Potter Puppet Pals

Just so I don’t get off on the wrong foot here… I may have issues with Danny boy, but I do love the Harry Potter world. Some of the best parts of it are the fan made tributes. One in particular being the Potter Puppet Pals group.

They started off with Flash vids but have moved on to actual puppets (and thank goodness for that, the puppets are more interesting). Check out their website for some fun vids. I’ve included a sample below.

Daniel ‘Dolt’ Radcliffe

I ran into this RSS stream the other day from IMDB.

Actor Daniel Radcliffe has compared the latest Harry Potter installment to cult movie Trainspotting – insisting the new film contains “a fair amount of sexual energy and drug parallels”.

Radcliffe recently finished filming the sixth Potter movie – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which is due for release in November.

And the star insists that there are moments in the picture which are very similar to scenes in Ewan McGregor’s controversial 1996 film.

He says, “There’s a fair amount of sexual energy and drug parallels. We have a couple of Trainspotting moments.

“That’s two films I never thought would be mentioned in the same breath.”

Maybe this is bothering me more than it should, but this isn’t the first time we’ve heard the “infinite wisdom” of good ol’ Danny boy. The kid’s a nut. Remember the whole Equus uproar too (though I suppose it’s still ongoing). I think the kid’s pleased as pie to be appearing nude, hoping with all his might everyone will view him as an adult now that he’s shown all. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t what he’s doing that bothers me, it’s the why. Seems like everything is out to prove how awesome and adult he is. I found myself having this conversation in my head and thinking “this is why I stay away from celebrity gossip” :

Dee: So you think because you’ve been in Harry Potter you’re Kenneth Branagh now?
Danny: Well, but I’ve also been in other films!
Dee: Like what?
Danny: Like December Boys. And I think I was really a role model to those younger boys, being able to share my wealth of acting experience with them.
Dee: As Harry Potter?
Danny: No, I’ve been naked. I’ve been naked in London and in New York!
Dee: So showing off your privates counts as phenomenal acting.
Danny: Well, it’s very controversial.
Dee: Maybe 50 years ago.
Danny: You just didn’t get what I was going for. Broadway’s hard to understand, you see. The play I was in was very controversial. It’s like Trainspotting.
Dee: I thought Harry Potter was like Trainspotting.
Danny: Well, yeah, that too.
Dee: Do you ever worry that after Harry Potter has finished, so will your career?
Danny: What do you mean?
Dee: I mean that the only reason people will hire you is because of Harry Potter fame and after that’s died no one will care?
Danny: But I’ve been naked on Broadway.
Dee: So have drunkards in New York, but you don’t see the academy handing them an award.
Danny: Well, I’ve been in dozens of movies, so I think I would know about acting.
Dee: Even though most of them were playing the exact same role.
Danny: But the new one’s like Trainspotting.
Dee: So Harry becomes a crack addict and Voldie crawls around on the ceiling and spins his head around.
Danny: Exactly!
Dee: I’m done.

It’s kind of like Danny stumbled across a nudey mag and wants everyone to know he’s got it and is looking at it.

OK. So I’m probably being too rough on the dolt, but honestly, the whole “look at me and see how bad I can be and am being” act gets old. It’s like the advertisements for M. Night’s The Happening. “Look everyone! I made an R-rated movie! Isn’t that shocking? Isn’t that controversial?!” Who cares? The movie flopped anyhow.

If everyone thinks controversial is all the rage, and everyone does it, then how is being controversial being unique anymore? It’s like the whole “anti-trendy” thing when I was in high school. In the end, being anti-trendy is the same as being trendy, because you’re still letting other people decide what you’re going to like, whether it’s because they like it or they hate it.

If you are going to be a great actor, director, or whatever, then BE a great actor, director, or whatever and quit trying to prove to everyone that you are. Your performance or work will be testament enough of your talent.

I just don’t get Danny’s way of thinking, I suppose. After all, anyone can become good at something with lots of practice. Sure, he does a good job with Harry Potter, but you’d come to expect that after six movies (at least you’d hope). I don’t know.

Anyways, rant over. Back on with the animation!