Regulus in HBP????

[Carol]

Valerie Flowe wrote:
>
> Carol,
> Thanks for clarifying and rectifying some of my earlier points.- I
guess I never liked Slughorn because he was such a brown-noser and a
name-dropper (IMO). So I assumed he was hiding some clandestine past.
- I know I saw a photo or illustration of the full Black tapestry (was
it on a DVD extra???) I'll search for it.

Carol:

You're welcome. I hope you do find that shot of the tapestry. Have you
tried a Google image search?

Valerie:
> - I hope they do start HBP with the Dursleys and the wine. That was
funny and I liked that the movies (except Goblet) always started 
end-of-summer at the Dursleys.

Carol:
Well, I'd like them to keep that scene, too, but I think they should
*start* with "Spinner's End." After all, Snape *is* the Half-Blood
Prince of the title, even though the viewer who hasn't read the book
won't learn that until near the end. And that scene is much more
central to the book than the scene with the Dursleys. (Even Harry's
inheritance of Kreacher is not particularly important to HBP, though,
of course, it's important to the Regulus story in DH. And that could
be worked into some other scene.) 

Remember the opening of the GoF film, with Nagini slithering along in
the Muggle graveyard? That was less obviously connected to Harry (from
the viewpoint of a filmgoer who hadn't read the books) than a scene
involving Snape and Bellatrix (and Draco's mother, who should have
been at the QWC in the GoF film, but, oh, well). And we do know that
"Spinner's End" is being shot since both Bellatrix and Narcissa appear
in the film.

Another thought--the tone of HBP (the film, I mean) is apparently
going to be primarily comic, at least until they get to the grim
events near the end. Opening with "Spinner's End" (and occasionally
showing some Snape footage, especially "Sectumsempra") will set an
undertone of darkness beneath the superficial and illusory normality
of Quidditch and romantic rivalries and prepare the viewer
subconsciously for the terror of the cave and the grim darkness of the
tower. Which is not to say that the encounter between Snape and Harry
at Slughorn's party can't be darkly comic (though the overheard
conversation between Snape and Draco needs to be played straight, with
Snape's loyalties as ambiguous as possible). 

Valerie:
> - The HP Lexicon...hmmm...we'll have to see what the results are on
that case! I, for one, don't quite get the controversy. There have
been plenty of HP companion books that others have profited from. How
is the Lexicon different? I think JKR is just bummed out that someone
is trying to beat her to her HP Encyclopedia. Though certainly HP fans
would be much more likely to buy one of HER books on her stories, 
rather than a third party.

Carol:
I posted at length on the Fair Use doctrine at OT Chatter. Anyone who
wants to discuss that topic or just see what others have to say about
it will find a lively discussion over there. (I accidentally typed
"lovely" for "lively," but needless to say there's nothing lovely
about an author suing a fan--or the other way around.)

Carol, for whom the essence of "The Half-Blood Prince" is (you guessed
it) the Half-Blood Prince