Los Angeles Daily News
Knebworth House, a 15th-century castle in Hertfordshire, England, is
best known for two things: In 1989, it served as Wayne Manor in Tim
Burton's blockbuster film Batman. Nearly two centuries earlier,
it was the home of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who first penned the words "It
was a dark and stormy night."
Now, we're here to interview the
major players behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, based
on the wizard-world book by J.K. Rowling.
Harry Potter is an 11-year-old boy (portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe) who, as an infant, was spared by the wicked Lord Voldemort (who nonetheless slew his parents) and has become a legend in the world of non-Muggles (Muggles being humans).
In Sorcerer's Stone, Harry begins matriculation through Hogwarts, a mystical school for gifted young witches and wizards, filled with semi-giants, three-headed dogs, owls that attack, jelly beans of every imaginable flavor, and, naturally, life-threatening sinister forces.
"Harry's a really normal person, and he goes from being nothing to being something really huge," said Radcliffe. "He's an important part of people's worlds, and he's inspired a lot of people, including me."
Harry's superiors at Hogwarts include Dumbledore (Richard Harris), the headmaster; McGonagall (Maggie Smith), the transfiguration teacher; the sinister Snape (Alan Rickman), professor of potions; the querulous Quirrell (Ian Hart); and gentle giant Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), who befriends Harry and his pals, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson).
At Knebworth House, a drafty, ornate castle where none of the movie was actually shot, Sorcerer's Stone props are carefully laid in glass cases on the ground floor: a state-of-the-art Nimbus 2000 broom, along with balls of sundry sizes and shapes from Quidditch, Rowling's fanciful game that Potter producer David Heyman concedes is a little like Rollerball with broomsticks.
From Print to Film
With the Harry Potter book series (four of a projected seven have been published), Rowling has brought joy to children—and other fans—and, in the process, sold more than 100 million books worldwide.
Heyman and director Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire) speak in almost tremulous tones when discussing their attempts to appease Rowling, much as characters in the books quiver when discussing the powerful Voldemort. "The most terrified I was in the whole process was meeting Jo Rowling," said Columbus.
|
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
|
