Fan Focus: Brad – December 12, 2010
16-year-old Brad from the United States
First off, how did you become a Harry Potter fan?
My grandmother bought my brother the first four books when I was about seven years old. He didn’t seem too interested, so I picked them up and even ten years later I have been a Harry Potter nerd ever since. I can still remember being really excited for the Sorcerer’s Stone movie and going to see it with my family. I pre-ordered the fifth, sixth, and seventh books, but, sadly, I happened to be out of town for the midnight releases of all of them. I still got them on the first or second day though. I’ve read the series over probably around 5 times, and my mom is constantly (and sometimes literally) throwing books at me and telling me to read them. She keeps telling me that she “can’t understand how I can read the same book so many times” but I don’t know what’s not to understand. I keep a lot of trivia facts in my head (like all the characters’ birthdays and wand lengths, cores, and type of wood) and I like to challenge anyone to see if they know more trivia than I do. I’ve even garnered a reputation with some people at my school for knowing a lot about Harry Potter and Harry Potter trivia.
It has been over three years since Deathly Hallows came out and we found out how the series ended. Do you have the same reaction to the ending now, as you did then?
I do have a lot of the same reaction, and it still saddens me every time, but I have never experienced a feeling in my life like the one that I felt after I finished Deathly Hallows. I stared at the book for probably 5 or 10 minutes after I was done, just thinking. I didn’t know what to do except start over, so that’s what I did. I thought the book was amazing though overall, though I do have mixed feelings about the epilogue. (but that might just be because I wanted J.K. to write more) I’m still holding onto hope for an encyclopedia, but I would probably buy anything else that J.K. writes.
OMG! DEATHLY HALLOWS! Loved it? Hated it? Thoughts!?
It’s hard to say whether I liked it or not. I always have mixed feelings towards the movies since I follow the books so closely. I know they have to make it cinematic and appealing to all people, but sometimes I feel like the plot suffers. As for Deathly Hallows, I did enjoy the movie very much though, and the part with Dobby was very sad. Overall, I think it turned out to be a very entertaining movie and definitely a good one, but there are some things that I would have changed if I could.
What was your favorite part that changed from the book? That stayed the same?
My favorite part that changed from the book would probably just be some of the humor that is added into the movie. I liked the whole “engorgio– REDUCTO!” part with Hermione’s portable fire. That was pretty funny. I did also like the added effect of how Bellatrix carved “mudblood” into Hermione’s arm. I think that added a good effect. I do tend to resist any change from the books in the movies though, and I’m always annoying my friends about what the movies did differently than the books. The part that I like best that stayed the same is hard to say, since not too much stayed exactly the same, but I would probably have to say that the part with Ron destroying the locket was very good, almost exactly how I imagined it. (probably even better actually)
Comparing book to movie, What disappointed you the most? Also, what part was better than you expected?
I was a little disappointed by how a lot of the plot seemed to be thinned out. I understand that the directors have to make it adapt to the screen though, so I guess I can’t blame them. I know I speak for a lot of fans, however, when I say that I would have no problem with each movie being split into 4 parts and being exactly like the books. The only disappointment was that it seemed a little rushed at times, like with the absence of planning for the ministry infiltration and how it seemed to just be on a whim that Harry and Hermione visited Godric’s Hollow. Voldemort’s absence from the Godric’s Hollow scene also irked me a little too. The action scenes were better than I expected, however. I think they did a good job with the action and making it fast and very realistic.
Now knowing where the split is, and feeling the way the movie ended, do you feel it was a good choice?
I think that the split probably was a detriment to the first half of the movie, and will most likely be a great benefit to part 2. I honestly can’t think of a different place to split it and I think that the second part is the most important, so I’m not complaining at all. I think it was a good choice for the split, and it got me really really excited for part 2, even though I have another 8 months to wait. I know the second part will be one of the most epic movies ever (if I may be so bold)
Did the movie live up to all of the epic hype that surrounded each trailer?
I think the movie did somewhat live up to it. I think the trailers for a lot of movies tend to show only the good parts and end up showing most of the good parts, and I think part 1 may have partially fallen into this trap. Honestly, I thought it was a great movie, but it didn’t FULLY live up to my expectations that this one would be super true to the book since it is in two parts. I do also acknowledge the fact that my expectations are way too high for every Harry Potter movie, since my expectations call for a movie that would be around 8 hours long.
Do you have anything else you’d like to add? Maybe a theory you still believe to be true, a shout-out, praise for yours truly?
Well, I visit MuggleNet daily, and I think it’s a wonderful site for all Harry Potter fans to go-to for everything related to the series. I would like to thank everyone at MuggleNet for providing the latest information as well as interesting and funny videos, stories, discussion, and trivia. It is an excellent site. As for theories, I was pretty convinced of the whole Snape-is-a-vampire thing until that one was shot down, but oh well. I’d like to give a shout-out to my fellow Harry Potter fans Hallie Chapman, who introduced me to AVPM (can’t thank her enough for that) and looks like Ginny Weasley, and to Jennifer Iacono, because all of the Harry Potter fans together is the most important thing for making the series successful.