In “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows,” Dobby died as a free elf. Filmed at the Freshwater West Beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Fans built a memorial for Dobby on the beach. Visitors leave behind painted rocks, trinkets, and socks in tribute.
James and Oliver Phelps with moderator Dana Han-Klein talk about being the Weasley twins, Fred and George, working together on the set of “Harry Potter” and meeting fans at Silicon Valley Comic Con 2019 on Saturday, August 17, 2019.
The organizers for Silicon Valley Comic Con 2019 posted on Facebook last week that a new guest announcement would be made 24 hours later. With three lightning bolt emojis in the Facebook post, there were several possibilities as to who the mystery guest could be. Based on the timing and the use of the lightning bolt emoji, Zachery Levi was the most obvious choice as Shazam opened last week. Other possibilities included Brie Larson from Captain Marvel, Chris Hemsworth from Avengers Endgame, or David Harbour from Hellboy.
Whom did the organizers announced with great fanfare 24 hours later?
James and Oliver Phelps, the twin brothers who played Fred and George Weasley in Harry Potter.
With Silicon Valley Comic Con 2019 just four months away, the guest announcements have been few and far between. The guest list prior to new announcement was Jason Momoa of Aquaman, Morena Baccarin of Deadpool, and Ben McKenzie of Gotham. You can watch my Jason Momoa video to catch up on the announcement misfires from last year that cast doubts on the organizers’ ability to put together a half-way decent guest list.
The impromptu timing and buildup for the Weasley Twins was just another announcement misfire by the organizers. You don’t drop three lightning bolt emojis in a Facebook post just before Shazam opens and then announced actors from a completely different franchise.
The announcement also didn’t coincide with any major Harry Potter news for that week.
Unless you counted the Polish priest who apologized for burning Harry Potter books and other “evil items” that promoted sorcery in society. His book burning campaign was against sorcery in general, and not against Harry Potter and non-Western religions in particular. An anti-smog group filed a complaint against the priest for illegal burning of garbage in public.
If the organizers waited until this week, they could have announced the Weasley Twins to coincide with premiere of the Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle” at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. With the mainstream media covering that event, the Weasley Twins announcement could have benefited from the renewed interest in Harry Potter.
Somewhat ironic that
a priest burned Harry Potter books for promoting sorcery last week when
Hollywood is promoting sorcery at the Harry Potter theme park this week.
The organizers should have simply announced the Weasley Twins without fanfare and let the announcement speak for itself. Like Lou Ferringo, who played the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk TV series, and David Harbour from Stranger Things and Hellboy announced this week. With Hellboy opening at the movies this weekend, the organizers should have promoted the heck out announcing David Harbour.