'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince' actor Rob Knox, fatally stabbed in London

[tucsoncoyote]

Related Link(s): http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24808304/

Well it looks like the Harry Potter Death curse is running full bore still as Rob Knox, age 18 was fatally stabbed outside a bar in Sidcup tonight.

Knox is the actor that was supposed to play in the upcoming movie Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the Ravensclaw student, Marcus Belby.

Knox was caught up in a brawl outside the Metro Bar in Sidcup just after midnight, London time, and was fatally stabbed in the chest. The teen's death, less than two weeks after another youngster was brutally slain only a few miles away, has focused the British capital's attention on knife crime.

Knox was one of five young men and boys taken to various hospitals across the capital after the brawl, police said. Among them was a 21-year-old who has since been arrested on suspicion of murder.

The fight did not appear to be gang-related, police added, but it puts the number of violent teenage deaths in London at 14 so far this year.

Knox played on the same rugby club as another recent teenage victim, Jimmy Mizen, who was fatally stuck with a piece of glass outside a south London bakery earlier this month after refusing to take part in a fight.

Warner Brothers, makers of the movie, said it was shocked by the news.

So here again the Harry Potter curse seems to raise it's ugly head once again...

Thoughts?

:coyote:

[The Penguin]

Curse? Are you tying this to the death of 72-year-old actor Richard Harris of Hodgkin's disease or am I missing something?

[tucsoncoyote]

Curse? Are you tying this to the death of 72-year-old actor Richard Harris of Hodgkin's disease or am I missing something?
Nope not trying to but this is the first instance where I have heard of something bad happening.. or am I missing the fact that some movies are indeed cursed..(After all didn't that one young actress who starred in the Poltergeist movies die due to septic shock?)

Just my observations on all this.

:coyote:

[Mala Loba]

What a horrible occurance to happen. My thoughts are with his family...

[The Penguin]

Nope not trying to but this is the first instance where I have heard of something bad happening.. or am I missing the fact that some movies are indeed cursed..(After all didn't that one young actress who starred in the Poltergeist movies die due to septic shock?)

Just my observations on all this.Then why on earth did you say "So here again the Harry Potter curse seems to raise it's ugly head once again..."? This is a terrible incident that happened to one young man who had his first acting job on a Harry Potter movie.

[Harlan_Phoenix]

And if this happened to Joe Shmoe, it wouldn't have been reported.


Then why on earth did you say "So here again the Harry Potter curse seems to raise it's ugly head once again..."? This is a terrible incident that happened to one young man who had his first acting job on a Harry Potter movie.

Being dramatic is awesome, apparently.

[Rasputin]

And if this happened to Joe Shmoe, it wouldn't have been reported.

This is Britain. Every knife crime is reported, agonised over and taken as incontrovertible evidence of The Imminent Fall Of Civilisation As We Know It(C)tm. It would have made the headlines regardless.

Very tragic and I'm sorry for the family.

[tucsoncoyote]

And if this happened to Joe Shmoe, it wouldn't have been reported.



Being dramatic is awesome, apparently.

But then you gotta remember this. This person was an actor who was going to be in the upcoming movie, as a pivotal character, and he's cut down in the prime of his life before really he had a chance to get another role. It would have been interesting to see if Mr. Knox's First movie would have been the springboard towards something else. After all, when you think about it, sure he was a person, but he also was an actor. and I do feel that this is a tragic loss for the movie industry.. all because someone got drunk and decided to pick a fight with someone else.

:coyote:

[HellCat]

This is Britain. Every knife crime is reported, agonised over and taken as incontrovertible evidence of The Imminent Fall Of Civilisation As We Know It(C)tm. It would have made the headlines regardless.

Very tragic and I'm sorry for the family.

You say that like the country wasn't up poop creak without a paddle. A bumbling prime minister and an increasing population of angry young people who are getting by on over inflated hand outs from a system that's meant to only be a stop gap measure for the ill and jobhunting.

[TKnHappyNess]

So? The rule is if it's not a main character who has died, we don't give a crap about them, and since the character this guy plays is a nobody, well you get the idea.

[tucsoncoyote]

So? The rule is if it's not a main character who has died, we don't give a crap about them, and since the character this guy plays is a nobody, well you get the idea.

So if this had been say Daniel Radcliffe or Rupert Grint then you would care? You tend to forget that if this movie is completed and this character were to say come back in the next movie as the same character, then wouldn't this put a crimp in things? Also what about this lad's potential movie career if his character is likable? Do you think he wouldn't get offers to do other films? After all look at Alan Rickman. He got a part in Sweeny Todd, imagine if he had been the victim here.

Just my observations here.

:coyote:

[NewcomerDC]

I agree on the loss of this character and my question is does the character that this actor played in Harry Potter 6 returns in a part of the next two films?

[Rasputin]

You say that like the country wasn't up poop creak without a paddle. A bumbling prime minister and an increasing population of angry young people who are getting by on over inflated hand outs from a system that's meant to only be a stop gap measure for the ill and jobhunting.

Oh not another...

This argument should be made elsewhere. I apologise for bringing it up in this thread.

[HellCat]

Oh not another...

Realist who's political leanings are liberal and simply speaks from his own life experiences, rather than whatever other people or the media tell him to think?


This argument should be made elsewhere. I apologise for bringing it up in this thread.

Agreed.

[veemonjosh]

So? The rule is if it's not a main character who has died, we don't give a crap about them, and since the character this guy plays is a nobody, well you get the idea.

That was completely uncalled for and you know it. :shrug:

[Harlan_Phoenix]

That was completely uncalled for and you know it. :shrug:

I think he's talking about the media's opinion, not necessarily his own.

[GregX]

I feel bad for his family.

As for the "curse." Pure fiction, and I wish people would stop perpetuating this nonsense. There's no such thing. A few months back, I was working as a producer on a short which had this really, really superstitious actor on set, and when he got on my nerves, I said "Macbeth," repeatedly. He freaked, but guess what? Nothing happened.

[Light Lucario]

So? The rule is if it's not a main character who has died, we don't give a crap about them, and since the character this guy plays is a nobody, well you get the idea.

I think that was is seriously harsh and cold to say. Whether or not its your opinion or the media's interpretation, it still sounds like it shouldn't matter if he didn't play a main character. Regardless of his importance to the film, it is still quite sad to hear of a young man killed in the prime of his life. He could have gone onto other acting roles or better yet, have had a happy future down the line. Whenever someone in the field of acting, or anyone in general, passes away, we should at least care about their suffering and the pain that their friends and family have to go through.

With that being said, I feel bad for poor Rob Knox. I hope that he may rest in peace. My thoughts go to his family at this difficult and heartbreaking time.

[TKnHappyNess]

The media makes a big deal out of nothing, but when it's something very important, nobody seems to care.

[Tanooki]

the character of "marcus belby" had no pivotol role what-so-ever in the harry potter franchise. did you even read these books, coyote?

besides that, harsh comments have been made towards the deceased and a country's political structure has been questioned and ridiculed

granted, i don't think this thread has a lot of meat to it without all the derailments since mr. knox was not particularly well known and he was playing a bit part, but his passing is sad regardless

how about we get this thread back on track and offer our condolences to the family of mr. knox lest this thread be closed and flitter off into oblivion?

[Light Lucario]

The media makes a big deal out of nothing, but when it's something very important, nobody seems to care.

Oh, now I think I see your point. I wouldn't call someone being fatally stabbed nothing, especially since he was a young man, possibly well known in his area and all. When people hear about stuff like this, it should be considered important since that's another life taken away by violence and I find it important to give special acknowledgment to those who met that sad end. But I do agree that if its other current events that have a lot of importance, such as the environment or the war, then that gets less coverage in the news media.

[James]

This is Britain. Every knife crime is reported, agonised over and taken as incontrovertible evidence of The Imminent Fall Of Civilisation As We Know It(C)tm. It would have made the headlines regardless.

Every middle class white person maybe. there is a whole bundle of multi-cultural knife and gun violence that never gets reported - because it's not quite as shocking when it doesn't carry a nice news blanket of tragedy - and you can't get quite as news selling as a small time actor to a franchise that people like to read about.

There is a chance it would have been reported, I do agree. Young, handsome, keen future, white, probably middle class. All the ingredients of a selling story. Of course, add a franchise that people like to read about as "Harry Potter" and they know they can sell this kid's death as a real paper selling story. It's a great tragedy when tragedy itself is sculpted to sell papers.

But that is the nature of our press. From a family who used to work in inner city enforcement, there is a whole lot of vicious crime that occurs in the cities that never gets reported - and not just gang wars - innocents. But because they aren't aspiring youths with pretty faces, the cold cut nature of consumerism makes their tale less interesting to the nation press.

It's not a political issue, simply a nature of our news - that people enjoy the news as entertainment - as gossip. Only certain tales are preferred, which is why this poor kid death is distorted in the headlines (as I recall the BBC website ran it as Harry Potter Actor Stabbed, which is bound to get more hits given people will think its a big star).

Regardless, it's a great shame when this happens to anyone. I just think it's a pity that a small actors job he did gets as big a headline as the tragedy itself.

And now the UK waits on the typical knee-jerk attempt to act on knife crime to pander to public concern/guilt/anger, but in reality, offering no long term benefits. An act that occurs regardless of the party in charge - a band-aid on a problem with no fast solution, certainly not when we only focus on it when someone who truly didn't deserve to get stabbed dies and ignore it when others less fortunate suffer on a regular basis.

[HellCat]

I'd agree the gun and knife crime issue has been partly stirred up by the media. But at the same time, there's nothing to be gained when the people who point this out act like this country hasn't really turned to crap or that these aren't real issues. Speaking from my own experience, that's when the supposedly 'open minded' become the same sheltered, middle class whites that they claim to dislike. I'm not gonna say the problems sprung up over night or we never had problems in this country before. But through my own experiences, I know this country is in the gutter right now. Basically every shred of decent moral fibre has vanished and the power has instead gone to those who will abuse it or victimise others. In terms of government, we don't have much hope either. No one really cares about the common people. New Labour have proven themselves neo-Conservative. The actual Conservatives are much the same and simply playing on the fact everyone now hates Labour by using false promises to win over voters. The Liberal Democrats have some good ideas but are seen as so weak willed and inneffective that they basically stand no chance at being voted in.

[James]

I'd agree the gun and knife crime issue has been partly stirred up by the media. But at the same time, there's nothing to be gained when the people who point this out act like this country hasn't really turned to crap or that these aren't real issues. Speaking from my own experience, that's when the supposedly 'open minded' become the same sheltered, middle class whites that they claim to dislike. I'm not gonna say the problems sprung up over night or we never had problems in this country before. But through my own experiences, I know this country is in the gutter right now. Basically every shred of decent moral fibre has vanished and the power has instead gone to those who will abuse it or victimise others. In terms of government, we don't have much hope either. No one really cares about the common people. New Labour have proven themselves neo-Conservative. The actual Conservatives are much the same and simply playing on the fact everyone now hates Labour by using false promises to win over voters. The Liberal Democrats have some good ideas but are seen as so weak willed and inneffective that they basically stand no chance at being voted in.

I sympathize for your painful experiences, but that's not really an excuse to turn this debate into a personal issue about how you feel about this country - or how it relates to the unfortunate ordeals you've suffered.

How this death and its media staging is relevant to the topic and the Entertainment Board, but how the country fairs in how it deals or responds to crime outside the media, in social/political circles is not a road we should IMO be going down - as fascinating as it may be.

Peace.

[HellCat]

Well, I wasn't trying to turn the debate into personal issues. I've only replied when people have done that themselves.

But you're right, not the place.

[James]

Well, I wasn't trying to turn the debate into personal issues. I've only replied when people have done that themselves.

But you're right, not the place.

Perhaps you should re-read my post. It was about the media's handling of this crime compared to similar crimes of this nature. It was neither political or personal. It was specific to the topic.

If your post deals with the media's handling of knife attacks in context to this terrible deed, it is on-topic, if you are looking at the larger political, social and moral response to crime in the UK, specifically from personal experience, it is not.

So I would respectfully ask you don't attempt to tarnish my reply as a "personal" issue you were responding to, as it distorts the content of post.

[Lutochris]

I'm still trying to figure out what exactly this Harry Potter "curse" you're referring to is? As far as I know, only one other death (or even notable negative occurrence) has happened in the franchises history. And as was already said, that was an elderly man who was already ill. Am I missing something here?

[The Penguin]

I'm still trying to figure out what exactly this Harry Potter "curse" you're referring to is? As far as I know, only one other death (or even notable negative occurrence) has happened in the franchises history. And as was already said, that was an elderly man who was already ill. Am I missing something here?You're not, there's no curse. This is a terrible incident that happened to a young man beginning his acting career.