The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade (Orlando): Part 2

[IzzyB]

Might be. Though he's done a lot of stuff, including a very short Broadway run, but everything's been kind of on the downside. He was pretty much in demand but Hollywood has a short memory. Especially after a pretty large budget movie bombs so badly. After another dud or two he'll find himself doing B level work. But his co star Emma Watson's career is going the other way. She's had some critically acclaimed roles and her movies, though not huge budgets, have performed better than expected. It will be interesting to watch how this turns out. Like you, I don't really expect him to jump back towards HP yet, my post was basically just to get a bit of a laugh, but somewhere down the line his options are going to start to be limited.

I personally hate when actors try to distance themselves away from things that made them famous. It never seems to turn out in their favor when they pull that crap. It just shows the public how much of a jerk they are for stomping all over everything that made them the money in the first place. Now actors that instead try to broaden their acting ability while still embracing their roots seem to do much better moving forward.

 

[Clive]

A - Daniel Radcliffe does not care at all about money at this point. He has all the money in the world he'll ever need. He picks projects he thinks are cool. Whether his taste is always on point is up for debate, but he isn't doing anything for money or to build his career. If he cared about that, he'd sign on for more Potter stuff.

B - Daily reminder that we don't own celebrities. We shouldn't act all angry when he wants to get away from Potter - he isn't beholden to us and is entitled to his choices.

 

[Mad Dog]

A - Daniel Radcliffe does not care at all about money at this point. He has all the money in the world he'll ever need. He picks projects he thinks are cool. Whether his taste is always on point is up for debate, but he isn't doing anything for money or to build his career. If he cared about that, he'd sign on for more Potter stuff.

B - Daily reminder that we don't own celebrities. We shouldn't act all angry when he wants to get away from Potter - he isn't beholden to us and is entitled to his choices.

Both good points. But if his career continues it's current trend,there will come a time when he's not offered any scripts. If and when that time comes, it will be interesting to see if he changes direction. And I can always understand an actor's fear of being typecast. But he may not have avoided that tag since such a significant part of his career was HP. And, of course, he's entitled to do what he wants. It's his life and career.

 

[JungleSkip]

Both good points. But if his career continues it's current trend,there will come a time when he's not offered any scripts. If and when that time comes, it will be interesting to see if he changes direction. And I can always understand an actor's fear of being typecast. But he may not have avoided that tag since such a significant part of his career was HP. And, of course, he's entitled to do what he wants. It's his life and career.

I don't want to derail this thread even more, but Radcliffe has generally been praised in everything he's been in since Potter, whether it was good or not (and most of it has been good, if not great). He's not the problem with these movies.

 

[Clive]

I don't want to derail this thread even more, but Radcliffe has generally been praised in everything he's been in since Potter, whether it was good or not (and most of it has been good, if not great). He's not the problem with these movies.

He's great on stage - caught "How to Succeed" (dated as dirt show, but still a lot of fun) while it played on Broadway. Heard he was stellar in Equus, too.

Max Landis wrote Victor Frankenstein, and his scripts are always hit or miss. But as you pointed out, Radcliffe is never the weak point in these movies. Horns, for example, has a strange, ultimately unsatisfying third act, but Radcliffe is still compelling.

Radcliffe can land pretty much any smaller, independent feature he wants - his star power is just too great. If his career takes a real nosedive, he'll just continue to do those and maybe another stage run or two.

 

[Mad Dog]

I don't want to derail this thread even more, but Radcliffe has generally been praised in everything he's been in since Potter, whether it was good or not (and most of it has been good, if not great). He's not the problem with these movies.

I understand that point and it's a good point. But, bottom line in the movie business is making money. And if you do a number of movies with bad bottom lines, whether your performance was good or not, you will reach a point where the scripts disappear. Part of being a star is making choices that will bring in the big bucks. He's not shown that skill or intuition yet outside of Potter. Not getting work because your movies don't make money has happened to much bigger stars. So far, he's not shown that he can carry a non HP movie to make money. If he can't produce at the box office, he'll just end up as another B actor. It's the realities of the business.....But, as I've said previously, it's his choice and right, no doubt. I'm just interested in whether he ends up changing his focus if his movies etc. continue to struggle at the box office. There's lots of talented people out there. The question is, will people go to a movie just because he is on the bill. So far, outside of Potter the answer is no. So perhaps he doesn't really have star power. He may have just been a product of the Potter bandwagon.

 

[IzzyB]

I understand that point and it's a good point. But, bottom line in the movie business is making money. And if you do a number of movies with bad bottom lines, whether your performance was good or not, you will reach a point where the scripts disappear. Part of being a star is making choices that will bring in the big bucks. He's not shown that skill or intuition yet outside of Potter. Not getting work because your movies don't make money has happened to much bigger stars. So far, he's not shown that he can carry a non HP movie to make money. If he can't produce at the box office, he'll just end up as another B actor. It's the realities of the business.....But, as I've said previously, it's his choice and right, no doubt. I'm just interested in whether he ends up changing his focus if his movies etc. continue to struggle at the box office. There's lots of talented people out there. The question is, will people go to a movie just because he is on the bill. So far, outside of Potter the answer is no. So perhaps he doesn't really have star power. He may have just been a product of the Potter bandwagon.

I agree it is his choice how and when he works. Just always seems like a slap in the face when an actor refuses to have anything to do with their past works that made them famous. There is selecting future work and he should be able to select any future he wants and I can care less what he does or does not act in. But refusing to do anything with past work always seems to me like he is too good for that stuff anymore. Does that make sense? I think you can embrace the past in small ways and still move forward and decide what future work you want to do.

 

[Mad Dog]

I agree it is his choice how and when he works. Just always seems like a slap in the face when an actor refuses to have anything to do with their past works that made them famous. There is selecting future work and he should be able to select any future he wants and I can care less what he does or does not act in. But refusing to do anything with past work always seems to me like he is too good for that stuff anymore. Does that make sense? I think you can embrace the past in small ways and still move forward and decide what future work you want to do.

Yes, your point has merit. Some people think they're the reason something happened big, when in essence they were only a small cog in a bigger machine. That's kind of my view of Radcliffe. Yes, he has proven to be a fine performer.But there's a ton of excellent actors out there. But does he have star power? I think not. My opinion is that he'll have a future as a fine actor. But his parts will get smaller & smaller as time goes by. He's a star in the Potterverse, but that's the limit of his star power. He has not proven that people will go to a non HP movie to see him.

 

[amityboattours]

Genuinely astounded that some people rate Radcliffe as an great actor in any way. The guy has one expression and all I can ever think when I see him on-screen is 'look at Daniel Radcliffe acting'. He's never sold a single role to me, even in Potter he's the worst of the main trio.

 

[anihilnation]

Outside HP I only saw him in 'the woman in black', he was OK, but I also don't find him that great an actor. He is definitly not bad, but he is not good either.

 

[awhen]

Christmas in Hogsmeade. I have to look at my pictures from last year, but I don't really see anything different.




https://flic.kr/p/C8X8Xu

https://flic.kr/p/C8X8Xu

https://flic.kr/p/C8X8Xu

 

[shiekra38]

We really need a grand HP Tree one year..I was never impressed with the decorations

 

[UNIrd]

The decorations here are extremely lackluster. An HP tree would be great. They do Christmas nicely in the films, with a huge tree in the Great Hall. Not sure if they would have had one in Hogsmeade village though but if JK approves...

 

[kingcooger]

The decorations here are extremely lackluster. An HP tree would be great. They do Christmas nicely in the films, with a huge tree in the Great Hall. Not sure if they would have had one in Hogsmeade village though but if JK approves...

Agreed, most of the decorations they have feel very typical to what myself and my neighbors have on our houses. You would think there would be something a bit grander in a world where magic runs rampant.

 

[badlactose]

I'm of two minds about the decorations.

On the one hand, I think they are tasteful and feel convincingly like decorations a small village would put up.

But on the other hand, I agree with others who say they are rather unremarkable (they sure did make those pine cones stretch a long way, didn't they?).

 

[illumination]

Will Dragon Challenge be replaced in the coming years? Since it's the same age as Hulk, you would think the track pieces might also need to be refurbished/replaced soon. However because of the dual tracks, it would be so costly to re-build the ride, maybe Universal would rather just put in a new attraction there to breathe new life into the park after all these years? Plus, part of the thrill of this ride is already gone since the trains no longer duel.

 

[captainmoch]

I would honestly like it if Dragon Challenge stayed with a major thematic upgrade. Completely redo the queue to make it less endless, and maybe give the attraction an actual story with some FJ-esque musion pre-shows. Theme the area surrounding the two coasters to a Quidditch Pitch, with Quidditch Towers, goal posts, and a large field beneath the coaster rather than dirt and service roads. Only retrack where necessary, as this ride probably doesn't need it as much as Hulk, without the launch system and all. And maybe do a better job of hiding the steel from Hogsmeade, if possible.

 

[illumination]

I would honestly like it if Dragon Challenge stayed with a major thematic upgrade. Completely redo the queue to make it less endless, and maybe give the attraction an actual story with some FJ-esque musion pre-shows. Theme the area surrounding the two coasters to a Quidditch Pitch, with Quidditch Towers, goal posts, and a large field beneath the coaster rather than dirt and service roads. Only retrack where necessary, as this ride probably doesn't need it as much as Hulk, without the launch system and all. And maybe do a better job of hiding the steel from Hogsmeade, if possible.

Maybe if they didn't have to replace the track entirely they could paint it more subtle colors, but then redo the trains to look like realistic dragons. Maybe add more interesting elements to the queue like animatronic baby dragons. I agree with all of the suggestions you made.

 

[UNIrd]

I would honestly like it if Dragon Challenge stayed with a major thematic upgrade. Completely redo the queue to make it less endless, and maybe give the attraction an actual story with some FJ-esque musion pre-shows. Theme the area surrounding the two coasters to a Quidditch Pitch, with Quidditch Towers, goal posts, and a large field beneath the coaster rather than dirt and service roads. Only retrack where necessary, as this ride probably doesn't need it as much as Hulk, without the launch system and all. And maybe do a better job of hiding the steel from Hogsmeade, if possible.

Yeah, I've never walked on to Dragon Challenge since the changeover and not thought "Holy Budget Cuts..". The DD queue was so much more impressive. Sucks to have lost it but there's huge room for improvements, from the queue to the ride experience.

 

[danielmann910]

I predict that dragon challenge goes down for a overhaul when hulk reopens.