Future Movies question

[GulPlum]

> Rowling makes it a point to mention that Ron is taller, but I'm not 
sure
> it's imperative to the story. For the movies, they may just keep 
Grint,
> and not worry about the height issues. I don't see it being a big 
issue,
> just like Watson doesn't have buck teeth like Hermione is supposed 
to
> have. They also didn't seem too concerned with making Petunia and 
Dudley
> blonde.

Harry as smaller than Ron in the books serves mainly as a constant 
reminder of his emaciated youth in the cupboard under the stairs 
(from which he moves already at the beginning of Book One). As we 
don't really need a constant reminder of that in the movies, there's 
no real reason to keep bashing us over the head with it. Also, of 
course, it's a literal reinforcement of the concept of Harry 
representing the "little people".

Whether or not Harry is shorter than Ron is irrelevant, as long as 
Dan remains thin-framed - if he comes out on the other side of his 
inevitable growth spurt in the next couple of years as too "butch", 
that could perhaps be a bit of a problem, but by then he'd have made 
perhaps 3 of the movies so the audience could suspend its disbelief.

I have another concern, though. From all we know about the 
circumstances surrounding his casting, namely his understandably 
protective (though evidently not overly so) parents, I wonder what 
priorities they will encourage/force on him when he's 15 and 
presumably in the middle of making the (hopefully two-part) GoF 
(assuming the trade rumours are correct and there'll be a slip 
between making Film 2 and 3, and again between 3 and 4). Dan will be 
preparing for his real-world Hogwarts OWLs, namely GCSEs. How he does 
in those exams will have a lot to do with what options he'll have in 
his adult life.

All three Radcliffes' concerns won't be about money - mum & dad are 
already well off, and even without making all seven/eight HP movies, 
Dan won't have to worry about money for a single moment of the rest 
of his life, even if he turns into a profligate celebrity brat (which 
I consider EXTREMELY unlikely, nay impossible). 

Even if he's useless as an adult actor (unlikely but possible, and if 
that's what he chooses to do with his life), Dan has a showbiz career 
ready and waiting - he'll forever be "Daniel (Harry Potter)
Radcliffe" - and he'll be able to make that his career if he needs 
to. But for instance, "Mark (Oliver Twist) Lester" milked his 
celebrity for a while but then gave up on showbiz, went to 
university, and is now a respected osteopath, and is now infamous for 
not allowing any kind of paid camera near him.

However, it's obvious that the Radcliffes have their sights raised a 
little higher, and they'll want Dan to do well academically. On-set 
tutoring is fine and dandy for continued schooling, but I'm not sure 
it's the best environment in which to prepare for and take vital 
exams.

In summary, Warners will be under intense pressure from the 
Radcliffes either to give Dan a break for his 15th and 16th years and 
delay filming of whatever movie's then current until after his exams, 
or alternatively to recast the role either for that movie, or 
permanently. As I've said elesewhere on this subjest, I'm glad that 
I'm not in any of the parties' shoes - it's a tough decision to make 
from whatever persepctive!

Incidentally, one thing for which Dan R. appears to be completely 
unprepared (at least right now) is the celebrity circuit: he got an 
award, televised the other night on UK TV, as "most promising showbiz 
newcomer" (which he knew about before the day - this wasn't one of 
those "and the nominees are..." type awards). Standing up to make his 
acceptance speech seemed to be VERY difficult for him and he looked 
even more shell-shocked than he did at the London premiere of the 
first movie. That Alan Rickman was there getting an award for his 
stage work didn't seem to help, either (especially as Rickman ended 
his speech as Snape). :-)