FYI: 5 things to know about 'Potter' movie opening at midnight
By Phil Villarreal
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.14.2009
Five things you should know about "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," opening nationally at midnight tonight.
1. Midnight screenings are available at Park Place, Century Park, El Con, Foothills, Harkins Spectrum, Tower Theatres, Oro Valley Marketplace and Desert Sky. As of Monday morning, several shows at Park Place and El Con were already sold out.
2. Robert Knox, who plays Marcus Belby — a Ravenclaw student a year ahead of Harry at Hogwarts — was stabbed to death at age 18 on May 24, 2008, in a bar brawl after the movie wrapped. Belby was Knox's first and only movie role. Those who attended the film's premiere last week in London wore white wristbands in honor of Knox.
3. The movie was originally slated for a Nov. 21, 2008, release, but, in August 2008, Warner Bros. — taking notice of how well its film "The Dark Knight" was doing that summer — announced it would delay the movie until July 15 to maximize its box-office take. The final "Harry Potter" book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," will be made into two films, to be released in November 2010 and July 2011.
4. The new movie garnered a PG rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, the same rating as the first three "Harry Potter" films. The last two movies were rated PG-13.
5. At 153 minutes, the movie is the third-longest in the series. The second movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," was the longest, at 161 minutes; while the fifth film, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," was the shortest, at 138 minutes.
Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at 573-4130 or pvillarreal@azstarnet.com.
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