March 13, 2008

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows To Be Split Into Two Movies: Report

By Shawn Adler (MTV.com)

In the Harry Potter universe, "seven is the most powerfully magical number," but if you ask Lord Voldemort, eight divisions can sometimes be just as nice as well. Now, like an unexpected horcrux, Potter fans will get a surprise eighth division for themselves, as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final novel in the blockbuster series, is going to be divided into two separate full-length films, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The films, which will simply be called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, will be filmed concurrently by director David Yates, who previously helmed both the series' fifth and sixth installments, Harry Potter and the Order of the and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

"I think it's the only way you can do it without cutting out a huge portion of the book," Potter star Daniel Radcliffe told the newspaper. "There have been compartmentalized subplots in the other books that have made them easier to cut - although those cuts were still to the horror of some fans - but the seventh book doesn't really have any subplots. It's one driving, pounding story from the word go."

The novel, which came out in July, follows Harry and his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, as they search for and destroy Voldemort's horcruxes, magical artifacts in which the dark lord, seeking immortality, has concealed parts of his soul. All the while, a climactic battle for control of the wizarding world looms on the horizon.

It's a dense, action-packed story that brings many subplots to a close, each step of the journey a necessary one to either further the plot or tie up loose ends, insisted Potter producer David Heyman, who rejected the idea that the division was made solely to capitalize on the lucrative box-office receipts.

"I swear to you it was born out of purely creative reasons," Heyman told the Times. "Unlike every other book, you cannot remove elements of this book."

But the best part? The division comes with the blessing of Potter author J.K. Rowling, Heyman said.

"I went to Jo, and she was cool with it," Heyman told the paper, "and that was quite a relief."

According to the Times, the seventh film will be released in November 2010, while the eighth is slated for May 2011. They both will be written by veteran Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves.