"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" thread

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Release Date: November 21 2008


Some casting news:

The Slug Club just got its leader: Jim Broadbent will play Hogwarts potion master Horace Slughorn in the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the Oscar winner recently revealed to DarkHorizons.com

The former head of Slytherin house, Slughorn is "drawn back out of retirement" by Harry and Dumbledore at the beginning of the novel "because he's got some secrets they need in the battle against the Death Eaters," Broadbent said. Indeed, Harry's quest for a particular memory of Slughorn's is a central mission in the blockbuster sixth novel (see "Daniel Radcliffe Loses It In 'December Boys' Before Getting Back To Harry Potter").

For his part, Slughorn is initially reluctant to reveal details about a seemingly innocent conversation with a young Tom Riddle that centers on Horcruxes, or vessels in which a wizard can imprison part of his soul to keep him immortal. Thinking the damage to be irreversible, Slughorn isn't swayed until Harry confronts him during a particularly emotional scene in Hagrid's cabin.

But despite these dark and tragic undercurrents, the character is "quite comic," insisted Broadbent. "An older man [who wears] tweedy sorts of things."

Part of what makes him comic, of course, is his appearance: Slughorn is described by author J.K. Rowling as a short wizard with a bald head, large belly and an enormous walrus-like mustache. But Slughorn is also something of a professorial groupie, surrounding himself with the best and brightest witches and wizards. As leader of the Slug Club, he has an uncanny knack of picking the Hogwarts students who ultimately go on to accomplish the greatest things.

"He's quite star-struck as a teacher, and he's drawn back into the fold because he likes to notch up celebrity students," Broadbent explained. "He's drawn back by Harry."

Broadbent, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "Iris" in 2002, will film "Half-Blood Prince" until "May," the actor told Dark Horizons. The film will open next November.

Check out Daniel Radcliffe discussing Slughorn in the MTV Movies Blog.

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Eileen Campos - Celebrity News Service News Writer
Burbank, CA (CNS) - Warner Bros. Entertainment, holder of the Harry Potter movie franchise, has released a statement regarding the additions to the sixth installment of the series - Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.

Jeff Robinov, President of Production for Warner Bros. made the announcement that there will be several actors joining the mainstay cast with returning director David Yates.

Some of the additions include Academy award winner Jim Broadbent from "Iris" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," who would be playing a professor at Hogwarts. Helen McCrory who has starred in "Becoming Jane" and "The Queen" is also another award winning actor to join the cast.

Younger Potter debutants include Jessie Cave, Frank Dillane and Hero Fiennes Tiffin. Tiffin happens to be the nephew of Ralph Fiennes who plays the adult version of the main villain of the movie, Voldemort.

The Half-Blood Prince will open in theaters November 21, 2008.