Denise Roper's Blog, page 23
October 23, 2010
New Photo of Ron/Hermione Embracing After the Escape from Privet Drive
This Ron and Hermione photo was recently posted at FanForum. We have seen them at the piano in Gimmauld Place before, but the picture of them embracing is new. They are both wearing Harry Potter's style of clothing, so we can assume this is the Ron/Hermione embrace which takes place when Ron and Tonks finally arrive safely at the Burrow after the "Seven Harry Potters" escape from Privet Drive. I love this picture! 
Ron tripped dazedly toward Harry and Hermione.
"You're okay," he mumbled, before Hermione flew at him and hugged him tightly.
"I thought–I thought–"
" 'M all right," said Ron, patting her on the back. " 'M fine."
"Ron was great, " said Tonks warmly, relinquishing her hold on Lupin. "Wonderful. Stunned one of the Death Eaters, straight to the head, and when you're aiming at a moving target from a flying broom—"
"You did?" said Hermione, gazing up at Ron with her arms still around his neck.
"Always the tone of surprise," he said a little grumpily, breaking free.
–Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, page 73 (American edition)
October 20, 2010
Behind-the-Scenes: Filming the Ron/Hermione Kiss
Here's a YouTube video of the filming of the Ron/Hermione kiss in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. This clip is from the "Music and Sound" segment of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Ultimate Edition DVD.
A special thanks to Laura at Fan Forum for cleaning up this photo of Rupert and Emma that I posted earlier this evening.
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Christian Imagery in Deathly Hallows Film: Photos of Godric's Hollow Churchyard
I originally wrote this on my blog on Saturday. I'm updating this information with photos from Harry Potter Film Wizardry. Enjoy!
Then there's the much-anticipated Christian Imagery in the Godric's Hollow scenes. On page 154 there's a photo of the tomb of James and Lily Potter with the quote from 1 Corinthians 15:26, "THE LAST ENEMY THAT SHALL BE DESTROYED IS DEATH.
Storyboard from the Scene in the Godric's Hollow Churchyard
Cross-shaped grave markers are visible both in a storyboard and in a new photo of a tearful Harry and Hermione at the tomb.
The nearby church's visible stained-glass window is huge and depicts five human figures. The central figure is of a crowned, bearded man–Christ the King! He is flanked by two men on each side of him, one of whom is holding an object marked with a dove descending (a symbol of the Holy Spirit!). All four of these men have a winged angel hovering above their heads.
Stained-glass window design for the Godric's Hollow churchyard scene.
My assumption is that this is a depiction of the four Gospel authors: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I am so thrilled about this detail of the set design. Bravo, WB!
Christ the King flanked by the Four Evangelists. Notice the four hovering angels and the fourth figure's descending dove.
Then on page 155 there's the first published photo of Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore's grave, which is inscribed with "WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO" from Matthew 6:21, a quotation from Christ's Sermon on the Mount. Update: I also wanted to mention that the stained-glass window and the Dumbledore family tomb were designed in the shape of a Gothic arch.
The Dumbledore Family tomb. Notice the IHS inside the quatrefoil design at the top of the arch.
The tomb's arch had a small quatrefoil at the top containing the letters IHS. I have seen this design in Catholic Churches before, and knew that IHS was an abbreviation for Jesus. This webpage was very helpful to me in deciphering the meaning of the quatrefoil design containing the letters IHS: http://fisheaters.com/symbols.html Here are some quotes from that page:
Quatrefoil: ubiquitous in Gothic architecture, the quatrefoil symbolizes the four evangelists, as do the Winged Man (Matthew), Lion (Mark), Ox (Luke), and Eagle (John) — the four beasts of Ezeckiel and the Apocalypse.
IHS: dating from the 8th c., this is an abbreviation for "IHESUS," the way Christ's Name was spelled in the Middle Ages (despite popular belief, the monogram stands neither for "Iesus Hominum Salvator" –"Jesus Saviour of Men" — nor for "In His Service.") Popularized by St. Bernardine of Siena, the monogram was later used by St. Ignatius of Loyola as a symbol for the Jesuit Order.
"I'm not pushing any belief system here, although there is a lot of Christian imagery in the books." –J. K. Rowling on Oprah, broadcast 10/01/10.
Jo went on to say that it was "undeniable" and "very clear" in Hallows. I think the film will portray this imagery with great clarity indeed. If you would like to read an in-depth analysis of the Christian imagery in the novels, please read my book, The Lord of the Hallows: Christian Symbolism and Themes in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter, which is available from www.outskirtspress.com/thelordofthehallows. And please tell other Harry Potter fans about this blog, which will be updated quite frequently in the upcoming weeks.
Well, what do you think of this update? I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Comments are welcome!
New Deathly Hallows Trailer at Spike Scream Awards
Here's the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that was shown on television last night at the Spike Scream Awards:
Behind-the-Scenes Filming of the Ron/Hermione Kiss in GoF Ultimate Edition DVD
I just watched the fascinating "Sound and Music" documentary on the GoF Ultimate edition DVD, which had some wonderful insights into the minds of composers John Williams, Patrick Doyle, and Nicholas Hooper. Around 2:52 in this DVD feature, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are shown filming in front of a green screen. They are soaking wet and leaning toward each other for the much-anticipated Ron/Hermione kiss, but they break apart from each other, giggling in embarassment. I didn't expect to see this bit of behind-the scenes fun in this particular documentary, but it was a welcome addition to a fascinating DVD feature. This film was definitely worth watching for many reasons.
The Goblet of Fire Ultimate Edition DVD was released yesterday.
The Prisoner of Azkaban Ultimate Edition DVD was also released yesterday and features a new documentary about the fantastic CGI and animatronic creatures of the Harry Potter films.
October 19, 2010
Ron Quotes from "Harry Potter Film Wizardry" and "Baptizing Harry Potter"
Here's another one of my favorite quotes from Brian Sibley's new book, Harry Potter Film Wizardry. This one is from the director of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Chris Columbus.
CHESS GAME (page 52)
Hermione's knight in shining armor.
For Chris, this scene was remarkable not just for the effects, but for Rupert Grint's performance as Ron: "That is just an amazing performance by a kid who was starting to feel comfortable with his character. And when he sees the power of these things and realizes he [must] sacrifice himself for his friends, I sensed a real moment of fear, but also courage from Rupert."
I must confess that I adored Ron/Rupert when I first saw this film, but the Chess Game was truly the moment when I fell in love with this character. In another excellent book that I read recently, Baptizing Harry Potter by Luke Bell, the author notes that Ron's sacrifice to save Harry and Hermione in the Chess Game is a consistency in his character that is present throughout the series.
"In the final book, when Hermione is to be tortured before being handed over to the evil and predatory werewolf Greyback, he offers himself in her place, saying, "You can have me, keep me!" This is no transitory and vain love… this is the real thing. Although, of course, Ron is romantically linked with Hermione, this is a love that participates in the truest friendship, that of being willing to lay down one's life for one's friends." (pages 123-124)
This Biblical theme in the Harry Potter series is discussed in Luke Bell's excellent book as well as in my own. We both identified this Biblical quotation as one that summarizes one of the main themes of the Harry Potter series:
Greater love hath no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13, KJV)
My book, The Lord of the Hallows: Christian Symbolism and Themes in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter, is one that you will probably enjoy reading if you like this blog. You can enter a drawing to win a free copy of the book here: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/4742-the-lord-of-the-hallows-christian-symbolism-and-themes-in-j-k-rowling. This giveaway ends in one month. Copies can also be purchased at www.outskirtspress.com/thelordofthehallows.
October 18, 2010
Ron/Hermione: Gathering Stones by the Lake and "All's Fair in Love and War"
As I mentioned before, I had the chance to preview the Harry Potter Film Wizardry book this weekend, and I blogged about that experience here. In the book there was one new photo of Ron and Hermione that I thought was particularly cute. I wrote, "Fans who love this couple, you'll be glad to know that this book has a photo of yet another Ron and Hermione movie moment that wasn't in the novel. In the picture on page 144, Ron and Hermione are squatting down to gather stones on the very pebbly shore of a lake. The two of them are very close together and are looking at each other while picking up small rocks. Ron's facial expression is priceless here: he's giving her a very adoring look, not unlike the "piano scene" in Grimmauld Place. It's a very cute moment." That photo has recently appeared online.
This is the Ron/Hermione photo that I wrote about. Aren't they cute together?
I love this picture! Also, there is a clip in one of the new Deathly Hallows TV spots that shows Ron raising his hand up:
credit to areasontokeepgoing on tumblr
This looks like the scene where the Trio votes on where to go next, and Ron raises his hand to vote for Hermione's suggestion, not Harry's. When Harry accuses him of doing that just to get back in Hermione's favor, Ron says one of his most hilarious lines in the entire series: "All's fair in love and war, and this is a bit of both." I really hope they kept that line in the film. It would make a great tag line for a Ron/Hermione movie poster, wouldn't it?
Harry/Ginny at the Burrow
Harry/Ginny fans will love this romantic and hilarious moment in the Deathly Hallows Part One film.
credit to galaxylight
credit to kaitlynnicolelove
George: "Morning!" lol!
New Deathly Hallows Ron/Hermione Photos
This weekend I had a sneak preview of the Harry Potter Film Wizardry book by Brian Sibley. On this blog I wrote, "On page 159 there's a new photo of Ron and Hermione running hand in hand, trying to escape the fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement. They are dripping wet, presumably after their adventure in the Chamber of Secrets." This photo appeared online today along with a new version of one we had seen before, showing Ron and Hermione standing next to a tree. I love these!
The Deathly Hallows Television Spots on YouTube
Here are several Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One television spots that have appeared on YouTube. Enjoy!
Destroy that locket, Ron!
This last one was very spoilery. When Ron asks, "Is there no one we can trust?" look who appears onscreen right after he asks that question. 
The Seven Harry Potters=lol! And when Dobby said, "I like her very much" about Hermione, it made me wonder if Ron will be jealous. First, of Grawp, now Dobby…;)
Awesome! Ron: "And leave Hermione? We wouldn't last two days without her! Don't tell her I said that." lol!!!! A Harry/Ginny kiss! And George's "Morning!" at the end. This TV spot is hilarious!
"Look away. I'm hideous!" That must be Fleur as Harry Potter.
"Nagini, dinner." That's so disturbing.
What are your thoughts on the new television spots? Please leave a comment.
