Wow. I guess he feels quite strongly about this. HP would not have been nearly as good with a 20 million budget. HP is bigger than that.

well kalb, i think John Hurt is like those Old-timer types.. He VALUES the beauty of filmmaking for what it is.. AN ART.. and not some money-making commercial cash cow business that it's become these days

i want to see his interviews when he first did PS/SS......did he thought the same thing??

Welcome to the 21st century ;)

Interesting to hear the opinion of someone on the inside of Harry Potter, someone who's been around in the industry and seen the then and now of it all. It reminds me of an interview Alan Rickman did where he lamented the fact that the Bristish film industry sat on their arses and let HP, a home-grown piece of material from their own country, be made by an American film studio. Sure, we had more money, but I bet they could have done a decent job, and after they released the first one they would have had soooo much money to spend on making the rest of the films in the series. Oh well, coulda woulda shoulda, eh?

SO this means part one will definitely be stopping somewhere around Shell Cottage!! Awesome! I'm so excited he's coming back to play Ollivander!! Some of his comments are really annoying, but I agree. It costs over 200 million to make one of the Potter films and that amount increases more and more each time. But the films ALWAYS make the money back and then some...and like he just said...they're not really British films. So all that money doesn't come from the British economy, it comes from America...so I guess it also benefits America as well. So I see where he's coming from. Most real British films are independent because the film industries don't have the money to make films as big as Harry Potter.

CORRECTION iwantorlando05: The movie of Part 1 is gonna END after the trio get captured By the Snatchers.. so Yates is gonna make it have that Shakespearean tragic feel to it.. they've come so far and now, evil has won.. i like that ;) And yeah JK ROWLING Knew what she was doing when she sold the rights to WB..British people DON'T Really have a lucrative filming business. The Top 3 BIGGEST Film industries in the World are Hollywood, Bollywood (India) and Nollywood (Nigeria) believe it or not. Nollywood actually produces TWICE the amount of films than Hollywood, but Hollywood produces TWICE the quality of films.

CORRECTION iwantorlando05: The movie of Part 1 is gonna END after the trio get captured By the Snatchers.. so Yates is gonna make it have that Shakespearean tragic feel to it.. they've come so far and now, evil has won.. i like that ;) And yeah JK ROWLING Knew what she was doing when she sold the rights to WB..British people DON'T Really have a lucrative filming business. The Top 3 BIGGEST Film industries in the World are Hollywood, Bollywood (India) and Nollywood (Nigeria) believe it or not. Nollywood actually produces TWICE the amount of films than Hollywood, but Hollywood produces TWICE the quality of films.

Does it matter who makes the films? As long as it is quality and not just something thrown together. I think the movies could have been made with a lower budget, but what would the quality be like. Jp was concerned that the movies stay true to the books. Whille we know that they couldn't follow the books word for word, overall the movies are pretty much true to the books. Yes, there are people who would disagree, but overall, the movies are good. My main concern was the split; I understand the reason behind it, but I just don't like the fact that we have to wait several months between both halves and it's all for more money.

oh C'MON merrymarge, you're kinda being a lil UNGRATEFUL if you ask me... they're splitting the GREATEST HP Book in TWO HALVES! That way they can include everything in it.. and it's only an 8-month wait.. The SHORTEST wait we've ever had. So I wouldn't be complaining at ALL. I don't want this franchise to end too soon (So far as it ends before 2012 that's fine by me lol)

Hey merrymarge, if the fandom lasts an extra year it's worth it to me :)

LOL, phoenixknighter, yes, thank goodness it is ending before 2012! Speaking of 2012, that movie looks REALLY good! Well, I don't really care who makes the films as long as they're well done and the actors are British/know the British culture, slang, etc. I just LOVE British slang.

yeah true that Gryffindor_Seekr_7... I'm not a pessimist, but some of these records i hear about 2012 are downright creepy.I still don't REALLY think 2012 is gonna be the end of the World.. more like the Re-Birth of Man.. and it's about time honestly, seeing how the world is going down in the dumps. Anyway i can't wait for the 2012 movie coming next year. it looks awesome, I hope it doesn't dissappoint, but whether it does or doesn't, ONE thing that's for sure is I WON'T Be seeing that stupid NEw Moon movie. And if you look on the bright side. Exactly 12 months until DH Part 1 comes ;)

He's not saying that the Harry Potter films should have lower budgets, he's just pointing out that there are only two types of films these days; huge budget cash cows or small budget independent films. No one bothers to make mid budget films anymore. And the other point he's making is just that the films make it look like the british film industry is making loads of money, but it's making little from the Harry Potters.

I personally am very happy that they decided to split DH into two films. That means that more of the story can be included, and not have to be cut out because of time constraints. Of course, this has the benefit of extra income for WB as well, with us all having to purchase tickets to see two films, but hey, I think it's worth it to see more of the whole story, rather than a chopped up abbreviated version stuffed into one film. It was a BIG book after all.

Oh wow, i really respect this guy. However, the Harry Potter series in particular would not have been as good without all the huge budget stuff and the franchise. Wow, I just totally contradicted myself there. I guess I don't know what I think

Splitting the Deathly Hallows into 2 movies means 2 things: 1) WB gets more money 2) We get more Harry Potter. It's a win-win situation as far as I'm concerned.

John Hurt was part of the reason why Sorcerer's Stone was so classic. He milked his only scene in that movie with a perfect inflection of voice and outstanding scene delivery. It will be truly great to see him appear again and provide Harry with wise words as he did in the first film. I like that they're keeping up with the book and reintroducing characters from the previous films, because it adds a sense of finality to the series as well as a sense of satisfaction to the viewer. We want everything to be tied in; we want everyone's story to come through, knowing that their personage did not just cease to exist after their debut. An example is Rita Skeeter (who's apparently returning): she was present (if not mentioned) in every book after the third. It's good to see she is returning to reprise her role, because (even though she seems to be as misunderstood as always), she still enhances the story forward... and so does everyone else like Olivander, Madame Maxime, Fleur Delacour, Bill, Charlie, etc. If done well, this film will be classic and will probably label this series as one of the greatest franchises to ever be put on the silver screen. The last film has the ability to do all that and more. I trust David Yates, even though there are times I tend to doubt his limits as a filmmaker, but one thing is definitely certain with Yates: he will definitely provide the emotional integrity necessary to push the actors (as well as their characters) to their absolute limits; and that is something that I do not think any other director in the series was able to do effectively.

no Kapuffy, there was NO Rita Skeeter in DH.. ONLY her jorunals in the newspapers.. so you won't be seeing her in the final movies.

True, the franchise is not British in it's rights...but it's a British story. It works better with British actors because it keeps in theme of the storytelling and atmosphere. If they were to suddenly use American actors for primary characters it would be a mess. Or, perhaps you just don't have actors of our calibre :P (Morgan freeman and a select few others being the exception). I myself cannot think of any American actors who would make a good Voldemort or Dumbledore?!

Phoenixknighter, you may be right, but didn't Rita Skeeter make an appearance at the wedding? I may be confused. Either way, I think I heard that Miranda Richardson was casted to reprise her role as Rita, so she might make an appearance in a moving newspaper or in a flashback (I'm hoping so, at least).

no, in the book she didn't attend the Funeral.. that would've been AWFUL, lol. But yeah, they may put her in the movie, that's cool. The only 2 characters I KNOW won't be in this movie, just like book, will be Cornelius Fudge and Mrs. Figg

Phoenixknighter and kapuffy26, Miranda Richardson (who played Rita Skeeter) has been confirmed for the new movies. And a set report says Frances de la Tour (Madame Maxime) is back as well. Looks like a GoF reunion, which is awesome because, even though I think it's the worst film, it had a great cast. :D Also, John Hurt is amazing! He is one of the best actors in the entire series, if not the best. Worlds better than the good, but overrated Alan Rickman, but I digress. As much as I love him though, the HP movies on a $20 million budget would simply not be up to the caliber they are at now.