Post by Lolua on Feb 2, 2005 20:12:46 GMT -5
Matthew, webmaster of Veritaserum.com (which I have been frequenting lately), writes:
Source: www.veritaserum.com/columns/hpmusings/01-30-05.shtml
Here's the card, courtesy TLC:
back (with the relevant passage): www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/images/2004/05/leavingmapcard2.jpg
front (with the picture): www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/images/2004/05/leavingmapcard1.jpg
And, for the curious, an (almost) complete listing of the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie trading cards, hosted by TLC:
www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/MTarchives/004504.html
*moves over picture of Steve Kloves to make room on the proverbial dartboard for Alfonso Cuaron and Steven Weisberg*
I bounced out of the movie theatre at 2:30 AM on June 4th excited and quite satisfied. I had just seen the film that I’d been anticipating for what seemed an eternity and was awed by its brilliance. Although I recognized that a film is a completely different medium than a book and that certain elements must be altered or omitted, one thing still irked me: the lack of an explanation about the Marauders. If all traces of the Marauders subplot had been left out of the movie, I would have been content. But nay! The movie makes it clear that something is awry – both Lupin and Black know without being told by Harry that this “spare bit of parchment” is indeed a map of Hogwarts. “How?” questions the viewer who has not read the books. The movie, for a reason I still cannot comprehend, doesn’t answer that question.
This omission was widely criticized by fans, most of whom laid the blame on one man: Steven Kloves, the scriptwriter. I, too, thought he was at fault for this, but a recent discovery has prompted me to think otherwise. I was rummaging through my Prisoner of Azkaban trading cards the other day, and this description on the back of card #89 struck me:
> "Harry visits Lupin his office and learns that he has resigned. They then discuss the
> Patronus Harry conjured by the Black Lake. Lupin reveals that James Potter used to
> transform into a stag whenever Lupin was 'sick.' Not long after this conversation, Harry
> receives a new broom... and soon finds himself reveling in the joy of flight once more!"
The trading cards were printed several months prior to the release of the film, which is why a few of them show images from scenes that didn’t make it past the final cut. On the back of each is a description of the scene shown on the front. The description is of what takes place in the movie, not the book, as we can tell from the line stating that Harry discovers his Firebolt right after his final chat with Lupin, which is not how it unfolds in Rowling’s tome. This makes it seem as though Kloves originally included an explanation of the Marauders in the script, but Cuaron cut it during the editing stage for reasons unbeknownst to the fandom. Cuaron isn’t a huge fan of the books – in fact, he didn’t even read them until he was offered the director’s chair. Perhaps he didn’t realize the significance of the Marauders and chose to axe the explanation due to time constraints. Alas, in my opinion and those of many others, this was a grave mistake. Still, though, not anything major enough to mar the film.
This omission was widely criticized by fans, most of whom laid the blame on one man: Steven Kloves, the scriptwriter. I, too, thought he was at fault for this, but a recent discovery has prompted me to think otherwise. I was rummaging through my Prisoner of Azkaban trading cards the other day, and this description on the back of card #89 struck me:
> "Harry visits Lupin his office and learns that he has resigned. They then discuss the
> Patronus Harry conjured by the Black Lake. Lupin reveals that James Potter used to
> transform into a stag whenever Lupin was 'sick.' Not long after this conversation, Harry
> receives a new broom... and soon finds himself reveling in the joy of flight once more!"
The trading cards were printed several months prior to the release of the film, which is why a few of them show images from scenes that didn’t make it past the final cut. On the back of each is a description of the scene shown on the front. The description is of what takes place in the movie, not the book, as we can tell from the line stating that Harry discovers his Firebolt right after his final chat with Lupin, which is not how it unfolds in Rowling’s tome. This makes it seem as though Kloves originally included an explanation of the Marauders in the script, but Cuaron cut it during the editing stage for reasons unbeknownst to the fandom. Cuaron isn’t a huge fan of the books – in fact, he didn’t even read them until he was offered the director’s chair. Perhaps he didn’t realize the significance of the Marauders and chose to axe the explanation due to time constraints. Alas, in my opinion and those of many others, this was a grave mistake. Still, though, not anything major enough to mar the film.
Here's the card, courtesy TLC:
back (with the relevant passage): www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/images/2004/05/leavingmapcard2.jpg
front (with the picture): www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/images/2004/05/leavingmapcard1.jpg
And, for the curious, an (almost) complete listing of the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie trading cards, hosted by TLC:
www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/MTarchives/004504.html
*moves over picture of Steve Kloves to make room on the proverbial dartboard for Alfonso Cuaron and Steven Weisberg*