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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Getting Cut in Two and Yates Directing
March 12, 2008
Source: LA Times
by Kevin Powers
Last month we brought you a bit of news that Harry Potter producer David Barron was inserting an additional scene into the currently in-production Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - an unconventional move since the Potter series' sheer volume has more often necessitated cutting material. While we don't yet expect a similar move with the seventh book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we did receive news today via the LA Times that director David Yates is confronting the Potter material in an equally interesting way: cutting the final story into two movies.
Did I also mention that Yates will, in fact, return as director? Despite many rumors and speculation to the contrary, including the idea that Guillermo del Toro would helm the film, Yates is our guy. (Somewhat sad, since I love del Toro). So, being the captain, Yates and crew have decided that Deathly Hollows will be a two-part conclusion. The news is a bit surprising, but the execution seems even more difficult.
Firstly, the idea of separating Deathly Hollows is rife with greedy speculation. The decision seems like it would be an easy one for Warner Brothers given that the series has made more than $4.5 billion at the box office worldwide. Of course, they'd want to double their fun in the last installment. However, producer David Heyman pleadingly denounces such a hypothesis: "I swear to you it was born out of purely creative reasons. Unlike every other book, you cannot remove elements of this book."
Franchise star Daniel Radcliffe echoes this sentiment, as well. "I think it's the only way you can do it without cutting out a huge portion of the book." And to be sure, a lot would have to be cut from the 759-page tome before it would fit comfortably into a single movie. And while you could rightly point out that Order of the Phoenix was lengthier at 896, Heyman has a perspective on why Deathly Hollows is harder to piece out. "You can remove scenes of Ron playing quidditch from the fifth book, and you can remove Hermione and S.P.E.W. [Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare] and those subplots … but with the seventh, that can't be done."
So all in all, it's surprising that this move is not overtly monetarily focused and actually makes sense for the adaptation of the story.
However, it's not going to be easy. While Radcliffe supports the creative reasoning for the separation, he contradicts himself a bit in the next breathe. "There have been compartmentalized subplots in the other books that have made them easier to cut…but the seventh book doesn't really have any subplots. It's one driving, pounding story from the word go."
So how do you divide "one driving pounding story" into two parts? At least Heyman accepts this as being the major question at play. "How do you make them one but two separate and distinct stories? Do you break it with a moment of suspense or one of resolution? These are the interesting challenges. But each book has presented its challenges."
The largest fear in breaking the story is loosing the momentum and magic of the Potter stories. Deathly Hollows is the final chapter in one of the most compelling fantasy tales of our time. I'd hate to see a stutter-start to the series' powerful conclusion, and hope Heyman, Yates and others can still mold a complete, satisfying and fitting end.
Harry Potter fans - what do you think, is this a good idea or a bad one?
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Reader Feedback - 17 Comments »
1
Great, great idea! I love it!
Shit, I can not wait to have them all. I'm hoping they make them around 2 and a half hours each though. This makes me very excited (and Yates especially, as I loved OOTP!)
Woohoo!
Sam on Mar 12, 2008
2
That's one way to milk a franchise.
Nunya on Mar 12, 2008
3
They did it with Kill Bill.
Make them into 2 movies and release them a couple months apart.
Heckle on Mar 12, 2008
4
I was hoping they'd do something like this.
Good on them.
Rob on Mar 12, 2008
5
Just how I wanted it. It will break with suspense I assume. I can't remember the book very well right now for some reason, but
(this is a SPOILER, i guess, if you havent read the book/s)
the book revolves mainly around the searching for and destroying items called horcruxes, which will hopefully defeat voldemort, and so it the film will break with the group about to find one, finding one, or setting off to find one? I truly can't remember the details of the book at all right now or Id make a guess at where it would break.
Keith on Mar 13, 2008
6
i can guess where the movie might split up, and this is a pretty big SPOILER if you havent read the last one, it might be split right after ron abandons Harry and Hermione. this is a good way to avoid losing bits of the book cause it really is just one story with no sub plots, but i hope it doesnt just suck. thats all i want
Alexander on Mar 13, 2008
7
I like the fact that its split in 2…………to big of a book to cut it in half
I do however want a new director. Yates has done a good job with the last film and he is doing HBP
right now. They need to give it to someone else. TIM BURTON or STEPHEN SPIELBERG would make a great Deathly Hallows give them chance. Its the last books give them the BLOCKBUSTER status they deserve
…JMO
SHANE D on Mar 13, 2008
8
#6, that is a real good place to cut it! This is one decision I like and DO NOT think this has to do anything with "milking" the franchise but I am sure the guys in suits didn't mind the decision either. I just hoped they are released close together. Maybe one in early summer and one in December?
Ryan on Mar 13, 2008
10
Finally, the smartest thing they ever done. The fifth movie skipped so much and disappointed many Potter fans. I heard the Deathly Hallows 1 releases November 2010 and #2 releases May 2011. Thats great being only 6 months apart! This would not disappoint Potter fans like the fifth one. I CAN'T WAIT!
Brie on Mar 13, 2008
11
Ryan, luckily imdb is not a credible source when it comes to release dates that are years off.
What Brie said makes a lot of sense, as the second half of the 2-parter will do HUGE box office, and so a May release date makes the most sense, not November.
Keith on Mar 13, 2008
12
its a awsome idea for making suspense but i think that the two parts shouldnt be released too far apart id say no more than 3 months otherwise you'd watch the first part and be like wow but then by the time you get to watching the 2nd part you would have to watch the first part again to get into it.
one other thing i dont think that they should call the films deathly hallows part 1 and 2 they should split the name or something. the title is one of the things that attract people.
kcrazy monkey,
cya dudes….
) on Mar 14, 2008
13
I think 3 months would be better than 6 too. 6 is too long… It would even be cool if they were released at the same time and you could see them back to back with like a half hour or hour intermission. I'd do it. Other big fans would…. if its not about the money then why not?
Matt on Mar 17, 2008
14
Not Yates! Please not Yates! He can't get a single good performance out of any actor, and he butchered OOTP to pieces. We want Alfonso Cuaron!!!!! And also, why spend so much time on Deathly Hallows, it was by far the worst of the books.
William on Apr 3, 2008
15
I think its a great idea to break deathly hallows into two movies because there is so much they have to go over and if they cut a lot of things out it just wouldn't be right. There has been so much cut out of the other movies and it was kinda disappointing so i would hate for them to destroy the story in the 7th movie just so they can rush it into theaters.
Brittany on May 16, 2008
16
This is exactly what I hoped for since I read the book! My friends and I all said we would hate the world if they cut up Deathly Hallows like they did with the last three! I'm still smarting from the complete cut of every house elf but Dobby, I REALLY wanted to see that kitchen! Anyway, hearing this made my day!
Jocie on Jun 3, 2008
17
I think that cutting the book into two seprate movies is a good idea. I have always felt that JK ROWLING needed two books to finish up the story properly. I read the final book several times and I always feel a bit rushed. 
rangermouse on Jun 24, 2008