David Yates talks HRH final scene, J.K. Rowling in new interview
Potter director David Yates recently spoke with Manila Bulletin about his experience making four of the HP movies, about Dan, Rupert and Emma's final scene together, J.K. Rowling, and his future plans. Here are some excerpts (he gives a bit of a spoiler about the end of Deathly Hallows Part 2):
You came into the series at sort of that middle point. When did you realize the magnitude of the fan base. And what did you think about it? It was probably a phase in the cycle around about this stage when you do your interviews and you meet the press and walk up the red carpet. Obviously, you notice the fact that it’s globally popular, but it’s just when the fans come from Mexico or Argentina and camp out all night, you realize what it means to them. And it’s a huge responsibility, actually. Also, there are massive expectations on every movie, and in a curious way, you do your very best with the film. And I’m very proud of this film.
On the last day with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, when they were on set together and filmed their final scene, what was that like? We shot the scene on the viaduct, outside Hogwarts, and it was really peaceful. It was a really sunny day. It was all backlit. And it’s a very tender scene where they sort of reflect on everything that’s happened, all the battles and everything, and they hold hands, and the camera falls away. It’s a really tender, lovely scene. I said to them, ‘Look, guys, this is the last scene we’re all going to do with you three together in front of the camera. So, it’s not just the last scene of these three characters in the movie, this is your last scene in this series of films. That’s what today is about.’ And it infused it with a kind of emotion which was really moving actually.
Did you ever talk to Jo Rowling about adapting these books and the choices you made, particularly in terms of its contemporary feel? We never had a big conversation about that because it was very present in the book. She read the script and she was totally cool about the way we’d adapted it. She was always just very enthusiastic about the whole first script, generally. But she’s been really helpful and we had a good chat about a couple of scenes in Part 2. I asked her, ‘What were you thinking when you wrote these scenes?’ And she was really helpful.
Jo was a producer on this film, so how was that? How was her expanded role on it? You know, it hasn’t really changed from the other movies, honestly. She’s just always our biggest supporter. And always very graceful and kind and I think, because she’s been there throughout, it was time her name was up there. She wants to be up there with us; it’s a real privilege.
Do you have another movie brewing after all this? I’ve got so many scripts coming in, I can’t tell you. In fact, I told them to stop sending them. [Laughs] Because I haven’t read any of them. They’re just all piled up. But I’m so ambitious, I can’t tell you. It’s a strange thing about Harry Potter because I don’t feel any sense of ownership, in a way. I don’t feel territorial about it. I feel it’s a bit of a national treasure that I’m curating. For everything I can enter, I try and do my very best. And I’m very proud of the work I’ve done. But post-Potter, my career sort of starts again really. And I won’t feel like I’ve made four of the biggest films in the world. I’ll feel like, ‘Well, that’s it. I’ve done Potter now.’ And I’ll have all these beautiful scripts and I can begin in a way. That’s my plan. And I’m going to do big things and tiny little things. And they won’t have wizards in them.
No wizards? No wizards. You can read the whole interview
here. Thanks to Snitchseeker for the tip.
Jan
31
We’re going to be starting a new feature on the site called Time-Turner Tuesday, where we’ll share something significant to do with Harry Potter from years gone by.
The first one of these is a fascinating old interview with author JK Rowling in 1997 or 1998 in which she talks about the very early success of the Harry Potter books. Jo describes the sales figures then (30,000 – tiny in hindsight) as “phenomenal” and that they overshot her expectations. She also seems very excited that Harry Potter had now reached a mere 8 countries, and discussed the small prospects of it being made into a film. Little did she know what was yet to come!
Jan
29
Courtesy of hypable.com, this reporter was introduced to an amazing designer. The reddit.com user Bloop has created an astounding number of superhero posters featuring countless characters from film, books, and television. Among some of the posters are Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, Mario, King Koopa, Buzz Lightyear and countless more. View the entire gallery of hundreds of posters here. Below are the posters of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. I can only hope that this artist sees this post and decides to do more HP characters because I think a “Golden Trio” poster should be done asap!
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Jan
29
Our beloved Pottermore site is good for all things Harry Potter, including fan art. The latest update for Pottermore Insider included fan art from Chapter 7 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher/Sorcerer’s Stone ”The Sorting Hat”.
The post stated that chapter 7 is a beta user favorite because it is where the beta users were first sorted into one of the four Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin (which is my house!). See the fan art pictures below.
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