MOVIE: Vanity Fair October Issue (long)

[John Walton]

No: HPFGUIDX 25695

Hi all,

I picked up the October issue of Vanity Fair this evening, and may I say
"WOW!" -- the photographs are fantastic! I've loved Annie Leibovitz ever
since her "Whoopi Goldberg In Tub Of Milk" photo, and I love her more now.

A Picture-By-Picture breakdown (for discussion and for the benefit of those
who haven't seen them. (What are you waiting for? It's a measly $3.95 (US)
or $4.95 (Can. & Foreign)!)

FRONT COVER: CHEESY-GRIN HARRY ON BROOMSTICK

As some of the folks over on OT-Chatter have been saying, CheesyGrin!Harry
is just that. Very cheesy grin Harry in Hogwarts uniform (and thus, we
assume, a still taken during the shooting of the Remembrall scene we saw in
the second trailer). NB that we know it's not Quidditch garb because of the
Quidditch team photo.

The uniform is, while nothing like my mental images of robes, not bad. It
consists of a diagonally-striped red and gold tie, at a jaunty angle, with
white shirt, grey long-sleeve v-neck jumper with narrow red and gold band
around the necklne. White shirt and charcoal grey pinstriped trousers. A
cape somewhat reminiscent of the St Andrews Graduate gowns and regular
schoolboy shoes. 

Dan as Harry is great. It's a cheesy grin, yes, but it's a *nice* cheesy
grin. I'm still not convinced about the scar not being centered on his
forehead, but there we are :D His hair is suitably messy in this picture,
I'm happy to say!

PAGE 301: THE CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS

Wow, just wow. This is a really emotive picture. It basically shows the
depths of Harry's existence Before Wizardry (B.W. :D) Dan's sitting on what
looks like a campbed in a tiny, tiny closet under the stairs. My auntie has
one in her house and, let me say, it's horrid. He has no possessions, there
are tools and things under the bed, he's wearing unmatching socks, one with
no toe end, a holey t-shirt and what look like pajama bottoms. The campbed
looks totally uninviting...

Dan's pulling off the look well. Looks absolutely pathetic, which is the
point. 

PAGE 302-303: THE DURSLEYS IN THE SITTING ROOM

Totally at odds to the cupboard are the Dursleys. The room is, while not
opulent, well-appointed in that suburban Britain kind of way, with ghastly
brown-gold floral patterend sofas, lamps with tassels and that sort of
thing. 

Petunia (Fiona Shaw) looks entirely too nice and not nearly skinny enough.
She's wearing a very Mumsy pink cardigan and a tweed skirt which ends above
the knee. Pearls around the neck and a dark brown Margaret Thatcher hairdo
complete the look. She's entirely too nice, and doesn't seem like the type
of person who'd lock her nephew under the stairs. Of course, that might be
part of the plan (nobody THINKS they'll do it, so they do...). Perhaps they
could make her tartier? Perhaps a bad blonde dye, or a slightly menacing
sneer.

Vernon (Richard Griffiths) doesn't look nasty enough. He's got that
public-school-headmaster (i.e. private school) look about him, in a dark
brown (or possibly black) three-piece suit. His hair isn't dark enough
either, and his moustache is too small (for my picture, of course...).

Dudley (Harry Melling) isn't fat enough and doesn't look like he's whining
in his Smeltings uniform, which isn't as ridiculously garish as I was
envisaging. I do, however, love the picture of younger!Dudley in the
background.

PAGE 304-305: THE THREESOME AND THE THREE SLYTHERINS

I like Crabbe and Draco (although Tom Felton isn't sneering enough!). Goyle
looks too intellignet, as if he's scheming something. The Slytherin colours
have apparently turned from green and silver to black and silver/grey, which
is slightly irritating. Only differences between Slytherin and Gryffindor
uniforms are the crests, ties and scarves.

Emma is looking great as Hermione, although her hair could be bushier. Dan
is looking absurdly happy and makes one wonder if he was airbrushed in, as
he looks as if he's having his picture...taken...for...a...magazine. Ahem...
Rupert Grint looks as if he's making fart noises with his mouth, but could
just be dumb!Ron look. (No change there then...) I like Rupert as Ron, he
looks just as dumb as my mental Ron, but without the freckles! Grrr!

PAGE 306-307: HAGRID AND FANG IN THE FOREST

Ooh, forest looking v. menacing. Hagrid looking v. large. Fang looking
v.small compared with Hagrid. Don't know if this is "enlarged" Robbie
Coltrane, so if it is, Fang is large too :D Hagrid appears to be wearing a
dead animal. PETA, beware.

PAGE 308-309: FLITWICK, QUIRRELL AND HOOCH IN ROOM

I love this picture. The three professors are in what appears to be the
Library, yet has a pteranodon hanging from the room. Is perhaps a flying
classroom? There appear to be spells written in (?) Latin on a blackboard
behind Quirrell, going by "Articulus I", "Articulus II" all the way to IV.

Flitwick is certainly small. Looks a little old compared with my mental
pics...doesn't look like he'd be the fussy Charms teacher I picture.

Quirrell looks shifty but not nerdy enough for me. Like his turban, though
I'd have thought it would have needed to go down further in the back.

Hooch is a riot. She's standing in what I assume to be a Quidditch referee
uniform -- the boots, greaves, gauntlets (see Quidditch team photo below)
but a black-and-white striped cape, black leggings, white shirt, black tie
with Hogwarts crest and black vest/waistcoat with white trim. Also wearing
funny goggles which make her look silly. She's striking a pose which makes
her look like X-Woman Storm. ::grin::

PAGE 310-311: DUMBLEDORE AND MCGONAGALL

Richard Harris looks like a tired old man :( Could, however, be pensive
look. I like his costume (vaguely purple) and hat (not pointy but floppy).

Maggie Smith is great as McGonagall. Just perfect. I like the staircase
they're standing on -- looks suitably Gothic. All the pictures around them
look batty too :D

PAGE 314-315: SNAPE IN DUNGEON

Oooh, Rickers. Alan Rickman is looking more like Metatron from Dogma than
any other role I've seen him in. A perfect Snape!

Interesting mad-scientist potion bottles next to him. Also interesting is
the blackboard with what looks like astronomical markings (though not really
Zodiacal) on it. Perhaps this has something to do with potions'
effectiveness?

Also, and something I remember from the trailer, there's too much light
coming through those windows! It's a DUNGEON. In SCOTLAND. In SEPTEMBER.
It's not that sunny! The sun is really never that strong, so it's either
artificial lighting in Hogwarts (which we've never heard about) or a
production SNAFU.

PAGE 316-317: THE FOUR HOUSE GHOSTS

Perhaps my least favourite of the pictures. The Bloody Baron looks jolly
rather than menacing Slytherin type. The Fat Friar looks like a woman about
to launch into a Valkyrian aria. Nearly Headless Nick looks silly in that
his head comes off at a curved angle, as if an image was simply
cut-and-pasted. Blurgh...we want vertebrae! The Grey Lady looks okay, but
not really grey enough...she should be older. Love the setting
though...looks like one of the side naves of Durham Cathedral to me.

PAGE 318-319: THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM

This is definitely my favourite picture. Alicia, Wood, Katie, Angelina,
George, Harry and Fred are all in the Gryffindor common room.

The Quidditch uniform consists of wooly jumpers, horizontally striped in a
style reminiscent of rugby shirts (stripes about a fist-width thick), and
with a Gryffindor emblem over the heart. The trousers are tan corduroys,
with funny greaves (shin pads) and gauntlets (wrist pads), and they're
wearing things that look like rugby boots without the spikes. The
capes/robes are red outside and gold inside. In all, it looks like a cross
between polo and rugby :D

Alicia looks good (hadn't pictured her as black/Indian-Pakistani Asian),
with a friendly-but-not-overtly so look. Wood looks great -- slightly stoned
perhaps, but great. Perhaps a little thinner than I was picturing, but
great. Katie looks very sarcastic, in that Gryffindor sort of way. Angelina
looks like a really *nice* person. Dan looks very small and lost, and I
think he must have his eyebrows raised under that mop of hair (don't they
have hairdressers in the wizarding world?!). Fred and George don't look
anything like I pictured them. Limp hair, taller than I was thinking, and
with totally different face structure. All in all, though, a fantastic
casting group.

The Gryffindor common room has ghastly tapestries on the walls. How
depressing! Lots of dark wood and uncomfortable-looking chairs. Oh, how
attractive the Slytherin dungeon's looking right now...

PAGE 320-321: RON ON A CHESS PIECE (KNIGHT)

I like this! Rupert looks very small and dirty (good!) and is holding onto a
static-looking black knight. There's fire all around and other pieces
(bishop, knight) are standing around looking very still. Of course, the
movement will probably be edited in, so this picture loooks very
post-apocalyptic with the fires in the background.

____________________________________

All in all, I'm thrilled and think I got my $4's worth -- far better deal
than the poster book which I looked at!

Anyone got comments?

-John

__s_c_h_n_o_o_g_l_e_._c_o_m___________

John Walton -- Crazy Ivan
ivan at schnoogle.com

www.schnoogle.com/authors/crazyivan

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