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Harry Potter fans are set to get a double treat in the film of the final story – and movie makers are set to double their money.


Crew working on the sixth Potter film, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, have been told J.K. Rowling's seventh novel, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, will be released in two halves.

For film-makers Warner Bros, whose first five Potter films have made £2.5billion in box office receipts – more than any other movie series – it could mean a £500million bonus in ticket sales.

But sources insist the reason behind the two-movie plan is artistic rather than financial.

The books got progressively longer – the first, the Philosopher's Stone, had 223 pages while Deathly Hallows has 776 – and fans have complained chunks of later novels have been left out of films.

A film source said: "There's so much to fit that the view is the last movie should be in two halves. There is a huge battle when Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, takes on Voldemort that needs to be done really well."

And Ms Rowling points out on her website: "It is simply impossible to incorporate every storyline into a film under four hours long."

At Warner Bros, who are rumoured to be thinking of Oscars and a big-name director such as Steven Spielberg for the final film, a spokesman said:

"People are discussing all possibilities."

So is this going to be a Grindhouse type deal or more of a Kill Bill Vol 1/2 deal? Question is how long until they release the second half? It's got to be pretty close to the first half release. Smart move by WB. They'll be raking in the bucks on this flick.

Very cool news. I hope they release 1 part in the summer and then 2nd part in the fall.

They'll definitely be swimming in the money because everyone will see the 1st part and then they'll have to see the 2nd.

Oh and please no Spielberg.

Yeah.. forget spielberg and get me some Del Toro..


http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/01/08/...athly-hallows/

Oscars for a Harry Potter movie? I don't know about that.

Actually, splitting it into two could hurt their chances, as they could split the vote between each part if they are released in one year. There was a discussion about this with the Matrix sequels, where Warner wanted them to count as one for the visual effects award, but the academy said no.

I suggest George Lucas. That way he can ruin the childhood of everyone left who he hasn't managed to screw over yet.

Why would the crew working on the current film be notified before a single frame has been shot on the next? It wouldn't impact them in any way. This rumor has gone around before, I think it is just being stirred up again.

I would be surprised if they end up splitting it. It's a little too early to speculate anyway. Kloves hasn't even started on the script (and he can't at the moment). Besides, they considered doing this in the past for Goblet of Fire but didn't. There is quite a bit of stuff that can be cut from the Deathly Hallows book.

First, they could they could just have Harry and Dumbledore...

If they're filmed separately then it would certainly impact the crew, although I doubt they would go that route.

Yeah, I'd rather they didn't split it into two. You don't have to have everything from the book in there. That's why it's the movie version. And wasn't Book 5 like the longest book but the shortest movie? Plenty of filler that won't be missed too badly...

Exactly my point: they wouldn't film them separately, they would film them all at once and then edit them as separate films. And why would the production crew need to know this information before the script has even been finished (or possibly started)? It just seems like a rumor being recirculated again.

Yeah, they could easily skip his experimenting with drugs, his first sexual encounter, his emo period, etc.

BTW, who is going to write the script? Is it finished, or do they have to wait for the strike to end?

I like the Harry Potter movie but do feel that they are too long. If I want to know all of the storylines then I will read the books.

DH is a pretty slow book, and one of the worst in the series. Who wants to watch Harry and crew teleporting around England for four hours? 3 hrs tops, if they cut some deaths and side-stories.

They can do all the hiding bits as a montage.
There is a lot of action in the book, but it brackets 15 chapters of Harry and Hermione doing nothing.

I don't care how they do it, probably because I never read the books, as long as Del Toro is in I'm there watching. Sometimes I wish there were two of him so he could finish every project he announces he's starting.

It makes sense. An extra movie means WB can milk out more money from the franchise before it stops. And the books definitely got longer as they progressed, which meant more and more got cut out. Having two parts allows for less stuff to to be dropped, and considering it's the last film, you probably want to bring about a proper resolution to the whole saga. The more run time yo have, the more you can incorporate.

Maybe they could have done this before, but given the release schedule of the movies (about every year and a half), it would be difficult to release two parters. With no installment after Deathly Hallows, it's much easier to break it in two.

I'll believe it when I see it. This rumor has come up for every Potter flick since part 4. To top it off, this source isn't exactly the most reliable.

I would buy that she wants a big name director over the movie split. I think she might want awards for this one.

Chris Columbus should be offered the final film. I'm not saying he would or even should direct it, but he's earned the right to say yes or no.

Wow. I'm glad they are looking at that option. I was wondering how they were going to do it and what they were going to cut to fit it into just one film.

I'm glad they'll do it that way, because the storyline in Deathly Hallows is very long and very complex. I think the best cutoff point for the end of the first part is--

No thanks - it wasn't until part 3 that the films got watchable, IMHO.