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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - my fan screenplay

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Hi guys,

I just wrote my own screenplay adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I figured some of you might be interested in taking a look at it, since adapting a novel to screen is not dissimilar to making a fan edit.

It's up at http://www.amazming.com/screenplays/harrypotter7/.

I'd love to hear what you think!

Cheers,
Ming.
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I only looked through some of my favorite parts, but that was amazing! I loved in the final battle cutting between Harry in limbo and movie 4 and 6. You are really talented with adapted screenplays. It's a shame there wasn't someone as imaginative as you writing them.
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It's a shame there wasn't someone as imaginative as you writing them.


Who knows? Some of the WB execs might see this and decide to use it. (Hehe, yeah right.)
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That would be the day . Alfonso needs to come back for that movie. He was the only director that "got it".
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I'm of two minds with PoA. On the one hand, I really liked Alfonso's cinematography -- but of the first five movies, I felt that the adaptation was the weakest (I personally like the adaptation of GoF most, possibly followed by CoS).
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I see what your saying. Several things got moved around and changed which can be irritating but I think it was the strongest followed up by GOF.
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I have no problem with things getting changed and moved around (as you can see from my own screenplay of Hallows) but I feel there was a lot of information in the novel that (I thought) was important but that the filmmakers didn't even attempt to convey. Also, I think the movie was too short. Both the Azkaban and Phoenix movies could have benefited from an extra 15-30 minutes of clarifying dialogue and other stuff.

In any case, the time travel aspect of Azkaban always bothered me. I think making time travel a possibility in Harry's world was the single worst mistake that Rowling made in the series, because that leads to the question -- why didn't Aurors USE them to stop Voldemort before he gained power? Or, if they were a recent invention and they couldn't go back too far, why not go back and stop Voldemort from coming back in GoF? Etc. etc. I love stories about time travel but only if that's the driving force behind the story (like Back to the Future, Lightning by Dean Koontz, etc.). Otherwise, introducing that factor tends to muddle things up.
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I personally prefer the first two movies, both in the general feel and attention to detail. I felt like OotP was just a best-of montage of the book, but I liked its cinematography best out of the three post-Columbus films (especially the opening scenes).

http://i.imgur.com/7N84TM8.jpg

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Yeah, I agree that I just don't see where all the Columbus hate comes from. He certainly was the best at accomplishing the notion that the movies should follow the books. With the later books being so big and necessitating large cutting and reworking, I'm not sure how he'd fare, but he did do pretty well with those first two. Admittedly, parts of the first movie were a bit sappy, but I love Chamber of Secrets to this day. I loved Cuaron's style, but I hated how really important stuff was lost. Mike Newell did a great job with Goblet of Fire. I felt he was able to maintain everything that was truly important as well as add in several little touches that set it apart. I've only seen OotP once, but David Yates seems to have been able to accomplish something similar. So while I like Cuaron's style, I feel Azkaban is the weakest of the movies, and the series is still suffering from it (most notably the sudden inclusion of the nicknames Wormtail and Padfoot, which have no precedent for being used).

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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It's a shame real talent isn't being utilized now a day--(btw, great screen play!) there was a time where someone in a suit would have came up to you and asked you for a meeting (like in many vocalists case, singing as an unknown!) or some bigwig actually sifting through scripts sent in to the studio------now it's all about $$....not talent..
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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
Mike Newell did a great job with Goblet of Fire. I felt he was able to maintain everything that was truly important as well as add in several little touches that set it apart.


I agree completely. Goblet of Fire was my favorite book and the movie captured so much of what made it good. it wasn't how I would have done everything, but there's nothing I can directly complain about.

This last book was good too. So many of the scenes at the end were making me sob practically. Two parts even made me laugh and cry at the same time. When the movie for the seventh book is made, it needs to follow the book well. Rowling has definitely cemented herself as one of my favorite story-inventors ever.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

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Originally posted by: wmgan
In any case, the time travel aspect of Azkaban always bothered me. I think making time travel a possibility in Harry's world was the single worst mistake that Rowling made in the series, because that leads to the question -- why didn't Aurors USE them to stop Voldemort before he gained power? Or, if they were a recent invention and they couldn't go back too far, why not go back and stop Voldemort from coming back in GoF? Etc. etc. I love stories about time travel but only if that's the driving force behind the story (like Back to the Future, Lightning by Dean Koontz, etc.). Otherwise, introducing that factor tends to muddle things up.


I've actually been thinking about this, because you made me think about it in a way I hadn't considered before. But ultimately I realized why it wouldn't be able to work. Based on the book (and even more apparent in the movie) is that Rowling's view of a time travel is a fixed timeline, unlike, say, Back to the Future, where you can actually change events. For example, Harry saving himself and Hermione with the Patronus in all instances of that timeline, not just when he went back and did it. If Voldemort could have been stopped that way, then it would have already happened, and it obviously didn't.

More importantly, and probably logistically why no Auror would try it is because it would create a horrible paradox. If they did destroy Voldemort in the past, there would be no reason in the future for them to go back to the past and attempt it, which means that no one would, so Voldemort wouldn't be defeated, etc...

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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I like Columbus's adaptions of SS/PS and COS the best. OOTP was beautifully done, and the score was very good. I liked the use of montages, also. Helped show what was going on without spending to much time doing it. POA was ok. It just had some serious plotholes, and unresolved issues. GOF was a little bit better than POA, but I felt the cinematography was kind of bland after POA. Plus, I can not stand the score for GOF.


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Originally posted by: Tiptup
Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
Mike Newell did a great job with Goblet of Fire. I felt he was able to maintain everything that was truly important as well as add in several little touches that set it apart.


I agree completely. Goblet of Fire was my favorite book and the movie captured so much of what made it good. it wasn't how I would have done everything, but there's nothing I can directly complain about.

This last book was good too. So many of the scenes at the end were making me sob practically. Two parts even made me laugh and cry at the same time. When the movie for the seventh book is made, it needs to follow the book well. Rowling has definitely cemented herself as one of my favorite story-inventors ever.

I agree, I was laughing and crying and everything. J. K. Rowling has such an amazing talent that is so rare today.

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Originally posted by: Marvolo
Plus, I can not stand the score for GOF.


We're obviously of two different minds because I think that's my favorite score. It's certainly the only Harry Potter soundtrack CD I've ever gotten. What do you not like about it?

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
Originally posted by: Marvolo
Plus, I can not stand the score for GOF.


We're obviously of two different minds because I think that's my favorite score. It's certainly the only Harry Potter soundtrack CD I've ever gotten. What do you not like about it?


I really don't know. I wish I did so I could get over it, but something about it just irks me. I think it might be, because it was more of an action score than an epic, sweeping score. I like music that can make you cry. Something that really tears at your emotions and I didn't feel that with GOF. This is the type of music I like: Message For The Queen


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Originally posted by: Marvolo
I really don't know. I wish I did so I could get over it, but something about it just irks me. I think it might be, because it was more of an action score than an epic, sweeping score. I like music that can make you cry. Something that really tears at your emotions and I didn't feel that with GOF. This is the type of music I like: Message For The Queen


Interesting debate. I remember the music being good in GoF, but I don't think it matched the story in an emotional sense. I remember that when I was reading GoF and the wands made their connection at the end, I was shaking with shock, sadness, and tension during that entire scene. I actually went so far as to invent a haunting Phoenix birdsong on the spot and it gave me goosebumps. The movie seemed to have completely forgotten about the birdsong at that part, however. It seemed to miss much of the dark, somber mood of that battle. That made me disappointed. A sad but powerful song was best suited there.

The movie captured Goblet's humor and the nature of the tri-wizard tests perfectly though, and the final battle still works very well despite not being what I would have wanted.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

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I like the first two Potter movies the best.
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Originally posted by: Tiptup
Originally posted by: Marvolo
I really don't know. I wish I did so I could get over it, but something about it just irks me. I think it might be, because it was more of an action score than an epic, sweeping score. I like music that can make you cry. Something that really tears at your emotions and I didn't feel that with GOF. This is the type of music I like: Message For The Queen


Interesting debate. I remember the music being good in GoF, but I don't think it matched the story in an emotional sense. I remember that when I was reading GoF and the wands made their connection at the end, I was shaking with shock, sadness, and tension during that entire scene. I actually went so far as to invent a haunting Phoenix birdsong on the spot and it gave me goosebumps. The movie seemed to have completely forgotten about the birdsong at that part, however. It seemed to miss much of the dark, somber mood of that battle. That made me disappointed. A sad but powerful song was best suited there.

The movie captured Goblet's humor and the nature of the tri-wizard tests perfectly though, and the final battle still works very well despite not being what I would have wanted.


My favorite memories of the score were the end of the maze when Harry and Cedric raced for the cup. The music pumps me up for that every time, and I don't mind that that's totally different than how the book presented it. And I also loved the Hogwarts March when Harry reappeared after the graveyard. The counterpoint of the music to the emotion was done so well that it actually made me cry the first two times I saw it.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
And I also loved the Hogwarts March when Harry reappeared after the graveyard. The counterpoint of the music to the emotion was done so well that it actually made me cry the first two times I saw it.


Yes, that was done very well and got to me in the same way. Makes me think that if the graveyard itself had been more sad that the tragic return would have been even more powerful. Still, I can't complain about the film. I liked it a lot. I've seen it four times now since it came out and I'm still enjoying it.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

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wmgan, I read your screenplay and enjoyed it. have you done others?
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No -- previously I've only written some parodies (like a Star Wars-esque "Episode VI: The Return of Voldemort" -- before HBP came out -- I recently wrote a slightly more refined "3-minute Deathly Hallows ala George Lucas" that I'll put up on my website shortly). And whenever I read a novel, I'm always thinking about how to translate it to the big screen. But this is the first complete screenplay adaptation I've written down. I have a film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera fully fleshed out in my mind that I plan to write down soon (it's more faithful to the novel than any movie or theatrical production I've seen or read about, though I plan to give it more backstory via flashbacks). I might tackle HBP if I have the time though I probably won't because it's not as fun a project as Hallows -- I don't envy Kloves' job of adapting HBP into a movie! It's all flashbacks and has maybe a half hour of plot and action. Another movie adaptation that I've had in my mind is The Dark is Rising -- so imagine my surprise when I heard that was actually going to be made into a movie! The trailer didn't really capture me though, so I don't know if I'll like the final product.
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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I've actually been thinking about this, because you made me think about it in a way I hadn't considered before. But ultimately I realized why it wouldn't be able to work. Based on the book (and even more apparent in the movie) is that Rowling's view of a time travel is a fixed timeline, unlike, say, Back to the Future, where you can actually change events. For example, Harry saving himself and Hermione with the Patronus in all instances of that timeline, not just when he went back and did it. If Voldemort could have been stopped that way, then it would have already happened, and it obviously didn't.

More importantly, and probably logistically why no Auror would try it is because it would create a horrible paradox. If they did destroy Voldemort in the past, there would be no reason in the future for them to go back to the past and attempt it, which means that no one would, so Voldemort wouldn't be defeated, etc...


I've also been thinking about this, and it seems to me that the view of time travel you described leads to another huge paradox. If it's true that you can't go back and change something unless your future self already did, that implies that there is only one timeline in existence, and that timeline is predetermined to a huge extent if not entirely. But free will plays such an important role in the series -- just think of how many times Dumbledore tells Harry how important his choices are, and that the prophecy could have swung either way (Harry or Neville) until Voldemort chose to "mark Harry as his equal", etc. These kinds of choices can't logically be freely made in a fixed timeline.
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I don't know about that. After all, when you use the term "fixed timeline", you're only referring to it in terms of time travel. It's fixed in the sense that what is being fixed is the past to those who have meddled with it. And since it is the past, the events have already happened, whether or not they are time travel related. I mean, removing time travel from the equation entirely, the past is still unchangeable, and your choices have no influence over it. It's the present and the future that are able to be influenced by one's choices. That's the point Dumbledore's trying to make. So really, which method of time travel is used really does not have an effect on those themes, at least as far as I can see.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Take the climax of PoA as an example. Harry's future self saves him from the Dementors, right? Later, time-turning back to the same moment, he is able to cast a full-blown Patronus because he gains confidence from the realization that he has already done it.

But let's forget about that for a moment. He survives the Dementor attack because SOMEONE (he doesn't know who) saves him. He has free will, right? So he can choose to go back or not to go back in time to save Sirius and Buckbeak. But wait a minute -- the person who saved him was actually his future self! So it is INEVITABLE -- PREDESTINED -- whatever you want to call it -- that he has to go back in time. There is no free will in this instance.

You see the problem. He saves himself in the past because he has already done it. It is a circular sort of logic that seems to require an external agent -- destiny or whatever.

And what if he doesn't go back? Does history rewrite itself so that the Dementors drained his soul? (Hey, that's one Horcrux down!) Or perhaps it rewrites itself so that somebody else saved him? Or does the entire world fall into chaos because it is unable to resolve the paradox?