[HPFGU-Movie]who's that boy?

[Richard]

At 00:23 11/07/05 , jen_kat_du wrote:
>The Gryffindor boy is probably Dean Thomas!  I was reading on JKR's
>website that Dean is black.  Do you remember a skinny black boy in the
>first two movies that doesn't say much?  He even sits with Seamus in
>McGonagall's class.  I think they just replaced the actor with this
>heavy-set boy for some reason.  I could be wrong, but it makes the
>most sense to me.  Why you never see him in Harry's Dorm room is
>beyond me.

Your assumption is incorrect, because Alfred Enoch (who played Dean Thomas 
in the first two movies) crops up several times in PoA and (as usual) 
doesn't say much. This is why the new boy's presence is so intriguing. In 
particular, Alfie's actually there in Trelawney's class when the new kid 
gets his big line about the Grim.

And on another topic, from Linda:

(Incidentally, can people on the Digest PLEASE remember to change the 
subject heading of their posts to something more meaningful than "Digest 
No. 120")

>Yes, the adult cast was  signed for multiple movies, from what I've read.
>Given the popularity of  the books, they knew they'd have a hit if it was 
>even
>half-way decent, I  suspect.

It's not just that. Warners wanted them on board for more than just the one 
film. Warners knew that the first movie would be a hit (it would've been 
enough for only half of those who'd read the book to see it once; as it 
happened, far more people saw it than that) and didn't want to waste time 
and money renegotiating terms for future movies. This is absolutely 
standard procedure with "franchise" movies. For example, Christian Bale was 
told that he had to sign up for THREE Batman movies if he wanted the part 
in "Batman Begins", currently on screens. Contracts like this are not just 
commonplace, but they're the norm with Hollywood studios.
(Of course, the contract is pretty one-sided: the actor cannot pull out of 
appearing in the movie if it goes into production, but the studio is under 
no obligation actually to ensure that such a production happens.)

>I remember reading that Robbie Coultrane was  hired for the first  four 
>movies, leading to speculation that Hagrid died in book  5.

Actually, it was Coltrane's insistence, not the studio's, and he signed up 
for five, not four. Columbus wanted him to sign for the entire set of seven 
(even though OotP hadn't been written yet); ironically, the only person who 
did  sign for all seven movies (Warners' insistence, not his) was Richard 
Harris.

>In the past, so I've read, Emma was always  the last of the main stars to 
>sign.  Wonder if she's going to be the last  again?  Hopefully they've all 
>been given good raises!

I know someone who worked with Emma's mother until very recently. Mrs 
Watson is a hard-as-nails lawyer and is apparently a master negotiator. it 
makes sense for her to hold out and get the best deal she possibly can. It 
also makes sense that, as Emma's mother, she weighs all the options and 
considers her daughter's welfare above all else.

>The producers should've been ashamed of themselves, paying that kid 
>"minimum  wage" kind of stuff when the whole movie rested on his shoulders!

Warner Brothers are notorious for being poor paymasters. Especially WB-UK. 
They have a track record of splashing out on big names in cameo roles and 
paying the main actors peanuts. Batman (Jack Nicholson -v- Michael Keaton) 
and Superman (Marlon Brando -v- Christopher Reeve) are two examples which 
immediately spring to my mind.

>I  imagine he's being well-paid now, with his image on so many things (and 
>I did  read that he was one of the wealthiest teens in England, which 
>apparently  surprised him, from whatever article it was that I read

The amount of money actors make is almost always kept secret, and any 
figures are almost invariably the product of wild speculation, based on an 
estimate multiplied by a figure sucked out of the air divided by the number 
of zits on the director's face, added to the number of clouds in the sky. 
More often than not, even ballpark figures are wildly out of kilter with 
any possible reality. It's a game, and it's not worth considering. Unless 
and until an actor admits how much they're getting for a particular role, 
any guess is as good as any other.