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'Harry Potter's' Alan Rickman writes J.K. Rowling a touching thank you
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GoogleStar Alan Rickman, who has given us the shivers as Professor Snape since the very first film, recently completed his last "Potter" related work and was so overcome with emotion that he decided to write a very public thank-you to the author of the novels, J.K. Rowling.
Included in Empire Magazine is Rickman's note, seen below. "I have just returned from the dubbing studio," it reads, "where I spoke into a microphone as Severus Snape for absolutely the last time. On the screen were some flashback shots of Daniel, Emma, and Rupert from ten years ago. They were 12. I have also recently returned from New York, and while I was there, I saw Daniel singing and dancing (brilliantly) on Broadway. A lifetime seems to have passed in minutes."
"Three children have become adults since a phone call with Jo Rowling, containing one small clue, persuaded me that there was more to Snape than an unchanging costume," he continues, "and that even though only three of the books were out at that time, she held the entire massive but delicate narrative in the surest of hands."
"It is an ancient need to be told stories. But the story needs a great storyteller. Thanks for all of it, Jo."
Excuse us. We have to go cry now.
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Photo/Video credit: Warner Bros., Empire Magazine
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Now that is, without question, one of the best acknowledgements from one artist to another that I've ever seen/read. This sort of writing has, unfortunately, long since gone by the wayside, what with Twitter and other lesser forms of communication. Alan Rickman deserves kudos for many things, but for being classy as can be, he deserves the highest of honors. Well said, and I agree one hundred percent with the sentiment.
still can't get over it..we grew up with harry potter...anticipated every movie every year since it started...it's just hard to lose that part of you...it's really hard to find a movie that gives you the feeling that you were still the same person who anticipated the movie ten years ago...
it is amazing how time flies.
I was the same age as Harry when I grew up reading the books. Nobody else in history will be able to say that about perhaps the most impactful book series in modern time. It was an inredibly special experience, and I can't thank Jo Rowling enough for it.
The sad part is that now that Harry Potter is finished - both in book and film form - there doesn't seem to be anything taking its place. Twilight's nearly done (and really there was no comparison), and while the Hunger Games might spark some interest, that's a pretty dark and violent series of stories, even more than Potter.
Harry Potter proved that kids - children - were willing to read books, substantial books with complex narrative, large casts, and story arcs lasting years. When the Deathly Hallows came out it did my heart good to see 8 and 9 year olds in line at the bookstore holding real books. Sadly, the future seems more likely to be e-books skimmed and never really properly "read" by the next generation. What the literary world needs is another Harry Potter.
As for the films, they are a remarkable achievement - 8 movies, adapting 7 novels, produced over the course of a decade with the main core cast intact throughout (with the sad exception of Dumbledore). And not only that, though purists may gripe, the books were overall extremely faithful to the novels and along with Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings set new standards for film adaptations. Even if you dislike the Potter films, I think they and the people that made them still deserve endless respect.
Alex, Rowling's upcoming website will include a section where she reveals extra unpublished details about the characters and backstory, so I'm looking forward to that. Also, I wanted to mention that I felt the final film was SO faithful that it even "fixed" a few lapses in the last book... we finally got to experience Ron and Hermione conquering that horcrux on their own! :)