HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS Test Screened in Chicago (Spoiler Warning)

Word spread quickly this afternoon on several Harry Potter fansites that an unnamed Warner Bros test screening happening in Chicago today was possibly an early screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I.  Both Mugglenet and The Leaky Cauldron are now confirming that it was indeed a screening of a rough cut of the film, and reactions are starting to pour in, as well as a few plot details and confirmations, including (SPOILER warning):

1. Although it was still a rough cut with unfinished special effects and music, the film clocked in at 2-1/2 hours.  A composer for Part II has not yet been chosen.
2. The Tale of the Three Brothers, which tells the story of the Deathly Hallows, will be an animated sequence.
3. "Part 1" was not part of the title card.
4. We will get to see Hermione's home, as well as when she modifies her parents' memories to keep them safe from Voldemort.
5. Both Dobby and Kreacher do appear in the film, Dobby in particular got a very warm response from the audience.
6. A death of one of the characters has been changed somewhat...but that character still dies.
7. The film will end where it was reported last week - with Voldemort getting his hands on the Elder Wand.
8. There will be flashback scenes regarding the Horcruxes and Hallows, and Dumbledore and Slughorn will appear in these scenes, among others.
9. The Seven Potters Death Eater sequence will now include a highway chase.
10. There will be a scene where Harry dances with Hermione (not in the book) in the tent to cheer her up during the Horcrux search, and a scene where they passionately kiss (don't worry, it's not what you think).

 Reaction to the film itself has been overwhelmingly positive - granted, these reviews are from raving Harry Potter fans, so they're bound to be a little biased.  But as a raving Harry Potter fan myself, who just finished reading Deathly Hallows again this week (and who's also watching Goblet of Fire on ABC Family right now), it's sounds like they're staying very faithful to the book and they're not pulling any punches with this one, which is great, because the book didn't either.  It's dark and sad, and let's you know pretty much from the first chapter that all bets are off as to who is safe...essentially, no one.

It's also sounding good because the most of the major sequences we've seen in the trailers so far - like the dragon and the Battle of Hogwarts, are from Part II.  While Part I will mostly be a road movie with the trio pushing each other to their emotional limits searching for Horcruxes, it does have a good number of terrifying moments and action sequences to definitely earn the series' second PG-13 rating (after Goblet of Fire), and judging the reviews so far, it's all going to be there and more.

Source: ThinkMcFlyThink

SPOILER ALERT - THIS Major DC Comics Superhero Will Become White Lantern

DC Comics has a history of letting the advertisements for their related merchandise spoil the stories in the comic books themselves.  If you remember, many people first learned that Martian Manhunter J'onn J'onnz was going to become a Black Lantern because of the ad for his action figure put out by DC Direct.

Well, they've done it again.  This time its the folks at Heroclix, who put out some teasers for their new line celebrating DC Comics 75th Anniversary.  Heroclix has really done a tremedous job in capitalizing on the Blackest Night and Brightest Day events by releasing sets very quickly. 

So who is set to become a White Lantern?  The answer is Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow. 

Now Green Arrow was a White Lantern for a couple of pages in Blackest Night as well, and while that was a cool moment, I don't think that moment alone gets you a heroclix, but maybe I'm wrong.


What I do know is that at the end of the most recent issue of Green Arrow, we see Oliver Queen laying on the ground near the tree with the White Lantern Symbol. He also coincidently has an arrow shot directly through his skull. That's hard to recover from, even if you have a good health care plan.

So, right now he is dead, but I don't really think he's going to stay that way?  Do you?

So instead you bring back Green Arrow in the next issue -- as a White Lantern.

Is this yet another case of the tail wagging the dog, and scooping the story with related merchandise advertising?  Seems like it to me.  This doesn't seem like a hard problem to solve, but it seems that DC Comics is having a very hard time figuring it out lately.  Hopefully that changes soon.