Now that’s just teasing: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

Of all the things Warner Brothers tend to do well, the way they’ve cradled the Harry Potter films onto your cinema and home theater screens has been a master stroke.  There is just no stopping this franchise continuing to grow into one mighty delightful cash-cow for all those involved (how is J.K. Rowling these days, anyway?)

I first saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone working as a cinema projectionist in 2002. I knew I was seeing something very elaborate, something very coordinated, entertaining and purposeful. I had no idea what was to come.

True to the books, holding fans tight with every release, sequel after sequel would hit the screens every other year making Harry Potter one of the most financially successful movie franchises of all time. The box office alone is staggering, I don’t dare add the home DVD and merchandising.

In another brilliant move Warner Brothers have carved the final book into two extra films. Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows will arrive as part one in November 2010, then part two in July 2011. Plenty of time for an entire generation of unsuspecting now-six-year-olds to turn 8 or 9, see one of these parts first then go pack and collect the whole series. And read the books. They’ll tell you it’s because the book itself is such a large chapter and they don’t want to miss anything– but since when did they start caring about that? Weren’t they skipping things from the books in earlier films? I don’t exactly know, I just remember hearing fans talk about this. I am happy to admit I have not read the book(s).

So with fans on edge and Warner Brothers rubbing their hands together, a teaser for Deathly Hallows has been released by the studio on the  latest Harry Potter Blu-ray– Half-Blood Prince. It inevitably has found its way online via Vimeo (YouTube for cooler people). Just under a year before the film even gets released, here is a teaser for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

I must say — it looks like a Harry Potter film. Magic and mystery and all that stuff.

After I screened Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 2002, and after I was blown-away by the marvelous feat of filmmaking that it was, I got to screen it again. And again. And again… and you know what? By the time the third film rolled around, I was done. It just all looks the same to me and I couldn’t justify an interest anymore.

There are more than enough fans (obviously) for them to not mess with the formula and still make a buck and I can certainly appreciate the fandom and acceptance the films have worldwide. No one can deny its popularity and intricate pampering to the fans is spot-on. But if you showed me a trailer for films 3 through 7 and asked me where in the franchise it belonged, I honestly couldn’t tell you… and I’m okay with that.

source: slashfilm