Half-Blood Prince

[zanooda2]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
<gbannister10 at ...> wrote:

> How would they necessarily know that they had some really 
> talented boy? There were thousands of applicants
> all aged 10-11 and only a very few can, at that age, have shown 
> acting prowess. 


zanooda:

I think you are right (kind of :-)), but doesn't it show that I'm 
also right when I say that it's a director's job to know how to work 
with actors, all kinds of actors? Can't he squeeze *one* second of a 
facial expression out of a kid actor and then show *only* this one 
second on the screen, not ten seconds of an expressionless face? 
Can't he *not* include in the movie a crying scene which is so 
ackward to watch, and which is not even supposed to be there?


> Geoff wrote: 

> But you could say that of almost every young actor 
> in "Philosopher's Stone".


zanooda:

But I don't care much about the others :-). Of course I would like 
them to be good, but it was Harry whom I came to the theater to see, 
and I really wanted to like him as much as I liked him in the book.


> Geoff wrote:

> There are many instances in the early films where, in addition to 
> Dan many of the other young actors were seen as stilted and wooden. 
> For example, Rupert Grint has been on the receiving end of this 
> criticism more than once.


zanooda:

I, on the contrary, think that Rupert had much less such moments than 
Dan and Emma. Again, this is my personal impression that differs from 
other people's impressions :-). I believe that Rupert Grint is the 
most naturally gifted from all the three. It's a shame the directors 
underuse him so.


> Geoff wrote:

> Well, as I have said on several occasions over on Main, that 
> due to the dratted UK idea of drumming into  lads that "boys 
> don't cry". 


zanooda:

I don't mind boys crying per se, but I *do* mind a director making a 
boy actor who can't cry convincingly cry on screen in a scene where 
he is not even supposed to cry :-). All those crying scenes are not 
in the book! Although I wouldn't mind them if they were convincing.


> Geoff wrote:
 
> Another set of scenes I always tend to avoid in 
> "Chamber of Secrets" are the Dobby scenes.


zanooda:

Me too, Geoff, me too :-). Some other things that I just can't watch 
in PoA - those hanging heads and Tom from the Leaky Cauldron. Yuck! 
BTW, Moaning Myrtle makes me cringe too, although most people that I 
know think she is adorable :-). All this is very individual, it seems.


> Geoff wrote:

> I have seen most of his output. 


zanooda:

I don't expect you watched that interview on "Actor's studio"? They 
showed some funny scene from somewhere (I had to go to the kitchen 
for a second, so I don't know what it was :-)), and I rather liked 
him in it.