First notes from Deathly Hallows – Part 1 junket in London

We just wrapped up the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 press junket in London.  What follows are some of our notes from the 20 minutes we had with each of the actors and crew who attended:

– On John Williams not returning for Deathly Hallows – Part 2, director David Yates said that in order for John to have returned, he would’ve needed to provide John with a rough cut of the film sooner than was possible.  Their schedules simply did not align, but he did make it clear both Williams and Yates wanted to work with each other.

– Yates said he saw a rough cut of Part 2 a couple weeks ago and consulted JK Rowling about a few scenes.  He said she was very helpful (but he did not say what they discussed).

– Yates said he removed a lot of the exposition found in the book in order to focus on the action going on instead.  A direct quote will be provided later.

– Yates spoke passionately about the need to convert the films for 3D the correct way, citing their distate and pleasure with a couple specific scenes.  And exact quote will be provided later.

– Tom Felton says he owes everything to David Yates.  His encouragement helped Tom realize he wants to continue acting for the long term.

– Producers David Heyman and David Barron spoke at length about on-location filming and how many scenes in Part 1 were actually not shot outside of a studio despite appearing so.  They say fake exterior scenes would not have been possible with past films.  Though, they do enjoy heading out for on-location shoots from time to time.

– Emma Watson had a lot to say about her time at Brown University.  She’s currently majoring in History.  She had to prove to her teachers that she’s a hard working, serious student in order to leave classes for two weeks in order to do publicity for Part 1.

– Emma’s new hair cut in person looks amazing.

– Keep a close eye out for real pictures of Emma as a child in the film.

– Emma got slightly emotional when talking about the relationship between Hermione obliviating her parents’ mind and Emma’s real life situation with her parents having been separated.

– Emma said she enjoyed having two films for one book because it allowed plenty of room for them to work.  With previous films they had sometimes asked her to rush her lines because of time limits.

– Dan Radcliffe says rehearsals for his musical debut in ‘How to Suceed in Business’ is going well, with practicing currently happening for 9 hours a week.  Rehearsals are set to start in January.

– Rupert was given the deluminator as a parting gift from the franchise.  He also took the #4 sign off the Dursley’s home at Privet Drive.

– Rupert revealed that part of the plans for the new Harry Potter museum at Leavesden Studios include recreations of Dan, Rupert, and Emma’s dressing rooms.