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PoA screening interview with Pat
Veritaserum.com:
First of all could you tell me how you got into the test screening?
Pat:
Well, this is the second screening I'd been to; we got into the first movie as well. Then it was just some lady in a mall asking people if they'd like to see a free screening to an up and coming movie, but they wouldn't tell us what it was. My parents decided it would be cool to try, and it turned out to be Harry Potter 1. The same thing happened again, except that they were outside of my sister's school. They just asked if we wanted to see a screening of a soon to be released Warner Brothers movie. So we invited some friends and went.
Veritaserum.com:
How many people were you allowed to invite?
Pat:
I don't really think there was a limit. Personally, I think my folks went a little overboard when they invited 21 people to come, but there were some huge groups of people in the theater.
Veritaserum.com:
21? How many schools did they do this at?
Pat:
I have no idea. I'm pretty sure it was all over the city.
Veritaserum.com:
What did they tell you when asking folks to sign up?
Pat:
Well, they just asked if we wanted to see a free screening of a movie, and as my mom had done this before, she was a little suspicious of what it was. So she asked, and they said they couldn't tell her; just that it was a sequel to a major Warner Brothers movie. I thought it was Shrek 2, but I wasn't sure if that was a WB film or not.
Veritaserum.com:
So you just signed up and were in? What did they give you to allow you admittance?
Pat:
Well, I didn't really do most of this, so I'm not too sure, but they gave us this blue sheet and we were supposed to call in and say how many people were coming and write the name of the telephone operator at the top of the page. So my parents kept calling people and inviting, and then calling the office, so in the end we had like seven telephone operators listed. And then we just stood in this line at the theater for 45 minutes and they gave us this little blue ticket, and we went in. There was actually fairly low security.
Veritaserum.com:
Are you impressed with what you saw in the movie?
Pat:
I had fun, but I'm not really sure what I think of the film. It was really great to see how they did the special effects and such, but otherwise it seemed like we were watching a bad play. But that's mostly because it wasn't finished.
Veritaserum.com:
What did the dementors look like?
Pat:
Imagine a skeleton, and then cut off the hips so it ends in a spine, and then add a ratty black cloak with a hole cut for the mouth. And they flew, which bothered me a bit because I'm a bit of a purist.
Veritaserum.com:
What do you mean by purist?
Pat:
I don't like it when they change stuff from the books. For example, the fact that Peeves isn't in the story really angered me.
Veritaserum.com:
So Lupin does not perform the Waddiwasi spell in the movie?
Pat:
No.
Veritaserum.com:
Can you tell me what happens in the dementor's kiss scene?
Pat:
That was kind of weird. Most of the dementors weren't finished being animated, and a lot of the graphics weren't put in yet. For example, they kept showing shots of the lake and then saying "lake is freezing over". But it was a little hard to tell exactly what was going on. But Sirius's soul is a little white ball that floats out of his mouth.
Veritaserum.com:
Is the Patronus what you pictured it'd be?
Pat:
No, not really. A lot more shock waves than I expected. It runs at the dementors and there are all these spheres of light radiating out from it. It may have just been the unfinished computer images, but that's what it looked like.
Veritaserum.com:
What shape is it?
Pat:
That was also a little weird. The first time he attempts the Patronus Charm, it comes out as a something resembling a spouting fountain. But it's like a flashlight. When you turn it on, a ray comes out.
Veritaserum.com:
What shape was the final Patronus?
Pat:
A stag
Veritaserum.com:
Was it ever in the form of a shield?
Pat:
Well, I guess you could consider the spouting fountain/ray a shield.
Veritaserum.com:
How is the Time Turner scene?
Pat:
That was pretty cool, in a simple sort of way. You just see everybody moving backwards around Harry and Hermione as they turn back time.
Veritaserum.com:
What does the Time Turner look like?
Pat:
A gyroscope with an hourglass in the center, but I don't remember it too clearly.
Veritaserum.com:
Is it true that there's a huge pendulum in the middle of Hogwarts grounds?
Pat:
Yes, that was pretty cool, even though it wasn't in the books.
Veritaserum.com:
How much time in the film do they spend at the Dursley's house?
Pat:
Just the beginning, maybe five minutes.
Veritaserum.com:
What does the Grim look like?
Pat:
A big dog- they weren't finished with it yet. They only had its basic shape.
Veritaserum.com:
How long is the movie?
Pat:
Around two hours.
Veritaserum.com:
How many people were present at the screening?
Pat:
100-150; it's a pretty big theater.
Veritaserum.com:
Was Alfonso Cuaron present?
Pat:
Yes, but I didn't get a chance to talk to him.
Veritaserum.com:
How did you get across your comments?
Pat:
They had a short survey we were supposed to fill out, and then some folks stayed behind and were recorded answering pretty simple questions about the movie (basically the same stuff that was on the survey).
Veritaserum.com:
What was the average age group present at the screening?
Pat:
Around ten, I think.
Veritaserum.com:
What was your favorite scene?
Pat:
The beginning was amazing, then end sucked more than anything I've ever seen, and the middle was hard to judge.
Veritaserum.com:
Can you explain?
Pat:
The beginning of the movie was all-around good. The special effects were in for the first part which made it look great, [Daniel] Radcliffe's acting was very good, Aunt Marge's floating was remarkable, and the Knight Bus was amazing (it will probably be shortened, though, because it was so long). There were also some cool details in the Leaky Cauldron.
Veritaserum.com:
How so?
Pat:
There are little magical flourishes and such, and there's this talking shrunken head in the Knight Bus; the driver is pretty funny.
Veritaserum.com:
What does the shrunken head do?
Pat:
It just yells stuff at the driver in a crazy Jamaican accent. The shrunken heads keep showing; they were a nice touch. It did get annoying at some parts, though.
Veritaserum.com:
How long did that go on?
Pat:
The Knight Bus scene was pretty long. I'm not sure how long it was, but it was a couple minutes at least.
Veritaserum.com:
What did you think of Emma Thompson as Trelawney?
Pat:
She was pretty good, but I don't really know her from anything else, though.
Veritaserum.com:
How about Quidditch?
Pat:
Definitely not enough of it- there was one short scene.
Veritaserum.com:
What match?
Pat:
The one where he falls off his broom [Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw]. It was really cool, but it was too short.
Veritaserum.com:
What did the Firebolt look like?
Pat:
Ugly. And you only see it for two seconds at the end! It's like they forgot to really put it in the story, so they stick it at the end. Basically, everything is over, and the big climax has passed when they decide to insert in the Firebolt.
Veritaserum.com:
There's not a scene with the Firebolt being given to Harry then taken away by McGonagall?
Pat:
No- there's not any talk of who it's from, and there are no confiscations. In the last scene, Harry comes down to the Gryffindor table, to find Seamus and a bunch of people huddled around something on the table. He comes pushes his way into the group and sees the Firebolt. They say something along the lines of "I didn't mean to open it!" and "It's the fastest broom ever!" Then Harry takes it outside, where Malfoy makes fun of him saying he doesn't even know how to ride it. Harry then takes off on it, and the movie ends on a freeze frame of his face.
Veritaserum.com:
He doesn't use it in the matches?
Pat:
No, and there is only one match.
Veritaserum.com:
He uses his Nimbus 2000 during the match?
Pat:
Yes.
Veritaserum.com:
Is it raining throughout the match?
Pat:
Yes.
Veritaserum.com:
What did you think of Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew?
Pat:
Ugly, yet convincing.
Veritaserum.com:
How would you describe him in the film?
Pat:
Creepy and gross. He has these two huge front teeth.
Veritaserum.com:
What are your thoughts on Crookshanks?
Pat:
You only see him for about two seconds, but I guess he was alright.
Veritaserum.com:
To clear up some confusion: Is the Shrieking Shack scene overall dark or light? Because from the books, many get the impression that because it takes place at night, it's dark. But some pictures have shown the Shrieking Shack as being rather light.
Pat:
Well, it's hard to say. You see, with these types of scenes, (night scenes, I believe it was), they put it through a blue filter to darken everything, even when they are shooting in daylight. So there are several scenes when they were talking about it being night even when it was obviously day. I don't really know, but it looked like it was going to be dark.
Veritaserum.com:
What do you think of David Thewlis's performance?
Pat:
He was good, but he's got this ugly mustache.
Veritaserum.com:
What did you think of the boggart? What did it look like, and how many times did it transform?
Pat:
It was pretty good, but when Lupin stepped up, it quite obviously became the moon- there were clouds and everything. It transformed a couple times, but I never saw what it really looks like.
Veritaserum.com:
What was your least favorite scene from the film and why?
Pat:
The ending, with the Firebolt. It seemed so wrong.
Veritaserum.com:
Do the trio use robes during the film?
Pat:
Not for most of it, no.
Veritaserum.com:
What parts do they wear them in, and what parts do they not?
Pat:
I can only remember them wearing them during classes.
Veritaserum.com:
Do you think it's a better film than the first two?
Pat:
I'm not really sure. I don't want to make a call until it's finished.
Veritaserum.com:
What is the Marauder's Map like?
Pat:
Pretty cool, but they hadn't finished it yet. Most of the time it was just a map. When people are supposed to be walking, there are little footprints and there are these banners underneath that say their name.
Veritaserum.com:
How about Hogsmeade?
Pat:
There isn't very much of it, unfortunately. There's really just the inn and the shack.
Veritaserum.com:
Is it filled to the brim with candy?
Pat:
No, Zonkos isn't even shown. They only mention it.
Veritaserum.com:
Currently, does Cuaron include the scene where Harry throws some mud at Malfoy when underneath the Invisibility Cloak?
Pat:
Yes, but it's snow instead of mud in the film.
Veritaserum.com:
If you could give the movie a rating (1-10, one is the worst, ten is the best), what would you give it?
Pat:
A six.
-03/03/04
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