Interview with Matthew Vines

Ben: Okay. Yo everybody! Welcome to this surprise edition of MuggleCast. I’m Ben Schoen.

Andrew: And I’m uhm...oh yeah, Andrew Sims.

Ben: And today joining us is Matthew Vines from Veritaserum and he’s, he’s already seen the movie and we’re going to be having a nice little chat about it. How are you doing, Matt?

Matt: Good thanks.

Ben: Ah, okay. So, with that in mind, like, I don’t think there’s anything to discuss. If you want to hear about Harry Potter news or anything else listen to the other podcast. Okay!

[Andrew laughs]

Ben: Let’s get down to business. Matt, what did you think of the movie?

Matt: Well you know, to be honest, it pretty much sucked.

[Andrew gasps]

Ben: Oooooh!

Andrew: Oooooh!

Ben: Take that WB!

Matt: No, no I’m kidding. I’m kidding. It was pretty much the best thing ever.

Ben: Did you cry?

Matt: You know I did, which is strange because I never...

[Ben and Andrew laugh]

Matt: Well, I never cry during movies, movies just don’t... I didn’t cry in the book when Cedric died but, are we jumping right to the end then? Because actually, no I do have something to say about that because, yeah, I loved the way they did the whole death thing. You know how in the book it's just really cut and dry and it just happens and it's over with and it's just...you know it's pretty harsh, you know? It's just "kill the spare," boom he’s dead and that’s it. That’s the end of Cedric, you know? There’s no sappy romance scene at the end and then he falls off a mountain or something.

Ben: Yeah.

Matt: It just happens like that and they keep the whole "kill the spare" line in the movie and he just, you know, falls over dead. It hits him [psschhh], he’s spread-eagled on the ground. It was pretty awesome. And, but see that wasn’t sad because, you know, [psschhh] he’s just asleep but, but then you get back and you know, Voldemort’s resurrected, blah blah blah, and then... Well, this is where it was actually pretty chilling because you know, they get down the Portkey and they get back to, I think there’s a picture that’s online somewhere. They get back in the center of the third task stadium and everyone’s cheering, and the band is playing happy music and everyone’s clapping and screaming, it's like happy screaming. And you know, everyone’s real excited because they think they just both won and then the cheering kind of like subsides and Fleur then...argh...that... Okay, then she just like lets out this really high-pitched scream because she realizes what happens and then, you know, and then everyone starts to realize that he’s dead and Amos Diggory then comes out of the crowd and that’s the part that really gets to you. Because they totally left out the stuff at the beginning where Amos is being a real jerk to Harry and is like "Oh, my son beat you," because then you wouldn’t feel for him very much. So, he’s nice to Harry in the whole movie. It’s just...

Ben: Right, right.

Matt: It’s just...argh...

Ben: Phenomenal.

Matt: That was just, that was really sad actually because...argh! Yeah, okay, you’ll have to...

Ben: Okay, Andrew has a question.

Andrew: Okay, so you saw the movie twice. Was there anything that you noticed the second time around, differently from the first time?

Ben: Uhm...yeah. Ah, let’s see. The scene in the Great Hall, I noticed a sandwich tray floating by in the background.

[All laughs]

Matt: Yeah.

Andrew: I guess that’s what I meant!

[Andrew laughs]

Matt: It’s true.

Ben: So okay, tell me, what do you think about Ralph Fiennes doing Voldemort? What did you think?

Matt: I was pretty nervous about that because if they got Jim Carrey or someone like Jim Carrey to be Voldemort, it would have killed the entire movie. You know, you can’t have some little...

Andrew: Well Jim Carrey’s a joke.

Ben: Yeah.

Andrew: A good one.

Ben: But anyways, what do you think about...?

Matt: Yeah but so...and I always liked Ralph Fiennes.

Ben: How did Ralph Fiennes do it?

Matt: But you know, you really need to be able to capture the character because there’s so many layers to it, you know, you need to know his motivation to really understand how you’re going to act it out. And oh, I was so impressed. I was so impressed. He really made the movie for me. And I’m just...he didn’t overdo it at all, but you know, he just, he just did the right amount of everything. And argh...the part where he puts his foot on Cedric’s face, you know after he’s dead and he just like, he just puts his foot on his face and just like turns it over, and it's just so heartless, but so cool!

[All laugh]

Matt: So awesome.

Andrew: Now have you seen that new picture that got out today from like a French magazine that...

Ben: That’s not Lord Voldemort.

Matt: No! No! No!

Andrew: Okay.

Matt: I think that’s a Death Eater, but we never get that close up at it. We never see a Death Eater that close. You know the part in one of the trailers, there’s how many of them, 15-20? Where like you see that hand grabbing for something and it pulls it off? Do you remember that? I think it’s, I don’t know which one it’s in but that’s Voldemort pulling off one of the Death Eater’s masks. And when he pulls off their masks, they like drop to the ground. I guess they’re in agony or something, I don’t know. That was not in the book. And they added in a female Death Eater too. I thought that was interesting. It's not Bellatrix.

Ben: And also what do you...like...can you tell me like what they change from the book to the movie, like what got lost?

Andrew: What were the biggest changes?

Ben: Yes, the biggest changes.

Matt: Well the biggest stuff, you know, we all know. SPEW got cut, the Dursleys got cut, blah blah blah, Quidditch World Cup got cut. Well okay, I have to explain that.

Andrew: What? Oh.

Matt: The Quidditch World Cup didn’t completely get cut, but you don’t see any of the actual match. Like, you see all the pre-game stuff, the Leprechauns dancing around in the air, Krum coming in doing some awesome flips on his broom and they’re like "Woo!" and then Cornelius Fudge is like "And let the match begin!" And then it's over, and then you just go straight to the Death Eaters. Because, you know, the match really has nothing to do with the book.

Ben: Right.

Matt: It doesn’t affect so. So, they just skip the match.

Ben: What about the dream scene at the beginning. Is that pretty cool? With Frank Bryce?

Matt: Oh yeah, Frank Bryce is in it. He’s in the first scene. Oh! The first scene was really cool, just the way they did it. It’s very thriller-ish.

Ben: Does Harry wake up at the Dursleys?

Matt: No, he wakes up in Ron’s room. And...

Ben: No, I mean, sorry I meant, did he wake up…yeah, did he wake up at the Weasleys not the Dursleys.

Matt: Yeah and then he’s like "Oh, scary dream," blah blah blah.

Ben: Okay, so. And what about the Ministry reaction, like at the end?

Matt: See that...that...that...

Ben: Like the parting of the ways or whatever?

Matt: I was, yeah I was a little disappointed that got cut. Because then you have to include it at the beginning of the fifth movie. And do you know, they also left out a couple of big things that I wasn’t expecting them to like the fact that Barty Crouch Junior dies. That’s left out. All you see of him is Snape and him in a room alone and then that’s all you... They’re saying he’s still alive then. So, if you haven’t read the book you would just assume he’s still alive and "Oh, he might come back in No. 5...”

Ben: Nice.

Matt: And they had left out Rita Skeeter being a beetle.

Ben: They did?

Matt: Yeah, but Miranda Richardson rocks. She rocks the house. The hizzle.

[Andrew laughs]

Ben: So for any of you that don’t know, Miranda Richardson played Rita Skeeter, just to clarify that.

Matt: What?

Ben: Oh I was just clarifying for the listeners that Miranda Richardson played Rita Skeeter.

Matt: If you don’t know that Miranda Richardson plays Rita Skeeter, you don’t deserve to be seeing the movie.

[Andrew laughs]

Ben: Oh! Ooooh!

Matt: And if you don’t know that William Melling plays the new first year named Nigel, you don’t deserve to be seeing it either. Actually, I’m kidding there.

Ben: Oh.

Matt: Because who knows that? But he’s cute.

Ben: Yeah, you do! [Laughs]

Andrew: Warner Brothers is going to be losing a lot of money if you go by Matt’s rules!

[Matt laughs]

Ben: Yeah, so...

Matt: I’ll be the only person in the theater.

[All laugh]

Andrew: You and Eric Scull.

[All laugh]

Matt: Yeah.

Ben: What about Dumbledore, what about Dumbledore?

Matt: Okay that I didn’t like at all.

Ben: Better than Prisoner of Azkaban?

Matt: Oh I love Michael Gambon, Gambone, whatever, how you say his last name, I don’t know. But...

Ben: But was he better than Prisoner of Azkaban?

Matt: Well he had a lot more screen time. But I kind of hated what they did with his character. And it's not his fault, he did a good job acting it out but this is...like they just made him too weak in this one and Harry sees lots of flaws in Dumbledore already. And Dumbledore’s indecisive, he doesn’t know everything and, you know, in the fourth book he’s not. In the fourth book he is, you know, almighty.

Ben: Yeah. So, like what about the scene with Harry in the prefects’ bathroom? What did you think about seeing Harry with his shirt off?

[Ben and Andrew laugh]

Matt: Well Moaning Myrtle certainly had some thoughts on that subject.

[All laugh]

Ben: I was just kidding. Yeah, geez. Do you have any questions, like when you went to the movie you know, it was sort of, you like, you had all these things lingering in your mind, like what’s going to go on here, was any of that answered?

Matt: Well the one big thing I was worried about besides Voldemort was that the action would completely dominate the movie and it would just turn into one of those stupid summer blockbuster things that has no substance. You know? Because the book has so much action and Newell is always talking about how he just you know, chopped out all the subplots to make it a thriller, which could be really cool but it could also be really stupid, you know? Just like "Oh, let’s have action, let’s have a dragon, let’s have mermaids, blah blah blah." Well, where’s the plot? But no, they actually did a really good job of incorporating enough to give it a really strong base, substance, whatever.

Ben: So do you think they did a pretty good job, being able to transfer over a 735-page book to a two-and-a-half-hour movie?

Matt: Well...

Ben: Do you think that it was reasonable, the way they did it?

Matt: Pretty much, pretty much. But I still think they should have opted for a three-hour movie. I mean Lord of the Rings is what, like, six hours on the DVDs and three-and-a-half-hours in the theaters and those were really, really successful. Oh well, oh well, they still don’t get it.

Ben: Could you talk a little bit about how, like...have there been any changes in like the acting like of the trio from Prisoner of Azkaban to Goblet of Fire? Like, have they improved a lot or have they sort of stayed the same? Or what do you think?

Matt: Well, let’s see. Dan’s crying scene is a whole lot better than it was in the third one. Thank goodness. Because that was embarrassing in the third one.

Ben: What does he say to Hermione, he says "They killed my parents" or whatever.

Matt: Well no, well yeah and he’s just like...

Andrew: Doesn’t he say that in every movie?

[Ben and Andrew laugh]

Matt: He’s just kind of like sniffling, he’s like "Sniff, Sniff" and then you know, Hermione goes and pulls off his cloak. Does he have any tears? No! And he’s just like "I’m going to find him and I’m going to kill him."

Ben: Yeah. "I’m going to find him, and when I do, I’m going to kill him."

Matt: Great time. No, so that was the lamest thing in the third movie and I remember some interviewer, Alfonso Cuaron was like "Yeah, they really had to dig deep for those emotional scenes. I think they did a great job." No, that was the worst thing about the third movie. Like, I was really embarrassed to watch it in the theaters with other people because you know, I’m watching the movie and thinking "Oh never mind, never mind." But, this one was a lot better. Like he’s still got, he’s still got some room to improve with his crying. But let’s see, one thing that made it better is that he actually had something real to cry about in this one. Wherein the last one it was like "Oh, Sirius Black is my godfather. Let’s cry." You know? And the audience doesn’t really feel for him in the third one when he’s crying, it's like, "Who cares?"

Ben: Were there any corny parts like in Prisoner of Azkaban where he’s like, "Woo-hoo, I’m flying on a hippogriff. I’m king of the world!" Were there any scenes like that?

Matt: You know I actually didn’t think that was that corny, I kind of liked that part. Well, there is one line that some people might think is corny. I actually didn’t think it was that corny, I liked it. It's just when Harry walks into the Weasleys' tent and its like, "Woah, this is like five times bigger than it looks, how cool is that?" He has these lines like "I love magic." And I don’t know. He does it pretty well actually. He could have done it really cheesily, but I like the way he did that. So, no cheesy parts are coming to mind, but I think there were a couple.

Ben: I think we need to go back to the graveyard scene. Tell like...just give us a description of what happened there?

Matt: Uhm...okay. Big spoiler right here. Voldemort comes back.

[Andrew gasps]

Matt: Dun-dun-dun!

Andrew: So what did you think about the way that Steve Kloves interpreted the whole graveyard scene where Wormtail was brewing the potion, the bone of the father, the blood of the enemy, the flesh of the enemy, all that. What did you think?

Matt: It was so creepy. I actually, I acted out that scene tonight at this Halloween party, but never mind. Because they had this spare bone there and a cauldron so...

Ben: What did you think when he cut his own arm off, did that get pretty bloody or...?

Matt: Well no, you don’t see the blood. You see him bring the knife down until it’s like really, really close to his arm and he’s moving it really fast and then it switches. Because you know, you don’t want to risk an R rating. Have all this blood and guts.

Ben: Yeah.

Matt: And no one needs to see the blood streaming out to get the idea that he just cut his wrist off. Or cut his hand off.

Ben: So what about the Priori Incantatem, like, did like the spirits come out and all that or...?

Matt: Well, there was one thing I should have included in that but they didn’t which is how it picked up Voldemort and Harry and like transferred them away from the Death Eaters. They didn’t include it, but they did have the nice little ring. It took a while for it to form, but they eventually got the nice ring around them and then Adrian...

Ben: Did Harry’s parents come out?

Matt: Yeah. Adrian Rawlins and Geram Something-Somerville. [Geraldine Somerville] Sorry, I don’t remember their names. I don’t deserve to be seeing the movie. But yeah, they came out and they were just like, "Ah Harry, you don’t have much time, but we’ll give you time. Go back to the Portkey.” Yeah, and then Cedric was just like, "Bring my body back Harry. Bring my body back." So, that’s pretty much all they’re saying. And then, but Harry didn’t have any trouble getting back to the Portkey like he did in the book. He didn’t even have to think he was just like, "I'll see ya!"

Ben: Yeah. What about Stanislav Ianveski or whatever, I can’t pronounce his name.

Matt: Stan Ianevski?

Ben: Yeah. Stan Ianevski. What did you think, how did he do Krum, was it good?

Matt: He only had one line.

Ben: Really? Which was?

Matt: I think it...

Ben: Hermy, Hermy. Her-mee-oh-nee.

Andrew: What's...what do you mean he only had one line?

Matt: That’s Grawp’s line. But uhm...it’s just... Hey, have you ever heard him talking in the TV spots or trailers? No.

Andrew: Yeah, that’s true.

Matt: He doesn’t do much talking. Because you know, that one clip that was released in that huge batch the other day where Hermione was saying something like "He’s more of a physical being or something," which is true in the movie. He has one line and that’s to Rita Skeeter, he’s just like, "Get out of our tent, it’s for champions and friends of champions." Yeah.

[Ben laughs]

Andrew: Does Hagrid make some good appearances?

Matt: [Laughs] Yes!

Andrew: Oh I mean with the Yule Ball, obviously.

Matt: Yes. Well he doesn’t do all that much in the Yule Ball. But you get a whole lot of the Hagrid...

Andrew: Well, we’ve seen a lot of...

Matt: Well there’s just that one shot of him and Madam Maxime dancing, but that’s it.

Andrew: Oh right.

Matt: He doesn’t have any...and they cut out the whole "Oh, he’s a giant" thing.

Andrew: So, where does he play a big role?

Matt: It’s a... Let’s see, there’s a couple of scenes that...well, like the one that was on Extra, I think or E! or something, where, you know, with the one where Harry goes to see the dragons and then... You know, Hagrid’s got the flower on him and then Harry sticks his tongue out. Oh, that might not be, I don’t know if that’s in the clip or not, but you know Harry sticks his tongue out because he’s disgusted that he’s in love. But, the funniest part is when Madam Maxime like takes something out of Hagrid’s beard and eats it.

Andrew: Urgh!

Matt: It's so gross, but it's so funny!

Ben: How does the movie end? Out of curiosity, like how does, like how do they end at the very end?

Matt: Well, let’s see.

Andrew: Yeah, I was going to ask that.

Matt: They added in some stuff that wasn’t there and cut out a lot that was. With the end at least. You know?

Ben: Like what? Can you describe how it ends?

Matt: Well you have the whole Cedric, honorary thing in the Great Hall. Everything’s black. And then Dumbledore’s like "blah blah blah, we need to band together." Like some stuff he actually says at the beginning of the fifth book. About you know, "We’re strongest united, blah blah blah," thanks to George Washington, said centuries ago.

Ben: What about like the thing with Hagrid saying, "We’ll have to be..." Like at the end of the fourth book, doesn’t Hagrid basically tell Harry, "What happens, happens, we’ll have to cross that bridge when it comes to it?"

Matt: Oh they cut that. But, Dumbledore does have some nice lines and he was something he was... "Cedric was a fierce friend." And then he says something about "Blah blah blah, right to the burning end." And then they have...they look at the sun streaming into the room. And then it switches to Harry packing up in his dormitory and Dumbledore comes in and is like, “Ah, I hate these curtains. You know I burned them in my fourth year, by accident of course blah blah blah." Like that was so not there. And then he tells Harry, then this line that’s in the very first trailer, "Dark and difficult times lie ahead, Harry. Soon we must face the choice between what is right and what is easy." What’s funny, at one of the screenings, some person just like, "Mmmm, mmmm. Amen!" That’s just like, "Okay!" But, yeah.

[Andrew and Ben laugh]

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