Sixty-four competitors and six rounds later, we're finally at the last leg of the Harry Potter World Cup, our month-long tournament set up to determine which character is truly the greatest in the entire "Harry Potter" story. And now, we're moments away from finding out who won in the battle between Severus Snape and Ron Weasley.
MTV News is LIVE at the red carpet premiere of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" here in New York City, where we'll be bringing you a two-hour live-stream of our conversations with the various cast and crew members who've populated the Potter-verse over the last decade. You can send your questions along to @MTVNews using the hash-tag #AskPotter. Of course, it's not all about "Deathly Hallows," as we'll also be announcing the Harry Potter World Cup's grand champion. Polls will close at 5:00 PM EST, and we'll reveal the winner live from the carpet.
So tune into our live-stream right now, and click past the jump for our red carpet live blog!
6:27 PM: And that's all she wrote, guys. We're closing out with a sneak peek at "American Talk 2," which we'll show you in full in just a few moments. Thanks again for tuning in, and another huge congratulations to Severus Snape and all of his fans for winning the Harry Potter World Cup!
6:24 PM: "I'm sweating like a pig in labor," Daniel Radcliffe says of the heat on the "Potter" red carpet. Of the end, he says: "This is the culmination of ten years of work for us, so we are definitely celebrating tonight!"
6:23 PM "There could be 'Potter' anonymous," Felton said of a post-Potter therapy group. "I'd be the first one to join!"
6:22 PM: "I can't believe the things you made me do," Tom Felton teased Josh about "American Talk 2," which we're going to show you soon. "I'm excited to see it!"
6:22 PM: "I really don't know what I'm supposed to do," Grint said of his post-Potter plans. "Counseling! Talking it all out."
6:21 PM: "I knew it," he said of losing the World Cup to Snape. "And I agree. It's the right choice. I'm pleased with that."
6:20 PM And now we're with Rupert Grint, who represents Harry Potter World Cup runner-up Ron Weasley. "I'm going to miss the screaming," he said of the fan adoration for his work in "Potter."
6:19 PM "I think I'll go have a very big brunch and sleep," she says of her post-Potter fans.
6:18 PM: Emma Watson's with us, and she's excited to hit the dance floor at the "Deathly Hallows" after party. On ending the series: "Part of me is relieved. This has been intense. But obviously part of me is very sad. It's been very emotional."
6:13 PM: For what it's worth, Snape won by a landslide over Ron Weasley. In fact, he beat all three members of the Big Three by a huge margin. Very impressive!
6:11 PM: "In retrospect, it's no surprise. It was a given," Terri says of Snape winning the Harry Potter World Cup. "Is Snape good? Is Snape evil? He's neither of them. He's human. He's flawed. ... I'm glad that of all the characters to get it, it was Snape."
6:08 PM Rickman on his favorite Snape scene, which is his very first scene in "Sorcerer's Stone": "Rather than standing in front of the kids, can I crash in the door? Then you discover your character has a lot of explosive energy as well as standing still."
6:06 PM: Rickman on Snape's World Cup win: "It's a vote for ambiguity, where you don't know how things are going to turn out. Values you can't talk about without ruining the film, but things like courage, loyalty, determination and love, actually."
6:06 PM: SEVERUS SNAPE IS THE WINNER OF THE HARRY POTTER WORLD CUP!
6:05 PM: Here we are with Alan Rickman, Severus Snape himself, one of our final two Harry Potter World Cup competitors! And guess what?...
6:02 PM: AND she's signing autographs and posing for fans! Very cool of the longtime Hermione Granger.
6:01 PM: Emma Watson is on the carpet! We'll be chatting with her soon.
5:58 PM: "When we saw the first screen test, we said, this is Harry Potter," Columbus said of selecting Dan Radcliffe for the role. "And having seen 'How to Succeed in Business,' he has become the ultimate actor."
5:56 PM: Chris Columbus, director of the first two "Potter" films, is with us. "For a director, this has to be one of the most satisfying experiences you can have," he said, saying how proud he is to see the young stars of "Potter" growing into increasingly better actors over the years.
5:54 PM: Barron won't be involved in Pottermore. "This world is so real to her," he said of the project. "She went into it with such depth before she wrote a single word. She knew what happened to Sirius' relatives. Anything you can think of, she knew it. ... It's about education and getting kids to read."
5:51 PM We're joined now by David Barron, another key producer on the "Potter" franchise. "There's a big buzz when I saw the finished film -- the finished sound, the finished FX -- that's the movie we made. The last time I saw it was in London last week with an audience for the first time, which was brilliant. ... With an American audience, they're much more vocal. It's a big difference. ... You really respond to the films, and that's a great experience for us. It'll be like watching the films for the first time."
5:48 PM Kloves on why he's excited about Pottermore, which promises to bring added depth to the whole mythology: "It's crazy what [Rowling] knows [about this world]. I once e-mailed her about Ron's uncle and I got four pages and it was all fascinating."
5:47 PM: Kloves on speaking with Rowling about creating the "Potter" series for film: "We'd meet in cyberspace because of the time difference ... and we became close friends. It was a lot of fun. It was always like a bit of a detective story for me."
5:44 PM: Here's Steve Kloves, one of the key writers who helped to bring the "Harry Potter" series to the big screen. His key challenge on this final part of "Potter" was "tying it up in a satisfactory manner. We had this giant spectacle, and we needed to make sure we didn't lose the human side of it ... that if someone was lost, we felt it. We gave those deaths some dignity."
5:43 PM: "Justin Bieber is the man. BOOYA!" - Tom Felton, "American Talk." Just wait for part two...
5:39 PM: David Heyman on David Yates: "He brought a humanity to every frame. ... He brought passion and intensity and was incredibly inspiring, challenging all of us to do better each and every time."
5:37 PM: Here's longtime "Potter" producer David Heyman! "It's hot as hell," he says, and he's right -- it is brutal out here. And he's brought his boy, Harper! You can't make this stuff up!
5:32 PM: Reason #48021 I'm super jealous of Josh Horowitz and Terri Schwartz: they've both been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and I have not. Have you been? Am I missing out on the most magical place in all the world? I'm dying to go!
5:27 PM: Yates would play Lupin if he could play any character in the "Potter" series. "David Thewlis is a brilliant actor," he said. Couldn't agree more! (Lupin fans, give a shout!)
5:26 PM: Will there be more Potter? Yates thinks "it's better to leave the story where it is. It feels more poignant and special that way." But he notes that if Jo Rowling ever wrote another novel, he'd be "first in line to read it."
5:25 PM: Yates hopes that his audience will be "oddly moved" when they finish seeing the "Deathly Hallows" finale. Having seen the film, I don't think he has anything to worry about in the "being moved" department -- and I don't think there will be anything odd about it.
5:22 PM: Welcome to the MTV News portion of the red carpet, David Yates! The director of the final four "Potter" films says that you "never take [these moments] for granted." We can't even imagine what it must be like for these guys walking the "Potter" carpet for one last time.
5:21 PM: Matthew Lewis thinks Severus Snape is going to win the World Cup. Sounds like he would have voted for Sirius Black if he'd beaten Ron Weasley in the last round. What about you -- if it had been Snape versus Sirius, who would you have voted for?
5:17 PM: Here's Tom Felton from the press day yesterday, weighing in with his bet on the Harry Potter World Cup winner. He said that Sirius beating Draco Malfoy was "a little bit unfair." What do you think -- did the right wizard move onto the Final Four?
5:10 PM: First talent sighting: David Yates, the director of the last four "Harry Potter" movies, is on the red carpet! We'll be talking with him soon, we hope!
5:07 PM: Josh actually visited Emma on the set of "The Perks of Being a Wall Flower," and he was very impressed by what he saw. Can't wait to see some footage of what's sure to be a very different turn from the erstwhile Hermione.
5:06 PM: We're talking about which of the main three actors is going to have the biggest movie career going forward -- Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson or Rupert Grint. Who do you think we'll see the most of in the future?
5:04 PM: Once upon a time, Tom Felton auditioned for Harry Potter. Let that soak in for a minute: Tom Felton could have played the Boy Who Lived. We love you Tom, but that... that's not right.
5:02 PM: The World Cup. It is enormous. You could kill a man with this thing. I've had a very hard time letting that go... hopefully Alan Rickman or Rupert Grint (whoever wins) will give it a nice home.
5:00 PM: That's it, guys. Voting's over. The World Cup winner will be revealed during the live-stream, so stay tuned!
4:57 PM: Voting ends in three minutes! Last chance to stuff the ballot! Will Snape take it? Is Ron going to bring home the Cup? Make your voice heard now -- you're almost out of time!
4:54 PM: No, Andrew hasn't taken Polyjuice Potion. That's Julia Hodges of DanRadcliffe.com and RupertGrint.net, one of our many Harry Potter World Cup experts. Nice to see you, Julia!
4:52 PM: This Emma Watson video is just the first of several looks back at the "Harry Potter" cast over the years. Hope you enjoy!
4:49 PM: Voting ends in eleven minutes, guys... go vote!
4:48 PM: By the way, Terri's right -- there were over 100 characters considered for Harry Potter World Cup. We had to pare the list down by more than 40. That. Was. Not. Easy.
4:47 PM: Looks like we've got our first disagreement! Andrew doesn't think Snape can hold a candle to the fan-favorite Ron, while Terri thinks this is "Snape's to win." Only one of them can be right...
4:46 PM And another one of our Harry Potter World Cup experts, Andrew Sims from MuggleNet! If you're a "Potter" fan and you aren't familiar with MuggleNet, you're missing out. Make sure to check out what they've got for you as we move towards the release date!
4:44 PM: Did you catch that number, by the way? More than 7 million votes have been cast in the Harry Potter World Cup. Translation: you guys are awesome. Thank you.
4:43 PM: Say hi to Terri Schwartz, the resident "Potter" expert around MTV News headquarters! She's been contributing to the World Cup as one of our lead analysts all month long, so make sure to give her a warm welcome.
4:42 PM: I have to admit, having already seen "Deathly Hallows Part 2" -- maybe even because I've already seen it -- this trailer still sends chills down my spine. The wait is well worth it, guys... this movie's the best of the bunch, no doubt.
4:40 PM: Added bonus for tuning in tonight: you'll get your first look at "American Talk 2," featuring your favorite "Potter" stars being put through the American wringer once again. As a refresher course, here's a link to part one.
4:38 PM: Josh isn't kidding -- it is HOT in New York today. If you see your favorite "Potter" actors and actresses sweating buckets, it's not because they're nervous. It's a scorcher out there, folks.
4:36 PM: We're live! The red carpet doesn't open up to the stars for a little bit, but we're too excited not to get things started a little bit early.
4:25 PM: And live from the red carpet, it's the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" logo!
4:24 PM: While we're waiting for the kick off, there's still some time left to vote in the Harry Potter World Cup. Who do you want to see take home the prize: Snape or Ron?
4:22 PM: It's almost show time! The big event kicks off in just a few minutes, so don't go anywhere.
Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/07/11/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-live-stream/
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