Ten Hogwarts movies down, one to go. It’s been four years since we posted the trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwaldhere at borg. Now we’re only six weeks away from the final movie in the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Will the eleventh movie in J.K. Rowling’s fantasy universe be the last? Six years ago Rowling mentioned she had thoughts on two more movies, but no action has been taken since as far as pre-production goes. So this could be the end.
Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) knows dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to lead an intrepid team where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers. How long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?
Here’s the trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore:
Our borgBest of 2018 list continues today with the Best in Print. If you missed them, check out our review of the Best Movies of 2018 here, the Kick-Ass Heroines of 2018here, and the Best in Television 2018here.
So let’s get going. Here are our selections for this year’s Best in Print:
Best Read, Best Sci-fi Read – The Synapse Sequenceby Daniel Godfrey (Titan Books). The Synapse Sequence is one of those standout reads that reflects why we all flock to the latest new book in the first place. The detective mystery, the future mind travel tech, the twists, and the successful use of multiple perspectives made this one of the most engaging sci-fi reads since Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. Honorable mention: Solo: A Star Wars Story novelization by Mur Lafferty (Del Rey).
Best Retro Read – Killing Townby Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins (Hard Case Crime). The lost, first Mike Hammer novel released for the 100th anniversary of Mickey Spillane’s birth was gold for noir crime fans. This first Hammer story introduced an origin for a character that had never been released, in fact never finished, but Spillane’s late career partner on his work made a seamless read. This was the event of the year for the genre, and a fun ride for his famous character. Honorable mention: Help, I Am Being Held Prisoner, by Donald E. Westlake.
Best Tie-In Book – Solo: A Star Wars Story–Expanded Editionnovelization by Mur Lafferty (Del Rey). Not since Donald Glut’s novelization of The Empire Strikes Back had we encountered a Star Wars story as engaging as this one. Lafferty took the final film version and Lawrence and Jon Kasdan’s script to weave together something fuller than the film on-screen. Surprises and details moviegoers may have overlooked were revealed, and characters were introduced that didn’t make the final film cut. Better yet, the writing itself was exciting. We read more franchise tie-ins than ever before this year, and many were great reads, but this book had it all. Honorable Mention: Big Damn Heroby James Lovegrove (Titan).
Best Genre Non-fiction – Hitchcock’s Heroinesby Caroline Young (Insight Editions). A compelling look at the director and his relationship with the leading women in his films, this new work on Hitchcock was filled with information diehard fans of Hitchcock will not have seen before. Young incorporated behind-the-scenes images, costume sketches, and a detailed history of the circumstances behind key films of the master of suspense and his work with some of Hollywood’s finest performers.
There’s much more of our selections for 2018’s Best in Print to go…
Today is our last day of reviews of the movie tie-in books for the new J.K. Rowling fantasy film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Rounding out the tie-in books is an exclusive behind the scenes account of the production composed of interviews with cast and crew, plus a new double-sized coloring book of the quality of adult coloring books but suitable for all ages.
In many ways Lights, Camera, Magic! The Making of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is like the souvenir books you’d get to commemorate a special event or show years ago. It has all the images from the film of the key characters, environments, and scenes. And it features interviews with all principal cast members except Johnny Depp. Elaborating on the motivations behind scenes, scope, and decisions made for the film are screenplay writer J.K. Rowling, director David Yates, producer David Heyman, graphic designers Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, production designer Stuart Craig, art director Martin Foley, costume designer Colleen Atwood, hair and makeup artist Fae Hammond, set decorator Anna Pinnock, concept artist Dermot Power, prop designer Pierre Bohanna, and visual effects supervisors Tim Burke and Christian Manz. The book also features a foreword by star Eddie Redmayne. Readers will find more than one photo and section describing scenes that did not make the final cut of the film, too (did anyone have any idea Newt wrote a book that was made for a book-signing scene in the film?).
The Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Magical Adventure Coloring Book offers up several scenes from the film, as well as deleted scene images, to color. The coloring book is in the realm of the more elaborately designed adult coloring books, such as Sherlock and Doctor Who coloring books. quality artwork and photo-real images that look like the actors being portrayed, not just quick sketches. You’ll find images of Newt, Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and more characters, plus several beasts inside.
Take a look at these excerpt pages from each book:
Of all this year’s books we’ve read and reviewed at borg in 2018, more than 100 all told, we’re hard-pressed to find one that matches the beauty of design in The Archive of Magic – The Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, a new elaborately designed and detailed look at the film, the story, and the production of the new fantasy film from the mind of J.K. Rowling. Not only is the photograph reproduction quality superb, every page incorporates the style of the film, created by the very designers who made the images for the film. That’s MinaLima–the dynamic art duo of Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima–who also designed props for the Harry Potter movies as well as a new series of classic book reprints (reviewed here previously at borg).
Writer/editor Signe Bergstrom provides several textual elements that make The Archive of Magic stand out. She presents the narrative of the story itself in a way that will help moviegoers understand the sequence of events in the densely packed film. She also incorporates in-world elements, like examining new characters and story elements, and she steps out of the fantasy and interviews the film’s creative staff, writers, and actors, to provide an in-depth guide through the production. Readers will find final as-filmed versions of costumes and set production, in contrast with The Art of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which consists primarily of pre-production concept artwork (see our review here yesterday).
The Archive of Magic takes the paper ephemera book tie-in concept that has exploded in the past three years to another level. Included are several reproductions of paper props that were key to the story, not merely set dressing, but the book also includes tipped-in reproductions of set dressing, too, created by the artists who made the very props seen in the film–for any past Harry Potter universe film replica props like this would sell for at least $10-20 each. It begins with a deluxe hardcover, magnetic wraparound cover with gold embossed Art Nouveau designs. Included are Leta Lestrange’s note she finds in the Ministry Records Room, a 3D-lenticular photo identification card for Newt Scamander, a book mark incorporating Grindelwald’s logo on paper stock like that seen in the film, Credence Barebone’s dual-sided birth certificate, Queenie’s postcard from Tina, the Spellbound magazine that incorrectly reports on a Newt Scamander/Leta Lestrange engagement, Nicolas Flamel’s business card that Dumbledore gives to Newt, Butter Beer logo label stickers, six reproduced newspaper pages, and two folded, full-size circus posters.
Take a look at this book trailer produced by Harper Design, and sixteen interior pages from the book: Continue reading →
For a film inside the giant, magical world of Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwaldseemed to come and go from theaters with little fanfare. J.K. Rowling‘s newest world is a bleak one full of darkness, and without her trademark happier, lovable, wonderful bits to echo the Harry Potter universe that draws its fans to this new series. The spin-off series may suffer from prequel-itis. Does it indicate that, like George Lucas and his prequels, the bestselling living author might benefit from letting someone else step in to edit these screenplays into a more accessible story for her fans? The original screenplay to Grindelwaldclocks in at a whopping 304 pages, nearly three times the standard, and it may have been simply too difficult for the production to whittle it all down into a cohesive story. Regardless of what you think of the finished film, it is difficult to deny the amazing level of work that went into the production design. We’re featuring some great behind-the-scenes books that spotlight the artistry behind the film over the next few days, beginning today with The Art of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, by concept artist Dermot Power, who also penned the predecessor book The Art of the Film: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
The Art of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald showcases the work of fifty-five artists, with notations provided by each creator, including what they were commissioned to draw, what inspired the look, and where the piece belonged in the story. Art Nouveau inspired much of the film, coupled with a very steampunk industrial look that did not appear in the Harry Potter films. Highlights include blueprints for stage sets, concept art that influenced the various Paris scenes, the design for Grindelwald’s vial, circus images that didn’t make it into the film, and Newt’s half-flooded basement zoo.
Best of all, Power’s new book gets to the heart of what is missing on the big screen from both Fantastic Beasts films: more images of the elaborate, intricately stylized, fantastic animal creations. Unlike many “art of” books, the author pulls out far more fully rendered drawings, paintings, sculptures, instruments, 3D set builds, character designs, and visual effects try-ons–concept artwork that didn’t make it into the final film. He also provides clearer images of the creatures that did make it into the film but were lost in the shadows because of the dimly lit cinematography used in the film, like the ethereal half-animal, half-vegetable Kelpie.
As with fans of the other big genre franchises, fans of the Harry Potter universe are always looking for what is coming next for their fandom. While waiting for the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the next best thing is a visual journey into the artwork of the film series via Harper Design’s new 364-page, giant hardcover book, The Art of Harry Potter. A gallery of more than 600 images, The Art of Harry Potter covers the eight movies, all created under the watchful eye of Academy Award-winning production designer Stuart Craig.
This collection is entirely different from any behind the scenes art book we’ve seen, breaking down the films by environments, characters, beasts, artifacts, and the most eye-opening: the graphic art that grounded the films in the real world. The graphic art includes photographs of book covers, key documents by MinaLima that were seen onscreen, potion bottles, magazines and newspapers, blueprints, maps, heraldry, Quidditch signage, food and beverage containers, posters, and tapestries. Trying to mock up a Harry Potter room in your house? This is your sourcebook. With only eight pages of descriptive text, no in-depth interviews with creators, or the like, and only photo captions to guide you on your journey, consider this volume the ultimate album of the concept artwork that inspired the films.
The most unique section of the book looks into all the artwork that adorned the Hogwarts school and other environments. These were images that may not have been seen on the screen at all, or images seen only in the corner of a frame flashing by quickly, but all worthy of gallery display. Don’t expect to find photographs of actors or as-photographed screen images–these images represent the ideas that were developed over the decade between 2001 and 2011 that were then crafted into the final screen costumes, props, stages, and Harry Potter magic.
