Nooooo!
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[Maggie Smith, beloved ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Harry Potter’ star, dead at 89 | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/27/entertainment/maggie-smith-downton-abbey-potter-dead/index.html)
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[Maggie Smith, beloved ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Harry Potter’ star, dead at 89 | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/27/entertainment/maggie-smith-downton-abbey-potter-dead/index.html)
:rose: As sad as that might be, I'll try to make another point. I never understood these types of headlines. "Star of" [XYZ]. I've never watched Downton Abbey, but I have seen all 8 Harry Potter movies. Yeah, ok, she had a role in all (?) of them. But I think it's fair to say she didn't star in them, in the sense that she did not get top billing, or all that much total screen time, relatively speaking, if that's how you want to measure it. That distinction goes to "the other three" - and I don't even need to name them for everyone to know exactly who I'm talking about. Is it really the role that made her known? Probably not. The story wasn't about her character. She might have made great contributions to the movies, but they still didn't revolve around her. I realize it's not the best measure, but her page on IMDB doesn't even show Harry Potter under the "Known For" section (nor does Downton Abbey for that matter). So placing her role from Harry Potter right in the headline for her obituary and claiming she "starred" in it, as if that was her greatest accomplishment, really does her a disservice IMO. Kinda like saying Judy Dench "starred" in the James Bond series, for her role as M. Aim a little higher than pointing out the bit parts, is all I'm saying.
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:rose: As sad as that might be, I'll try to make another point. I never understood these types of headlines. "Star of" [XYZ]. I've never watched Downton Abbey, but I have seen all 8 Harry Potter movies. Yeah, ok, she had a role in all (?) of them. But I think it's fair to say she didn't star in them, in the sense that she did not get top billing, or all that much total screen time, relatively speaking, if that's how you want to measure it. That distinction goes to "the other three" - and I don't even need to name them for everyone to know exactly who I'm talking about. Is it really the role that made her known? Probably not. The story wasn't about her character. She might have made great contributions to the movies, but they still didn't revolve around her. I realize it's not the best measure, but her page on IMDB doesn't even show Harry Potter under the "Known For" section (nor does Downton Abbey for that matter). So placing her role from Harry Potter right in the headline for her obituary and claiming she "starred" in it, as if that was her greatest accomplishment, really does her a disservice IMO. Kinda like saying Judy Dench "starred" in the James Bond series, for her role as M. Aim a little higher than pointing out the bit parts, is all I'm saying.
Now, if we're talking about her time as Miss Jean Brodie or the lady in the van, that would be very different.
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Now, if we're talking about her time as Miss Jean Brodie or the lady in the van, that would be very different.
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:rose: As sad as that might be, I'll try to make another point. I never understood these types of headlines. "Star of" [XYZ]. I've never watched Downton Abbey, but I have seen all 8 Harry Potter movies. Yeah, ok, she had a role in all (?) of them. But I think it's fair to say she didn't star in them, in the sense that she did not get top billing, or all that much total screen time, relatively speaking, if that's how you want to measure it. That distinction goes to "the other three" - and I don't even need to name them for everyone to know exactly who I'm talking about. Is it really the role that made her known? Probably not. The story wasn't about her character. She might have made great contributions to the movies, but they still didn't revolve around her. I realize it's not the best measure, but her page on IMDB doesn't even show Harry Potter under the "Known For" section (nor does Downton Abbey for that matter). So placing her role from Harry Potter right in the headline for her obituary and claiming she "starred" in it, as if that was her greatest accomplishment, really does her a disservice IMO. Kinda like saying Judy Dench "starred" in the James Bond series, for her role as M. Aim a little higher than pointing out the bit parts, is all I'm saying.