry goes in for his lessons with Dumbledore, I dont' know whether or not it'd be better to do it all in one go, or in two batches. either way would necessarily include a second or third scene once the horcrux memory is acquired.

Melodrama of relationships kicks in at this point, (gotta have Hermione attack Ron/Lavender with the birds) toss in a few class scene transitions, Draco Snape suspicions to build up to the coming battle with Draco, a scene of Hagrid caring for the dying Aragog in his hut all eventually leading into the breakup of Ron/Lav and Dean/Ginny leading into the successful wheedling out of the memory and our viewing of it. Dumbledore promises to take Harry and says he is very close to finding a horcrux.

Sectum Sempra chapter, just gold but it can be streamlined, so long as they include Harry and Draco's battle and subsequent healing by Snape and Harry's 'greeting' of the Quidditch victorious Ginny. :p

Shatter this by the trip to the cave.

Return. Big battle. stupid Spiderman1 rip off aftermath to the relationships.

that they'll be multiple Voldemorts cast: 10-year-old Voldemort for when Dumbledore visits the orphanage, 16-20-year-old Voldemort (ie. the era captured in the COS finale scene by Christian Coulson), and finally mid-late twentysomething Voldemort (who applies for the teaching post).

I imagine they'll only have two Voldemorts. ten-eleven year old Voldemort, and they'll probably cast someone who looks like Dan Radcliffe did (but without glasses) if they're smart. and the teenage voldemort. I think they don't really need the memory of Voldemort applying for the teaching post, but I don't see the need to get a third actor for that. I imagine they very well may increase the role of Tom Riddle senior, perhaps playing down Morfin's role, changing him to an inactive observer between the two Toms, we'll want to SEE the showdown between Tom and his father rather than hearing about it in passing. That'd be a good scene for Joseph Fiennes.

Necessary memories:
Meet the Gaunts and Riddle Sr.
10 yr old Tom
Tom finds the Guants and Riddles (and Ring and locket)
Tom finds out about Horcruxes.

Less important:
Memory about the hufflepuff cup
memory about tom wanting to teach at Hogwarts (may be another important H/V parallel though)

"memory about tom wanting to teach at Hogwarts "

That would be a cool backflash, because the book mentions a noticable degradation in Riddles appearance. Not quite the snakelike appearance of later, but its beginning to show.
It shows the affect of the horcruxes and dark magic hes been using along with Dumbledores reaction to seeing him like that after not seeing him for years

Necessary, prob not but it would be a nice one to see

Well it's clearthey'll have to have the scene of Voldy wanting a job at hogwarts won't they.
I don't really care what they do with HBP at this point so long as we get a HPatDH that is as long as Return of the King. Talk about an epic freaking adaptation.

Make the locket Harry pulls out of the bowl the real horcrux. Do that and you can cut out about 200 pages of Book 7. I like the Ministry infiltration in Book 7 a lot, but it's an easy cut to make with that simple change in HBP.