MuggleCast 205 Transcript
Show Intro
[Intro music begins]
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[“Hedwig’s Theme” plays]
David Heyman: Hello this is David Heyman and I’m the producer of the Harry Potter films and this is MuggleCast.
[Show music begins]
Micah: Because, by the way, this is MuggleCast, Episode 205 for August 14th, 2010.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: Welcome, everyone, back to the show. It’s a different show this week. Well, slightly different. We’re not talking Chapter-by-Chapter because we’ve got some other chapter analysis to talk about this week concerning the big Deathly Hallows split. It was finally revealed, but lots of questions. Right, guys? Lots of questions surrounding the split. Personally I’m wondering, is it a good split? And was this intentional? Or is W.B. furious now? We have Nick joining us, too, and it’s been a while. Hey Nick!
Nick: Yeah, hey, how’re you doing?
Andrew: Good to have you on, wanted to get the British perspective, of course.
Nick: Oh, thanks for having me back.
[Andrew and Eric laugh]
Andrew: So let’s get into it. It’s going to be a big Deathly Hallows day as we catch up on news, read some e-mails, and a lot more. I’m Andrew Sims.
Eric: I’m Eric Scull.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: I’m Matt Britton.
Nick: And I’m Nicholas Myers.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: Micah Tannenbaum, what’s in the news? Come on, don’t hold out. Let’s go.
Deathly Hallows Split Revealed
Micah: All right, well earlier this week Entertainment Weekly revealed where Deathly Hallows will be split. For those of you who don’t want to know where the movie is going to be split, please, skip ahead…
[Laura and Matt laugh]
Micah: I’m not sure how many minutes to skip ahead…
Matt: Just skip the entire episode.
Micah: Yeah, just skip the entire episode…
Andrew: I would say…
Eric: Actually, go back. Just review older episodes of MuggleCast, like that one where we interviewed David Heyman, that was kind of cool.
Andrew: That was a good one. Well, I’ll put in the show notes how far people should skip ahead so there’s no question. you can do an exact skip ahead. All right? So, go ahead, Micah, now that the people who don’t what to be spoiled are covering their ears. Where is it split? Dun, Dun, Daa…
Micah: Well, as I tried to say the first time around it will be split, according to Entertainment Weekly, at about Chapter 24 of the book, which is where Voldemort goes and gets the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s tomb…
[Andrew gasps]
Micah: Yeah, it’s very dramatic, I know. Hold on to your seats.
Andrew: Had we considered this?
Matt: No! We haven’t, and that’s why it’s so awesome.
Eric: No, because…
Andrew: Micah, are you – do you think – and Eric…
Eric: …that scene…
Andrew: …you don’t think so?
Eric: That scene where Voldemort’s actually at Dumbledore’s tomb and grabs the wand and is mirthful…
Matt: The lightning comes out…
Eric: …that only appeared in the most recent trailer that was a few weeks old. So I don’t think we guessed, simply because we didn’t really know that this was going to be a pretty big deal that he shoots lightning up into the trees and he’s all happy. We didn’t even know that scene existed.
Matt: But Eric, if you think about it, I just watched the trailer a couple of minutes ago, and it kind of has a little bit of a hint that that would’ve been the split because that’s the point in the trailer where it goes to black for a few seconds after that scene.
Eric: Oh, oh…
Andrew: Ooh.
Eric: What, do the credits roll? Do the credits roll, Matt Britton?
Matt: No, the credits don’t roll!
[Andrew laughs]
Matt: No, no, they cut it before the credits are rolling…
Eric: Is there, like, a “Produced by…” voom!
Matt: No! It’s already done, it’s already edited and everything, it’s in the trailer! You’re just waiting on “Directed by David Slade.”
Eric: I don’t know think that that’s going to be – I don’t know about that. That would be…
Matt: No, I’m just kidding.
Eric: …because that’s the very, very, very, very end. I feel like – yeah, but I feel like it’s a – I fell like they need to end on Harry, like maybe Harry waking up from a dream in which Voldemort just had the Elder Wand. Doesn’t Harry see, through Voldemort’s eyes, the opening of Dumbledore’s tomb?
Andrew: “The spider-like hands swooped and pulled the wand from Dumbledore’s grasp and as he took it, a shower of sparks flew from it’s tip, sparkling over the corpse of it’s last owner, ready to serve a new master at last.” And that’s what Harry sees through Voldemort.
Matt: Oh! You guys are right. Damn it, that’s so hardcore.
Eric: So does Harry have a reaction shot?
Andrew: Today I decided to read Chapters 23 and 24, sort of to get a good idea of what the end of Part 1 will be, and I think it’s perfect now because there’s a big action scene, and then there’s the calm point at the very end where it’s sort of a resolution, but it’s also a huge cliffhanger! So it’s got everything an end of a film should have!
Eric: Well, Chapter 23 ends with Dobby’s death…
Andrew: Right.
Eric: …which is very, very, very, very sad.
Andrew: Right, so you have action, sadness…
Eric: And then…
Andrew: And then cliffhanger.
Eric: …yeah.
Matt: Mhm.
Eric: Yeah.
Matt: Well it’s such a perfect cliffhanger, too, because the way that the movie’s laid out, that’s right after you figure out what exactly the Elder Wand is and how important it is in the final battle. It’s the one that everyone needs because it cannot be – you know, there’s no other spell or wand that can overpower that wand – and then we finally see at the very end of the movie that it’s Voldemort who has the Elder Wand.
Andrew: And they’ll spend a lot of time on that scene with Ollivander at Shell Cottage saying how, “Oh yeah, P.S., this wand, the Elder Wand, is huge, you need it.” And then a few minutes later you see Voldemort taking the Elder Wand and everyone’s going to be thinking “well how the hell did this happen? How is Harry going to save the day now?”
Eric: [in an English accent] “You’re really not prepared at all for this.”
Micah: Well I wanted to read what David Heyman said to us when we spoke to him back in June, he said “the script for Part 1 was written with an end in mind. The first draft was written with one ending and as we developed it we went to another ending. And then we reverted in part to the original ending because we felt it allowed us a more emotional conclusion, and felt it was more complete. But we’ve added this other scene which I think is really amazing, and I can’t tell you where the break is, I’m sorry, but I do feel it will be incredibly dramatic, very moving, and make people want to watch the next film.” So do you guys think this fits in with what he said? I don’t think that we’ve yet figured out what that additional scene is, because this is obviously in the book.
Andrew: Well wait a second, in that original preview of Parts I and II we see Ollivander talking about the Deathly Hallows, “It’s rumored there are three.” So what if that’s part of the new scene?
Eric: Yeah – so all these scenes are going on – why would they have needed to add a scene if the book is – or if the movie’s ending after Malfoy Manor, Dobby’s death, finding out about the Deathly Hallows, and Ollivander talking about the Elder Wand. Where would they have any room, and what purpose…
Micah: Well…
Eric: …for storytelling could it have served if they added a scene now after all that stuff takes place?
Micah: I don’t think it’s a new scene. I think it’s exactly what Nick just said – I think they possibly have created this three brothers scene where they casted the three brothers, they’ve casted Death, and they’re going to tell the story, but the viewer is going to be able to see it instead of just listening to it. And I think that that is…
Eric: Well they should do that anyway.
Micah: Well, I mean…
Eric: But even when Hagrid is telling Harry about Voldemort killing his parents, they cast his parents, they showed it on screen. Reading a story out of a book is dead air in a movie. I don’t see how there’s ever a way that they wouldn’t have cast the Three Brothers and Death and showed it. However, I think that’s a great ending, and I think it’s a good idea that that could be the ending. But now with Malfoy Manor – if the movie had ended – if Part I had ended with the Tale of the Three Brothers – it would have meant that both Part 1 and Part 2 of the movie opened at the Malfoy Manor, which I think is good.
Matt: The whole scene with Voldemort taking the Elder Wand – it basically shifts the plot of the story, too. Wherever things were going, the game is changed now that Voldemort has the Elder Wand. And I think that’s probably a wise choice to end the first part.
Nick: Yeah, definitely.
Andrew: Yeah, because now the focus – because that leaves – the focus is “Harry needs to somehow defeat Voldemort.” How is he going to do it knowing – now the audience knows that Voldemort has this wand that apparently nobody can defeat, unless there’s a flaw in the plan of course.
Matt: Well, because everything was towards the – the entire focus was on the Deathly Hallows, but after that now Harry knows that he has to start focusing back on the Horcruxes because that’s the only way to defeat Voldemort, not with the Deathly Hallows. And it’s kind of obvious now because Voldemort has one of the Deathly Hallows…
Micah: Yeah.
Matt: …technically. Technically.
Micah: It’s a balance of power thing, too. Because you’re watching, probably through the first part of this movie, or most of this movie, I guess, Harry going about destroying the Horcruxes. And you think that he’s slowly starting to gain the upper hand. And then with Voldemort coming now and taking this Elder Wand, and the movie potentially ending with this scene, it’s a complete momentum shift. You’re leaving it with such a huge cliffhanger as to, “Okay, Voldemort has the upper hand, and we’re moving into movie two.” I think it really would be a great spot to leave it off.
Matt: And most…
Andrew: I hope the last shot is not Voldemort sending that spell up into the sky…
Eric: “I can fly!”
Andrew: …because frankly, I thought that shot was kind of corny. So maybe if it’s not that shot, maybe it’s that scene but a different angle or something…
Matt: Well, yeah. I mean, they probably do just like a close up of Voldemort just like laughing or something. I don’t know.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: Is he sending up an announcement? I mean, what do you guys think he’s doing?
Matt: He’s probably just having fun with it.
[Micah laughs]
Matt: We may see more spells coming out of that wand. I mean…
Andrew: Oh, does that mean he’s, like, trying it out?
Matt: Yeah, it’s almost like Voldemort’s version of Dumbledore’s gleam of triumph.
Eric: You know what he’s doing? He’s sending a Patronus to his BFF Jill to let her know that he’s now got the Elder Wand. He’s like, “Oh my god, I have to text my BFF Jill.”
Matt: He’s playing with his new toy.
Andrew: I got it!
Micah: Who’s Jill?
Eric: His BFF.
Micah: Oh.
Matt: Well most movies that end with a cliffhanger usually consist of the heroes getting a very powerful blow from their enemy.
Eric: Yeah.
Micah: Right.
Matt: Like in Empire Strikes Back, when Han Solo gets put – frozen in the whatever-it’s-called.
Eric: Actually, that movie has no ending. I’m still convinced – I’m not convinced – because, no, they’re on the ship. That’s what it is.
Matt: Well no. It’s a cliff-hanger. That’s why it’s not an ending.
Eric: They’re on a ship and they’re gazing at his face. It’s not even…
Matt: It’s a cliff-hanger though, Eric. It’s not an ending. So I…
Eric: That’s not a cliff-hanger. That’s a – [Laughs]
Matt: It’s a cliff-hanger!
Eric: All right.
Matt: It’s definitely a cliff-hanger, Eric.
Micah: [laughs] I think it would be really cool if – because Harry supposedly is witnessing parts of this as he is at Shell Cottage. So if it kind of shifts back to Harry realizing that Voldemort has the Elder wand…
Eric: Yeah.
Micah: …and it goes dark, I think that would be a more impactful cliff-hanger than…
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: Maybe if Harry turns to Ron and Hermione and says, “He has it guys.”
Micah: Right, something like that.
Matt: Or even Harry or Hermione asking what’s wrong and he just doesn’t say anything and then it goes to black.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: Or he just goes, “Oh, Bullocks. Not again!” Cut to black.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: [Trombone sound effect] Wa wa wa wah. Yeah, I think also ending the film in this point – getting back to the actual split – it allows them to resolve a lot of things. It kind of contains the first half of Deathly Hallows the story and in a really nice way. Because Ron and Harry’s fight, for example, all of their traveling through the woods is now contained in Part 1 of the film. So Ron and Harry – yes they have an argument, they break up, Ron goes away for a real long time but it’s not one of those things where you are going to be waiting eight months to see Ron come back and apologize.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: They’ve already – Ron has come back. He and Harry have gotten along and now they’ve got bigger fish to fry. They go to Malfoy – they get snatched up and it’s a big deal. So it is – I can see what David Heyman was saying as far as being a fitting emotional spot because you’ve been through so much…
Andrew: Oh yeah.
Eric: …at that point and Dobby’s death at the very end. So…
Andrew: And it’s…
Nick: In addition to that it helps with the start of the next one because you’re not thrown straight into action; you’re still at the Shell Cottage. They start planning their Gringotts break-in. And you’re not thrust back in to your second film straight away – allows them to separate them more clearly. You end on a dramatic scene and you start back on a slow foot in it and lead up to this big battle which we know will take up most of the second film. Because I know that was one of the things people…
Andrew: Yeah.
Nick: …have been concerned about was the – this is, I think, two-thirds of the book will be covered in the first film. And I know a lot of people…
Eric: Yes.
Nick: …were worried about…
Eric: Yes.
Nick: …well, what’s that going to leave for the second…
Andrew: I think that’s good news.
Nick: But yeah.
Andrew: I think that’s good news because…
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: …W.B. for a while has been saying that the second part’s going to be all about the battle. And that’s…
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: …been proven with this reveal of the split.
Eric: All that’s left…
Andrew: And also, with the Gringotts, that’s something to look forward to.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: Because we see – like Nick you mentioned, because it’s going to be – we hear them planning it, but obviously we don’t see it until Part 2, so that’s another sort-of cliff hanger.
Nick: Yeah, definitely.
Eric: Yeah.
Nick: It’s actually…
Andrew: Oh, we get to watch them go to Gringotts and break-in in Part 2.
Eric: In the U.S. edition, it’s almost exactly – Chapter 24 ends on page 501, and the book without the epilogue ends on 749. So we’re talking 500 pages in to the first movie and 250 pages in to the second movie.
Andrew: That’s a third. My math tells me that’s a third.
Eric: [laughs] That’s absolutely, unequivocally a third, so…
Andrew: And Matt decided to take a look at all the big scenes that were in Part 1 so now we know how many major scenes we will see in that first part. And there are quite a few.
Eric: This makes me happy..
Andrew: Yeah, we have…
Eric: …that you did this, Matt.
Matt: Oh thank you.
Eric: This makes me really happy.
Andrew: We have the Seven Potters, we have Harry and Scrimgeour talking, we have the Weasley wedding, we have Grimmauld Place, and the confrontment of Mundungus Fletcher…
Matt: Oh yeah, sorry.
Eric: Confrontation.
Matt: The confrontation.
Andrew: The confrontation of – with Mundungus Fletcher.
Matt: Thank you.
Andrew: We have Harry versus Lupin, that little fight. We have the entire Ministry scene including some Umbridge goodness. We have Harry versus Ron, their big fight. We have Hermione and Harry’s visit to Godric’s Hollow and the fight with Nagini in the little children’s playroom as we saw in the trailer. We have the destruction of the locket which we also saw in the trailer. We have the Tale of the Three Brothers. We have Malfoy manor, and then like we talked about, we have the death of Dobby and then Voldemort taking the Elder Wand. And I mentioned this on the last episode concerning all the footage that we saw at Comic Con, we do see that shot of Voldemort coming down face to face with Dumbledore in his grave. So that has to be one of the last shots from Part 1 and it’s got to be a very epic moment because you’re seeing dead Dumbledore right there and Voldemort just opening up his tomb and I think that’s going to make emotions run high too leading up to this big cliffhanger or this cliffhanger that’s being created right in that moment. It’s seeing dead Dumbledore, that’s horrible!
Matt: I’m very excited for this scene.
Eric: Yeah.
Matt: This is probably the best choice they really could have had if you think about it and how it falls with all the other events in Part 1. This is just so epic.
Eric: Yeah.
Matt: It’s like Voldemort has the upper hand. It’s almost like you’re questioning, “wow how is Harry going to defeat Voldemort now?”
Eric: Well I was not – I got to be honest until this episode of MuggleCast and until really this list that you did Matt, I was not terribly excited for Part 1 of Deathly Hallows. I mean I feel like most of the footage we saw – I feel was from Part 2. Maybe that’s inaccurate but I was convinced for a while that they were just going to release Deathly Hallows: Part 2 first, simply because of how much darn footage we saw from it. I was not getting a lot of feedback about Part 2. I did not see how it was going to play out. I didn’t know what was going to be in it. Thank God now that we have the split that I can begin looking forward to all of these scenes that you’ve listed.
Matt: I’ve got a question for you guys. Do you think it was a good idea they kept the split a secret for this long?
Intentional Announcement?
Andrew: Well I wanted to talk about this too. I don’t think this was supposed to get out. I don’t think W.B. every planned for Entertainment Weekly, of all people, to introduce it with a sentence going, “By the way…”
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: “The split is at Chapter 24.”
[Eric, Matt, and Micah laugh]
Andrew: That was not how they intended it to be.
Nick: I agree.
Andrew: I think somebody told Entertainment Weekly on set, and that was just a big mistake. I don’t think it was Heyman. I don’t think it was one of the directors. It must have been – Gosh, I don’t know!
Matt: An on-set crew member or somebody?
Andrew: We don’t even know – the worst part is – we don’t – I hate to say it, but we don’t know if it’s official official.
Eric: Or we don’t know who was saying.
Micah: That was the thing I was going to say. Well…
Andrew: Let’s say that Entertainment Weekly went on the set three or four months ago. They could have changed their minds since then. [laughs] So we don’t know.
Matt: Yeah. You would think they kept it this long, they would want to make an official announcement.
Eric: Yeah.
Nick: Especially now that it’s out there.
Andrew: I don’t think they wanted to say it at all because why bother. Why would you tell people?
Eric: Why would you not? They haven’t shown a damn thing about Part 1.
Andrew: Because you want a secret left for the book fans. That’s a fun secret. I think this was an accident.
Eric: I think seeing the books translated to films is a good experience. I don’t think where it’s split is really going to matter. But that’s just me.
Andrew: Well no, because some people – some of our listeners and on MuggleNet didn’t want to be spoiled and that’s because they want to – they don’t want to know. They want to be watching this film, and they want the cliffhanger to catch them by surprise.
Eric: I don’t really call it a spoiler.
Andrew: …they want the screen to go black and then go “What?”!
Eric: Yeah, that’s a good moment. I don’t really consider this a spoiler though. Because in previous movies you knew where they were going to end, because it was exactly where the book ended. So, it was never a question where a Harry Potter movie was going to end, until they decided to split this one. I don’t think knowing where it ends is really…
Matt: Yeah, no, I do agree with you Eric.
Eric: …a big spoiler.
Matt: But – so – it’s kind of a new thing though, because it’s not actually two different books it’s the same one and they split it in half.
Eric: Yeah.
Matt: Like where people who knew when the movie was going to end because it was the end of the book. This isn’t necessarily the end of the book, it’s somewhere in the middle and they kind of wanted to surprise everybody.
Eric and Andrew: Yeah.
Andrew: I just think it’s a surprise.
Matt: It’s something like that though – it’s something as big as the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows film, Part 1 and 2, the release of the split, that’s going to get leaked.
Eric: I’m surprised it hadn’t before. Maybe somebody left it in a bar, and maybe someone for EW picked it up.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: It happened to Apple. People said it would never happen to Apple, and it did. So…
Andrew: That’s true, that’s true. Yeah, I mean they’ve been secretive. When I was on the set, they didn’t say a thing. Well, of course, everyone was asking, but every time someone would ask, it was just like, “Oh, we don’t yet, we don’t know yet,” when they had an idea, they just don’t want to tell us.
[Nick laughs]
Andrew: And same thing with Heyman.
Micah: If you look at Entertainment Weekly, I mean, they’re obviously a very popular magazine, and they do these Harry Potter editions right before these movies come out. So, maybe they just got an exclusive. And if you look at that whole article, aside from the pictures that were in there, really the only thing that’s of any value, is when they talk about the split.
Andrew: Right! But that’s why I think that they didn’t know how big news this is, which is dumb for an entertainment magazine. That should be an on-the-cover!
Nick: [laughs] Yeah.
Eric: I don’t think they did, no, I don’t think-
Matt: Is it, is it not on the cover?
Andrew: No! Well, Harry Potter‘s on the cover…
Matt: No, yeah.
Andrew: But it doesn’t say, “The split – here’s the split.”
Matt: Yeah something that huge it has to be like, front and headline news on the cover.
Andrew: Because look at all the entertainment websites today. Every entertainment website is posting – by the way – posting our article, about the split.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: It’s big news!
Micah: Yeah well that’s the thing. They said it so matter-of-factly in the article. It’s like, “Oh it’s in Chapter 24, page 477.”
Andrew: And they started the sentence with, “By the way”.
Micah: “By the way…”.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: They did not know that this was important information.
Eric: You guys crack me up.
Matt: I’m giving you one of the few secrets left of this film.
Micah: Meanwhile we’ve done how many podcasts trying to figure out where the split would be…
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: Exactly.
Micah: We even talked to the producer and he wouldn’t help us.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: We have reported in the past alleged splits. I mean, one of the cast members a year ago said the split was – what was it? Right before…
Eric: Snatchers?
Andrew: No – right when they get caught by the snatchers.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: So, and it’s changed. It’s actually around that time. The guess was pretty close.
Eric: Well, yeah.
Matt: Maybe that was when they changed it. That was probably the original idea.
Eric: I feel like if this was the last inside scoop that Entertainment Weekly ever gets. [laughs] It was worth it because I don’t think there was a reason for them to withhold the split. As I’ve said before. I think it’s good that we’ve finally…
Andrew: Oh absolutely.
Eric: At least it might not be official official, but Warner Bros. hasn’t said, “Please take that news post down.” So it’s…
Andrew: Well here’s the other thing.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: We got a report the other day about alleged footage that appeared in Japan during a Harry Potter event.
Eric: Right, did that not happen?
Andrew: And all the Harry Potter sites posted about it. It was fake! And W.B. did not tell us it was fake.
Eric: Oh, no!
Andrew: [laughs] They just let all the sites go. So that’s why I dont really trust them if the split, whether it’s accurate or not. I don’t think they would tell us.
Micah: Well did anybody tell you what the actual footage was? Was it just the same stuff that appeared at Comic Con?
Andrew: No, it was different. But we have a whole description on our site.
Andrew: We have a whole description on our site, it’s like a whole…
Micah: Yeah, but it’s not real.
Eric: But that event…
Matt: Is it the video?
Andrew: No, it’s just text but we trusted somebody…
Eric: It didn’t happen at all. Like, the screening happened. Right? The screening in multiple cities.
Andrew: Right. So they should have told us it was…
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah, but no new Deathly Hallows footage aired at all! They only played the ABC Family clips.
Eric: [laughs] Who sent us that review? Seriously, that’s not cool.
Micah: Yeah, that’s not cool.
Andrew: So anything else to say, guys, about this split that was, by the way, leaked by Entertainment Weekly?
Matt: I’m excited.
Andrew: Yeah, I’m excited, I think it’s perfect. I really do. And by the way, if you look after that chapter, they practically go right into Gringotts! So Part 2 will open with Shell Cottage and they’ll head straight off to Gringotts. And boom, there’s the action.
Micah: Yes, what Nick was saying before I think, it gives sort of an opening to Part 2 of Deathly Hallows, that right sort of slow pace before you get back into the action. It’s not just going to open up with fighting. Just the way Part 1 will open up with Malfoy Manor and the killing of that teacher.
Matt: Well, I’m looking at the U.S version of Deathly Hallows and the picture for Chapter 25, “Shell Cottage”, is just Harry sitting on a cliff looking out and Shell Cottage in the background. He’s just looking out at the cliffs. I think that would be an awesome scene…
Micah: Yeah.
Matt: …to start the movie in.
Micah: I agree.
Nick: Powerful as well, sitting there thinking about what’s ahead of him.
Andrew: “What lies in front of me?”
Micah: The question I have for you guys is – I think Eric mentioned before that this chapter ends on page 501 of the books. How long do you think that will make Deathly Hallows Part 1? In terms of time.
..
Andrew: I think they are aiming for about two, two-and-a-half hours for each.
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: They got plenty of material to fill in Part 2. We just went through the list of big scenes, plus all that other BS in between all these big scenes, so I think that there’s plenty to look forward to. [laughs]
Matt: But do you think that they probably, since it’s two thirds of the book basically, that they’re going to cut a lot of scenes out, if they’re both going to be around the same time?
Andrew: But there’s a lot of time camping in the first half of the book…
[Micah laughs]
Andrew: …so that’s why I think it is good…
Matt: Yeah, that’s true.
Andrew: …that they’re dedicating – they’re putting two thirds of the book into Part 1. That way they can take out some of the camping stuff.
Matt: And we’re all excited just for the battle, so good thing we’re going to have two and a half hours…
MuggleCast 205 Transcript (continued)
The Rating
Micah: And the rating – PG-13 probably, for both of them.
Andrew: Yeah, I think so. You see a dead house elf in…
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: …Part 1. I can see at least a PG-13 if you ask me.
Micah: Well Mad-Eye dies pretty much right at the very beginning…
Andrew: Right. Right.
Micah: …of the movie.
Matt: And a freaking snake comes out of Bathilda Bagshot’s mouth! [laughs]
Micah: I’m sure that’s not the first time.
Matt: Oh my god.
[Eric, Matt and Nick laugh]
Listener Tweets
Andrew: Well we got some feedback about this. We asked through our MuggleCast Twitter, “What did you think of the split?” And here’s a few pieces of your feedback. Grace said:
“All I can see is a dead figure on the floor, Voldemort picking up the wand, some dramatic music, and then black out. Not excited!”
So Grace isn’t too happy about that build-up. I guess just because it’s a – I don’t know, I don’t get what her issue is.
Micah: Who’s on the floor.
Matt: I think at first glance…
Andrew: Dumbledore’s on the floor.
Matt: …your first impression of the ending, without really thinking of it – it is kind of sub-par to some of the other scenes in the book, like Eric said. But if you go through the chapters and see what actually goes on, to me it made more sense. At first I was like, “Oh, okay. I can take it or leave it.” But if you put it in context, it makes sense and it seems like the perfect ending for Part 1.
Andrew: Because it’s telling the viewer, Voldemort is in control of this wand that Harry was just talking to Ollivander about, this wand that nobody else can defeat, so that’s why it’s so important.
Eric: Right.
Micah: Yeah, I think what you mentioned this before, you saw the scene but I can only imagine the chills it will send down people’s spines to see Voldemort hovering over Dumbledore’s dead body.
Andrew: Oh yeah, definitely.
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: By the way, it was a very quick shot I did not see the entire scene or anything, it was very quick. But Dumbledore was lying on his back – so Dumbledore’s taking up the bottom half of the screen and then Voldemort comes over top of him and he’s taking up the top half. And it’s a very, very close shot, you can see every last whisker on Dumbledore’s face. So other feedback, Kyle says:
“Now that I think about it, Voldemort getting the Elder Wand seems like a perfect place to end ‘Part 1’.”
Jenny says:
“Never thought of the split to be then, but a good idea still has a lot of tension and a good lead-in for ‘Part 2’.”
Paige says:
“I honestly think they should split it where Dobby is killed and they end up at Shell Cottage, it just seems like a good place.”
Do you guys agree with that? You can’t end it on a house elf dying.
Matt: I think that’s too sad, that’s depressing, no way.
Andrew: Sarah says:
“Can’t you hear the music now? ‘It swells to insane heights then comes to a screeching halt as Voldy holds the Elder Wand.’ Very dramatic.”
I agree with Sarah there. And finally, Dreyesbo says:
“Perfect. Leaves you with an ‘Empire Strikes Back’ feeling of how are they going to win this?”
Matt: Oh! I like this.
Andrew: Matt totally stole this from this girl earlier when he…
Matt: I did not! I swear I did not steal this!
Andrew: Sure.
Matt: It’s common knowledge. This person obviously knows their movies.
Micah: Yeah Andrew, just because you haven’t seen Star Wars doesn’t mean other people can’t…
Andrew: I have not.
Nick: I’ve not seen it either.
Matt: He refuses.
Andrew: I may have to see this one just to get an idea of what a good cliffhanger’s like, but anyway, Dreyesbo says:
“Also, it has a climax: Malfoy Manor, an emotional punch: Dobby, and a cliffhanger: Elder Wand.”
I agree with her – or him – 110%. So anyway, there’s some other news going on that we’re going to talk about. Go ahead, Micah.
News: Premieres
Micah: Also earlier this week, Emma Watson on Twitter launched her ‘Join the Final Battle’ campaign to give away a hundred tickets to the world premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. By Andrew’s astute calculation, he figured out that a hundred days from the date that Emma Watson gave would be on November the 11th…
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: …so that is when…
Andrew: [laughs] No, no, no.
Nick: No, that’s in the terms and conditions.
Andrew: A hundred days until the film comes out.
Micah: Oh, it’s in the terms and conditions.
Andrew: Yeah, Nick had covered that as well as some other…
Micah: I was giving you credit here for figuring this out.
Andrew: That’s not credit, that’s embarrassment. I would not sit there and count a hundred days down.
Micah: Yes, you would.
Andrew: ‘Let’s see. Tomorrow would be 99, and the next day’s 98.’
Micah: Well, it’s not that hard to figure…
Andrew: No, you’re right.
Micah: Anyway, the world premiere of Part 1 in the United Kingdom will take place on November the 11th.
Andrew: Right.
Micah: So everybody’s excited, right? Nick, you’re excited?
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: I did do math during this part…
Micah: Is it going to rain?
Nick: Definitely
Andrew: It will rain. I did do this math: If the world premiere is on the 11th, which is a Thursday, then the U.S. premiere will likely be after the world premiere, because the world premiere has to be first; it’s the world – will be either November 15th or 16th because the premieres in the U.S. are always on a Monday or Tuesday. So if you’re in the U.S., if you’re in the New York or L.A. area, I recommend mark off that little spot on your calendar, 15th or 16th for the premiere. I think that’s – unless they move the opening to a Wednesday for the film, which is completely possible – then the premiere may be a little bit earlier? Right now it’s set for the 19th, could move to the 17th. But anyway…
Micah: And I’d bet on New York.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: I just have a feeling about that.
Andrew: Well, plus Dan’s going to be in New York for the musical that Eric is coaching him in.
Micah: But he can’t even lend his voice to a video game, who says he’s going to show up at the premiere?
Emma’s Hair
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah, too good for it now. Well, speaking of Emma, there was a picture of her standing in front of a “100 days until Deathly Hallows: Part 1“. Frankly, I don’t think there should be a hundred days countdown for this one. I think it should be for the next one, because that’s the final one. There – God, I can’t imagine what they’re planning, but I hope it’s huge. It has to be a huge countdown. But anyway, so we saw Emma posing in front of a banner saying “100 days” and of course she’s got the new haircut that everyone’s been talking about.
Nick: It makes me want to cry…
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Nick: …and weep. I love Emma but I – unless she’s a listener, in which case, yes, I love it, Emma. But I had to go Google pictures of her old hairstyle to – I missed it. It’s not good.
Andrew: Yeah, a lot of people freaked out. I don’t know, some people are just so harsh on the internet. But I like it. I don’t think it’s bad.
Nick: I’m happy for her because it’s something she said she wanted to do, isn’t it?
Andrew: Yeah. She felt so relieved.
Nick: And it’s none of our business if we like it or not.
Andrew: Listen, I mean – gosh, some people are just so mean, period.
Nick: I feel bad now. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah. Well, the question now is will she keep it or will she grow it back? If she grows it back she must not have liked it, she was lying to Entertainment Weekly when she said she loved it.
Matt: What is this, a contract you have with your hairdresser?
Andrew: I’m just saying if she doesn’t want to keep it we’ll see it grow back in and it should be back to normal length by maybe Part 2.
Matt: Maybe it’s her winter cut or something. Maybe she wanted less hair. Maybe she was tired of it.
Andrew: So anyway, this ‘Join the Final Battle’ campaign, it’s only open to U.K. residents unfortunately, but it is pretty cool. I mean, a hundred tickets. That is a pretty big part of the premiere area that they are dedicating to contest winners, so that’s cool. What else is going on, Micah?
News: Harry Potter: The Exhibition
Micah: Harry Potter: The Exhibition is heading to the West Coast!
Andrew: Oh good, good, good! It’s coming to Los Angeles, right? Like I hoped?
Micah: No. Seattle.
Andrew: What?
[Nick laughs]
Micah: Sorry Andrew.
Andrew: This is the stupidest and – okay, I got to be honest. I have a friend who lives in Seattle who is very excited about this. But this is the stupidest thing. Why [sighs] Seattle? Why?
Matt: Why is it not in Southern California? No, that is true. There is…
Andrew: And by the way…
Matt: …no reason…
Andrew: …this is the…
Matt: …for it not to be.
Andrew: …final stop on the U.S. tour, so it’s not coming…
Matt: No!
Micah: Well, here is the problem – now here is the problem and – that I do sympathize with people within – and look, I realize that this hasn’t gone abroad yet, and it will, so people can relax. It will go out of this country. But it stayed in the north. I mean, Chicago, Boston, then it went up to Canada, and then over to Seattle. This is the northern part really of the United States and I guess southern part of Canada, but it didn’t go anywhere else.
Andrew: That’s true.
Micah: I mean, it didn’t go down south at all. It didn’t go to, say – to Florida. It didn’t…
Matt: Texas.
Micah: Yeah, exactly. So – I mean, there is a large percentage of the country that – here, and let’s face it, the largest proportion of Harry Potter fans are in this country just by the number of books and – that have been sold. So, it missed a very large percentage of the population here by staying strictly in the north. And I am interested as to why they decided to kind of stay in that geographic region, not go anywhere else.
Happy Birthday Micah
Andrew: I have an idea. I think this has nothing to do with picking those cities. I think what happens is they pick a general area and then they say, “Okay, start bidding.” So I think in this case – in the case of Seattle, all these West Coast contenders bid for the exhibition and Seattle had the largest bid. Final news item for today is a special one to all of our hearts. Micah Tannenbaum is having a birthday on August 17th. Happy Birthday Micah!
Micah: Thank you!
Nick: Woo! Happy Birthday!
Matt: Oh, Happy Birthday Micah! How old are you turning?
Micah: Thank you! What’s that?
Matt: How old are you turning?
Micah: I will be 28 years young.
Andrew: That’s very nice.
Matt: Oh, that’s it? Oh, that’s nothing…
Micah: That’s it!
Matt: …at all.
Micah: What? Were you expecting me to say 30 or something like that?
Happy Birthday Ben
Andrew: [laughs] And a related birthday news, our own Ben Schoen is also – is having a birthday on August 24th. He is turning the big 21. So, lots of birthdays…
Micah: That’s it?
Andrew: …this time of year.
Matt: [laughs] Yeah.
Andrew: And he is…
Matt: [laughs] That’s what I said.
Andrew: …only 21.
[Nick laughs]
Andrew: Only 21. He is beyond his years…
Micah: He is.
Andrew: …as I like to say.
Micah: Wise beyond his years.
Matt: Andrew is older than Ben. That is…
Andrew: Well…
Micah: That’s scary.
Muggle Mail: Motif of Losing Bones
Andrew: …that always made sense to me. Let’s get to Muggle Mail now. This first e-mail comes from Sarah, 19, of Connecticut. She writes:
“Hey guys! As a long time listener, I have been with you since the beginning. I love when you guys do Chapter-by-Chapter because it helps me relive the books when I don’t have time to actually re-read them. However, I work at a daycare and things can get pretty boring at nap-time, so I started re-reading the seventh book. When I came to Chapter 18, ‘The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore,’ one of the lines struck me as ridiculously familiar. On page 350 of the American hardcover, J.K. Rowling writes, ‘He had spilled his own blood more times than he could count; he had lost all the bones in his right arm once.’ I then realized that I had just heard Andrew say those exact words on the last MuggleCast when he quoted Chapter 2 of ‘The Goblet of Fire.’ I love that this one line is so reminiscent and humorous that it became a type of small motif. Also, re-reading ‘Harry Potter 7’ makes me think of how kick-ass the Hogwarts professors are. I may just spend all of ‘Part 2’ running around the theater not even knowing what to do with myself. These movies are going to be incredible (knock on wood). Thanks for reading, Sarah.”
That was a cool catch. And good timing too. If – have we had never done that Chapter-by-Chapter segment that week and I didn’t have my brilliant little segment there on all the reviewing that Jo does in the beginning of each book, who knows if that ever would have been caught.
Micah: She does bring up a good point though. I mean, I’m kind of looking forward to the professors. I guess it would be more in Part 2, but there is a lot of cool scenes that take place…
Andrew: Oh, yeah.
Micah: …and especially with – is it McGonagall who sort of mobilizes the entire…
Andrew: Brings the statues to life.
Micah: …statues to life.
Andrew: Yes, she does. Okay, Nick, could you read the next e-mail from Melissa?
Muggle Mail: Milking Nagini
Nick: Sure. This is from Melissa, she is 15 and from Utah. And she writes:
“Hey guys! So I was listening to you guys talking about ‘Goblet of Fire’ in Episode 204 and wondering what Voldemort meant by ‘milking Nagini.’ Well, later on in the book on page 656, Voldemort tells his Death Eaters that by using a few spells of his own invention and a potion concocted from unicorn blood and Nagini’s venom, he was able to return to a rudimentary weak body of his own. Voldemort needed Wormtail’s help to collect the venom. That’s what he meant by milking her. Hope this helps. You guys rock! I listen…”
Micah: Didn’t we come to that conclusion? Yes, snakes don’t have nipples at least as far as I know.
Andrew: Okay. And Micah, could you read that final e-mail for us?
Muggle Mail: Cakes
Micah: Sure. Last e-mail comes from Michael Young, 18, of Virginia, and he says:
“Hey guys! I actually had this cool story of me meeting awesome people at the ‘Wizarding World’ and the ‘Potter’ community being more accepting of randomness than most, but I couldn’t find the right words to condense it well, so I’ll move to the second part of my letter. Andrew, you can wrap a cake in Saran Wrap and foil, and it will be good for a few weeks to a few months. I have never pit a cake in the fridge…”
I think he meant “put” a cake in the fridge.
“…unless it had ice cream. Love the show! Keep up the good work.”
Andrew: I don’t know. Matt had a special container for my cake in Vegas and it went bad after a day or two. Any comment on that, Matt?
Micah: Oh, this was with…
Matt: No, it didn’t go bad.
Micah: …the rock cakes thing?
Andrew: The what? No, it was not the stripper. [laughs]
Micah: No, I said the rock cakes. What is he talking about? We…
Andrew: Oh, Harry…
Micah: Last episode?
Andrew: …in – he put cakes under his floorboard that he…
Micah: Oh.
Andrew: …kept for a while, and I was, like, how could that…
Micah: That’s right.
Andrew: …stay good? I don’t – I guess he is right. Maybe Michael is like that dude on Cake Boss on TLC. He knows what’s up.
Matt: Well, there is different types of cakes too. I mean…
Andrew: The ‘keeps nice under’ – covered…
Matt: Well…
Andrew: …kind of cakes?
Matt: …maybe they were Tastykakes, Andrew.
Micah: Those things will never go bad.
Matt: Yeah. I mean, like Hostess Twinkies and stuff. I mean…
Micah: Yeah.
Matt: …they could be called cakes.
Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul
Andrew: All right, fair enough. Geez. And finally today, the Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul comes from Scarlett, 17, of New York City. She writes:
“Hello MuggleCasters, I just wanted to send you an e-mail telling you how thankful I am for your show. I’m attending high school right now, and many people think I’m perfect because I’m pretty popular and head cheerleader.”
By the way, this girl is just like me in my days at high school.
“But I’m not the stereotypical blonde cheerleader as you think. I am currently living with OCD and it basically takes over my life. I have a fear of being contaminated and being called conceited. Also, I am positive bisexual, so that is one of the major contributions to my OCD. But every time I listen to your show, all of a sudden, I stop worrying about the things in my life, which is very rare. I hope you keep up the great work and thank you for what you have done for me. Love, Scarlett.”
So, thank you Scarlett for that. That was very nice. And the P.S. at the bottom:
“Andrew is my favorite.”
So, I thought that was very nice. But honest to God, I do not see those little messages at the bottom until I…
[Matt makes loud coughing noises]
Andrew: …actually get to them – until I already decide to use the e-mail.
Show Close
[Show music begins]
Andrew: Honest to God. Well, we had a good discussion about Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Part 2, that whole split situation today. I’m sure a lot of you have some feedback about it. So if you do, visit MuggleCast.com and click on ‘Contact’ at the top, and there you will find the feedback form to contact us and let us know if you agree or disagree with anything that we had to say. You can also visit MuggleCast.com to follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, find a variety of links all surrounding the wonderful world of MuggleCast. Something fun I don’t think we have plugged on the show yet, on MuggleCast.com – just go right there and right towards the top, you’ll see a video that I made – it is our trailer analysis merged with stills from the trailer, so as you watch us talk – as you listen to us talk, you can watch the scenes in the trailer that we’re talking about. If you have already listened to our trailer analysis show, it’s still pretty interesting to watch because you can actually see the scenes that we’re talking about and you get a better idea of exactly what on earth we were talking about during that episode.
Micah: That’s really cool.
Andrew: Yeah, thanks. I – fun little side project that I think people…
Micah: And…
Andrew: …needed.
Micah: …I would think – we should be getting a trailer for Part 1 probably pretty soon.
Andrew: I think you’re right. I think you’re right. We will get high-res stills on Monday from that Entertainment Weekly feature, I guarantee it. And we’ll talk about those on the next episode, I’m sure. I’m Andrew Sims.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: I’m Matt Britton.
Nick: And I’m Nick Myers.
Andrew: Thanks everyone for listening! We’ll be back next time with Chapter-by-Chapter and a whole lot more. Buh-bye!
[Show music continues]