Thoughts I Had While Reading Harry Potter's "CONSIDER..."

This Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 "Consider..." FYC booklet arrived in the mail a couple of days ago so I thought I'd read it with you. Aren't I considerate?!  I can't scan it in as it's too heavy and bound tight to open flat. Expensive paper but then with those billion grosses they've got plenty of money to burn on a campaign.

So here we go...

I wish that you could see Melissa Leo in a fur coat reflected in his lenses!

okay, let's write this thing up. Click to continue if you'd like to read along...  as it's long and photoriffic.

The first thing you see when you open it up is dark bluish gray epic shot of Voldemort at the school with students neatly organized on either side with this Manohla Dargis New York Times quote, (the emphatic type is how the ad is displayed):

A grave, DEEPLY SATISFYING movie. It isn't often in the summer that you enjoy the intense pleasure of a certain kind of OLD-FASHIONED CINEMA EXPERIENCE. The sort that sweeps you up in sheer spectacle with BIGGER-THAN-LIFE IMAGES and yet holds you close with INTIMATELY OBSERVED CHARACTERS and the details that keep your eyes and mind busy.

The next page ... i.e. two pages (it's always laid out like an album gatefold) is all inky black with a silhouette of Snape lonely to the right and quotes to the left "MASTERFUL" from Richard Roeper and this one from Elizabeth Weitzman at the Daily News

EPIC and HEARTBREAKING. Every scene carries a heavy sense of important with some eliciting tears and others terror."

I'm not sure I'd count a perpetually heavy importance as a good thing. Yes, the Deathly Hallows sounds grave but does it have to feel that way in every scene? I like my movies with a bit more tonal range, thanks. And though you already know I'm a muggle I did find the increasing self-seriousness of the Harry Potter franchise off putting. Magic should sometimes be, you know, fun. Azkaban and Phoenix are my favorite films from the franchise, because they're the most beautiful and the most fun, respectively.

Here's Manohla again scribbled over the Death Eaters

The film is often BEAUTIFUL, washed in gray and so drained of color that at first it looks as if it's in black and white."

Great image on that page. But you could say the same thing about J. Edgar but I don't consider "drained of color" a plus. If you want to make a black and white movie, Clint, make it black and white. Stop hedging. Oops. Wrong topic.

The next fold lays it on thick emotionally with two hands in closeup reaching for each other [gag] with a quote from Carrie Rickey that's so effusive with its "induces euphoria" and "movement in a symphony" that you'd think this was Singin' in the Rain or The Godfather Part Two! The following page is a Harry alone at the beach in the sand with a quote about how beautifully bleak the cinematography is.  Eduardo Serra is super-duper talented but I'll readily admit that I'm having a harder time judging cinematography these past few years since virtually every shot in 50% of new movies looks processed by computer; how can you tell how well the cinematographer lit the scene?

After multiple pages that were leaning toward inky black, we get the bright white of Harry sitting with Dumbledore in the 'you're not really dead!' portion of the movie. I have to admit that this page is really effective because it's so bright just as your eyes are drooping from all the "heavy importance" and the quotes make the movie sound like the unqualified masterpiece of masterpieces from Lisa Schwarzbaum (EW which is owned by the same mammoth conglomerate as Harry Potter) and this one from Nick Schager from The Village Voice (who I know personally though honestly I had no idea he liked these movies this much.) 

David Yates' latest boats an almost CLASSICAL ATTENTION to mood and composition conveying emotion through careful framing and imbuing his centerpieces with GRACE and MAJESTY."

On the next page we're back to the dark nearly black and white palette as Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) holds a dying Snape (Alan Rickman) with a quote from King of Blurb Whores Peter Travers. I can't believe they restrained themselves for seven gatefold pages before getting around to him!

Blending YOUNG TALENT with BRITISH ACTING ROYALTY has always given the series distinction."

That is totes true but it's also one of the oldest tricks in showbiz. Pair the young'uns with respected talent and the prestige and larger-than-life glamour can rub off. Some young stars are very savvy about this: it was no accident that Tom Cruise worked with so many older cinematic legends in the 80s and early 90s (Hoffman, Duvall, Newman, etcetera); Anne Hathaway repeated the trick in the 00s going from Julie Andrews to Meryl Streep on her way up. [Editor's Note to all aspiring young stars: this only actually works for the long haul if they don't blow you off the screen. If you're not a Cruise or a Hathaway, proceed very carefully.]

The next page is the Malfoy family with the mom and son out of focus and a generic FYC from the USA Today about the direction and writing. None of the Malfoys are being campaigned for supporting gold though many of the other players are (more at the bottom of this page on that.)

Then we get a Voldemort spread with a quote about how he's an ICONIC villain. Duh! At first I was like "oh, there's a pretty fire behind him" but then I realized it was that protective bubble that Maggie Smith and the other good guys surrounded the school with and now it's half burned away.  That whole visual works with a capital W. Stunning... or should i say...

That one particular visual effect is STUNNING. They lean on it a lot. Otherwise it's the same sort of generic CGI energy blasting from wands and floating death eathers as f/x go." 
- Nathaniel Rogers, The Film Experience.

I suck as a blurb whore. 

Next we have Hagrid carrying dead Potter ("he's only mostly dead!") with a quote from Carrie Rickey again about EMOTIONAL THROUGH-LINES and how great Steve Kloves is. Sometimes I feel so alone... so utterly alone because I was really really invested in Steve Kloves having a career when I was a baby cinephile because of his brilliant debut film (The Fabulous Baker Boys, 1989) and his interesting though far less successful follow up (Flesh and Bone, 1993) and now all he does are these movies and I think it's just such a waste of someone who had such promise. Though I'm sure that his own vault at Gringotts begs to differ with my wish that he had kept making those small dramas starring melancholy blonde movie stars.

We continue on to see a bunch of the Weasleys amongst Hogwart's rubble with another quote for the casting. I must deduct points for this page for placing Maggie Smith so close to the binding that she gets swallowed. If this were Star Wars she'd be at the tail end of that trash compactor scene. Don't crush our beloved Dame!

We finally get a smidgeon of color in the book that's not in the black and white or greyish blue families: ORANGE. It's another wide shot of that disintegrating bubble, the movie's single best image. And here, Travers really goes for it.

Director David Yates marshalls his technical team to produce VISUAL MARVELS. OSCAR ATTENTION must be paid."

Traver is so bossy! But they will obey him. Easy nod for visual effects right? Or will all those superheroes try and snatch Harry's wand away?

The next page is nearly all black with half of Snape's face illuminated so you can notice his single tear. The quotes are about the great acting from Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes.

Which is followed by a beach image from early in the film featuring one of those house elves -- in my imagination elves are beautiful like Legolas so I have a hard time with the Potterverse's conception of them. The quotes call the makeup effects "SENSATIONAL" and because there is no way to illustrate a musical score using film stills, Alexandre Desplat's FYC shares this page by naming his "SUBDUED REVERENCE" for John Williams original themes as the main draw. Not sure that reverence for another score is a good campaign strategy but then John Williams is one of Oscar's favorite things so maybe.

Finally Ron & Hermione show up on page 15. Emma is out of focus and Rupert looks determined and appropriately ginger in the orange light. Lou Lumenick gets this page.

The acting is UNIFORMLY SUPERB. Emma Watson and Rupert Grint bring their 'A' game to the finale."

We're back to visual effects pushing with a shot of the Gringott's freed dragon (our heroes are riding him though they're hard to spot). The FYC blurbs are focused on the visuals again.

Gatefold 17ish belongs to everyone's favorite decaying porcelain doll, Helena Bonham-Carter with another quote about how awesome the casting is. Seriously Warner Bros. Bring your 'A' game. There is no casting Oscar and this is an expensive FYC ad.

The following page completely baffles me, both in visuals and quotes. It seems to be selling the idea that we should celebrate the out of series character 3D release with an Oscar nomination for... something? The page looks out of focus and the pink/green wand clash between Harry and You Know Who reminds you of those hateful glasses. And then this quote from Kenneth Turan.

The willingness to do whatever it took to bring Stuart Craig's EXCEPTIONAL PRODUCTION DESIGNS to life no matter how painstaking the task is cenral to the new film's success.

So... it's obviously an FYC for Stuart Craig, the most likely recipient of an actual gold statue for this franchise. But somehow it doesn't look that way.

Voldemort gets another page, this one is like a mirror to the Snapes page with Fiennes's eyeball getting the illumination this time. Manohla and Lisa drool on Ralph Fiennes in the pull quotes. So many people have drooled on Ralph Fiennes over the years that perhaps his skin is now as slimy as Naginis? 

poll by twiigs.com

We're nearing the end of the book and there's a great widescreen image of the bridge with our trio of heroes looking like they're going to go all Zhang Ziyi on us and leap into the clouds. I don't remember this moment specifically but I haven't seen it since July and I barely remember the book (yes I did read it.). But I'm sure fans of the series felt the "OVERWHELMING EMOTION" that Justin Chang from Variety reminds us of in the blurb.

A page for Daniel Radcliffe who Christy Lemire says "HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER". Then the final page has Ron Hermione and Harry (crushed in the binding) holding hands on the bridge and the last pullquote is from Joe Morgenstern and all it says is

The BEST possible end."

A rather canny quote to end with. BEST what exactly? BEST EVERYTHING!!! When you close the book you get the whole FYC list. And for those of you who are always interested in who campaigns for what the actors divvy up like so. I've included the number of photos they get in the book to themselves and shared like so (#/#) just for implied hierarchal fun.

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Radcliffe (3/7)
Rupert Grint (0/4)

BEST ACTRESS
Emma Watson (0/4)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Helena Bonham Carter (1/0)
Maggie Smith (0/1)

Campaigns are often up to actors or their contracts but the fewer people reaching for honors the better, really, just from a vote splitting perspective so it's interesting that the supporting actresses listed are so few and the supporting actors so many... though the Malfoys who get a whole page in the book are not campaigning.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robbie Coltrane (0/1)
Ralph Fiennes (2/1)
Michael Gambon (0/1)
John Hurt (0/0)
Matthew Lewis (0/0)
Gary Oldman (0/0)
Alan Rickman (2/1)
David Thewliss (0/0)

If one were to divvy up the implied Oscar nomination requests from each blurb, it'd go like so:

BEST PICTURE - 7
RALPH FIENNES -4 (wow... I thought they'd lean harder on Alan Rickman.)
DIRECTOR & VISUAL EFFECTS - 3 each
CASTING - 3 we can take this to mean all of the supporting players, I take it.
ALAN RICKMAN, SCREENPLAY, CINEMATOGRAPHY - 2 each
EMMA WATSON, RUPERT GRINT, DANIEL RADCLIFFE - 1 each
ART DIRECTION, MAKEUP, and SCORE - 1 each.  (hmmmm. methinks they need to push harder for Art Direction since they could actually win the Oscar there.)

But before we go, let's fix the cover of the book.

YES! Much better. May the LEOgend live on.

What do you make of Harry & gang's Oscar chances for the grand finale? 

Comments

[Anthony A.]

It's amusing that you say Deathly Hallows Part 2 was tonally single-minded; it's the exact same thing I thought of Part 1. However, I loved Part 2 because it managed to keep a kind of "d'aww the franchise is over" mildly sombre atmosphere, while pacing itself cleverly in its tonal shifts between lighthearted hope, dire struggle and almost apocalyptic despair. To each his own I suppose.

[Joey]

I am a HUGE Potter fan so I resent the similarity drawn to Leo's Oscar glamour shots LOL

I am excited that FYC ads are appearing even though the year isn't over yet. I am realistic, and I don't think DHII is going to receive a Best Picture nomination. I do think, however, that HP has a shot in all the craft categories. Stuart Craig should be awarded for his consistently awesome art direction. He created an entire world that never ends. They created a theme park using his designs for goodness sake!

I just want them to get some Oscar love. I don't care if it's not nominated for BP. Craig needs an Oscar!!!

[Carlos]

Can I give my oscar vote to that photoshopped cover? LOL

[NATHANIEL R]

Joey -- i think you'll get your wish there, I really do.

Carlos -- YES YOU MAY. I'VE ALWAYS WANTED AN OSCAR ;)

[Robert G]

I can fix your blurb.

STUNNING...CGI energy blasting from wands

[James]

I'm very impressed that they are campaigning Ron and Hermione in the Best Actor and Best Actress race respectively. Not that they have a shot in the world no matter the category but I thought for sure they would be demoted to supporting....

[lily]

I'm a diehard HP fan, and reading all of that was a true headdesk moment for me. So tacky.

[Bill_the_Bear]

I haven't seen it...but does somebody really say "He's only mostly dead!" in the film? That sounds SO like a line from a Monty Python sketch.

[NATHANIEL R]

Bill -- that was a Monty Python reference yes. it's not in Harry Potter.

[Walter L. Hollmann]

It's so bizarre to campaign Smith, Coltrane, Hurt, and Oldman, especially considering that they really only have cameos. Oldman only shows up as a ghost, right? And does Coltrane even have any lines? If they want to campaign a cameo, go with Kelly Macdonald as the Grey Lady. Freaky performance there.

[Dean]

I am by no means a Harry Potter fanboy and I have never thought any previous Potter film
came close to being among the best films of their years, yet I think this film is my favorite of the year so far and totally deserving of having the highest reviews, along with Moneyball, of any wide release this year.

The two scenes that really elevate what is otherwise a really good action finale are the flashback of Snape's memories as well as Dumbledore and Harry in the train station. Two masterful moments that really brought a depth and purpose to the whole series.

[Ryan T.]

@lily Why is it tacky? Aren't most FYC ads brimming with rapturously rave reviews and glossy pretty pictures? And it's not like those visuals or quotes were fabricated out of thin air as well.

Sure, Warner Brothers can just sit back and do nothing (or adopt a less is more strategy) and hope that the film series, not exactly Oscar-bait, will somehow catch fire the 8th time around with the Academy and get them the recognition WB thinks the cast/crew deserve. But short of outright bribing the voters, this is what they have to do. Plus it's the least WB can do for a film series that's given them plenty (and then some) over the years.

[Joe K]

I love that Matthew Lewis is being campaigned here, even though he (along with the rest of the actors) has absolutely no chance at any award whatsoever. For me, he easily takes best-in-show honors; Bonham-Carter and Rickman have both been better in this series, and I don't even understand what Fiennes was trying to do here.
I figure there's no way HP gets into best picture, though it will probably deserve it over a few that will get in (*cough* The Help *cough*). Oh well.

[NATHANIEL R]

Ryan T -- you have a good point actually. You've turned me around. They should be campaigning it for all it's worth. As a thank you.

Dean -- wow that surprises me. Usually the fans have loved them to a big degree the whole time. Was it just the cumulative effect for you of 8 years of the story ordo you think it's something specific to this movie?

[RG S.]

i think nathaniel you are hating the potter film. there is nothing wrong with their campaign they are just proud of what they have done with the franchise. i personally think the movie was splendid, and i think this year they would get an oscar love im sure of that...so don't hate mr. nathaniel like you know it all...

[NATHANIEL R]

RG -- i think "hate" is a strong word. I don't hate the Potter films at all. I just don't understand the mass love. To me they are solidly mediocre leaning towards good. :) except the second one and the seventh one both of which I could barely sit through.

[RG S.]

I understand that you are not a big fan of the series, but you cannot deny the fact that the series has captured millions of people around the world, and the most lucrative franchise in movie history with the 96% rotten tomatoes, broke all the box office records exist, I think this is the time for the academy to at least honor the series by nominating it for Best Picture. Besides, by nominating the series, they would get the benefits because I'm pretty darn sure that millions of fans will watch the ceremony. For the OScar chances, Best Picture, so far, one of the best film of the year, Best adapted Screenplay Steve kloves done heck of a job by penning the 759 pages of book very well, Best Cinematography was amazing it will face though, Tree of Life, and Hugo which I just saw quite recently with my dad because he was invited, and Art Direction biggest chance and Visual effects...Voldemort's make up and the Goblins were fantastic so is the Sound mixing and sound editing...I don't think which Alexandre Desplat's score they are gonna campaign though because Alexandre also doing the Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I am sorry Mr. Nathaniel I am just a huge part of Potter's Best Picture bandwagoon campaign..^_^ You have to admit though that it has a chance...

[Dean]

Hmm maye you misread me saying I'm NOT a huge Potter fan. But anyway I think the major reason this film works so much better than any previous one is that they all tried to fit way too much plot into two hour films as opposed to DH Part 2 which just focused on one day's worth of events. Of course the cumulative effect of all the stories ending no doubt plays a part as well.

[Colin Low]

"[Editor's Note to all aspiring young stars: this only actually works for the long haul if they don't blow you off the screen. If you're not a Cruise or a Hathaway, proceed very carefully.]"

Paul Dano missed the memo, sadly, though I wonder who might have best stood his own against Daniel Day-Lewis.

[NATHANIEL R]

Colin - ouch.

RG -- i would never deny those things no. It has been a HUGELY successful franchise and is beloved by its fans. I just tend to think that huge success should be enough reward unless something is also just spectacular artistically. As for the rotten tomatoes 96% i am a RT critic and I gave it a fresh as well, haha. so i helped it there.

[Anthony Mai]

CONSIDER...

Nathaniel Rogers for Best Photoshopping.

(You impress us at every opportunity!)

[Daniel Armour]

God, I wish I could get my hands on that book... Now that I got that out of the way, I don't see anything wrong with them campaigning DH2 as hard as they can. Most studios do it, WB made huge money off the franchise and it got the reviews. It probably won't make it into the "Top 7" categories but it's worth a shot.

[Neps]

This is more fair than what the Weinsteins would do. Also, the movie is great. I would like that Rickman gets in for best supporting actor.

[lily]

@RyanT. Tacky isn't the right word. Maybe just terribly unrealistic, the way they're trying to pull it off. Obviously they should campaign if they want to, but maybe a dollop of realism that reflects the movie's actual quality would help. The movie was extremely enjoyable and had a couple of truly moving moments, but I accept that while they've come a long way from the juvenile messes they used to be, these movies are not great by any long shot. The last one wasn't even as well executed as say, Star Trek. It's a relatively well-done family movie trying to masquerade here as a fantasy cinematic achievement and i find it all kind of laughable.

[RG S.]

Mr. Nathaniel are you going to sell that booklet because if you do, I would like to buy it from you...^_^

[Chip]

"the quotes make the movie sound like the unqualified masterpiece of masterpieces from Lisa Schwarzbaum (EW which is owned by the same mammoth conglomerate as Harry Potter)"

I don't begrudge you your Harry Potter antipathy (much), but are you impugning Lisa Schwarzbaum's integrity as a critic just because her review (along with many, many others from outlets not owned by Time Warner) was quoted in this FYC ad? Isn't that a bit harsh? I've never seen anything that would make me think her reviews are any softer on movies from the TW conglomerate.

[Lauren]

oh my God! I got my booklet today and I'm absolutely INCENSED. They are clearly pushing for Ralph over Alan which just floors me. They chopped up the two reviews by Lisa - EW and Manhola Dargis - NYTimes, took Ralph's parts and gave him his own page and then left out the extraordinary things they said about Alan and didn't give him his own page. So 3 good reviews for Ralph and only 1 for Alan (continues to astonish) and then he has to share the masterclass in acting one with Ralph who also has 2 more on his own page! I hate them right now. If anyone cares (WB obviously doesn't) here are the reviews in their ENTIRETY.

And as played with mysterious, concentrated power by Alan Rickman, Snape's character is so vividly established that even the shadowed silhouette of his byronic black hair and cape triggers an immediate audience response. Lisa Schwarzbaum - EW

That dragon and Mr. Fiennes make this final Harry Potter movie soar, as do Mr. Gambon’s brief turn and Ms. Smith’s furious and then visibly delighted marshaling of an army of stone soldiers. Finally too there is Mr. Rickman, who as Snape, Harry’s longtime nemesis, lifts the movie to its expressive high point. First seen standing in a window shaped like a coffin, Snape enters gravely, a picture of death. Pale and unsmiling, his black hair framing his white face like mourning crepe, he has always suggested Laurence Olivier’s Richard III, an ominous thought with children in the vicinity. That Snape has proven worthy of that comparison is partly a tribute to Ms. Rowling, but that he has become such a brilliant screen character is due to Mr. Rickman, who helped elevate a child’s tale of good and evil into a story of human struggle. - Manohla Dargis - NY Times

You're telling me nothing here (not to mention Roeper's review) was worth sticking on a separate page for Alan?? I hope WB burns!