Financing is still the main obstacle that stands between Terry Gilliam and his long-gestating Don Quixote project, and he’s got at least one scapegoat to blame for sucking up all the money in Europe: Woody Allen . That’s just one of the amazingly honest, semi-joking truth bombs he dropped on a Vulture reporter while discussing the failure of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus , the “green” movies — Green Lantern and Green Hornet — the problem with comic book movies these days, and more.
AMC announced a four-day Harry Potter marathon screening scheduled for the week preceding Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II ‘s premiere. In 35 participating theaters across the country, you’ll be able to watch two Harry Potter films a night (starting with The Sorcerer’s Stone on Monday, July 11 at 6 p.m.), and if you attend every screening, you’ll conclude on Thursday at midnight with the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 premiere. It’s only $45, a steal for Hogwarts matriculants. I’m wearing my feathered, conceptual Ravenclaw gown on Wednesday! [ First Showing ]
Hermione Granger is also dominating in the first round of the MTV News tournament. By Eric Ditzian Alan Rickman as Professor Snape in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” Photo: Warner Bros. Don’t pooh-pooh Filius Flitwick! That’s just one of the lessons coming into focus little more than 24 hours into the epic showdown we call the “Harry Potter” World Cup . Though the diminutive master of Charms nabbed just a 10 seed in our monthlong tournament, in which fans have been voting online to choose the greatest character in the fantasy franchise, Professor Flitwick has raced out to a commanding first-round lead over his fellow Hogwarts colleague, and number-seven seed, Sybill Trelawney. But voting in the initial round doesn’t close until midnight on Monday, meaning there’s more than enough time for Trelawney fans to divine a whole lot of votes in her honor. Other contests seem less prone to an upset. Honestly, what are the chances Harry Potter himself , facing off against Dark Arts devotee Quirinus Quirrell, gets an unexpected first-round ouster from the World Cup? As of this writing, the boy wizard has wrangled more than 95 percent of the vote. His pal Hermione Granger, meanwhile , has garnered more than 98 percent of the vote in her battle with often-salacious journalist Rita Skeeter. See photos of all of the “Potter” World Cup players. But that was all to be expected. Early voting has also shown us some characters that could become Cinderella stories. Dobby the House Elf , the adorable rascal who made the ultimate sacrifice to save Harry and company, shot out to a maybe-we-should-call-it-now lead over Gryffindor half-blood Dean Thomas. Maybe now it’s time for Dobby, who’s always been the servant until now, to lead a fan-supported charge. Yet the floppy-eared elf could well run up against Severus Snape, who himself is dominating a first-round matchup with Death Eater spawn Vincent Crabbe, in the Sweet 16. Snape, as “Potter” buffs know, has one of the most complex and satisfying character arcs in the entire series. Only Dobby, we presume, stands between him and an Elite Eight showdown with Harry. That’s the main action in the Privet Drive quadrant of the bracket . Over in Godric’s Hollow, while Hermione is busy wiping the floor with Rita, the phoenix Fawkes is straight up embarrassing poor Nearly Headless Nick. But voting in Albus Dumbledore’s game hasn’t even started. If you ask us, anyone who thinks someone like Dark Arts defender Remus Lupin is going to stand in the way of a Hermione vs. Dumbledore Elite Eight face off is crazy. See the full bracket and vote! Things haven’t even gotten started on the other side of the bracket. There’s a whole lot of Weasley brawling going on in the Hogsmeade section, not only with Ron securing the top seed but with Arthur cruelly conjuring up a war with his son Percy. But all that may become background noise once Cedric Diggory (memorably, if briefly, portrayed onscreen by one Robert Pattinson) gets in on the action. Even Ron Weasley, he who won the heart of Hermione, might not be able to take down the “Twilight” heartthrob. Voting kicks off Wednesday. And then in Diagon Alley, we find perhaps the tournament’s most competitive corner. Count ’em off: Lord Voldemort, Draco Malfoy (whose Tom Felton has collected two straight MTV Movie Award Best Villain wins ), Sirius Black and his murderer, Bellatrix Lestrange. About the only thing we can predict at this point is that Lord V is going to freaking destroy Moaning Myrtle, who might need a new nickname soon. Voting in these matches begins on Thursday. Who is the best “Harry Potter” character of all time? The “Harry Potter” World Cup will find out! Voting is going on now over on the MTV Movies Blog , and you can also get the debate going on Twitter with the hashtag #mtvpottercup. Related Videos The ‘Harry Potter’ World Cup Related Photos The ‘Harry Potter’ World Cup Players
‘Harry Potter’ star tells MTV News that all the Movie Awards smooching had her feeling left out. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Emma Watson at the 2011 MTV Movie Awards on Sunday Photo: Steve Granitz/Getty Images Aside from the much-anticipated premiere of a new “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” clip during Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards, it was a pretty quiet night for Team Potter, who sat and watched as “Twilight” reaped (nearly) all the awards , besting “Deathly Hollows, Part 1” for Best Movie, Best Male and Female Performance, Best Fight Scene and Best Kiss. In fact, “Potter” took home just one bucket of Golden Popcorn — Tom Felton’s turn as Draco Malfoy earned him Best Villain honors — and as if that weren’t bad enough, it was the stars of “Twilight” who garnered the lion’s share of the headlines too, as everything from Robert Pattinson’s lip-lock with co-star Taylor Lautner to the squeeing reactions to the “Breaking Dawn, Part 1” trailer burned up search engines in the hours following the show. So you could imagine what it must have been like for the “Harry Potter” stars who were actually on hand for the Movie Awards — like, for example, Emma Watson, who not only lost Best Female Performance to Kristen Stewart, but didn’t even get to see the kiss between Pattinson and Lautner. “I missed this moment! I came out, and they were like, ‘Rob just missed Taylor!’ and I was like, ‘Damn!’ ” Watson told MTV News’ Josh Horowitz following the show. “I was still backstage [after introducing the ‘Deathly Hallows, Part 2’] clip, so I missed it. But, I mean, yeah, good on them!” And as if missing out on the kiss-to-end-all-kisses wasn’t bad enough, the whole lip-locking theme of the night had Watson feeling left out. Seems she was the only person who didn’t have someone to kiss. “I mean, I was really up against it. Kristen [Stewart] had two kisses, and Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman making out,” she laughed. “I mean, I couldn’t really compete!” MTV News has all of the highlights from the 2011 MTV Movie Awards . Relive the best moments, watch red-carpet interviews with your favorite stars and read all about what went on behind the scenes on the big night. Related Videos Backstage At The 2011 MTV Movie Awards Amazing Exclusives From The MTV Movie Awards
‘Harry Potter’ star tells MTV News that all the Movie Awards smooching had her feeling left out. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Emma Watson at the 2011 MTV Movie Awards on Sunday Photo: Steve Granitz/Getty Images Aside from the much-anticipated premiere of a new “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” clip during Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards, it was a pretty quiet night for Team Potter, who sat and watched as “Twilight” reaped (nearly) all the awards , besting “Deathly Hollows, Part 1” for Best Movie, Best Male and Female Performance, Best Fight Scene and Best Kiss. In fact, “Potter” took home just one bucket of Golden Popcorn — Tom Felton’s turn as Draco Malfoy earned him Best Villain honors — and as if that weren’t bad enough, it was the stars of “Twilight” who garnered the lion’s share of the headlines too, as everything from Robert Pattinson’s lip-lock with co-star Taylor Lautner to the squeeing reactions to the “Breaking Dawn, Part 1” trailer burned up search engines in the hours following the show. So you could imagine what it must have been like for the “Harry Potter” stars who were actually on hand for the Movie Awards — like, for example, Emma Watson, who not only lost Best Female Performance to Kristen Stewart, but didn’t even get to see the kiss between Pattinson and Lautner. “I missed this moment! I came out, and they were like, ‘Rob just missed Taylor!’ and I was like, ‘Damn!’ ” Watson told MTV News’ Josh Horowitz following the show. “I was still backstage [after introducing the ‘Deathly Hallows, Part 2’] clip, so I missed it. But, I mean, yeah, good on them!” And as if missing out on the kiss-to-end-all-kisses wasn’t bad enough, the whole lip-locking theme of the night had Watson feeling left out. Seems she was the only person who didn’t have someone to kiss. “I mean, I was really up against it. Kristen [Stewart] had two kisses, and Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman making out,” she laughed. “I mean, I couldn’t really compete!” MTV News has all of the highlights from the 2011 MTV Movie Awards . Relive the best moments, watch red-carpet interviews with your favorite stars and read all about what went on behind the scenes on the big night. Related Videos Backstage At The 2011 MTV Movie Awards Amazing Exclusives From The MTV Movie Awards
‘I suspect the studio is going to be reluctant to let it die,’ David Heyman tells MTV News. By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Josh Horowitz “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1” Photo: Warner Bros. “Harry Potter” producers may have ditched plans to release “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” in 3-D last November, but they haven’t abandoned bringing three dimensions to the film. The flick is currently being converted to 3-D for a Blu-ray release . What’s more, we just might see the rest of the franchise get the 3-D treatment too. “We’re doing 3-D for the DVD of ‘7, Part 1,’ and there’s been no discussion of anything else yet,” producer David Heyman told MTV News recently. “But I suspect the studio is going to be reluctant to let it die, and if there’s an opportunity to maybe enrich … ” Heyman left it at that, but those hints jibe with what he told us as far back as March 2010 , when he said of converting the entire series, “I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.” For now, filmmakers are racing to finish “Deathly Hallows, Part 2” ahead of the July release and working on the conversion of the first part for the Blu-ray. “We’re very pleased with the way ‘Part 1’ is going — the 3-D for the Blu-ray,” producer David Barron said. “It’s really exciting, really involved.” “I was surprised at how wonderful it is,” Heyman added. “It is different in some ways [than the theatrical release], but it’s enriching.” Additionally, they’re continuing to work on theatrical 3-D effects for “Part 1,” a process that has not yet been finished. “We haven’t completed the first part in 3-D for film release, for theatrical,” Barron said. “The quality is quite different,” Heyman explained. “It’s much easier, in a way, to do 3-D for a smaller screen for a bigger screen.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos ‘Harry Potter: Live In NYC’: Watch The Interviews!
Filming the last ‘Harry Potter’ film also had the cast weeping, actor says. By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Daniel Radcliffe Photo: MTV News Daniel Radcliffe hasn’t seen “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2,” but some of his fans have. And according to the film’s producers, what those fans saw during test screenings brought many to tears. To which Radcliffe said with a laugh, “Good!” “It’s the last one, for God’s sake!” he recently told MTV News. “If we don’t get ’em now, we don’t get another chance.” That is to say, after a decade of production on eight films, the boy wizard thinks the franchise is due to reap some hefty emotional payout.
